Month: June 2024

fitness

Rome’s challenges,  or Sam’s challenges in Rome really

Sam B1 Comment

I’ve written about all the walking here. I’m feeling pretty proud of all those steps. It’s been years since I’ve been able to do this, and I’m grinning lots.

But it’s not been all grins.

There have been some grimaces.

First,  we walked up and down thousands of steps.  So many steps.  Often, they were uneven, and pretty much none of them had handrails.  I guess ancient Rome wasn’t big on handrails.  Sarah helped, and sometimes I went solo.

Second,  there was a lot of standing in galleries looking at art. What’s frustrating are all the chairs in galleries that you can’t sit on. Yes,  I know why.  They’re old chairs.  They’re also there to keep people the right distance from the art. I did look longingly at them. 

But I made it.

Thanks to the team at Defy Physiotherapy.  Thanks to the knee surgeon,  Dr. Naudie, and his team.  Thanks to the University of Guelph for having the best physio benefits. Thanks Sarah and Jeff and my mum and all the friends and family who’ve helped out along the way.

And thanks past me for doing all the work. There’s more work ahead,  but I’m feeling pretty good right now.

View from the Spanish steps
Here we are at the top Castel Sant ‘Angelo.
Our bikes, waiting patiently for us to refuel. They don't need refueling. Coffee ride redux
cycling · fitness

Coffee ride redux

catherine w

Yes, it’s back! Catherine and Pata’s coffee ride! This is of no particular importance to anyone other than the principals in the matter. And yet, I’m moved to share this with you, dear FIFI readers.

First, the details: my friend Pata and I have been meeting up for years in Arlington center (pronounced “Ahlingtun centah”), riding up the Minuteman Bike Path to Lexington Centah and stopping at Peet’s Coffee for beverages (which vary according to time and temperature of day, but usually ice coffee for Pata and iced tea/lemonade for me). Then, we either continue on the path to Bedford, possibly turning onto quiet country roads, or we return back to Arlington and go back to our respective homes. Length of ride for me has ranged from 16 miles to 30-plus miles.

As pleasant a summer pastime as this is, Pata and I hadn’t managed to get together on our bikes at the same time and same place this season until last Friday. But get together we did. And ride we did. And stop for coffee we did. Here’s photographic evidence:

Our bikes, waiting patiently for us to refuel. They don't need refueling.
Our bikes, waiting patiently for us to refuel.
Pata, with her blue bike and my black one.
Pata, with her blue bike and my black one.
Us in a selfie, helmeted for safety.
Us in a selfie, helmeted for safety.

I love love love these rides with Pata. We go at an easy pace (a bit more brisk after the coffee), we take in the scene of pedestrians and dogs in Lexington, and I point out the flowering plants. We complain about cyclists going too fast on the multi-use path (there are strollers, dude!), slow way down for families on bikes and older folks with walkers, and say hi to other cyclists we know. It’s a low-key but perfect summer experience.

This summer, between my family visit and Pata’s work travel, this is the first time we managed to do a coffee ride. We have another scheduled for this week, and then we’re both on the road again– me to upstate NY with my aunt Cathy, and Pata to Philly and various other places for work. But we’ll reconvene to cycle and caffeinate and converse and cover ground, all on two wheels (four in total).

Dear readers, what are your low-key summer activities that you particularly love? Let me know in the comments if you’ve got a minute.

fitness

An accidental bike trip

fieldpoppy5 Comments

As you read this, I should be in Vienna, sipping a fancy coffee and eating a Sachertorte. (Followed swiftly by digestive enzymes).

I’m not supposed to be alone — I’m supposed to be here with one of the young women from Uganda I’ve known for 17 years, since she was 9. She’s a remarkable human who works in HR, is doing a master’s in leadership and runs a foundation for girls’ education (as well as parenting a toddler and building a marriage). I thought it would be a fun time for both of us to take her to Europe(TM) for a week or so, so we can spend time together, work on something we’re writing together, and just experience the world differently.

