NOTE: Last week I thought I had uploaded this post but apparently it failed. However, Ive now successfully reloaded. I still wanted to share this because re-watching it today, one week later, it serves a reminder of just how make difference a week can make, heck even a day! It really is true that each day is an opportunity to do even better than the last. While last Saturday I allowed myself to make poor choices by wasting time, eating junk food, and skipping my workout, today I have just checked off 5 items from my “to-do” list and am about to get ready for my bike ride outside ( which I’m feeling excited for). Since posting this only a week ago I have become so much stronger -- physically and mentally. I’ve kicked my workouts up a notch ( which you’ll see when I do my next post) and I have also started daily affirmations to help mentally strengthen me in my pursuit of a healthier, stronger, more empowered life! Vietnam 70.3 here I come :)
(post date: Feb 21, 2016)
Day 11: 3.5 mi run & 20min weight training
Thursday was a run and weights day. These aren't my favourite workout days however I was able to get into a nice groove with the run. My training schedule listed only 2 miles but I ended up putting in 3.5 -- yay me! Towards the end of my run my leg did start to cramp up a bit, but besides that I felt strong. I do think I’m going to try the Crossfit course this week, just for a more intense wight session and to also make weight training more fun/exciting for me (right now I get a bored with it)
Day 12: 2700 yard swim & 15 mi bike ride
Have I said how much I LOVE swimming!? Seriously, I really look forward to the days I get to swim because I enjoy it so much. I gave myself a bit more time to swim today, since the distance Im suppose to cover almost always takes me longer than the suggested time my trainer puts in ( he had 50min but it took me 70min) haha. Anyway, I felt good about completing the whole thing and then came back in the evening and got my ride in. It tends to work well for me to split up the two -- doing my swim in the morning and then coming back for the bike either during lunch break or in the evening. As I said in my video, I also ate REALLY well today -- felt so proud of myself :-) Basically I am aiming to eat 4 small meals a day. Right now I am slowly cutting things out and adapting bit by bit however my plan is to begin the day with some oatmeal and PB, then have my other three meals consists of half a can of tuna and some fresh veggies. If I eat 2 cans of tuna a day Ill be consuming 70 grams of protein which is a good number for me. Then of course if I eat fresh veggies it keeps all my meals pretty clean, nutrient rich, and low calorie.
Cant believe how horribly useless I was this day lol. I had a lot of work to do but instead I ended up watching an entire season of a TV show I just got put onto. This is EXACTLY why I need to stop myself from finding new shows that have already been running for a while, having a whole season available is the devil for me! Seriously though, it is so easy to waste an entire day when episode after episode is available. Anyway, after staying in bed glued to the computer all day I decided to get out of the house and run a few errands while it was still light outside. I found a great juice bar and ordered a green detox juice ( which somehow made me feel healthier even though I knew I should have been at the gym lol). However, not to worry, I decided that instead trying to get in my scheduled workout, I would swap this day with my normal rest day. I did at least get a bit of physical fitness in via yoga -- a friend of mine was going to try a new class so I decided to tag along. I’m not the biggest fan of yoga but every once in a while I really enjoy it. One of my colleagues has been offering it every now and then right after work. I’ve joined two of those sessions which were great but going to this yoga class I was a bit worrisome/skeptical when the instructor had us doing all sorts of weird stretches. It wasn't what I was use to but it turned out it was just some other specific type of yoga basically focusing on deep stretching. While I have no desire to ever take that class again, I trust it was good for my body, and I felt good after completing it. :)
Slept in and wasted the morning but I am committed to following my weekly schedule and getting in my workouts. It’s such a beautiful day ( although everyday here pretty much is) and since I love the sun so much, I thought it would be great to bike outdoors today. I first biked down to the temples until I was chased away by a guard who said I needed a ticket lol. As the resourceful person I am, I was able to convince him to let me in as long as I promised not to actually go into any of the temples but to turn around at a specific point instead. So I did that and then decided to go back to the main road in Siem Reap (Road 6) which goes from the city all the way to the airport. I rode to the airport and then continued on. The scenery was lovely, I was in a whole new part of town; smaller, with more of a village feel. I’ll certainly take that route again next time. Although, it me so long to complete everything -- I role for 2.5 hours before I finally hit 25 miles AND it was way more challenging than I had anticipated. I’m sure it didn't help that I went during the hottest part of the day ( with temperatures between 90-100 degrees) but I also think my little bicycle with it’s cute basket might not be the most comfortable for long rides on dirt roads. My butt hurt for over half the ride and my legs grew tired but I found that biking was MUCH easier on the way back, after I had stopped for some sugar cane juice. Seeing that it was so hot, I think the sun sucked a lot out of me so giving my body fluid and some natural sugar may be the trick to making the ride more manageable and increase my energy levels. But I do think a mountain bike would be ideal for long rides so Im going to look into that later this week...