Our EverGreen Life

A Remarkable Day

 

Doubts filled my mind pedaling up the Old Teton Highway on the last ascent of the 2017 Around the Rock Ride.  With over 140 miles and around 6,000 feet of climbing already completed, my legs were on fire, the gears too big, and I just couldn’t turn the cranks.  Sensing possible cramping, I had to get off and push my bike up the sections registering between a ten and twelve percent incline on the Garmin.  It wasn’t how I imagined myself completing the ride, and it certainly won’t be remembered by the Fitzgerald’s crew as one of the best times.  However, this event was a personal victory for me. 

 

Gathering for the "Ride of Passage"

 

The whole affair began at 6:00 A.M.  This year around 40 participants registered to ride.  Most of the cyclists participating in this friendly competition had previously completed the loop around the Grand Tetons, were all more seasoned ultra-endurance cyclist’s than I, and had youth on their side.  In fact, this was my first “race” in twenty-six years.  Sponsored by Fitzgerald’s Bikes and attended by Salsa Cycles, this event is underrated, but when word gets out I’m sure it will go down as one of the premier mixed-surface gravel rides in America because of its level of difficulty and incredible scenery.  Fitzgerald’s dubs it, “An Annual Ride of Passage.”

 

Not a great photo (I was very focused on the ride) but a little hint of what you will see

 

Other facts about the ride are the following:  it begins and ends in Victor, Idaho at Fitzgerald’s Bike Shop; the loop is 154-miles long; if you should choose to participate, you will complete over 8,900 feet of climbing in a day; the loop goes around the Grand Tetons and through the park; the scenery is breathtaking; the event is entirely self-supported (you navigate, take all your own supplies, and are expected to be 100% responsible for all aspects of your well-being and safety); it takes between nine and twelve hours to complete depending on your level of fitness, experience, and skill; the only prizes for completing the ride are cheers from other participants when you finish and free beer.  (The cheers, heart-felt congratulations, high-fives, and knuckle bumps were all I took in.)

Here are a few insights I gained through this life-changing experience:

• What I’m doing, my 12-step challenge, works well for me; most of all, I enjoy an abundance of energy and seemingly  super-human recovery rates. Conventional wisdom is that you’re not supposed to be able to do this kind of crap at my age. I’m fifty, returned home at 11:00 P.M. from an ultra-endurance cycling event, was up at 6:00 A.M. the next morning for more than one hour of farm chores, do not hurt, and feel ready to start training again tomorrow. Is the balanced intake of nutrients from The Daily Dozen responsible?  Is it the absence of meat, dairy, and other highly refined foods in my diet?  Yoga?  What about my overall lifestyle?  The love and support of a dear friend and my immediate family?  All of the above?  It has been suggested to me that a low inflammation diet and lifestyle provide the energy and recovery rates I’m feebly attempting to describe.  My intuition tells me that although diet plays the biggest role in accounting for these phenomena, other factors (yoga, support, rest, etc.) certainly have a role in this too.

• Making a big commitment public and soliciting support from others helps you to accomplish ambitious goals. Originally, I announced my intentions to do this “ride of passage” to my wife and son. Then, I informed my students and coworkers at school of my plans.  Last but not least, I posted my goal on this blog.  Although I’m sure that people are inherently good and would not criticize me for failing to follow through with it all, I felt the weight of all that accountability.  This form of healthy peer pressure inspired me to finish the ride when I the thought of quitting briefly entered my mind.  Likewise, making your goals public will attract like-minded people who will support you.  One of my sources of inspiration and mentor, a long-time best friend, supported my dream.  An experienced endurance cyclist himself, he planned on completing the ride with me in order to provide encouragement and moral support.  After competing in the Rockwell Relays in Southern Utah, a grueling road cycling event in its own right, he was injured.  Don surprised me by offering to drive me to and from the event, paying for my expenses, checking in on me at various points in the ride, and doing the last big climb with me.

• I’m still learning how to be in the moment and celebrate. I was one of the last athletes to finish, and before coming in I analyzed my performance, trying to plan how to do it better next time. This was a mistake!  The other finishers were amazing, supportive, and provided me with the gift of their praise.  This, in turn, reminded me to savor the experience of the ride.  To just celebrate is what I most need to take with me from this ride.  For those like me attempting to recover from unhealthy perfectionist tendencies, learning this life-lesson is a must.

