Check-in

I know I haven't updated yet this week, but it may have something to do with the crazy Glasgow, London, Atlanta, Chicago travelling that's been going on.

I've finished SHF and have figured that I need to go back to body weight workouts given the facilities situation for the majority of the next few months (read: practically none). Finishing up a 21 day yoga challenge has also inspired me to try a new flows, and *gasp*, flows longer than 45 minutes (because someone here finds it hard to concentrate after that long).

Promising more updates and photos later tonight. Mainly I'm glad to be back in my own bed, even if it's only for 2 nights before we set off on our next adventure.  

Lucky travelling

I'm incredibly lucky to be able to travel the world for work. This week, I was in NYC, then the UK, and am currently sitting in a hotel in Madrid, Spain.

I'm incredibly tired with the amount of travelling and work involved (including an international red eye flight sandwiched between two meetings), but there are definitely rewards for the effort. I'm remembering to be grateful for the opportunity, especially when I'm stressed, hungry, tired and sore.

Segovia is so very European and beautiful, even if the weather didn't cooperate with ominous clouds all around. 

I find feeding myself right and exercising to a plan difficult while travelling, but I do make the effort when I can because I just feel that much better when I look after my body. I have one final workout left of SHF and have been keeping up with the yoga challenge (with modifications to keep within time restrictions as needed). I've had fun with workouts, making full use of pull-up bars and squat racks when they've been available because, why not? 

I've made sensible food choices for at least 50% of the time, but the other 50% have been delicious but not too good for me. Roast suckling pig, meat platters and fried pig ears and pimento peppers anyone? Mmmmm fat.

Back to the UK (Scotland) tomorrow, then in London for a few more days before Atlanta, then finally home to Chicago for the weekend. Phew!

Happy and grateful indeed. Hasta luego!

400 miles from home

It's been almost a week since my last post and I'm currently typing from a hotel room in Columbus OH. The drive over took two days, with a short stop at Purdue, and a long stop in Indianapolis.

Taking a step back though, I've been keeping myself busy over the last week. While there's been a somewhat/not-really/not-sure-if-I'm-actually-doing-enough-work rush for the month's upcoming work trips, for the most part, I've had plenty of time to cook and move and generally just look after myself.

I'm still going strong with #fallfreedom, making sure that I'm being kind to myself and moving each day and I must say I've seen positive changes in my mindset already (although I do think of myself as a pretty happy person already).

It's meant that I've been spending more time outside, and have been well rewarded by some beautiful sights, and the cold.

My running pace seems to be getting progressively slower and while it's certainly not ideal (because I really want to be Road Runner), it's fine. At least I'm outside, and moving, and still enjoying myself. 4km runs are manageable for now, but who knows, come spring I might get bitten by the running bug and want to do something crazy like run a half-marathon or something. Maybe. I'd need convincing from someone willing to be a running partner though. Or make friends with a baby deer who can at least start off at my pace.

I still haven't convinced myself that the treadmill is 'fun', but I do feel sweaty and successful afterwards.

See?

Also, I love back bends and BlackMilk leggings. The perfect combination and by all the Instagram posts, at least 5% of the world agrees with me. And training Wushu twice a week - I find my body responds much better when training frequency is a bit higher.

Short story from a movement perspective, I've been moving a lot, and in fairly different ways. This makes me happy - all the oxygen and endorphins must be doing me good.  

After the Sunday morning outdoor run though, it was time to pick up a rental car and drive east. And then some more east. 

It wasn't all boring work though - I got to stop by Purdue and catch up with my cousin. Who I haven't seen in 13 years. 13 years! Last time we met we were far from being adults.

Who would have thought we would be meeting in the Midwest? The universe works in strange ways sometimes. And I need some sunglasses, or rather, need to remember to wear mine. 

Driving a bit further east, I arrived in Indianapolis Sunday night for a conference.  

While my job is still still squarely in a 'doesn't-really-belong-in-a-box' category, it's incredibly fun to meet new people and learn more about what they do. Many a fun conversation was had. Some not about work. One dinner I ended up at a table full of runners - there are many out there it would seem!

Also, the JW Marriott Indianapolis has a pretty awesome gym. Plenty of free weights, a pull-up machine, and an area just to do your own stuff like body-weight circuits - all things that make me happy. 

Today consisted of more driving east so I've ended up in Columbus, Ohio for a few more meetings, before flying east to Washington DC, then south to Atlanta, before flying home to Chicago. What a busy week!

To help me organise my yoga, I'm grateful that the YogaDownload 21 day challenge has started up again, which is bringing new flows into my workout rotation. Right now, the less decisions I need to make, the more manageable things feel. This week is going to fly by. 

TGIF

What another long week 3 days in Atlanta with plenty of meetings to keep me occupied. Both mornings I woke up in Atlanta though, I woke up almost stupidly early and so managed to get in and out of the gym (circuit workouts in both instances) by 630 am. Productive, yes, but it meant that I was incredibly sleepy by 3pm. Many a coffee was had.

For the most part, I ate well enough, choosing to order oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, salads for lunch and grilled fish for dinner. In practice, being vegan before dinner is incredibly hard. I manage well enough for breakfast, but come a catered lunch spread and options become limited.

If my experiment has taught me anything though, it's how much I appreciated being able to afford to have meat and fish in my diet.

After yet another busy week, I'm glad it's Friday, and I'm glad I'm at home snuggled on the couch, watching M playing a video game. 

Cincinnati, OH

Back from a quick work trip across to Cincinnati. After a smooth, and short, plane ride from O'Hare, a taxi to the hotel and checking into the hotel, I was ravenous.

At least the view from the room was somewhat decent.

Looks at those pretty red leaves on the trees. 

