exercise

I Surrender!

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O.k, so my day wasn’t exactly roses and sunshine but once I surrendered to the fact that I am sick things did get a little brighter.  And the rain stopped enough to go get some food!  By 12:30 I still hadn’t eaten breakfast, I NEVER go that long after waking without eating, and it was really time to find sustenance.  I feasted on scrambled eggs and tomatoes and a pile of sautéed broccoli with garlic.  YUM!

After brunch I was still hungry but after an asian pear and some seaweed crackers I realized what I really needed was a sleep.  My throat was sore and swollen and my body was starting to ache.  Plus, I think I have whiplash from my little accident this morning.

First thing this morning I went up to the roof to move yesterdays laundry out into the open because it wasn’t raining.  As I climbed down the stairs I hit a puddle on the landing, went down HARD on my bum, and smashed my head against the concrete wall.  My first thought was “don’t pass out”, that’s how hard I hit.  I crawled to a dry spot, shed a tear, and collected myself. 

I have a goose egg on my head, an ongoing headache, and really sore neck and shoulders.  Luckily, my husband the chiropractor is taking good care of me.  Insult to injury on top of a cold though.

Alrighty, today is the 15th and thus half way through my June Goals.  It has been going really well EXCEPT the sugar thing.  Especially since hitting China.  China LOVES sugar.  They have entire grocery stores dedicated to it.  And it’s places you least expect it.  All crackers and breads and many items made with beans or sticky rice are REALLY SWEET.  I know bread products everywhere often have a little added sugar but these things are sweet.  I like sugar in my mouth but I don’t like what it does for my immune system, my food cravings, and my mood and this is why I was trying to cut down.  But I am sort of giving up…or maybe not…I need to renew my resolve!

I have a few addendum to my goals, one is the push up variation challenge and the other is a running goal.  My new running goal is 2.5 hours of running or 4 runs per week!  Yea, let’s go!

The food journal has reveled a lot of snacking, some of it mindless.  I will bring more awareness to this during the second half of the month.  Also, I have been regularly snacking after dinner.  Sometimes this is valid hunger but more than anything I think it’s just a bad habit I have gotten into and need to break.

Do you find yourself going to the fridge in the evenings?  When is your most common “mindless snacking” time of day?

%^&!* Tuesdays!

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So, first thing this morning I wrote a LONG and detailed post.  It started off by telling you how much I disliked Tuesdays when I was in school and how this morning started out really crappy, I couldn’t get out of the dorm room to use the bathroom, I slipped and hit my head,  my throat is really sore, the laundry got rained on, blah blah blah.  As I wrote my mood started to improve and I was determined to turn my day around.  3 seconds before I was ready to publish the post it disappeared.  !#%*^??*?!!!!!

Oh what a day.
I absolutely LOVE traveling but I am having one of those mornings where I just want to be HOME!  I want to be surrounded by friends and family and English and I want to cook and I want to go to the gym and I want to do laundry with an automatic washer and DRYER!  It’s the little things…
 
Oh yeah-sorry I was M.I.A. yesterday.  I mentioned before that internet is a bit wonky in China, well apparently wordpress is actually “not authorized” here.  I have always had a bit of trouble logging on but usually I can find a way in.  Yesterday I tried several times to no avail and maybe that is what happened with my post from this morning…
 
ANYWAYS…
 
We are now in the small town of Yangshou, which is gorgeously surrounded by bamboo forests and limestone karsts.  It is one of the most touristy towns in China.  It also happens to be one of the most touristy weeks in China, hence sleeping in a dorm.  We have our own room for tonight, woo hoo!  I barely slept last night due to the coming and going, snoring and farting.  I hope to never sleep in a dorm room again!
 
Yesterday I had an interesting buffet breakfast.  I ate a small bowl of sautéed cabbage, half a medium steamed dumpling, most of a boiled taro root, most of two fried eggs, green and red pepper rings, and a bunch of watermelon.  It was satisfying and held me really well until it didn’t anymore and just before 3pm I got REALLY HUNGRY.  We went to a “hotpot” spot on the recommendation of the hostel and were not disappointed.  I ordered the tofu, broccoli, corn, and pepper and it was perfect.
I very much enjoyed every bite of the thick top layer of veggies and left about 3/4 of the rice that was underneath.
After lunch we walked on a lovely paved path up the river.  We walked for over an hour and I did a little treadmill and elliptical training along the way!
 
Tate is sick with a cold so by late afternoon he headed to the hostel to watch a movie and I went back up the trail for a run.  I am on a big running kick lately.  The 5 weeks off in late-April/May really rejuvenated me and now I am ready to RUN!  I got rained on a bit and sweated a lot and by the time I finished I was wet from head to toe!  I actually like running in a little bit of ran, it makes me feel tough and the shower afterward feels even better!
 
I was really bummed I couldn’t post yesterday because I wanted to share with you an addendum to June Goals.
  
THE PUSH UP VARIATION CHALLENGE
 
For my June Goals I have been doing 50 push ups every other day and it’s time to kick it up a notch.  
Mondays push up variation comes courtesy of dancer, personal trainer, and dear friend of mine, Corinne Penka.
“Spiderman” Push Up Variation
  • Complete one full push up
  • Keeping body flat, booty in line, and stomach lifted, raise right knee towards right shoulder (thigh parallel to floor)
  • Return right leg to start
  • Repeat left side and continue for as many reps as you can complete with EXCELLENT form

” imagine that you’re scaling a building to flee a supervillain and it makes it even more fun!” (from Corinne’s comment)

Your butt, hips, abs, obliques, back, and arms will thank you!

I managed 3 sets of 10 reps (each push up counts as one rep) and finished off my 50 with 2 sets of 10 plain push ups.  
Arm days this week are Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday.  Feel free to send me your favorite push up variations so I can give them a whirl.
It’s pouring out and I am feeling a bit tender today.  It’s a good day to have few ambitions and let myself rest.  My plan is for good,long yoga and Pilates sessions, some good nourishing food, a nap, and a movie!   If it clears up later a walk along the river would be great but we’ll see…