New Year & New Adventure + January 2013 Goals

Here we go! It's the start of 2013.

Since we're starting off a new year, I decided to try something new today ... learn how to ride a bike.

I've never ridden a bike before. I know I tried a couple of times when I was younger, but I never really got into it. Then when I got older I was too scared of falling and breaking something ... so I never pursued it though I was always interested in doing it.

One of my friends, LAF, told me that she'd teach me how to ride a bike. So today we gave it a go. We went to a place called Green Island here in Kuwait where she told me we could rent bikes. There was only one adult sized bike left at the rental place so we grabbed it. It was a bit wobbly. I wasn't sure it was safe to ride as it didn't look sturdy at all. LAF tried it out first and saw that the wheels weren't straight ... when she went to adjust it, some screw fell off so we decided to take it back. I was going to carry it so I grabbed onto the handles and lifted it up, and this is what happened:

The handles came off and the front wheel fell off!! It caught me completely by surprise! We could not stop laughing. It was hilarious - and of course I was relieved that this did not happen while I was on the bike!!

Unfortunately no big bikes were available so I took a small one. It wasn't very comfortable, but it was something. LAF did what anybody teaching someone how to ride a bike would do -- she held on and ran alongside me while I got the hang of it. I felt like I was 5. The island was so crowded! I was constantly freaking out by oncoming kids on their bikes (show offs! lol), bouncy balls coming my way, and a ton of pedestrians! For some reason my bike was very attracted to crowds and objects ... the sidewalk would be empty save for one pillar and my bike would head towards it ...

One of many light crashes -- I'm just glad I didn't cycle into the sea!

After a few rounds we saw that the bigger bikes were back and could finally swap out for normal sized bikes. This felt much better. I didn't fall, phew, but I did screech to a halt many, many times, as well as just hit a wall because I couldn't bring myself to brake properly. By the end of the 1 1/2 hours, I had worked up a great sweat!

Me at the end of the bike ride! I survived without breaking anything (or hurting anyone)! :)

It was a great way to start off the year! Who knows, maybe I'll work this into my workout schedule too :) It was a nice break and definitely lovely to be outdoors and get some fresh air.

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I know that I set larger goals for the year, but these are my specific goals for the month.

1) Complete 2 outdoor runs

2) Complete Week 7 of C25K (yes, I'm still not done, ugh!!)

3) Complete Complete 4 Body Balance/Pilates/Yoga classes

4) Complete a total of 15 cardio sessions

5) Complete a total of 15 weight training sessions

6) Complete a total of 15 MMA sessions (any form of MMA - boxing/kickboxing/etc.)

7) Complete Quizzes 2-4 of my Fitness Nutrition Course

8) Try 2 new healthy/clean recipes this month & post them on the blog

9) Complete the outline for my piece of writing that's due in April

10) Finish organizing my bookshelves in my home office


It may sound like a lot, but there's a lot I want to do and there's a long way I need to go before I get to where I want to be ... so let's get to it!


Today's Workout
Stretching: 15 minutes
Cycling: 1 1/2 hours
Burpees: 60 {challenge total: 60/20,130)


Today's Food
Breakfast: Egg white omelet with mushrooms and tomatoes; green tea
Lunch: A couple of dates, a handful of walnuts, and a tablespoon of peanut butter {I couldn't think of anything else to eat}
Dinner: Grilled salmon with mustard and herbs + steamed carrots and broccoli
Snack: 6 cranberries

Stronger Legs

I started writing a blog post yesterday but got distracted and didn't complete or post it. Oh well - it happens. Things have just been so busy around here. Even though it's a holiday I've got a bunch of research and writing to do. It really hasn't been much of a break, but just the fact that I don't have to go to work and deal with any lesson prep/marking is a blessing.

I've been feeling a bit stressed with things that I need to get done so before I started my day yesterday I took 45 minutes for myself and had a great yoga session. I was totally calm, relaxed, and focused. I took my time with the different positions and just enjoyed feeling my body loosen up. I wish I could do that every morning, but 15 minutes will have to do!

Later on in the day I hit the gym. After a 30-min cardio session (including 15 minutes of running in intervals) I went up to the spinning studio for RPM class. It felt so good to get on that bike and pedal. What felt even better was that I was able to put the resistance to a much higher resistance than I ever had before. My legs felt nice and strong. It felt AMAZING! I definitely want to try to fit in at least 1 RPM session a week -- scheduling is always the issue.

Today I did a bunch of different cardio exercises. I've been doing some running everyday as part of this week's specific challenge in the Whole Life Challenge. While the running has been going well, it has also been a bit draining and I'm kinda tired of the treadmill.

So today I did something a bit different. I did 2 km on the treadmill (including 10 minutes of straight running - legs definitely felt nice and strong during this run too! So happy!!). Then I moved to the rowing machine, which totally kicked my ass! I managed to do 2 km in just under 10 minutes. I then got on the bike and cycled for 2 km. I didn't like the bike at all. The pedals didn't have any straps so my feet were just resting on the top. Plus the seat was at a slightly downward angle so I kept slipping forward and having to slow down/stop to readjust. Luckily 2 km didn't take me very long to complete (I think it was 5 minutes or just under). I ended with the cross-trainer and did 4 km on that to complete 10 km of movement for the day. I ended with 15 minutes of good stretching.

So things are good on the movement front for me.

My appetite is back. Yesterday I had a crazy craving for meat -- so I had some grilled lamb kebabs for dinner. Then I did something that totally surprised myself. I ate chicken! I haven't had chicken in 5 years! For some reason I was just ravenous -- so I ate! It was all lean, all grilled, definitely all Whole Life Challenge friendly! I think I just needed a change of taste. I've been eating so much fish lately - I was tired of it. The change was appreciated.

I was a bit worried that I would feel terrible after eating so much chicken & meat after such a long time ... but luckily I didn't. I was definitely full after eating, but I didn't feel bad or over-stuffed. I felt a bit heavy ... but by morning I was ready to eat again!

I guess that's just the way it goes sometimes!


I'll end with a recent pic -- The first ClubFit t-shirt I bought was an XL, but what I ended up wearing was a Medium -- that's how deep body image distortion goes. Hope I can get over it!

Supporting Club Fit (Kuwait) [proceeds of t-shirt sales go towards breast cancer research]