Well, the world thought differently. The incoming European country initially denied her visa for blatantly racist reasons (basically ticking the box that says “yeah, your paperwork is in order, but we don’t believe you’ll leave again after your week’s holiday” [subtext: “Africans are all just swarming our precious borders“]. Then they obfuscated and obstructed for more than four weeks until time ran out when we appealed it. (Deliberate vagueness here for google purposes).

Privilege reveals itself in new ways every day. Here’s how Canadians go to Europe: 1) have a passport; 2) have the money to buy a plane ticket; 3) go to Europe. The only systemic barriers are economic. Here’s how people in sub-saharan africa go to Europe: Submit a complex, 20 page application demonstrating that you have a reason to go (work or formal learning), submit every document proving that you are an upright citizen with a flush bank account and a job, buy specific medical insurance, pay a large fee, and wait for an indifferent bureaucrat to grant you benevolence. And it’s usually a no. (See this piece that notes more than half of African visa applications to visit the 29 european countries in the Schengen region are rejected).

So the trip that was supposed to be with the daughter of my heart is me alone. And I don’t really have a desire to wander the streets of Vienna, Saltzburg and Budapest on my own — so I cobbled together a cycling trip.

Tomorrow, I’ll put together my disassembled bike with no backup. This will be a Feat — I’ve only really done that once, and it wasn’t this bike. Monday, I hope, I’ll wander and rest. Tuesday, I’ll take off on a little ~300 trip over four days, riding from Vienna to Bratislava, then onward to Budapest. I’ll take the train back to Vienna and come home. Totally self-supported. Pretty flat.

Flatter, anyway, than the extravaganza I did two weeks ago, when I did a gear shake out in Ontario. I took the train to the eastern end of the GO commuter line in Oshawa, rode to Peterborough and stayed overnight.

I had a few discoveries on that trip, not least of which was that you’re not allowed to take a bike on a Via train (!) and that Peterborough doesn’t have Uber. My route home was more problematic than I planned. I also discovered that google maps will take you on a bike path that is actually just a 5 km skinny sandtrap. Hence, 110 km instead of the planned 85. And 800 m of ascent.

But that’s cycle touring. There’s the pretty map, and then there’s every turn of the wheel under your feet. I’m pretty good at packing by now (ever smaller panniers for the win!) — but the world is ever surprising. Send me good wishes for the perfect temp and lots of cheese sandwiches.

Fieldpoppy is Cate C-D, who lives on Treaty 13 land and has Big Feelings about privilege and crossing borders.

5 ideas for self-kindness and midlife backpacking
advice · fit at mid-life · fitness · health · hiking · holiday fitness · mobility · traveling · vacation · walking

5 ideas for self-kindness and midlife backpacking

elan.paulson

I grew up with the romantic trope of the adventurous, rangey 20-something backpacker who freely wanders the world for months at a time. I stayed home for grad school in my twenties: the only backpack I carried was with my library books or my groceries. Then, last year at 44, I bought my first travel backpack (a Tortuga 35L), and so far I’ve done two short overseas trips with it (and smaller local trips).

What I lack in experience with worldly backpacking I make up for by watching others. These small midlife backpacking ideas gained learned from my more well-travelled midlife friends have made this style of travel kind and supportive for me. I acknowledge I use them as a privileged, white English-speaking woman travelling to urban and semi-urban places as a foreigner and a guest.

My friend Marnie and her 40L pack, while we were about to leave our guest house in Istanbul.

Lightening the load

My first lessons of midlife backpacking were: pack light (if you wish to avoid luggage checks on planes) and be ready to carry what you pack.

Many travel backpacks today come with a few different clips—across the chest and across the stomach—to distribute the weight of the pack. On my recent trip I left my waist clips at home to reduce overall pack weight; however, I regretted it, as without them the full weight of the pack meant my shoulders got tired faster.

