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People are always talking about making lists of adventurous things they'd like to accomplish during their lifetime. Here's my list, and what follows are notes about what I'm currently up to.
Ironman Triathalon ("GRAND" magazine)
May 3, 2008
Every couple of months we get a magazine named GRAND: Living Well in Waterloo Region delivered to our doorstep. It's a free magazine that contains interesting, well photographed articles about people, businesses, and places in the region.
An article that I enjoyed reading this month:
"Nothing stops him": A look into the life of Don Andrews, a local triathalete that specializes in the Ironman. I followed Don and his teammates last year as they trained and raised money for "iron DOGS 4 kids".
Although I would love to do an Ironman some day, I haven't done a whole lot of research. And so it was a bit of an eye opener to read that this guy runs every single day (5:30 AM), then cyles or swims for a couple of hours on top of that. (I find running 3 times a week to be lots!)
As he talks about his recent race in Lake Placid, it becomes evident how gruelling an Ironman can be:
Then he hit the wall. Thirty kilometres into the runn, driven by exhaustion, his body began to shut down. Unable to speak or hear, Andrews was reduced to a walk, questioning whether he could even finish. "I was ready to check myself in to an ambulance." Eating and drinking constantly to rebuild his energy, Andrews walked five kilometres before a passing racer coached him back into the race. Pointing out a shadow that lay across the road, he told Andrews, "When you get to that shadow, you're running".
A couple of weekends ago, while I was doing some raking with church friends, a man that I hadn't met before was talking about his son-in-law's experience running the Ironman. He said that the swim and cycle portions were ok, but that the run was gruelling. After barely being able to complete the race, his son in law vowed never to do it again. He was helped into a car and taken immediately to a hotel to sit in an ice bath. It was a full two months before he had fully recovered.
On the other end of the spectrum, Meredith has a contact in the financial world that speaks of Ironmans as if they were pretty straightforward. When I chatted with him in Toronto one evening, he said that once you've done an Ironman, you realize that they're really not all that difficult. Likewise, my sister Hannah knows of an older lady who started doing Ironmans in her 50s or 60s and has done one every year for a number of years.
So there are definitely some mixed messages out there!
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Accomplished: Floss each day for a yearApril 21, 2008
After receiving the bad news about three cavities last year, I figured a practical goal for myself would be to floss each day for a year. Seeing as I had probably never flossed for more than a few days in a row, this one was going to be challenging. Because I'm a bit OCD, I wanted to make sure I didn't miss any days... and that's tougher than it sounds. Take for example camping trips. If you forget to pack your floss, you're done! So yes, there I was in the middle of Algonquin, flossing away. Which sounds ridiculous, but it's actually quite nice to have squeaky clean teeth at the end of a long day of canoe camping! Another strategy was to always floss in the morning. That way, if for some reason I forgot to do it in the morning, I'd be able to do it before bed. Logistics, logistics. It reminded me of planning redundant business processes. ie. How do you plan daily or weekly activities if you need to be absolutely sure that they're going to happen? In terms of my dental health, I'm happy with the results. Once I been flossing each day for a couple of months, I noticed that I had less plaque build up between my teeth, which made them look and feel healthier. And my next dental checkup was the best one I've ever had. My second yearly dental checkup wasn't quite as good, and I think that's because I wasn't flossing at night as much. Here's a summary of what I've learned: 1. | You should floss at least once each day, preferably twice. |
| 2. | If you're only going to floss once a day, the key time to do it is just before bed. (Think about it: Your gums are sitting there for 8 hours with whatever junk is in between your teeth) |
| 3. | Electric tooth brushes are superior to regular ones. |
| 4. | Electric tooth brushes are more effective if you follow the 2-minute guideline once a day. Again, the best time to do your 2-minute brushing is right before bed. |
| 5. | Pharmacies sell an Oral B fluoride mouth rinse that you can use once a week. My dentist claims that this can help repair damaged enamel. |
| 6. | Don't use Listerine. It tends to dry your gums out. My dental hygienist says that people who use Listerine twice a day have gums that resemble those of smokers. |
| 7. | Teeth whiteners that you can buy at the store for $20-$40 work reasonably well. I followed the directions on the package and it made a noticeable difference. (My dental hygienist tells me that spending the big bucks to get this done professionally isn't worth it) |
So there you have it. If you follow the above I think you'll get good results... but another thing I've learned is that genetics play a pretty significant role. If you're genes gave you cavity-prone teeth, even good habits might not be enough to save you. On the other hand, people with good genes can get away with less than stellar habits. Such is life! Accomplished: 3 minute showers for a year
April 18, 2008
Last year I sent out to conserve some water and energy by seeing if I could live with a short three minute shower each day for a year. One year later, I've saved about 14,000 litres of hot water. Not bad! (That said, it's interesting to consider that if you really want to save water, it's quite possible to wet your body with 0.5 litres of water, lather yourself up, and then rinse off with another 2 litres, which translates to a 15 second shower!)
Now that I'm done, I think I'll try to keep it up. There's something to be said for speedy showers even beyond saving water and energy: They get you moving in the morning! Taking 7-10 minutes in the shower is just another form of procrastination. Being speedy, on the other hand, gets you in the mind set that you have places to go and things to do. I like it.
Today I came across a neat blog:
greenasathistle.com
Welcome to Green as a Thistle. My name is Vanessa, I'm a journalist at the National Post, based in Toronto. When I saw the documentary An Inconven— no, just kidding. Now that organic is the new bl— OK, no, seriously now. In short, this blog began somewhere between dissing Stéphane Dion's dog (named Kyoto) and finding myself amongst a group of eco-hipsters drinking hemp beer at an anti-styrofoam party. I decided to take on a bit of a challenge: Spend each day, for an entire calendar year, doing one thing that betters the environment. The idea is that everything I do, I keep doing (so if I switch brands, it's a permanent switch; if I turn down my thermostat, I keep it down), so that by day 365, I'll be living as green a lifestyle as it gets. I hope, in the end, this proves that being an environmentalist doesn't necessarily have to require massive change, compromise or Greenpeace levels of dedication — it can be simple, and inspiring.
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