Beau's Blog

Background

For the past six years, I’ve kept a tradition: writing an annual “Year in Review” to reflect on the past and sketch out the future. It’s my personal time capsule, the first place I go when I want to understand my past selves. While I shared my 2020 review on Facebook, I kept the subsequent ones private. But privacy and public accountability both have their perks, and this year, I want to have my cake and eat it too. What follows is a curated, public subset of my private reflections. This is an experiment—I’d love to know what you think. Enjoy!

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Introduction

2025 taught me life happens in seasons. After years on my own, I welcomed a wonderful partner into my life, marking a beautiful new chapter. That theme of care extended elsewhere too, from the patience required for proactive physical therapy to the focus of returning to reading as a form of self-investment. Not every shift was seamless; reentering the corporate world has left me with a familiar, complicated mix of feelings. But looking back, I’m confident of one thing: there is no stagnancy here. The experiment continues.

Favorite Moments

#1 Feb 15 – Takao with Kaori and Scott

Takao delivers once again! Kaori, Scott and I enjoyed a lovely afternoon on the mountain. The peak moment was Kaori impressing with her super well read and realistic nature sound effects. Other highlights included Scott learning the Japanese phrase for strawberry cheesecake, relaxing onsen and the spontaneity of the day with Kaori skipping half of her dentist appointment.

#2 Aug 19 – Visiting Grandpa Bill in SLC feat. Construction

While the whole road trip from Santa Cruz to Salt Lake City was a good experience, being there in person with Grandpa Bill and Grandma Carol was right. I felt my values and actions line up. The construction outside was a surprising highlight as well.

#3 Sep 20 – Mitsumine Trail Run Viewpoint

Fun day with Chadwick and Takeshi from Mitsumine to Okutama – Strava. The little viewpoint on the piston was super cool. A perfect day out in the mountains with friends, testing my ability – biggest run (35km, 2500m, 8hr) in a long time and it was all good.

#4 Nov 7 – Kyoto BS Poker

Nathan and Katie’s visit was a ton of fun. BS Poker was a big part of it. We reveled in trying new snacks and drinks over BS Poker while delighting in a weekend Kyoto getaway. An excellent evening!

#5 Dec 28 – Dinner with Kaori and Kotachan

Teamwork is great. Our team delivered a delicious dinner of steak, sweet potato, sashimi and more. It felt especially good to provide while being a guest at Michan’s house while she was taking take of her two year old Otochan.

Top 5 Lessons

#1 When One Door Closes, Others Open

For most of 2024, running was a huge focus. I put in a lot. I also got out a lot. The Jangsu trail race was the biggest event of 2024 for me. That said, meeting Kaori at SOGO in Yoyogi Park on Dec 22, 2024 may actually have been my biggest event of 2024. Here we are in our first picture together, about to start chatting and getting to know each other. As I write this, we live together in Meguro and our first date was just over a year ago! As my running door closed, my Kaori girlfriend door opened. I suppose it isn’t so surprising that when our focus and attention shifts away from something, it’s freed up – I met someone very special.

#2 Work Can Provide More Than Financial Security: Purpose, Sense of Belonging and Optimism

I took my longest break from work as an adult from May 2024 to April 2025. On June 23rd, 2025 – I met a coworker in person, the first time in over a year. Meeting Cam taught/reminded me about the value of work. Of course the financial part is top of mind for me, and even more so since I highly value personal finance. Beyond that though, work gives me much more. At Autodesk, I help my team, I am good at my job and the stability it provides gives me a default I can base decisions on which makes me optimistic.

#3 Running Lots Requires Well Rounded Physical Health

For the first half of 2025, I largely rested and stayed away from running. In hindsight, I wish I had been more ambitious with my strength training and slow jogging. At the end of 2025, I read a few books on running including one specifically on feet and ankles – when something isn’t going well, of course taking a step back can be useful but I think there’s often more action we can proactively take to improve things. To be a badass runner requires many health dominos all line up. I will do my best to manage my sleep, strength training and stretching.

#4 Progress on Hard Things Probably Requires Sacrifice

I ran across the idea that it requires 10x the effort to improve at something rather than maintain with it. I feel this with running now. In order to put in 10x effort, I prioritize running and its supporting aspects: sleep, strength training, stretching and my running community. In order to open this door, I have to close others. A few examples here are less time socially for non running events, less drinking and less disc golf.

#5 Reading Books is Powerful

I am proud to have read much more in 2025 than recent years. With reading I am improving many things: vocabulary, breadth of ideas, decision making, domain knowledge and more. I love that I can progress in my interests by reading. Whether it’s how to think about personal finance as your net worth grows, motivational running stories or awareness about the developing world in the last century – reading makes me better. I will continue to read and better myself.

2025 Running Summary

I barely ran the first half of 2025. After running ITJ on Dec 8, 2024 my ankle prevented me from running much. Here are some current running thoughts:

• Like nearly anything in life, to get better, put in more hours – more distance, more time on feet, that’s the number one tip to become a better runner
• Of course there are other ways to improve, keep your slow runs slow and your fast runs fast – this is something for me to focus on going forward
• Play the long game: becoming a more capable ultramarathoner takes a long time. Focus on sustainability and be patient. I strive to think longer term in general in life.
• Many of my favorite people in Japan now are runners, having shared interests and values is wonderful for picking who to surround myself with.
• Nanban Rengo started to play a big part of my life and routine – I am grateful for the community and consistency it provides.