In my pre-travel preparation I saw for sale many funky and clever but bulky and expensive smaller bags and bottles for stuff within the pack. My more experienced travel buds showed me that ziploc bags and plastic water bottles were much lighter, had many different uses, and could be re-used multiple times.

Medicines and their containers

Last time I travelled abroad I got a cold, and it was miserable without the medicines I use. So I was not going to leave them at home again

On my recent trip I kept with me at all times a small key ring capsule with emergency over-the-counter meds, and in my pack I had a larger fold up storage pill container with enough for the whole trip. Some of my friends even travel with (doctor-prescribed) antibiotics and medicines for UTIs, just in case of an emergency.

It may be extra planning and cost, but it is worthwhile to me to bring a range of medicines that can make me feel better if I feel unwell, even if it is unlikely I will get sick.

A large and small pill holder

Foot care and hydration

This year I followed my friend Marnie’s lead and took extra care of my feet: I brought moisture-wicking hiking socks, KT blister prevention tape, moleskin, wound cleaning wipes, waterproof bandages, and foot cream for quick at-night foot massages. When I scraped my foot raw on the submerged rocks while swimming at the beach in Greece, I was able to care for my feet the days following.

As well, I brought a water bladder and water purification tablets. I used them first as a water station in the places we stayed; later I took them along on hikes in 37 degree Celsius weather. I also brought electrolyte tablets, using half of one at a time. As a result, I was never dehydrated and I felt really good at the end of the day. I didn’t need expensive water bottle purchases in remote locations, and it kept my hands free.

Elan at the Saklikent Gorge, Turkey, wearing a bucket hat, sunglasses, shorts, and a backpack with a bladder and hose for hydration.

Apps and digital tools

My friends showed me how to up my mobile game when traveling internationally.

  • Our trip planner, Kim, checks not only directions but also the Google satellite and street views of the places she is going. That way, she can marry written or oral instructions with visible paths and landmarks to confirm wayfinding.
  • Upon Kimi’s recommendation, I used the free version of the DeepL app for real time written and audio language translations. We used the app to chat with some local women on the train as we played cards, and it was a great way to pass the time and make new friends.
  • After I accidentally gave the wrong amount and currency to a store vendor, a Sheila suggested her free version of Units Plus, a currency exchange app that converts two currencies quickly. This app was helpful in places with multiple currencies to avoid overpaying.
  • I used to travel with print books, and I appreciate the serendipity of leaving or finding good books where backpackers stay. However, this time I used Apple Books for a novel, a library travel audio book, and podcasts to pass the time while traveling.

Every app saved pack weight and made the trip a little safer, easier, and more fun.

Give myself and others grace

My midlife-friendly learning on my recent backpacking trip: do what I need to be a little easier on myself and others. Stop and take the pack off. Invest in quick-dry underwear (that really does dry super quick on the line). Take a break for another coffee before I get tired and grumpy later in the day.

Always try to be patient and kind with others, especially those in the travel service industry. Take the time to ask a hotel owner about their family or a server about what they would recommend ordering on the menu.

I learned to embrace the fact I don’t have anything to prove on my backpack travels. Instead, I could exercise the self-understanding that I have acquired by midlife (compared to my much less self-aware self in my 20s). Being a midlife backpacker has helped me to be not only kinder to myself as a traveller but also to the locals who shoulder many burdens put upon them by travellers (most of which I do not ever see).

Elan’s legs and feet over a concrete walkway on our way to Fethiye, Turkey. We stopped for a break, so I used my pack to elevate my legs and give my feet a much-needed rest!

What small ideas or tips (for backpacking or otherwise) have you learned that make your travel journeys a little easier for you in midlife?

fitness · vacation · walking

Walk this way,  or Sam is roaming in Rome

Sam B

It’s summer.  Convocation is past, and I’m in Europe attending an academic conference.  It’s been a while  since before the pandemic, that I’ve traveled to conferences overseas in the summer. I’ve written a bit about academics,  conference travel,  and exercise here.