Thoughts on Step Eleven of My Wellness Challenge and Training

One of Four 100-Mile Training Rides

I've already put in a few miles this year, 2574 to be exact.  Preparing for a 12 hour, 154-mile, gravel bike ride around the Grand Tetons required some planning and commitment, considering that for the duration of that time period I worked full-time as teacher on weekdays and part-time as a farmer on weekends.  Not to mention, I started a comprehensive wellness challenge.  But my work is done!  In about thirty hours, I'll put my training to the test.

 

Some of the preparation was not fun.  I embraced the exercise most of the time, even doing sets of painful 1000 foot climbs to the top of Salt River Pass.  The weather, however, was sometimes less than ideal.  On one memorable ride, a thunderstorm caught me on a dirt road.  Within minutes my  wheels and entire bike were clogged with mud; consequently, I had to shoulder it a mile to pavement, strip down to my tights, and jump in an ice-cold stream to wash off all the sticky goo in order to continue the ride.  After that, things got even more exciting.  Following 4000 feet of climbing and a total of 80 miles, I was pelted with headwinds and driving rain for the last twenty.  It took several hours after returning home to raise my core body temperature and stop shivering.

"You race to train," I remember a good friend saying.  The 154-mile, mixed surface bike race I will attempt on Saturday has motivated me to give up politics and news, television, most social media, a few dinner invitations with family and friends, and more.  Sacrifice?  Nope, I've gained a lot.  I honestly do not remember the last time I felt so fit and strong.  What's more,  I've learned to be more mindful of how to spend each precious moment of life.  (Part of the deal was not neglect family, to even strengthen bonds with loved ones through acts of service while completing my year-long, wellness challenge.)  The ATR (Around The Rock) is an unsanctioned, self-supported bike race.  After recovering, I'll post more about this experience.
 

It's Been Way Too Long

 

Life has thrown me a curve ball.  With snow pack in the Salt River Range at 200% above normal, some flooding is happening near my home.  My house is well beyond any danger from the water spilling over the riverbank, but flooded pastureland a couple of hundred yards from my property has raised the water table under my home.  We installed drains, sump tanks, and pumps for this purpose years ago, but the job was only around 85% finished; however, with some time, labor, and money the system has been completed.  It works!  Still, my septic system is under water and unusable.  The whole situation is inconvenient, demands my attention and time, requires the use of my financial reserves, but is certainly not the end of my world.

Instead of devoting my full attention to my twelve-step wellness challenge, I’ve been forced to make some compromises.  For a brief moment, I was tempted to scrap my plans and restart this health experiment, but my better judgement prevailed.  I hit the pause button on some minor parts of my challenge (minimalism and blogging), cut back a little on other aspects (training for the bike race), but continued full-steam ahead with other aspects of my plan (the daily dozen, meditation, and yoga).  Above all, the step of service is at the top of my twelve challenges. To make my wife and son more comfortable, I DIY’d a grey water system so we can wash dishes, use the washing machine, and bathe.  In addition, I’ve fully recommitted myself to my organic vegetable farm and providing some the best produce available to thirty-five families.

Thank goodness school has ended because I can farm and make the time to fully reengage in the challenge.  The following four observations came to me during the past several weeks:

Meditation is a very powerful tool.  I tend towards being an all-or-nothing guy.  This is very useful most of the time, except when things go wrong.  Being forced to serve the comforts of my wife and family by readying our home to deal with the rising water table required me to sacrifice some of the time and energy devoted to my challenge.  As usual, my mind worked me over a bit.  I found myself comparing my journey to other inspirational stories, like Andrew (Spud-Fit) Taylor or Rich Roll.  The compromises required of me spurred the temptation to bag it all.  However, I strongly feel that my meditation practice allowed me to let go of negative thinking, eliminate self-inflicted, unrealistic comparisons, and think things through.  In the end, I feel I made good decisions because of meditation.  The simple practice of paying attention to my breath and letting thoughts and feelings pass on by has taught me how to stay with discomfort, let go of all things negative, and patiently wait for clarity.

 A well-balanced diet counts too.  Although I have no reference to support my assumptions, I feel that the balanced diet produced by sticking to the guidelines provided by the Daily Dozen program results in extremely stable blood-sugar levels.  Consuming a wide variety of plant-based foods (vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts and seeds, legumes, greens, and more) keeps all the systems in my body steady and full-functioning.  This too enabled me to keep a level head, maintain great energy reserves to work long hours, and have that extra spark to continue training for my 154-mile bike race around the Tetons.