My grumbling belly reminded me that I really should eat. Being on a university campus surrounded by hospitals (because it was the only reasonably priced hotel in a reasonable location), my options were pretty limited.

Keeping to my experiment though, I ended up at a soup joint and ordered from the very minimal vegan selection a vegetable wrap and 7-bean soup. Enough to keep my belly happy, but not really enough to satisfy my meat cravings.

Those I satisfied with a massive dinner steak. Not pictured, mainly because I forgot before I dove into it.

Back at the hotel, I marveled at the ancient technology:

Although secretly, I'd love to have one of these in my home, regardless of the fact it'd get zero use. Having not done much movement all day, I made use of the free weights in the hotel gym and got a fun 25-minute dumbbell workout in, then stretched out with a 20 minute yoga floor before well and truly collapsing into bed.

Between meetings and calls, lunch with clients, and travel, today hasn't been quite on point. There are small wins though; I managed a 30 minute yoga flow, and had a decent oatmeal breakfast (with a smidgen of brown sugar) and snacked on a salad at the airport (because really there weren't other options). 

Some Gracepoint, stretching and I'm off to bed nice and early. 

Hurricanes and Flight Delays

Due to Hurricane Arthur causing havoc with flights in the Northeast, were stuck in NYC until Saturday night. As expected with a storm so close, the weather has been miserable with plenty of malicious-looking clouds and rain, rain and more rain. Still, we had a comfortable bed, warm sheets, and nowhere to go until Monday.

Then miraculously, Saturday was bright and shining, with the sky a brilliantly beautiful shade of blue.

As a further silver lining, we're were fortuitously stuck in NYC for the 4th of July celebrations, so hooray, fireworks!

As for the last month, my workouts have been based around what's available. Food choices have been similarly made.

It feels good to have access to a reliable grocery store and kitchen as I'm finally able to organise my meals, and a fitness plan for the week that I now have a higher chance of completing (and without having to shoot low due to uncertainty).

So my week looks something like this:

• Sunday (done)!: cardio warm-up and workout w kettle-bells; spinal yoga flow (30) 
• Monday: cardio warm-up and workout w kettle-bells; lunar flow (30)
• Tuesday: cardio warm-up and workout w kettle-bells + body-weight finisher; relaxing flow (20); 
• Wednesday: cardio warm-up and workout w kettle-bells; Hatha yoga flow (20)
• Thursday: bodyweight workout; Forrest yoga flow (45)
• Friday: run; post-run flow (20); Taichi + Wushu (maybe)
• Saturday: cardio warm-up and workout w kettle-bells; Firefly flow (60)

Phew, ambitious much?

Meal-wise, I've got the following planned:

• Kombu ginger chicken soup 
• Turkey vegetable meatballs
• Cassoulet with lots of vegetables
• Eggplant dirty rice 
• Cauliflower chickpea curry 

Looking forward to a productive week ahead. 

The End of the Journey: Ilhabela and Sao Paulo

The last three weeks have passed by in a blur. It’s hard to believe that we’ve traversed across Brazil and met so many friendly people in such a short space of time. Part of me is looking forward to getting back to some kind of routine (staying in strange apartments and hostels and not knowing where we’ll be eating next has a way of throwing a spanner in the works), but the greater part definitely does not want to leave this beautiful country.

I guess it doesn’t help that we spent a few days in the idyllic island of Ilhabela (“Beautiful Island”). Scuba diving, boating around to beaches, driving through forests in a jeep – paradise really doesn’t get better than that. Well, thinking about it a bit more, paradise without the evil bloodsucking, mad-itch inducing black flies would definitely be better.

Seriously though, look at this scenery...

From Ilhabela, we made our way to Sao Paulo, staying in the Vila Madelena area that was filled with weird and wonderful graffiti.

We risked some cheap street food (and survived), and made time to catch the sunset with some locals and their dogs.

For our last day, we lazed about in our hostel, checked out the Museum of Art Sao Paulo, enjoyed a lunch in the basement restaurant, before making our way to the airport.

What a trip. I managed to squeeze in some yoga/stretching each day, a few bodyweight workouts a week and plenty of walking so fitness-wise, I don’t think I’ve slipped too far backwards. Which reminds me, I need to find a new workout routine and set some goals (I’ve never been particularly good at that though so any suggestions are appreciated).

Our experience has been about trying the local food, and going on as many adventures as possible taking in both the cultural and natural beauty of Brazil. Oh, and catching a few football games as well (which if I’m honest, was the primary reason for the trip). We’ll definitely be back, and intend to see a lot more of South America next time around. 

Super-long layovers

Red-eye flights and long layovers (14 hours) do not mix. 

Finally on our much-awaited holiday to Brazil, we kicked things off with the dreaded red-eye flight from the west coast to New York. During boarding, it seemed like there were at least 18 babies on board, which didn't exactly bode well for sleep. 

Still, we napped intermittently before waking up to this beautiful sight.

After arriving in JFK ahead of schedule, we settled in for a long layover. Seeing as I'd promised to myself that I would make sure that I did some yoga every day (for my sanity and health), I ended up doing a hip-opening flow in the airport lounge.

Strange looks aside, it was a wonderful way to get all the kinks out after a rough night's sleep in a flying tin can. It also highlighted how tight my hips actually are, and that I should incorporate more hip-openers into my flows!

Our layover was happily distracted by an invite for lunch, from a friend I hadn't seen in over 5 years. I'd moved to the US during that time, and he'd moved all over the world spending time in Alaska, Hawaii, Thailand, Nepal and Israel. He definitely trumps me in the world-traveller stakes. 

Now it's back to the airport to kill a few more hours before another overnight flight to Sao Paulo, followed by another 12 hour layover. Here's hoping for a smooth ride and a decent night's rest.