More specifically right now,  I’m in Rome,  where I gave a keynote address at the Food, Family, and Justice at John Cabot University, an American university with a campus here.

Here’s my abstract:

“Eat Me, Drink Me”: Philosophical Reflections on Children, Food, and Good Parenting

In this talk, I want to explore three themes related to children, their relationship to food and the nature of good parenting.

First, I’m intrigued by the dichotomy of our perceptions of children as “natural eaters” and “out-of-control wanton eaters.”We often project our own ideas about childhood and our anxieties about food and appetites onto child-aged eaters. The fear of obesity drives us to control childhood eating, yet there’s a prevalent parenting notion that if we allow children to graze freely, they’ll instinctively make healthy choices and never become overweight. I argue that both these ideas are flawed, mere reflections of our own anxieties about eating and body size projected onto children as eaters. 

Second, I examine the societal pressure that weighs on parents’ food choices. The realm of food is a vast one, offering parents a multitude of options. Yet, the decisions about what and when to feed their children can become a consuming task during the child’s early years. This is a domain where parents often find themselves under scrutiny, where their choices are open to critique from others. 

Third, we focus on children and eating partly because children are the front line in the “war against obesity.” Why the public policy focus on children? The thought is that we can stop obesity either before it develops or in its early stages, and we can avoid the health problems associated with overweight and obesity. However, the effectiveness of these measures is questionable. While the adage “eat less, move more” seems like common sense, we still lack a comprehensive understanding of the causes of obesity. Moreover, we’re not entirely sure what strategies effectively combat childhood obesity. The anti-obesity measures aimed at children stem from various public policy contexts, each with its own moral complexities. When we factor in elements such as class, race, income, and physical or mental ability, it becomes evident how this approach might be dangerous. 

***************

There were three days of terrific papers and some excellent conversation.  It’s Rome so there was also excellent food. The conference also successfully blended in-person and some virtual presentations.

Sarah came with me, and we’re taking some vacation days after the conference,  being tourists. I’ve never been here before. Rome is a great city for exploring neighborhoods, and we’re doing lots of that.

Here’s the sandals on the left I imagined wearing,  with long flowy dresses.  I love the way Italian women dress and I kind of wanted to blend in. But, no go. On the right are the sneakers I’ve ended up wearing most days with capris and yoga pants, looking very much like the North American tourist that I am.

Cobblestones make for tough walking.

How on earth do Italian women manage to walk so elegantly on cobblestones in stilettos? I’m amazed. I keep tripping, and I’m wearing running shoes. 

After five days of averaging about 15k steps a day,  my feet are incredibly sore,  even wearing my beloved Hokas.

Mm

Here’s roughly where we are staying in Rome, post conference.  John Cabot University, where the conference was held, is in Trastevere.

Mostly, it’s been pretty flat, but we did climb one very big hill, the Palatine Hill, which has a great view of the city and the Roman ruins. Here’s the view from the top.

Our view from Pallatine Hill.

Anyway, yes, my feet are sore, but my new knees are holding up just great.  I’m grinning from ear to ear at being able to do this again. I thought I might never be able to walk all day.  It feels so good to explore a new city on foot.

So it’s weird to have sore feet, sore calves, and a bit of back pain and feel good about it all. But the thing is I’m out of walking shape. I haven’t been able to do this for years and yes, while everything hurts, it’s not my knees holding me back!

We’re setting out in the morning and walking around all day,  coming home in the evening tired and happy. 😊

Truth be told, in the evenings, we’re watching Tour de France: Unchained Season 2, which isn’t available on Canadian Netflix. It’s good timing since the Tour de France 2024 starts in just two days, and it even begins in Italy.

I’m happily walking our days away,  feeling joyful about my new knees and the ability to walk again.

How’s your summer going?

fitness

Avoiding Exercise Boredom

Diane Harper1 Comment

I found this quote someplace and loved it: My theory is that exercise is 10% effort and 90% finding a way not to be bored.

