This past week I was re-visited by the Ghost of Christmas Future. I thought that I had shaken him years ago but he returned during a three-day visit to Aspen, Colorado.

By the way... if you get to Aspen then two things to check out... Independence Pass and Maroon Bells. You can drive, or bike, to both locations are they are really neat! Our photo this week is "Ultra G" after a long run spent chasing Mrs. Byrn uphill at 10,000 feet. I'll tell you more about the socks in a future article.

Ten years ago, I had a major change in my life. Over the course of 18 months, I resigned my job, ended my marriage, sold as many of my possessions as possible and left the country where I had lived for seven years. Thirty is a bit young to have a mid-life crisis but, I suppose, that's the best description of what happened.

The changes I made were triggered from an evening spent alone, in a beautiful house, surrounded by all the comforts available to a self-assured finance guy. When Monica reads that sentence she might never leave me alone again...

That night, I realized that I'd be sitting on that EXACT couch ten years later and the only thing that would have changed would be the size of my bank account.

When I left Hong Kong in 2000, nobody would buy the couch (!) so I've carted it around the world with me. Since my decision to leave ten years ago... I have: remarried, become a Dad, lived in five countries, started nine businesses, exited most my deals successfully, and watched a couple deals die.

If you'd asked me in my late 20s what I was working towards, I probably would have said residences in Phuket, London and San Francisco. I was very asset focused and liked the concept of being able to travel the world with a toothbrush. It wasn't until I travelled the world that I discovered that the reality of travel is quite different.

Over the last couple of weeks, I made my way through my half-yearly review. Not quite as detailed as my full-blown annual review but useful none-the-less.

This week I will hit on a few topics that might prove useful.

Personal Review
From my point of view, the improvement in the quality of my sleep (from consistent wake-up); combined with moderately challenging training (rather than massive overload, rest, repeat) has done wonders for my productivity and outlook. I'm getting a ton done on all fronts. It's nice to have the extra energy to "step up" and help manage the house.

Similar to the markets, some times all it takes to feel better is for the situation to stop getting worse. There was a lot of negative shocks in 2008, these have stopped coming through as often so even if things merely stay the same... they appear to be improving.

Two quotes I'll share with you:

"Somewhere in my life something is always @#$%^&" - Brad Feld
"Life is dealing with problems"

When I can hold these thoughts in my head as acceptance, rather than resistance, they help me maintain perspective. My goal being to deal with things, rather than arrive at a place where everything is "fixed".

Not that there is much screwed up in my life. However, if you look for it then there's pretty much always something you can find to get yourself worked up. If we can't get to relentless positivity then striving for consistent acceptance is reasonable alternative.

Two questions remain outstanding right now:

• What new subject do I want to study and learn about over the next year?
• Where, and how, will I fit in my personal retreat? Here I am thinking about making Epic Camp out-bound only for technology. Blogging daily (so I remember a special trip) but not pulling in any media/email/IT over the duration.

Our photo this week is my daughter watching me set a personal best for push-ups (she prefers to check me out in the mirror).

I need to score 300 on my APFT so I can back off the upper body work. Greg Bennett says that my freestyle looks like I am wrestling down the lane!

Typically my fly is my only stroke that looks like it came out of the Rocky Balboa school of swim excellence...

So I've been rolling for two weeks and have a good idea on my baseline data. Before I get into my story I wanted to offer you some tips on your own training.

The EC Team have been writing a weekly column for XTri for six months now. I think you'll find a lot of good content there from each of us. We have a range of philosophies that are consistent at the core and different at the edges. Worth checking out if you get the chance.

Over the last two weeks, I completed a How-To-Manual for triathlon training. Here's how you apply what I have written:

Our lead off photo this week is Jan Hugo Svendsen - my latest viking buddy.

Jonas "Big J" Colting crowned him King-for-a-Day when he held off the entire camp to take line honors at a stage of the Tour of Sweden.

When the chase bunch contains Clas Bjorling and Bjorn Andersson... it's a huge achievement for an agegrouper to finish first!

Some of my athletes think that I am a mind reader because I have an uncanny knack of knowing what they are thinking. Truth is, I have a limited capacity to read people (just ask my wife)... however, I have built a decent capacity to see, then express what's going on inside my head.

To the extent that I have any wisdom, it is due to slowing my mind down enough to have brief periods of insight into my own patterns and though habits.

One of the neat things about living along the Front Range of the Rockies is that it takes about five hours to get to "nowhere". Nowhere being a place where, if something goes awry, it will take a long time for anyone to find you!

I had planned on my Boulder to Vail expedition this past week but careful review of the topo maps between Winter Park and Silverthorne had me thinking that a recon trip might be in order. Turns out that was a wise, wise move.

Like any big undertaking, there are always plenty of reasons not to go (work, weather, fatigue, fear) but I headed out on Tuesday morning. The level of fear that I had on Monday night was surprisingly high. I can't remember the last time I was that "scared" to do something.

I dropped by the Ranger Station in Silverthorne to check in and ask questions about permits, camping and fires -- no restrictions right now. The rangers asked where I was heading and looked at me with a blank stare when I mentioned my destination (Jones Pass Jeep Road). If I needed confirmation that I was heading to "nowhere" then that was probably it. Once I pulled out my map to show them, they clued in -- my trip took me out of their district. Given the weather forecast they suggested that my route would be more appropriate for an animal with webbed feet.

Having grown up in British Columbia, the rain doesn't bother me. Over my life, I've logged months of rain camping, rain cycling, rain running, rain hiking... What I hadn't combined, until this trip, was rain camping with rain mountaineering. It would prove educational.

This week I thought that I'd share some ideas about maximizing expected value in the fields of athletics and personal finances.

When doing expected value calculations I like to remind myself of a few key points:

Last Sunday, I took the entire day off from my "life" - no training, no internet, no business.

I snuggled with Monica, read a book, lounged around the house and spent time with Lex. I was so far from my daily routine that Monica asked me if everything was OK!

Sometimes we need to hit the reset button. Before Dave crashed his bike, or Steve died, I was going through an attitude re-adjustment. The news of the last few days only served to reinforce the reminders I received from my Book Day.

The book that I read is called Grandfather - it's a story about a Native American's lifelong search for truth and harmony with nature. It speaks to several truths I have discovered in my life, whether it is "the truth" I don't really care.

If you happen to have Australian friends then you'll know that sticking strictly to the facts can impair the enjoyment value of a good yarn, or religious parable for that matter. So whether the tale is true wasn't the point for me. The value in the story comes from the feelings and lessons it conveys.