April 29, 2013

Please Stop Smoking

I really like you. I don’t only recognize you as another human being, I specifically like you. You’re unique, spunky, brilliant and a very nice person overall. It makes me smile to know you’re around.

Please don’t light another cigarette. Every time you do, it takes a little away from you. Ever so slowly, it drains your living breath, the strength of your health and the marvelous capabilities of your body to regenerate, to stave off illness, to thrive. It grays out your skin, like it grays out my hopes for your well-being. It fades you away.

I beg of you. Don’t inhale that poison disguised as a little break or a small treat. It was designed, refined and marketed to enslave your brain, to mistake its pervasive devastation with a false sense of pleasure. It is meticulously killing you.

All the other things you envision for your health are methodically destroyed every time you take your two fingers to your lips. Your sleep isn’t as restorative; your conscious efforts at better nutrition are leveled to nothing; your attention to being physically active is annulled. And a thin layer of a deathly residue is applied inside of you. Every single time.

Please don’t wait for physical signs to show up, emerging outside of you to mirror the extent of the damage being done inside. This is the only body you’ll ever have, and it is the carrier of your life, your spirit and your whole self.

You still have many challenges ahead of you. To surmount them, you need strength, determination and vital energy. They all lie in you, but they are slowly being taken away, every time you draw a puff instead of taking a breath of fresh air.

Please find the will to take a first step. Place yourself ahead of everything, and prepare for a fight. You can do this. Start it in your head before, if you need, before you embody it. But go get your life force back. There is nothing more important than this. Make this your first move.

Please.

Stop smoking.


April 24, 2013

Leatherman’s Loop 2013 : Beauty All Around

Beauty before me when I run.
Beauty behind me when I run.
Beauty below me when I run.
Beauty above me when I run.
Beauty beside me when I run.
Beauty within me when I run.


I see Beauty all around.
In beauty may I walk.
In beauty may I see.
In beauty may we all be. - Danny The Lion



I love running for all that it brought me in terms of well-being, freedom and health. But above and beyond all that, I love running for the connections it creates. I spent last weekend basking in the warm friendship of these connections, old and new. And I feel rejuvenated, positive, happy.

I first heard of the Leatherman’s Loop from my friend the White Horse, who said last year we should all run it together as a quick post-UMCB reunion. “These people”, he told me, “you will love. They get it.” The Leatherman’s Loop turned out to be my first run after Micah disappeared, a moment of abysmal sadness, but also my first moment of hope. I was welcomed with open arms by a whole community of complete strangers who instantly turned into family. I met Christy Little Wings, El Copadre Tony, Gerry the Red Zorro and Eamonn who runs like the wind, Kurt, Dean, Mike, Rob and so many others.

Coming back this year was, as were many other experiences over the past year, like completing a circle. I like that the event happens right after the last clouds of winter, as the first blue skies of spring start to light up life again. And as each spring brings new wonders and discoveries, so did this year’s Leatherman’s Loop. I was hosted by race founder Dave Cope in his beautiful house by the lake, with circling red-tailed hawks over the peaceful, quiet forest. I spent fantastic moments, sitting in the van, just talking about life and its struggles, then I was taught to juggle. I saw my friend El Copadre being honored by a whole community who recognizes the values of curiosity, storytelling and the preservation of history. I shared trails with friends, old and new.


We all shivered together, Sunday morning on the starting line. Dean and his gorgeous wild mane, Kurt with his Jesus sandals, Olaf with my shoes, Christy with a cheek-to-cheek grin, Gerry with his game face on, and me with way too many layers of clothing. All was good in the world. Danny stepped up and blessed us with beauty, then someone rang a cowbell. Everyone, including Santa Claus and the orange-haired troll, rampaged down the open field. The Leatherman’s Loop was on again.

Since Kurt was wearing his feathered adventure hat, we ran singing the Indiana Jones theme. Sadly, we lost Gorgeous Dean somewhere before the first river crossing, but we pressed on, mixing running, tree-dodging and mud skating. We splished and we splashed and, of course, it was over way too soon, but not before Kurt found a way to end up barefoot again.

I completed my run passing the mariachis, grinning and laughing, with mud stains up to my ears, high-fiving the other finishers and stuffing my face with bananas and a fantastic new discovery called an “everything bagel”. I can’t see a better way to spend a Sunday morning.

I will be back again at The Leatherman’s Loop, to swim in the mud of course, but mostly to be totally surrounded by the beauty and happiness that warms my heart and fills me with pure joy.

Beauty.

All around.










April 15, 2013

Review : Teeccino Herbal Coffees and TeeChia Cereal

  • Type : Nutrition / hydration
  • Use : Coffee replacement / breakfast cereal
  • Price : Varies / $0,50 - $12

Introduction
Let’s clear something up right away: I’m a coffee drinker, and I like the good stuff. I think that one of the most amazing taste experiences you can have is a black, single-shot espresso in a Milan coffee shop. So when Teeccino offered to send me samples of their coffee alternative products… I was far from convinced I was the right guy for the job. To make sure I could provide a sound opinion on the products, I recruited a decaffeinated coffee expert and herbal tea enthusiast, and mixed her comments with mine.

I received a sampling of single-serve “Tee-Bags”, herbal coffee pouches for home brewing and chia-based breakfast cereal. What got me first was the healthy side of these products, as everything is natural and organic, has no added sugars or chemical ingredients and is gluten-free.

For the sake of clarity, let me present each product line separately.