I really dislike the word “exercise” because it brings back memories of high school phys ed classes, and rare times when I tried going to a gym to do treadmill or weight things. Boring!

So what makes exercise less boring? This is a highly personal thing. After all, I have friends who love the gym (weirdos – in the best possible way, of course).

For me, it boils down to a few key things: 1) music/creativity; 2) working on details; 3) variety of scenery and 4) social. Not all the things I love have all those aspects at once, but I keep my busy brain engaged by having at least two of them.

Currently, I am doing two dance classes each week: I get music, new choreography to learn, the social aspects, plus the chance to work on tiny tweaks that can suddenly make a huge difference in my performance.

It’s summer so I get scenery when I swim outdoors, I do work on fussy little corrections to improve my stroke at least some of the time, plus there is social – either I swim with friends or I end up having conversations with whoever is at the Pond when I get there. In the winter, I swim with my Master’s club: social, details. I could go to lane swims to work on my strokes, but I don’t because it’s much harder to chat with random people when swimming up and down a lane, and the inside of a pool is … less than scenic.

Cycling has proven to be great for scenery and social aspects. I bike almost everywhere and I have networks of cycling friends thanks to social rides. It’s also the activity where I feel like I am contributing to social good, by helping make cycling safer for all ages and abilities, and reducing my own carbon footprint. It’s not the most creative thing ever, but sometimes there are rides where bikes get decorated, or we dress up, and there is often an opportunity to learn a new route or shortcut. I could work on improving my cycling technique if I cared at all about getting faster or going further, but this is already a pretty good one.

Of course, mixing up the kinds of activities you do can also help avoid boredom. Even if I don’t do it often, the occasional long walk is a nice change.

A collage of people swimming, dancing, running, and cycling. Image from https://medium.com/@garyfoowk/exercise-cardio-every-day-a-birdseyes-perspective-e5d8be779ee8

I’m curious: what forms of activity engage you, and why? Do you ever worry about boredom, or isn’t that an issue when you exercise?

Khalee has a question for you. (Actually, several questions…)
dogs · fitness · rest

Khalee has a question for you. (Actually, several questions…)

Christine Hennebury4 Comments
A dog standing on a sunny patio looking intently toward the camera.
Image description: Khalee, a medium-sized, short-haired dog is standing on a sunny wooden patio looking intently toward the camera.

When I took this picture on Sunday, her question for me was ‘Are you gonna share that banana?’

But, now that I see the photo again, I think her look is actually more intense and her questions are even more important than I realized at the time.

I think the banana was just the surface thought, I think, deep down, she wants to know if you are making time to rest this summer?

She’s wondering if your plans include downtime?

She’s wondering if you make the same mistake I do – subconsciously trying to get all the ‘work’ done before I relax when what I need to do is include rest as part of the overall plan – and how you might start to switch that up a little?

She’s wondering if you are trying to do things ‘right’ when good enough is, well, good enough?

She’s wondering if you are taking time to lie down in the shade and just sniff the air?

And, of course, she’s wondering if you know that any and all patio snacks should be shared with your dog?

This message has been brought to you by Khalee, Encourager of Rest, Ambassadog for Mental Health, Sharer of Snacks and is fully endorsed by me, Christine Hennebury, Proponent of Self-Kindness and Fetcher of Snacks.

fitness

You Are What You Do Every Day

Sam B

Here’s my list of things I’m aiming to do everyday.: Write/Ride/Declutter/Physio/ Walk the dog.

It’s a pretty good list, but I might add reading to it.

I also Duolingo and Wordle! But they have their own trackers and my streaks are pretty impressive.

746 day Wordle Streak

On eating less animal products, Catherine is going one animal at a time. I’ve been thinking of going one meal at a time and adding, eat one vegan meal to my list of daily habits.

I’ve written about my daily habit tracker here and here

But pick a short list!

Here’s 30 Life Hacks to Do Everyday. It’s not a bad list but 30? No way.

Twelve is more doable, but still. I liked the list though. 12 New Habits to Try if You Want to Focus on Your Health This Summer.

