I am speechless; wish she had been

Just call me Pre

Perhaps that's a bit of an exaggeration. But I was pleased with the results from the 2K last week (with about another kilometer warmup and cooldown). The time was terrible - taking nearly 30 minutes to complete, but it is probably to be expected given that I have never been known for blistering footspeed and the fact that I did the run after a full spin class and tough upper-body lift. The most important thing is to later be able to finish the big races – firstly, the 10K in December.

After an intense stretch of workouts over the past week, I gave myself a day off on Monday. I’ll be back in the gym tonight with some cardio.

Happy Indonesian Independence Day!

I celebrated the holiday with a morning of traditional ceremonies and spent a bulk of the rest day in the gym. Though I did not hit my goal of 5000 calories, I did make it through the three Spin class and BodyPump – burning through 4000 calories.

A couple weeks ago I tried to make it through 5K again on the treadmill, but it was a doomed run. My knees were still very sore from the basketball game (then nearly 2 weeks before), my iPod froze about 2K into the run, and the treadmill locked up at about 3.5K. I considered it a sign and cashed it in. To give my knees a bit more recovery time, I’ve planned a more gradual ramp up on getting more running in. Last week I did just 1K, this week I’ll do 2K, next week 3 - you get the idea. We’ll see where I hit the wall in the progression.

For now though, the focus will be on cardio that’s less impact for the joints. I still need to drop some more weight before to safely ramp up the roadwork. I got the bodyscan last week in Singapore, which I will post later. In summary, the results were a bit disappointing in that my weight loss is off target from the progression that I’d planned. However, the trend is still in the right direction. Just have to work harder, be more disciplined, and patient. None of those things is terribly fun – but they are all essential to success.

New Nike Plus Ad

Props to any commercial that has the guts to say "man boobs". And, I identify with his attitude toward workouts.

Counting the Days

30 days until vacation. 45 days until DKR. 100 days until the baby. 108 days until Singapore 10K. I know the saying about life being too short to wish away, but there is plenty coming down the pipeline that I am eagerly anticipating. Iren and I will be embarking on a whirlwind trip next month. Previously, it was around-the-world in 30 days. Now, it’s even faster.

· September 17th – Depart Jakarta.
· September 18-21 – Madrid
· September 22-23 – Washington, DC
· September 24-26 – New Orleans
· September 27-30 – Austin
· October 1-8 – North Dakota
· October 8-10 – Los Angeles
· October 12-14 – Singapore.

Iren will remain in Singapore through the term of the pregnancy. I will return to Jakarta on Sunday night, October 14th.

The trip will be full of challenges. Iren will be dealing with her first major international trip and doing so as a very pregnant mommy. I will need to try to balance devoting time to doing all the tourist things I should, spending time with family and friends, and getting in the workouts I need to stay on track. And, perhaps most challenging, enjoying the trip without losing sight of dietary guidelines.

August 17th is Independence Day in Indonesia, honoring the declaration of independence from the Netherlands in 1945. Freeport will commemorate the day with a ceremonial flag raising with games to follow. I plan to spend the rest of the holiday in the gym. I plan to attempt to do 3 spin classes in a row and BodyPump class, with the hopes of hitting 5000 calories burned for the day.

Shakin' Around, Ring of Fire-Style

Another quake hit Indonesia last night, luckily this one seemed to cause little damage. I was in Papua for work, but Iren and Erica were in Jakarta. Our apartment building, a forty-story complex, shook badly for about a minute. Iren and Erica took the stairs down as precaution (luckily in this case we only live on the 11th floor). They returned to find some damage to items that fell but nothing too major.

Here is an interesting approach to races. Though perhaps this article is an indication that I haven't changed completely, as it was "beer run" in the title that caught my attention.

Today I registered for the 10K race in the Singapore Marathon on December 2nd. This gives me a very concrete goal. I have 114 days to get ready! Of course, I'll welcome friends to join the race or come to watch. Those who make the trip can also come see the latest addition to the Hanna family, as Iren's due date is in late November, so she and our baby will still be in Singapore waiting for the passport paperwork (which usually takes about 10 days).