Back from Berlin & GFFE Week 5 Summary

I had a terrific time in Berlin. My best friend's wedding was terrific. My speech went really well!! I met up with tons of friends that I hadn't seen for years, and I danced my ass off that night! The weather there was a bit to cold for my liking, but it did feel good to inhale some cool, brisk air versus the dusty air in Kuwait!

I wish I could write that I came back without losing any World Life Challenge points. Out of the 4 days there, I stayed on track the whole time except for the wedding day dinner. It wasn't even that I wanted to eat what was being served or was craving anything particular -- I just didn't want to be rude or fussy. Plus pulling out some tupperware with my own food in the middle of an elegant wedding may not be the most appropriate thing to do - I'm sure the bride would not have approved!

So, aside from one imperfect meal/evening, I was really good for the rest of the days. I mainly ate at the hotel; the waitresses were fantastic at answering my questions about how the food was prepared and for making substitutions when I asked for them. I have a few more details in my Whole Life Challenge blog if you're interested.

Being away from home was quite an experience in terms of keeping up with the challenge. It took being aware & vigilant of what you're doing and what you're eating to a whole other level. There are definitely quite a few things that I learned while being away but I'll save them for another post.

In the meantime, here's a quick Week 5 Summary for the Get Fit, Feel Epic Challenge:

Week 5 (Oct. 1 - 7)

1) C25K - I finished Week 5 this week. It went well. Before I did the last day, I decided to just run without really concentrating on the time or distance. On that day I ended up doing 2 sets of running - one for 12-min and another for 13-min (with 2 min walking in between). I was so proud of myself! That's the longest I've run at one stretch! I was really happy. I start Week 6 this coming week. There are some big runs scheduled but I'm telling myself - Don't think. Just do it!

2) Nutrition Studies: I only studied one day this past week. It's going very slowly. I have to come up with a better plan so that I can get this done!

3) Core work: My core work sucked while I was away. I'm getting back on track with that from tomorrow.

4) Balance: I've been doing at least 15 minutes of yoga each day. I made it to two Body Balance classes last week as well as my morning yoga. I didn't do yoga in the mornings in Berlin, but I did make up for it during the day.

5) Gleason's: I've had 1 boxing session with a trainer this week & I finished Week 2 of Gleason's ... so on to Week 3!

Week 5 Challenge: 
Make a fitness routine based on your favorite TV show.

Well, I'm currently watching House ... so I decided that for every time House and his team get a diagnosis wrong (at least 4-5 per episode) I'll do 10 sit-ups. I watched at least 1 episode a night, sometimes 2 -- so i was doing 50-100 sit-ups per night. :)

So now we're on to Week 6. I've got tons coming up this week and it's my birthday on Friday, so I'm wondering how all my fitness/diet plans are going to pan out - we'll see :)

I'll leave you with a few photos from Berlin:

Me at the Brandenburg Gate:

At this point I had already walked 12 km that day ... the hotel was about another 2 km away and I just didn't want to move anymore. I was tired and cranky but for some reason it just made me giggle uncontrollably. Even though the stoop was a bit wet, I had to sit down and take a break - I may be smiling, but I was not amused at how a little stroll ended up taking so bloody long (plus I was freezing!!)! 

D & I near Checkpoint Charlie:

This is not the dress, but it's a new one I bought (in 1 size smaller than I was wearing in June) for the pre-wedding drinks reception:

Me and my best friend (the groom):

Now I'm back home & back to my routine (landed at 6:30 a.m. and was in front of my class lecturing by 8 a.m. - I'm exhausted!) There's lots of work to get done!