I had a bunch of memorable runs, here are many of them

• Beginner Trail Run
• Kaori’s First Trail Run
• Mitsumine to Okutama via Kumotori
• 3rd Annual Musashi Itsukaichi to Sagamiko
• Yamathon – Blog Post
• Mt. Fuji – Sea to Summit
• Yoyogi Backyard Ultra
• Hakone Gairin

2025 Book Review

I read more in 2025 than I have in many years. Buying ebooks on the Kindle app to read on my phone worked well. Additionally, in 2025 I started tracking my monthly phone screen time and Kindle App usage. I aim to both 1) bring down monthly phone usage 2) bring up monthly Kindle App usage. FWIW, I averaged 87 hours and 7 hours in 2025. Let’s see what I can do in 2026.

• Almanack of Naval Ravikant – Eric Jorgenson, 2020
  • Free book on wealth and happiness
  • Excellent: full of nuggets that I will return to for inspiration
• Dune – Frank Herbert, 1965
  • Classic sci-fi that has been on my list since high school
  • Excellent: while recently I haven’t read other sci-fi to compare against, this kept my attention and was a delight.
• Meditations: Marcus Aurelius
  • I did not finish “the bible of stoicism” – although I hear some translations are easier to get through than others.
  • I know many who have gained much from this – I didn’t and that’s okay.
• Born to Run – Christopher McDougall, 2009
  • Credited for popularizing the minimalist shoe movement
  • Solid: I enjoyed the Mexican desert adventures, learning about the Tarahumara runners and about the beginnings of modern ultramarathons.
• The Wealth Ladder – Nick Magguli, 2025
  • Personal finance book exploring dynamics and offers advice for different levels of wealth (contrary to more commonplace one size fits all personal financial advice).
  • Excellent: Delivered on its promise and helped shape my thinking for how to progress in my finances.
• The Psychology of Money – Morgan Housel, 2020
  • Exploration on 20 unintuitive dynamics of personal finance
  • Very good: I found it kept my attention, made me think and I will revisit the book
• Ultramarathon Man – Dean Karnazes, 2005
  • A captivating memoir detailing the twists of life and running of a very impressive guy.
  • Excellent: Inspiring and entertaining and even a few practical tips at the end.
• Factfulness – Hans Rosling, 2018
  • A data driven dive into how health, wealth, education and more are better than you think
  • Great: While I didn’t finish this book, this book is a gift to those who read it and I intend to finish it in 2026.
• The Runner’s Guide to Healthy Feet and Ankles – Brian W. Fullem, 2016
  • This practical guide does exactly what it says it does
  • Excellent: I learned lots, built exercise/strength plans based on it and will reference it in the future as needed.

Favorite: Ultramarathon Man
Least Favorite: Meditations
Biggest Current Impact: The Runner’s Guide to Healthy Feet and Ankles

2026 Bucket List Progress

Snowboard in Japan: Jan 25 – 26 with the Gaijin Golfers at Myoko, Niigata

This was a fun trip and reinforced that while I enjoy snowboarding, it doesn’t feel worth the time and money for me in this chapter of my life.

Bike Shimanami Kaido: Feb 18th with Scott

With mediocre morning weather, thank goodness Scott talked me into giving it a shot. We survived the cold and had a blast. 10/10 would recommend to anyone looking for something cool to do in Japan! Strava

Hike Kumano Kodo: Feb 21 – 24 with Scott

Scott and I hiked part of the Iseji route over 3 days. We leaned heavily on Craig’s detailed blog post. It was slow; we walked, we didn’t run. We cherished a side of Japan many miss.

Visit the Nagano Snow Monkeys: Mar 10 with Kaori

The monkeys were lively and did not disappoint. What truly made the experience great though was enjoying it with Kaori – our first trip together!

Complete the Yamathon: Oct 4 with Chadwick, Masaichi and Alain

This experience fulfilled my hopes. Fun day out with the squad. It also was a great proof point that my body was recovering well and up for more running adventures. Read more on my blog post.

Summit Mt. Fuji: Oct 13 with Nikhil

It’s rare to cross off a bucket list item spontaneously but we started planning this less than a week in advance and only committed the same day. Nikhil and I were enamored with the idea after hearing about Chadwick’s epic sea to summit ascent a couple months earlier. With a 10:30pm start time, we took off and had a great adventure (Strava – photo album). That said, getting sick the next day for a week wasn’t awesome.

Visit Okinawa: Oct 29 – Nov 4 with Dad, Katie and Kaori

Kaori masterminded a week long Okinawa joyful trip. We enjoyed a few days on/around Zamami Island and road tripping around the mainland. Lots of fun, new sights and BS Poker! Photos here.

Run Hakone Gairin: Dec 13 with Olivier and Adrien

After being unable to join my friends for this epic loop in February, I reveled in fulfilling the experience 10 months later. I felt pretty strong on the day and feel proud of our 9 hour time too! Fun day with the boys. Strava

Intentions for 2026

#1 Do Less, Do It Better

• This means keeping my head clean and peaceful like my room
• This means reducing the time between thought and action
• This means more action and therefore more learning
  • AKA velocity and acceleration

#2 Make Losing Unreasonable

• Do the work, do more than “necessary”
• 30 minutes every day: strength and stretching
• Are my minutes, days, months, etc bringing me closer to my long term goals?

#3 Focus + Leave Room for Exploration

• This means embracing the fact that I am an extrovert
• This means investing in those I care about and those who inspire me
• This means a proactive yet open mindset
• This means taking risks romantically

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While I don’t know what this year holds specifically, I have optimism. I will improve myself and move towards my goals.

Beau
May 25, 2026
Meguro, Tokyo