This is a pretty good list of habits that make your life easier.

More on the power of daily routines: What you do every day matters: The power of routines and What You Do Every Day Matters More Than What You Do Once In a While

person holding a pink poster with message
A pink sign that reads “HEALTHY HABITS.” Photo by Moe Magners on Pexels.com
Celebrating 60 Years: A Birthday Season and Charity Ride
fitness

Celebrating 60 Years: A Birthday Season and Charity Ride

Sam B1 Comment

OK, it’s a long way off yet but 60 is a kind of a big deal and so the planning is starting now. Also, it’s been a struggle to get friends and family to gather since the pandemic so I’m starting the organizing early. Mark your calendars, people!

I am a birthday week kind of person but since this year it’s a big one, I’m claiming a whole birthday season.

We’re gathering in Guelph on the morning of my birthday and we’re riding 60 km to celebrate my 60 years on the planet. No gifts but please donate to a fundraiser I’ve set up for the College of Arts Student Assistance Fund, https://bbis.alumni.uoguelph.ca/BBIS_Cannon/give/uofg.

In the afternoon, there’s cake and a party in our backyard.

What’s our route for the ride?

I think I like this one. It’s 58 km as mapped so we’ll need to tack on a few extra kms somewhere.

You can also ride wherever you live. How far do you have to ride? That’s up to you. See What are the rules for birthday bike rides?

Free birthday cake lit candle

Not enough candles!

Rings of fire against a dark background. The Paris Olympics: a hot and inequitable playing field
athletes · competition · fitness · Olympics · temperature and exercise

The Paris Olympics: a hot and inequitable playing field

catherine w

The summer solstice has come and (just) gone; it’s full summer by anyone’s measure. And with its arrival in 2024 have come heat waves across the Northern Hemisphere. Temps in Boston this week were 95-97F (35-36C) with heat indices much higher. In Quebec and Ontario, the heat indices were expected to reach up to 45C (113F). According to the news agency Reuters, more than 100 million Americans were under heat advisories, watches and warnings last Thursday.

It’s cooler this weekend where I live, but other parts of the globe are continuing to suffer from extreme heat. Hundreds of pilgrims traveling to Mecca in Saudi Arabia for the hajj have died from heat-related causes in temperatures reaching 50C (122F). You can read more about this month’s heat trends in Central America here and Europe here— two of many examples of what is happening as the summer progresses.

Amidst all of this thermal stress, preparation for the 2024 Paris XXXIII Olympic Games continues. The Olympic Games run from 26 June to 11 August. But the organizers aren’t providing air conditioning for the Olympic Village quarters where the athletes reside during the competition. Instead they designed an environmentally sustainable multi-part system with insulation, shutters, cross-ventilation, and a geothermal system pumping cool water through pipes in concrete floors. They promised rooms with maximum evening temperature of 79F (26C).

There are just two problems with this plan.

Problem one: According to lots of research on athletic and general performance (and sleep) in heat, overnight temps of 79F significantly reduce quality of sleep and subsequent performance of all sorts of activities.

The New York Times reported in this article how some enterprising Boston researchers used the natural experiment of a 2016 heat wave to do a study that showed dramatically decreased performance for students in 79F rooms vs. 70F rooms overnight.

“During the hottest days, the students in the un-air-conditioned dorms, where nighttime temperatures averaged 79 degrees, performed significantly worse on the tests they took every morning than the students with A.C., whose rooms stayed a pleasant 71 degrees.

As for athletic performance, this area has been well-studied and the results are clear: increased heat both reduces physical performance levels and endangers athletes who are pushing themselves to peak effort during international competition.

