The World Cup has begun!!

This morning the World Cup has begun and for the next month the world will be glued to television sets around the world. I don't really have a favourite that I am cheering for (Canada continues to be inept despite being such a multicultural nation). It is always interesting to see the multicultural diversity and pride of Canada come out as people proudly cheer for the old countries.

For some reason World Cup fever doesn't really catch on in Canada and the US as it does in the rest of the world. The band U2 is helping to change that as they have done some pretty good TV ads for ESPN.

Well we know what I'll be doing for the next month on my days off and at work too! 

My Official Start of Summer

Saturday was the official start of summer for me as I we put the boat in the lake and I got in my first waterski of the year (see above pic). It felt great to be back on the water and I felt like I hadn’t missed a step over the winter. The water temperature was suprisingly nice but I still elected for the wetsuit. I can’t wait for my next time at the lake where I can push myself harder and pull out my wakeboard and see how rustly my wakeboard skills got over the winter.

What always continues to amaze me is the absolute euphoria I get from waterskiing/wakeboarding. I come out of the water grinning from ear to ear and I can’t sit still, I’m just too excited. I have yet to find any other activity that makes me feel such complete joy. I don’t what causes it, but I love it and I’m not gonna question it.

Hopefully the whole summer isn’t as windy as this past weekend and I can get alot more time on the lake this summer.

Dangerous & Adorable

 That is one expensive cat toy!

Staying found and other misc items

This past Sunday I participated in a Map & Compass course to perfect my navigation skills. It was an all day course with morning being in a classroom doing map exercises (I found that boring, I have done that sort of thing before) and the afternoon was done outside on a short orienteering course. I really enjoy orienteering, I like the problem solving and instant gratification of when you find that checkpoint right away. You also really learn to trust yourself and your skills, second-guessing can only lead you down the wrong path. It is somewhat disappointing to know that orienteering is not popular or well-known in North America as it is in Europe and other parts of the world. Overall the day was good except for the constant rain all afternoon, but that didn't stop us from around the orienteering course.

While I was practicing my navigation skills my girlfriend and training partner was competing in her first ever half-marathon. Which was also in the rain. She did better than she anticipated and finished in a time of 2:04:04 (pace =5:53). Way to go! Hopefully we can run a race together later this summer.

Today I dive into something new again, Yoga. The opportunity to take yoga from a great instructor has come up so I decided to give it a shot. This will be my first time so I am a little unsure of what I'm getting myself into, considering I'm not a limber person, but I have been reassured that I'll be fine. 

Adventureracingtv.com will not be at Primal Quest

I had previously posted that you would be able to watch Eco Primal Quest on adventureracingtv.com but that has now changed. Due to 'circumstances beyond their control' they will not be able to broadcast Primal Quest 2006. They do plan to have video clips of Michigan Coast to Coast, Teva Mountain Games AR, and Adventure Xstream Durango. Adventureracingtv.com still plans to try and broadcast live from a expedition length race this season.

$100 Laptop Unveiled

Early this week on May 23, 2006 a working prototype of the $100 Laptop was unveiled at the Seven Countries Task Force Meeting.

The $100 Laptop is a project being developed by One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) a non-profit association attempting to use technology to revolutionize how the world's children are educated. OLPC's goal is to provide the children of the world with new opportunities to explore, experiment and express themselves. These laptops are not designed for commercial sale but rather to be distributed only to schools through government initiatives.

You can see more pictures at flickr.com and get more info about this project here.

I might be a crack addict

Addicted to crack climbing that is.
I went rock climbing for the first time this past weekend. It was with the local section of the Alpine Club of Canada. We climbed the slabs at Wasootch Creek in Kananaskis provincal Park, Alberta, Canada.

With our great trip leaders, the learning curve was quick and enjoyable. There were numerous routes set up for us to try and I especially enjoyed the crack climbing. I almost couldn't get enough of it. I climbed everything I could and only stopped when it started to rain early Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon when our trip leader said "That is it, it is time for beers!". As of now I plan to try to get into climbing a bit more in the future.

