Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Alpine Meadows
Today we skied Alpine Meadows, on the north end of Lake Tahoe. Was a terrific day. A little overcast but pretty good visibility. I was still struggling earlier in the day until Bettina told me that I was poling opposite to how I should. I have no idea how that happened. As soon as I corrected it was an entirely new game and my form and enjoyment improved ten-fold. Alpine Meadows has some good, varied terrain with a fresh coat of powder to make some of the runs more challenging. Today, I skied in more powder than I have cumulatively in my life I think (slight exaggeration perhaps but I was always afraid of powder but today I started to really get how to keep on top of things despite sailing through a foot of the stuff). All-in-all, a really terrific day. Tomorrow more new powder is forecast and we are looking to spend the day in Squaw Valley which should be a hoot.
Mount Rose
Yesterday, we skied Mount Rose, a little resort just above Incline Village at the north end of Lake Tahoe. It was my first day on my new Volkl AC30's. I was nervous about switching to a new pair of skis having retired my 9-year old pair of Volant Powercarves. Skis have changed a lot in the past decade, that's for sure. Even though the Volant's are parabolic, the new generation of skis are even more so. The new boards are fatter at each end and rounded, the tips and tails are also a little more turned up. For the first few runs I was a little uncomfortable since the skis felt like they were over-steering and I had to get used to how quickly they responded. The Volkl's handled the groomed very well and made powder skiing easier than it has ever been. By the end of the day I had confidently navigated a nice steep powdery black diamond. All-in-all, I am glad that I bought these new skis and look forward to many more days slope-side this winter pushing them and myself to new heights.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Commitment and Sticking to Goals
During my whole-body detox, I sometimes wondered if I could stick with it for the whole 21 days. I saw an article posted on Reddit about some Japanese Buddhist monks who take a vow to run incredible distances almost every day for eight years. If these guys can do it, then eating healthily and detoxing for 21 days can't be hard. Whenever I am faced with something that feels too hard to stick to, I think of the Japanese monks.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
To Go To Tahoe
Imagine my surprise, when out of the blue the other day, my old-old-old friend Jeff Crowe messaged me asking if I wanted to go skiing and stay at his place in Tahoe. Jeff and I go way back. Way, way, way back. To 11th grade at Herndon High School. He kindly befriended a somewhat awkward sixteen year-old kid who had just moved back from England after eight years and was trying to adjust to life as a junior at an American high school. Jeff is one of the most big-hearted and gregarious people I know. I have many fond memories of skipping out of school at lunch time to smoke and get food at a nearby strip mall (not allowed at the time). I even remember the time we were pulled over by the cops leaving the school with license plates that were three months expired and getting off with a warning.
We lost touch for many years mainly as the result me starting to date someone he had dated just prior (a poorly-thought-out act on my part I will admit). Happily, after several years Angela, Jeff and I are still in touch.
I am exited to catch up with Jeff and meet his new wife next week in Tahoe. A lot has happened in the last 20 years so I am sure there will be plenty to share.
We lost touch for many years mainly as the result me starting to date someone he had dated just prior (a poorly-thought-out act on my part I will admit). Happily, after several years Angela, Jeff and I are still in touch.
I am exited to catch up with Jeff and meet his new wife next week in Tahoe. A lot has happened in the last 20 years so I am sure there will be plenty to share.
Detox
Before my leave started, I decided to do a 'detox' near the beginning of my time off. Having never done one before, I did a little research and learned about how giving your body the opportunity to purge build up toxins and other effects of the sometimes poor lifestyle choices we make can lead to feeling dramatically better. Not knowing any better, I picked one a pretty rigorous program (Martha's Vineyard Diet and Detox) and started it on December 26th (so I wouldn't miss out on all the Christmas goodies).
Talk about an interesting experience. For three weeks I lived on nothing but vegetable juice, pureed vegetable soup, tea, whole-food supplements and water. At first it was hard and sometimes I would get intense cravings, but after a while I stopped being hungry and fell into the rhythm of it. Part of the detox is having colonic hydrotherapy to purportedly cleanse the large intestine of any accumulated debris, plaque, excreted toxins, etc. Certainly not my favorite part of the program but I decided to be a stickler and follow the plan to the letter (except for the so-called gall bladder stone purge which makes no sense whatsoever from an anatomical, physiological or gastrointestinal perspective). At times my energy level was very low and at others quite high. They warn of something called a 'healing crisis' which is the body's reaction to having a hard reset done to it. I think I had at least one of those.
Side effects? Few really but I did notice that I had a lot of secretions on my tongue. Think of what your tongue looks like the morning after a night of heavy drinking. Now imagine that happening three times a day for a couple of weeks. From what I can reason and have read, the tongue is a place where toxins are excreted when given the opportunity to purge. I am glad to say that towards the end, the level of excretion tailed off dramatically. Also, my breath had a septic, ammonia-like smell. My research has led me to conclude that this is the result of metabolizing proteins and my body's attempts to process and eliminate the excess nitrogen (ammonia is NH3). This has basically gone away now that I have ended my detox and am consuming protein again.
Net results? I feel better than I did before the detox. I have lost 20 lbs or so (didn't weigh myself before or after but my clothes are definitely fitting better). I have also developed a new-found appreciation for food and how I consume it. Before, I tended to wolf things down which robbed me of really enjoying them and led to me frequently overeating as well as poor digestion and other GI distress like IBS. Now I chew more slowly and have a better idea of when my body has had enough.
I have made and am sticking to some resolutions about food and eating. First, I only buy organic food now unless there is absolutely no other alternative. I also try to buy food where I can identify where it was grown. For example, recently I bought some buffalo meat from a local rancher where I could see the buffalo and where they range. There is something profound about having such a tangible connection to one's food.