Last Tuesday, a group of athletes, climate scientists and exercise physiologists released a report called “Rings of Fire: Heat Risks at the 2024 Paris Olympics”. In it they explain the serious heat conditions and the threats they impose on athletics competing in this summer’s Olympic Games. They include expert analyses of heat effects on the body along with first-person accounts from international competitors across sports, describing their experiences and the challenges they and their sports face. Here are some of the athletes’ own words:

Jenny Casson – ROWER, CANADA

“I have had to change my training in Canada and train in a “heat chamber” (a vehicle designed to recreate a humidity and heat as desired by the user) to prepare myself for the 40°C heat of summertime racing. On numerous occasions I have been unable to complete sessions and have broken down mentally because physically my body cannot respond any more to the demands a workout is asking of it. I get scared because when my internal body temperature rises too much, I feel as though I cannot breathe and that is a very worrisome state to be in. I’ve felt suffocated because often the air is so heavy it is a challenge to get it in. I am still worried for what those experiences did to my body and the long term effects. Looking back on it now, I think it was dangerous and my body was responding to a very real fear of overheating.”

Eliza McCartney – POLE VAULT, NEW ZEALAND

“I was told once I had experienced heat illness, it was likely to come on more readily next time, and that was a problem for not only my training camp in Cyprus, but the thought of how I would handle the upcoming major competitions that were in hot places (Doha and Tokyo). It was both a physical and psychological concern. Another consideration is safety – I use a black sticky grip that loses its adhesion with sweat. I’ve had issues (as well as other vaulters) with slipping on the pole in high humidity and heat.”

Pragnya Mohan– TRIATHLON, INDIA

“Triathlon is a very intensive sport and heat enhances the amount of energy required. This leads to severe dehydration resulting in cramps, and in some cases can also be fatal. For this reason, athletes need to train in such conditions because it can lead to adverse effects if your body is not used to it. From April to October the temperature in India is very hot so all outdoor training must finish by 8am. The rest of the training is indoors. It is very difficult to train in a country like India where we have tropical weather. I have to stick to Europe for training.


When you are dehydrated, the brain stops functioning at its normal speed. This affects the time required to make decisions impacting reflexes. For example, during cycling you have a few milliseconds to decide to either draft or break away or apply any other race strategy. Hence performance suffers.

This gets us to Problem two, which Pragyna Mohan’s story highlights. She said that she has to train in Europe during the hottest parts of the Indian calendar year; she can’t safely train there past 8am. Thousands of athletes who live in countries where temperatures rise past safe limits for sleeping, ordinary activity and athletic training face a terrible dilemma: either get funding for training in cooler climes, or try to develop in their sport under conditions at best suboptimal for performance and at worst life-threatening. Inequity in access to safe training conditions creates large disparities in individual performances and development of sports in less well-resourced countries experiencing the effects of climate change.

Which gets us back to Paris and the non-air-conditioned lodgings in the Olympic Village. In response to the sustainable athlete dormitory plan, a number of wealthy countries, including the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, Italy, Germany, and Denmark (so far), are BYOAC-ing– bringing their own air conditioners. The Washington Post in this story added that many other countries plan to buy AC units in France for their athletes.

But not all the athletes will be able to rest, eat and sleep in artificially cool comfort. This from the Post:

“We don’t have deep pockets,” said Donald Rukare, a lawyer who is president of the Uganda Olympic Committee. Rukare mentioned a sweltering international sports competition in Turkey a few years ago, where athletes stayed in rooms without air-conditioning. Some federations shipped in portable units; Uganda did not. “Because we didn’t have the money,” he said.

It makes sense that the Paris design committee wanted to showcase sustainable design and engineering for the Olympic Village. And if summer temperatures don’t rise beyond what is normally predicted– about 79F (26C), there isn’t much to worry about. But, Paris has experienced numerous extreme heat waves in recent years, including four in 2023 that left more than 5000 people dead. 2024 is looking to be as hot or hotter. So you do the thermal math.

What I hope is that the International Olympic Committee will work with wealthier nations and organizations to make sure that all the Olympic athletes get equal access to a good night’s sleep and a cool place to rest and prepare for the the culmination of their life’s work. Otherwise, it’s just another hot and inequitable playing field.