For Your Reading Enjoyment

I just thought I would point out that fellow climber Brittnay Moorcraft also has a blog, far superior to mine, on Tumblr.  You might want take a peak at her training and thoughts about the climb as well.  So click here: http://kiliclimbforlife.tumblr.com/.

Also, there is a great article on WaterCan's Kilimanjaro Climb for Life in the current issue of GreenLiving Online.  They even  mention yours truly, which I think is pretty cool.  http://greenlivingonline.com/article/climb-conquer-water-crisis.

I hope you enjoy the readings!

So Is This A Bucket List Thing?

When people find out I am going to climb Kilimanjaro they invariably ask me why. Most seem to think it is has something to do with me going through a mid life crisis.  Others wonder if it has been a life long dream that I am fulfilling. The truth is I had never even thought about climbing Kilimanjaro, not even notionally. 

What I had been thinking about is getting back into international work.  My daughter has turned 16 and doesn't need her parents around as much.  And after years of working on Canadian water issues, I thought it might be a good time to refocus on work in Africa and Latin America, where clean water issues seem so much more pressing than they do here. So I had started exploring those opportunities.

Just by chance, my friend and fellow climber, Kerry Freek, who is the Editor of Water Canada magazine, announced that she would be climbing Kilimanjaro and was holding a fundraiser in support of WaterCan.  So I went to the fundraiser simply to support Kerry and send some cash WaterCan's way (The picture above is of me with my pals, and fellow water advocates, Gerald Kennedy and Anthony Watanabe from Kerry's Blue Bash fundraiser).

Well, later in the evening, probably after I had had one or two pints more than I should, and my judgement was impaired, Kerry introduced me to George Yap, WaterCan's Executive Director.  During our chat, I muttered something along the lines of "What an amazing opportunity to support a great cause. I wish I would get invited to particpate in such things."

I guess I got invited, because the next thing I know, I am waking up my wife Agi at about 1 a.m. saying "I'm going to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in October!" to which she replied "No you are not.  Now go to bed."  Lol. 

When we woke up, I explained things, she understood that I was serious and by 10 a.m. I had officially become one of WaterCan's Kilimanjaro climbers.

I am sure the climb will be terribly exciting and demanding, but what I am most looking forward to is spending a week visiting communities in Tanzania to see, first hand, the clean water challenges people face and how WaterCan's efforts are changing lives and bringing hope.

You might not be aware that the climbers are all paying their own way.  So every cent donated goes toward supporting WaterCan's work.  Just $25 will provide a person in Africa with access to clean water and basic sanitation FOR LIFE.  Most of my friends spend at least double that on a single night's bar tab. 

So please open your hearts and wallets and support WaterCan by clicking here. http://give.watercan.com/site/TR/Events/General?px=1008425&pg=personal&fr_id=1040. My personal goal is to raise a minimum of $10,000 and bring clean water to over 400 people. 

So there you have it.  There's my motivation.  And when I get back I will have some new stories to tell.  I think my friends are getting a little tired of me retelling the old ones ... even though they get better and better every time I tell them. :)

A Developing Theme

I was just reading back through some of my old posts. Aside from consistently poor grammar (semi on purpose) I have noticed a theme developing.  To steal a term from Bruce Cockburn, it could be called "shipwrecked at the stable door" because most of the time I am drawing attention to the breaks in my training regime and the resulting consequences/mishaps. 

I should point out, however, that I REALLY am training most of the time.  I am training way more than not training.  And it's all good.  I love it.  It takes up about 2 hours of my week day and a lot more than that on the weekend.  So when I am training, I just don't have as much time to blog. It's as simple as that.

And let's face it, talking about the lapses in my training, giving in to temptations, etc. are way funnier than me going on about how much I run and hike, killer core training exercises, how much fibre I am getting, and my thoughts on how to spice up your workout attire.  Snore!!!

I'll try to mix it up a little more going forward.  If I am going to be accused of having a one track mind, I'd like it to be for completely other reasons.  I am talking about my passion for the environment of course.  Get your minds out of the gutter!

The Sound of a Hiccup

My old knee injury started acting up last Wednesday.  So I haven't trained in almost a week.  I have been just a bit too sore and I didn't want to push myself and really screw things up. I will start up again tomorrow with a lighter workout and slowly get back into the full routine (Parenthetically, that is exactly the advice our Vet gave for my daughter's horse, but that's another story altogether). Think I will replace running with something low impact like cycling or an eliptical workout for the time being.

Here is what I have noticed.  I feel sluggish, bored and generally unmotivated and I am spending more time on Facebook. Ugh!  And the cravings ... holy crap on a cracker!  I am having MONDO CRAVINGS for pizza, potato chips, pop and beer.  Oh damn, I sooooo want beer ... and lots of it.  Fortunately, my wife Agi, has been trying to keep me on the straight and narrow, well, except for the potato chips.  She loves them too.  Who knew All Dressed could be that delicious!  I really indulged the beer craving late last week too.  And it took a few days to recover, but that might be because of the Sangria the next night.  It's hot out.  So sue me!

I guess it is like a hole in the dike.  When one part of the regime goes, the rest comes crashing down soon afterwards.  I probably should have kept doing some type of exercise instead of stopping completely.  And I was getting so fond of having a six pack too.  So I am really looking forward to getting back into the swing of things tomorrow.

On the upside, one of my buddies has promised a sizable donation to WaterCan if I get a picture of myself with a lit cigar at the top of Kili (He wanted me holding a case of beer too, but I talked him down.  lol).  I don't think we will be on top of Uhuru Peak for very long, but you know it has to be done! Am I right or am I right?

The fundraising is going well.  Thank you for asking.  I am just a wee bit shy of $9,000 right now and we have close to 3 months left before we go.  So I am confident that, through your generous support, my participation in WaterCan's  Kilimanjaro Climb For Life will bring clean water and sanitation FOR LIFE to over 400 people.  And that will change lives.  I was looking at some stats.  When you bring water to a community in Africa, school participation rates go up by something like upwards of 65%.  That blows me away!

So thank you for your continued support everyone.  Please keep it up.  Fit and focused Chris should be back in no time.      

Is There Anybody Out There?

Does anyone actually read this blog?  Not a single comment.  Hmmm.