 Yoga is the foundation of my fitness and overall health.  Long ago, I arrived at this conclusion.  The first time flooding occurred six years ago—a wake-up call and blessing in disguise—I fell apart emotionally, mentally, and physically.  For whatever reason, I chose yoga to heal myself physically.  Since that time, I have reconnected with skiing and cycling.  Bombing down double black diamonds and pedaling up, down, through, and around the Bridger-Teton forest has occupied most of my down-time over the past five years.  I have remained relatively injury free (except for an encounter with a cow moose). I credit my lack of injuries to yoga; it gives me strength, flexibility, coordination, and balance.  Later I came to realize that my practice has also helped me to develop presence and calmness of mind.  My hour and a half of yoga each morning was manna from heaven during this year’s flooding.  Yoga makes me feel really good, allows me work really hard, and reduces my anxiety.

Physical activity is a great antidote for stress.  My training rides have been shorter than planned, but more intense.  I’ve enjoyed taking my frustration out on my legs, and in the process my heart and lungs have become stronger.  I’ve noticed how at fifty I literally bounce up and down stairs with ease, even after a full day of farm work, yoga, and cycling.  In my early forties, this was certainly not the case. (I was winded after climbing a half set of stairs, a memory that still haunts me.)  This is certainly one less major stress.  I feel very well; better, in fact, than I felt in my thirties.  Life Is Good!

Week One of My Wellness Challenge and Dr. Michael Greger's Daily Dozen

 

Over the past week, I have observed that Dr. Greger's "Daily Dozen" program has altered my eating habits.  With a simple tap on the app, I am able to record what I consume each meal or snack.  This has allowed me to be more mindful about my eating!  Before I was worried that I was eating too much grain or too many nuts.  Now, I find myself eating a lot more fruits and veggies.  Once my daily allotment of servings for a particular item is filled, I have to move on to other categories of food from this list.  I have observed this approach has allowed me to be more balanced in what I eat.  According to the good doctor, the daily dozen will provide me with the full spectrum of nutrients I need to fight, prevent, and reverse diet-related diseases.

 

The Daily Dozen Smartphone App

Another improvement I've noticed is that I am better able to properly hydrate.  Each time I look at the app, I remember that I need to drink water.  (Sixty ounces is difficult to fit in at the last moment.)  Now when I look at my phone, I remember to drink plenty of H2O before eating.  This, of course, fills my stomach, and I feel more satisfied with the nutrient-dense, whole plant foods I consume.  Brilliant!  I feel better and  have observed an increase in my drive and energy. Perhaps this is just the initial high from undertaking this challenge, a placebo effect.  It could also be the combination of the other parts of my 12-step wellness challenge too, but it is also possible that this balanced, nutritious diet plan really works.

Dr. Michael Greger is a rock star of nutrition.  He is the creator and driving force behind NutritionFacts.org and the author of the groundbreaking book How Not to Die.   I strongly recommend you take some time to visit his Website and read this book.  You will be rewarded with the best education possible on diet and nutrition.  The essence of his work is contained in his "Daily Dozen" recommendation.  He claims (and supports with good research) that these foods will prevent, reverse, and treat heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and more.  I've personally connected with his work because of its reliance on evidence-based findings.  Dr. Greger and his team of one dozen researchers scrutinize both past and present trends related to diet and nutrition by tracing research reports and scientific studies to their original sources, examining the reliability of the research, and exposing conflicts of interest when they exist.  Through this exhausting labor to uncover the truth about diet, his audience is presented with the most complete picture on this topic available.  He offers the following nutritional and health advice:

 

1.  Eat 3 servings of legumes a day

-1/4 cup of hummus or bean dip

-1/2 cup of cooked beans, split peas, lentils, tofu, or tempeh

-1 cup of fresh peas or sprouted lentils

 

2.  Eat 1 serving of berries a day

-1/2 cup of fresh or frozen

-1/4 cup dried

 

3. 3 servings a day of other fruits

-1 medium sized fruit

-1 cup of cut-up fruit

-1/4 cup dried fruit

 

4. Cruciferous vegetables (1 serving a day)

-1/2 cup chopped

-1/4 cup brussel or broccoli sprouts

-1 tablespoon of horseradish

 

5. Eat 2 servings of greens a day

-1 cup raw

-1/2 cup cooked

 

6. Other veggies (2 servings a day)

-1 cup raw leafy vegetables

-1/2 cup of raw or cooked non leafy veggies

-1/2 cup vegetable juice

-1/4 cup dried mushrooms

 

7. Flaxseed (1 serving a day)

-1 tablespoon ground

 

8. Eat 1 serving a day of nuts

-1/4 cup of nuts or seeds

-2 tablespoons of nut or seed butter

 

9.  Add a little spice to your life

-1/4 teaspoon of tumeric

-other salt-free herbs and spices

 

10. Whole grains (3 servings a day)

-1/2 cup hot cereal, cooked grains, pasta, or corn kernels

-1 cup cold cereal

-1 tortilla or slice of bread

-1/2 of a bagel or English muffin

-3 cups of popped popcorn

 

11. 5 servings of healthy beverages a day

-12 ounces per serving of water or tea

 

12. Exercise once a day

-90 minutes of moderate intensity activity

-40 minutes of vigorous activity

 

If you want to profoundly change your eating habit and, like me, have had only a degree of success in the past, then maybe this program is for you.  Consider joining me, even it's for just a few weeks.