The non-climbing time was also great this past weekend as we meet new friends and shared stories of our outdoor adventures. This was also my first camping trip of 2006 and it once again reminded me why I love living out of a tent every once and awhile.

The whole weekend was amazing, I can't wait for my next climbing trip with the wonderful people of the Alpine Club. But before then, we shall gather at a post-trip BBQ where we shall share photos and laugh about the good times that were had.

I think people should get out and try new activities, sure you may not like them all, but you mind a few that you love. It doesn't need to cost a lot to try new things either, borrow or rent what ever you need. You can rent just about everything you would need for any outdoor activity. For this past weekend I borrowed some gear and rented the rest from the University of Calgary Outdoor Centre. Heck, if you live in the US you can rent gear from www.lowergear.com and they will mail it to you!

So no excuses, get outside and try something new. You just might like it, I sure did!

Why Worry

"The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater their power to harm us" – Voltaire

A recent article I read pointed out that nearly 60% of patients consulting their family doctor have anxiety as the cause of their distress. Do we really worry that much, is worry becoming an epidemic?

Research has shown that 40% of our worry is about events that will never happen, 30% is about events that have already happened, 22% is about trivial things, 4% is about events we can't change. The remaining 4% is about real events we an act on, that means 96% of what people worry about are things they can't control or change.

I am a person that doesn't worry much, but I know so many people who drive themselves miserable worrying about things they can't control. What has led our society to be so worrisome about things that don't matter and how can we learn to deal with it?

When I began to worry I ask my self, how does this really affect my life in the big picture, if I look back in twenty years how significant will this be, if I even remember it? Most times it then becomes to trivial to worry about and I can get back to living life. 

Insurgent Interview

I thought this was pretty funny and it should be shared.

[via TEDblog]

Living with DOMS

DOMS = delayed onset muscle soreness

That is what I have been feeling in my lower body yesterday and today. I felt good going to the gym for a weight training session on Wednesday so I decided to push up all my weights on only week 2 of this cycle. The workout was great and I moved a lot of weight but I knew I was in trouble for the next couple of days when during the last 2 sets of my workout I got that 'I'm so full of lactic acid I feel like I'm gonna puke' feeling. The good thing is that feeling is short lived once you quit your workout, but I still couldn't finish all of my post-workout shake right after my workout.

The good news is DOMS peaks at two days, so today will be the worst of it. To make matters worse, yesterday was one of those days where I run around all day, get 15 minutes for lunch in the late afternoon and eat supper at the end of the shift (I work 12 hour shifts). So it was nice that my mind was distracted from the soreness all day but when I did sit down, oh I felt it. I'm sure the lack of consistent food intake didn't help the recovery process either, but that is life in health care, especially acute care. This isn't the worse case of DOMS I have had, I can still walk without looking funny, but it is still no joy.

On a related note:

I'm a big believer in workout nutrition (pre, during & post), and for me my post-workout nutrition comes in the form of a shake. I make my own little concoction that consists of 0.8 g of carbs/kg of body weight and 0.4 g of protein/kg of body weight, giving me a nice 2:1 ratio of carbs to protein (2:1 for strength, 4:1 for endurance training). My carbs are a 50/50 split of dextrose and maltodextrin, I have used all dextrose a few times (when I run out of maltodextrin) and find it to sweet on its own. The protein in my shake is a whey protein from Optimum Nutrition, I choose whey protein cause it is fairly fast absorbing and is reasonably cheap.

I still haven't optimized my workout nutrition during endurance training but hopefully as I get more into endurance training over the next few months I can learn some more and get it all figured out.
I find the proper workout nutrition can really speed up the recovery phase and optimize your workout gains. Now I'm no professional or world class athlete, but I believe there is a lot to gain from good workout nutrition even for the average Joe (or Jane). If you want more info on workout nutrition or nutrition in general check out Dr. John Berardi, Ph.D and his website full of great info.