Herbal Coffee
Although the product is herbal and packaged in a tea bag, it is meant to be a natural replacement for coffee and is separated into two flavor types. “Mediterranean” is a fruitier, sweeter-tasting blend, while “Maya” sticks closer to the bold, slightly acidic taste of real coffee. As a coffee lover, I preferred the latter, with “French Roast” being my favorite. My helper conquered, but was more enthusiastic than me about flavored blends like “Hazelnut” (which is not bad, I have to say) and “Vanilla nut”.

As a coffee replacement, this is much closer to the real taste of coffee than other herbal products I have tried, and definitely more palatable. I had never come across a coffee replacement that I would actually enjoy before, so Teeccino definitely impressed me in that perspective. The “Tee-Bag” format is also very practical for cubicle-dwellers like me, as all you need to brew your beverage is hot water.

Herbal Coffee Pouches
This is a granular, powdered version of the “Tee-Bag”. Since I am a dude, said my co-tester, I didn’t bother reading the instructions on the pouch and used a similar quantity of the powder as I would have for ground coffee in my Moka pot. My eyeballs almost jumped off my face. The mix was so strong and concentrated that I had to throw it away. After some experimenting, I figured that a 4:1 ratio works best (1/4th the quantity of Teeccino mix for ground coffee of equivalent strength) for my taste. I was impressed to see that the herbal mix provided a bit of crema (the creamy foam on top of good espresso), something I did not expect. For science, we also brewed the mix in a drip-coffeemaker with decent results (none of the testers like coffee made in a drip machine anyway).

There’s something really neat about the granular format: you can use the mix WITH ground coffee to either alter the flavor or reduce the caffeine content of your caffeinated beverage. I think Teeccino’s taste is good enough to actually complement a coffee, and not ruin its taste. And that speaks a lot for the product.


TeeChia Cereal Mixes
This is a field where I hold a bit more significant experience; I regularly consume pinole (fine-ground corn) and hemp oatmeal for breakfast. TeeChia offers a mix of rolled oats, seeds and dried fruits, mainly in two different flavors: blueberry and cranberry. The preparation is straightforward enough: add hot water and mix.

Although the quality of the product is undeniable, I found myself reaching over for the maple syrup to add a little flavor to my morning mix. This is truer for the cranberry mix, as the blueberry-flavored one is stronger in taste and, in my opinion, better. However, TeeChia is a great base to add dried fruits, nuts or other goodies for a wholesome, healthy breakfast. It packs a good nutrition punch, too, with its 6g of protein, antioxidant content and 6g of dietary fiber.

Conclusion
If you are trying to decrease your coffee intake or cease it altogether, Teeccino is definitely something you should check out. I won’t go as far as say you’d mistake it for coffee, but I don’t think this is the product’s point anyway. Teeccino presents a rich roasted flavor typical of what you like from a good coffee, while offering many health benefits worth considering. The French Roast, in my opinion, is a clear cut above the rest in terms of taste and overall value.

TeeChia cereal packs a lot of nutrition and healthy ingredients in a small, easy-to-carry packet. As a commuting runner, this is a good, simple breakfast option. And at about $2 per serving, it’s very reasonably priced compared to other healthy options.



High points
  • Organic ingredients
  • Healthy nutritional content
  • Reasonable price per portion
  • Many packaging options

Low points
  • Dosage of the powdered Teeccino takes a bit of getting used to
  • You might want to slice a banana or sprinkle dried strawberries to add to your TeeChia




The material for this personal review was supplied by Teeccino free of charge, without any conditions.

April 10, 2013

Dropping Out

It started out with my friend Dan. A couple years back, he decided he had enough of the 9-to-5 life and quit a really, really good job to go see the world. It’s not all roses and paradise, but he’s never looked back. Then Vez took off for a year. Then I started ultra running and met Sweeney, Shacky, Vanessa, Mike Miller, Olaf and a ton of others who simply wouldn’t accept routine anymore and decided to live a real life, which does not include slaving away for 40 hours every week.

I thought they were either very rich or really crazy, and likely a bit of both.

But it got me thinking. It got me looking at my own life differently and seeded a yearning that never went away. I want my life to be filled with adventures, I want to go with the flow, follow my instincts, wherever they take me. Mike Miller helped me realize it; I’m a disperser. Deep down inside, I’m a nomad.

So I made the move. I’m going off-grid.

I’m leaving on a sabbatical. I’m selling my car, downgrading my motorcycle and subletting my apartment. I’ve cut down on buying crap and saved some money, and I lowered my available salary to compensate my revenue while I’m gone. In a little over two months, I’m going to be homeless. And it feels awesome.

I’m going to pack only what I really need and stuff it into El Capitan, my $1,300 used camper van I found in classified ads. Then I hit the road. I’ll travel around Quebec for a part of summer, then head down to the West Coast to go running with my friends. I’ll probably spend fall on the West Coast, with a couple trips back and forth to do fun things like visit my Belle in Montreal and maybe go run in Korea with Dan. I’ll hang out in Boulder, Arizona, New Mexico, California and Texas, not necessarily in that order. My only plan: no plan.

When December closes in, I’ll cross over to Mexico and drive down to the Canyons to hang out with my friend Keith and to attend the annual Rarajipare. I’ll hop over to the Baja at some point, maybe to meet my Belle and drive around for her vacation. I’ll drop by Sayulita if Olaf is still around, then try to convince him to come down to Nicaragua with me for our friend Josue’s awesome volcano race, followed by UMCB of course. The rest is a big blur, and I love it that way.

I’ll use FlintLand as my link with you. I want to take some time to write about places and people, about my running and the events I’ll attend and about living small and free in a camper van. I want to share and connect, explore and discover, experience and struggle.

I want to live.