A Different Holiday

Here's a picture of me windsurfing today... Yes, you heard right... windsurfing!

Cindy and I are celebrating our 20th anniversary. We were able to book a really wonderful week at a resort called Laguna Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand. It reminds me a lot of the Hilton Waikaloa, on the Big Island of Hawaii. There's beautiful landscaping, attentive staff, and something I never noticed before... lots of exercise options! This morning, Cindy and I went on a one hour bike ride at 8 am (free), did aqua aerobics at 11 am(free), and then I went windsurfing this afternoon at 3 pm (free). Apparently, other resorts that we've been to before have this kind of thing going on... we just never noticed. Now that we're fitness focused, it's like a smorgabord of fun activities just waiting for us to choose. Every day we're planning the next and what activities we're going to do.

Tomorrow is a long run, then water aerobics, then Thai boxing! Cindy and I are having a blast and what a great way to celebrate 20 years together in marriage!

New Personal Record!

Amazing! There is no other word for it! I have been running near a 12 minute mile, usually just over 12 minutes. Today, I decided I was going to break that barrier! I decided to take my own advice from my PR bike time and do 2 minutes at a regular "fast" pace and then 2 minutes pushing the pace 10-20% then back to regular "fast" pace for recovery, etc. Back and forth for the entire 33:53 5k run... Yes! For those who do math fast in your head, that is not only less than 12, but less than 11 minute miles!!! I ran the 5k with 10:35 miles, which I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO excited about. I broke several barriers that I wasn't sure I'd ever break!

What an amazing run! If any of you out in cyberland try my 2 minute fast - 2 minute faster running or biking, let me know what it does to your speed. I'm curious...

Here's a picture right after my "record breaking" run :-) Notice the large amounts of sweat.

Come with me for my morning ride!

Last month Carol in NC wrote a great blog about "You Know You're in the Boonies When..." and I made a comment about the great things I see on rides here in the countryside of Thailand. She said she'd love to see some pictures and that got me thinking...

Here's a slideshow of pictures from this morning's 20 km ride. I hope you enjoy...

Chaos and Control

Right now our house is an expression of chaos... the chaos of moving, the chaos of going through our possessions and deciding what makes the 12000 trip to America, the chaos of considering what our work will be in the USA, where we'll live, and what we'll drive.



While things are chaotic, it's easy to let the fitness and healthy eating slide. Thankfully, I've learned better. In the midst of chaos, it's great to hold onto those things that we can control.



I can run. I can bike. I can eat healthy foods. I can focus on what's great and where we're heading in life. I can spend time with friends and marvel at the beauty of God's creation.

In the midst of chaos, I'll focus on those things I can influence. Those areas where I can stay in the "zone" and build health.

Maybe it's a balance thing... Being at peace with the chaos while controlling what matters.

Ironman Race Report

No, it's not mine, but I wanted to let you know about an incredible Ironman NZ race report by Kathy Miller. I was incredibly inspirated and thought you all would like seeing this post.

Kathy Miller Ironman Race Report

2022 is Pretty Cool!

Yesterday, after my workout posting on SparkPeople, my minutes of exercise this month crossed the 2000 minute mark!



That's pretty sweet... It's amazing that once you start tracking your work, over time it really accumulates. Another example is that the other day I was having a slow day on the bicycle and got a little frustrated. As I turned into our neighborhood I flipped through the bike computer and it was just crossing the 1000 km mark after being reset a couple of months ago.

It's easy to get discouraged or lose focus on a rough day, but by consistent and long term effort, we reach amazing heights!

Month End Shred Report

As I promised at the beginning of the month, I'm giving a month-end "Shred" recap.

Cindy and I have been doing Jillian Michael's "30 Day Shred" workout during May. The Shred is incredibly well designed. It's a series of three workouts. Each one is the same length (28 minutes) and consists of the same elements. There's a warm up, then three circuits that consist of 3 minutes of strength training, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of abs, at the end of the third circuit there's cool down. The total minutes is 27-28 minutes, even though Jillian is telling you the entire time that it's a "20 minute workout".

The concept is to do the level 1 workout for days 1-10, then move to level 2 for days 11-20, then level 3 for days 21-30. I had worked into a good routine and was working out daily for an hour a day before I started using the video. I decided to use the video to get my weight loss going again and hopefully start working on some definition.

I was amazed that after the first day of Shred, I was majorly sore. That continued for the first 5 days or so and by day 8,9,10 I was recovered and feeling really strong... Then level 2 started and I was really sore again... then by day 8,9,10 I was starting to think I can do this... Then a few days ago, I started level 3 ... As I'm writing this I'm sore again and in new places. My upper back is sore, parts of my abs are sore, my hamstrings are sore.

I think it's a really well designed workout and highly effective. It will be something I will return to and have in my toolbox, even after the 30 days are over (we're actually doing it for 45 days, as the end of that 45 days culminates in our 20th wedding anniversary and we're heading to the beach. )

Here's a blog entry I wrote after the first day or two of Shred. http://hayneshealth.blogspot.com/2008/05/sore-again-naturally.html

Cindy and I have both had a love/hate relationship with this workout. It's challenging, varied, effective, fun (in a weird way), and gives us a strong sense of accomplishment when it's over.

I "found" my abs this month and can actually see the beginning of their definition. One thing that I really liked about this workout is that you could see the progress from day 1 to day 5 to day 10 of each level. Your body strengthened amazingly in a short time. It also really helped me get a good kickstart on some specialized abs/back work.

Basically... two thumbs up! Congrats Jillian on an excellent workout!