Twelve Steps To Wellness

By Shain Saberon

March 30, 2017

 

Good Vibrations

In reaction to a health crisis, I altered my lifestyle.  Over the past five years, I have adopted a plant-based diet, engaged in routine exercise, and consistently performed meditation.   These practice have profoundly improved the quality of my life, but recently I have found my thoughts and energy focused on higher pursuits:  nutrition that heals and energizes the body, a comprehensive approach to wellness, and ultra-endurance athletics. The idea that I need a momentous challenge tailored to my specific needs has consumed my thoughts.  Yes, I have achieved a lot, but I can’t seem to reach what I imagine to be my full potential.

In spite of solid progress (I’ve lost more than one hundred pounds) some visceral fat still clings to my chest and abdomen. Likewise, my temperament and enthusiasm for life are better but not as good as I would like them to be. Last but not least, I still have a few bad habits I would like to kick.  I feel that a consequential amount of residue from the standard American lifestyle—one of less than optimal health, one of quiet desperation and negativity, of detachment from meaningful relationships to people and things, and a life lacking engagement in the variety of adventure that fully connects one to the natural world—still exists in my life.  I cannot shake all of my old ways, some of which almost killed me.  These behaviors are sold to us by the minute on the radio, social media, and television.  And I struggle with this.  Making change also feels complicated because it seems my coworkers, friends, neighbors, and even some family members view bucking the American way of life with suspicion.

Nope, Not There Yet

One night these thoughts and feelings suddenly erupted.  On March 1, 2017 while preparing food for the coming days, I played two Rich Roll podcasts (MICHAEL GREGER, M.D. ON HOW NOT TO DIE and RRP 254, JULIE PIATT, HOW TO BUILD AN AUTHENTIC BRAND).  At 2 A.M. the following morning, I woke up contemplating a personal 12-step wellness challenge and got out of bed to put my thoughts to paper.  The idea here, if not already clear , is to follow steps similar to those addicts take to become sober and recover.  My drugs have been unhealthy foods, a very negative attachment to the sensationalized coverage of politics in mainstream media, materialism, and anger or dissatisfaction with people and events in my life.  I will give myself the gift of this twelve-step wellness challenge on my fiftieth birthday.  Hopefully, these changes will stick, and I will evolve to a higher state of being.  The details and findings of this experiment will be recorded  on this blog.  I propose to do the following for a full year:

1. Eat the recommended number of servings of each selection from Dr. Greger's “Daily Dozen” every day.  (In the case of illness, I will only eat the items from his list appropriate to my situation.)
2. Develop, refine, and perfect the use of one dozen go-to menus following Dr. Greger's dietary guidelins that my non-vegan family will eat too.
   
3. Produce my own vegetables or purchase as needed 12 whole-food plant items that can be obtained locally and/or organically.
   
4. Identify, eliminate, and replace processed food items from my diet.
   
5. Practice mindfulness two times per day through meditation/prayer with an emphasis on gratitude, love, and kindness.
6. Let go of at least one negative item for 12 months.  (For me it’s politics and news, but I will see if I can identify and eliminate more.)
7. Plan and carry out 12 significant events to fortify relationships with family, strengthen bonds with friends, and build community over the course of one year through acts of kindness, service,  and wholesome recreation.
8. Simplify life through minimalism.
9. Commit to getting the proper amount of quality rest every day by meditating before bed and keeping a regular schedule.
10. Regularly heal the body through mindful movement.  (I will commit to practice Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga for a minimum of one-half an hour but will usually complete 1 to 1.5 hours six days per week.)
11. Train for 12 months and complete multiple endurance athletic events. (I will finish a minimum of a half dozen cycling events, some organized, others contrived by me, with most events from one to two hundred miles in length.)
12.  Schedule and fulfill a minimum of six health related checkups. (I’m thinking of a combination of both alternative and conventional:  full physicals, traditional blood work, ayurevdic medical consultations, dental checkups, vision screenings, microbiological checkups, etc.)