One nuisance with using a portfolio of fitness apps is that each one has a different idea for what my heart rate zones should be. Although not usually a problem, I do get different summaries of my training intensity across apps and, therefore, slightly different advice.
One solution is to just pick one app as canonical which for me has been HealthFit. As a supplement, I also went through and manually set them all to use the same zones, based on HealthFit’s “Percent of Heart Rate Reserve” method. I like that this method incorporates my resting heart rate and that I get slightly wider gaps between zones at lower intensities.
Although my resting heart rate is automatically calculated from my watch, my maximum heart rate is more subjective. For this I’ve taken my maximum heart rates from recent HIIT workouts which I think is close enough for my needs.
I’m mostly doing this because I want to be more precise in my workout intensities this year. Feels like a worthwhile experiment.
🏃♂️ Snowshoes would have helped with parts of today’s run. My Arc’teryx kept my feet warm, but extra effort for a relatively slow pace
In what is now an annual tradition, my son and I went for a polar bear swim in Lake Ontario. We usually go on January 1st, but yesterday was -20°C which seemed almost dangerous. “Only” -10°C today so much more reasonable 🥶.
I’m often asked why I would do such a strange thing. Part of it is for the tradition and challenge. The more thoughtful reason is symbolic. The bracing cold, excitement of running into the lake and back, and bonding with my son feels like a great way to shake off last year’s residual complacency and start the New Year with an adventure.
My first day back at work and the internet went down. Maybe I should take the hint?
No major changes planned for 2026. Maybe just some more targeted books on Canada, given the state of my nation and the rest of the world.
📚 Thanks to my family for a great set of books for Christmas this year.
Finished reading: Breaking Point by Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson provides a very clear description of Canada’s challenges. Thankfully it also provides good ideas on how to fix them. Pairs well with Andrew Coyne’s recent book, though they disagree on electoral reform. Although daunting, I’m optimistic that this is an exciting time for Canada’s rejuvenation 🍁📚
This gap, between the world as it is and how we’re told to see it, comes down to a choice about what we do with our attention. Mission control doesn’t ignore danger. It’s acknowledged, monitored, taken seriously. But knowing which emergencies require immediate action means you need to watch all the instruments, not just the alarms. That’s the difference between panic and an effective response.
An important reminder about the sensationalization of news
Finished reading: The Random Universe by Andrew H. Jaffe is an interesting exploration of probability and models in physics and cosmology. I also appreciated the historical context that showed how the models developed 📚
🏃♂️ Burning off some Christmas cheer on today’s run
Finished reading: As a Canadian public servant, I’m not the target market for Scaling People by Claire Hughes Johnson. Nonetheless, I found the sections on managing teams and navigating conflict useful 📚
12 Days of Winter Wonder Photo Challenge - Day 12: Home
❄️ 12 Days of Winter Wonder Photo Challenge - Day 11: Feast
🎄Merry Christmas!
❄️ 12 Days of Winter Wonder Photo Challenge - Day 10: Travel
