“The breath must be enticed or cajoled, like catching a horse in a field, not by chasing after it, but by standing still with an apple in one’s hand. Nothing can be forced; receptivity is everything.” -Iyengar, from Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom
Re-posted from Facebook here
Cycling this year has been tremendously important to me, and I owe a lot of it to my team Garneau Evolution — I couldn’t have done it without their support and encouragement. We don’t just race bikes though, we also strive to give back to the community. And this Saturday August 18 is our annual charity ride. Our team and friends are riding from Vancouver to Whistler and back to Vancouver IN ONE DAY, riding over 260km to raise money for the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation and support directly hospitals and kids with medical needs.
I just made a donation and appreciate beyond words any amount you can too. chimp.net/groups/garneau-evolution
And if you want to join us, or for the shorter (also organized) 140km round trip to Squamish and back, please send me a message and/or check out facebook.com/events/288181357947109/
Support cycling, a local bike team, and, mostly, children in need.
If you’re not looking to donate money, please like, comment, ask, or spread the word. Thanks.
As Mt Baker, a ski area in northern Washington state, is getting pummeled by snow this year, it’s amazing to think about the scope of this little ski hill on the massive flanks of heavily glaciated, active volcano Mount Baker. Well, actually, the ski hill is on the arm of Mt Shuksan, but nearly hugs the ridgeline over to Mt Baker. What amazes me about this little ski hill is not just the amazing amount of snow it gets every year (1140″ in 1998-99) or the access to phenomenal sidecountry skiing, but how it’s still just a tiny sliver of the volcano massif (inbounds ski hill as outlined in blue in the picture here) and how the highest lift served peak is 5689 vertical feet below the summit of Mt Baker, ie. more than the entire vertical drop of Whistler/Blackcomb or Revelstoke, the most in North America. The real world, via Google Earth, can still blow us away.
I’m always excited at the prospect of winning some free stuff, and SKIER magazine is giving away Dana Flahr’s setup. The signup form also asks: “Why do you ski?” Why, I thought… it’s been so many years, since I was two years old, every fall I get impatient, every winter since I’ve slid down hills, and the cycle continues. My answer:
A mountain is a craggy, unforgiving, inhospitable, massive thing. But cover it with layers of snow and me with skis and it’s a maneuverable playground, of mostly soft landings, smooth gliding, and bursts of yelling. But it’s still unpredictable and the gift for a lifetime.
Here’s to winning.
I finally decided to grow a moustache, but don’t worry — it’s temporary and for a cause! The month of November is also know as “Movember” — a genuine campaign to bring awareness to men’s health and prostate cancer. It’s serious business:
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. It accounts for over a quarter (27%) of new cancer cases in men. Even 1 in 7 Canadian men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Yet prostate cancer is over 90% curable.
So I’m walking around with a moustache these days, and it’s an excellent catalyst to get people talking about these issues and opening up about men’s health in general.
I just set up a page online to accept donations. I’m really looking mostly to be part of the swarm of moustache-laden men talking about Movember, but happy to have my page as a donation page for Prostate Cancer Canada and Movember.
Check it out at http://mobro.co/nbloom
Thanks for your support — I don’t do this often (or often enough).
Daniel Reitman ca.movember.com/mospace/160429
Kevin El-Hayek mobro.co/kelhayek
Marisa Sheffmosista.co/SheffMoyardee
I’m a big Strava user for cycling, and now it’s doing running.
The False Creek loop in Vancouver is a hugely popular running route, about 9km, uninterrupted path running. And here she is. Let’s see some Strava times on here!
This is very exciting news for me, Vancouver, and my company Zedmo. As posted by tech journal Techvibes, Bootup Labs’ blog, and Zedmo’s blog, Zedmo is going to join private fund and startup accelerator Bootup Labs. My co-founder, Daniel Wolfe, and I will be in Vancouver as of next week building our company in this beautiful and tech-savvy city. Stay tuned at Zedmo.com!
As if completing 2/4 endurance goals for 2009 wasn’t enough, I had to put in one last attempt at a third. And of course I had to choose a marathon. What a dumb idea! I had been doing 40-50km weeks, then went traveling abroad for a month to England and Scotland. Impressively I managed to keep up some volume there. You see, I was planning on potentially doing the Victoria Half Marathon, but alas it was sold out WAY in advance. Seems like everyone wants to do half marathons these days!
Ok, let’s go for the full. I registered in the final week after determining that my body could handle a big 120km week (not sure how my body handled that torturous bump), then a 95km week, and a taper week. I was running great, but could I handle a full marathon at race pace (4 minute kilometers)?
Standing at the start line, I thought, just enjoy each kilometer. Get into a comfortable pace, eat and drink properly, and take it as it comes.
I was nailing my paces according to my GPS watch. At the halfway, I started working the km’s down to 3:52s, but always preparing for the pain starting at 32km. I actually didn’t even feel it until the last 5km. The km’s went down to 4:10s. And I slipped across the line in 2:49 plus change — much closer than I thought!
After a fun run with this indie rock band in Montreal, we’ve moved on, well at least temporarily. Now, all of Far From Shore’s 13 songs are now free as mp3 from http://FarFromShore.com. Go get some great free music. Retirement is fun!
I completed my second triathlon on Sunday, the Subaru Vancouver International Triathlon. I’m still working my way up the race volume (read: racing swim distance). I’m still happy having the swim less than 1km, and this race was close to home.
I finished 10th overall, first in my age group, but I’m most proud of my bike and run. Yeah, I was 67th out of the water, but had the 2nd fastest bike (26km) and 3rd fastest run (5km in 17:39). This means I passed 57 people after coming out the water?! Yeah I need to get working on this swim thing.
Congrats to all the other finishers!
Next up is figuring out races for the rest of the summer and fall. Maybe an Olympic triathlon, maybe a marathon!