Second, I have instituted a 'single ingredient' rule. At the store I won't buy anything that has more than one ingredient. This helps me assess the healthfulness of each item I consume as well as keeping me away from all processed, prepared and pre-packaged foods. I find that there is nothing that I miss shopping this way. It also has me be more conscious and aware of what ingredients go into what I cook.
Net-net. I feel better, more energetic, more positive and calmer. I am excited by how changing how and what I eat will lead to better quality of life for me.
Talk about an interesting experience. For three weeks I lived on nothing but vegetable juice, pureed vegetable soup, tea, whole-food supplements and water. At first it was hard and sometimes I would get intense cravings, but after a while I stopped being hungry and fell into the rhythm of it. Part of the detox is having colonic hydrotherapy to purportedly cleanse the large intestine of any accumulated debris, plaque, excreted toxins, etc. Certainly not my favorite part of the program but I decided to be a stickler and follow the plan to the letter (except for the so-called gall bladder stone purge which makes no sense whatsoever from an anatomical, physiological or gastrointestinal perspective). At times my energy level was very low and at others quite high. They warn of something called a 'healing crisis' which is the body's reaction to having a hard reset done to it. I think I had at least one of those.
Side effects? Few really but I did notice that I had a lot of secretions on my tongue. Think of what your tongue looks like the morning after a night of heavy drinking. Now imagine that happening three times a day for a couple of weeks. From what I can reason and have read, the tongue is a place where toxins are excreted when given the opportunity to purge. I am glad to say that towards the end, the level of excretion tailed off dramatically. Also, my breath had a septic, ammonia-like smell. My research has led me to conclude that this is the result of metabolizing proteins and my body's attempts to process and eliminate the excess nitrogen (ammonia is NH3). This has basically gone away now that I have ended my detox and am consuming protein again.
Net results? I feel better than I did before the detox. I have lost 20 lbs or so (didn't weigh myself before or after but my clothes are definitely fitting better). I have also developed a new-found appreciation for food and how I consume it. Before, I tended to wolf things down which robbed me of really enjoying them and led to me frequently overeating as well as poor digestion and other GI distress like IBS. Now I chew more slowly and have a better idea of when my body has had enough.
I have made and am sticking to some resolutions about food and eating. First, I only buy organic food now unless there is absolutely no other alternative. I also try to buy food where I can identify where it was grown. For example, recently I bought some buffalo meat from a local rancher where I could see the buffalo and where they range. There is something profound about having such a tangible connection to one's food.
Second, I have instituted a 'single ingredient' rule. At the store I won't buy anything that has more than one ingredient. This helps me assess the healthfulness of each item I consume as well as keeping me away from all processed, prepared and pre-packaged foods. I find that there is nothing that I miss shopping this way. It also has me be more conscious and aware of what ingredients go into what I cook.
Net-net. I feel better, more energetic, more positive and calmer. I am excited by how changing how and what I eat will lead to better quality of life for me.
Time Off and Time Away
I started a 3 1/2 month leave from Amazon in mid-December. I had personally reached a point where I was running on fumes and needed some time and space to process and resolve a lot of the stuff that has happened in the past year or so in my personal life.
I love Amazon. It has captured my heart and imagination for more than 10 years (longer than either of my marriages, I might add). I have never been somewhere where there is an opportunity to learn and grow as much, as diversely and as quickly. But it can be all-consuming. Or perhaps Amazon attracts people with that particular gene. In my time there, I have seen that those who are successful and thrive there have a relentless dedication to always doing better, serving the customer (really, this is not a BS platitude) and never settling for second best. This is what makes it so vibrant.
My time off has been terrific so far. For the first week or so, I slept about 10 hours every night and took a nap in the middle of the day. I didn't realize how drained I had let myself become. I was lethargic and had little energy. I wasn't particularly emotionally resilient either. I really needed the time to reinvent, reinvigorate and reconnect with myself.
I love Amazon. It has captured my heart and imagination for more than 10 years (longer than either of my marriages, I might add). I have never been somewhere where there is an opportunity to learn and grow as much, as diversely and as quickly. But it can be all-consuming. Or perhaps Amazon attracts people with that particular gene. In my time there, I have seen that those who are successful and thrive there have a relentless dedication to always doing better, serving the customer (really, this is not a BS platitude) and never settling for second best. This is what makes it so vibrant.
My time off has been terrific so far. For the first week or so, I slept about 10 hours every night and took a nap in the middle of the day. I didn't realize how drained I had let myself become. I was lethargic and had little energy. I wasn't particularly emotionally resilient either. I really needed the time to reinvent, reinvigorate and reconnect with myself.
Dream It, Cook It, Eat It Postmortem
I did have the meal I discussed in a previous post back in early December. It went off marvelously. Started with the caprese salad, followed by freshly made pasta with shaved white truffles, a veal osso bucco and a chocolate granache for dessert. All in all, I think it was great and everyone pitched in and had a terrific time both preparing and eating the food. There was even a genuine Italian (tm) attending.
At this point I am scheming my next big dinner. Thinking it will be French this time.
At this point I am scheming my next big dinner. Thinking it will be French this time.
Picking Up (No)Where (Near Where) I Left Off
As I suspected, I am a 'binge blogger.' You know the sort. Kind of like the binge drinker, binge eater, binge exerciser, binge worker. 'Bingers' have little staying power. We dabble and have too little fortitude to do things on a consistent basis. We are also known as 'power samplers.' I'd like to believe that this has to do with there being too many fascinating things to do and try for the amount of time available coupled with my chronically poor ability to plan, prioritize and have any sort of real repeatable routine in my life. Needless to say, here's round two of blog dabbling.
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