Whoosh!

This sounds pretty much explains the last 24 hours of my life. Sitting waiting, I found ways to keep myself entertained at home this past week. My work visa arrived on Friday, and an email was promptly sent out to inform my agents and to get things rolling.  Of course there was the issue of time change and a weekend.

 

While waiting, I shoveled the walkway of snow, cleaned the kitchen multiple times, and of course went on a few glorious walks with Diesel. I am going to miss that fella. Then Tuesday night arrives. An email with some details, then a phone call, then a final email. At 9 pm Pat and I spoke and my flight was set. By the time all was confirmed through the airline it was closer to 10 pm, I would be departing for Seattle in 8.5 hours (that’s 6:30 am). My father had offered to pick me up and take me to the airport at this ungodly hour. I really appreciated that, its nice to have that support network available, as I know not everyone does.

I guess with your flight leaving soon, packing is usually a good idea, followed by a bedtime snack I finally got to bed at 1:30. Subconsciously I think I knew if I was gassed heading into nearly 24 hours of travel I could sleep on through most of it.  Security and customs were a breeze and took maybe 10 mins total, my beard must not appear very threatening.

Brrrrrrrrrrrr. Okay I don’t know how the lyrics go of the Dash 8 Turbo prop go but this morning was my first experience on such a plane. Every time I closed my eyes however I could imagine the black and white videos you watched in Social Studies and History classes of the B-52 bombers. This little plane delivered me towards a 7 hour layover in Seattle, coffee shop central.

I have never been comfortable with sleeping in an airport terminal (safety wise), so I worked hard to keep my eyes open before I could get my Tokyo drift on during the 11 hour flight to Narita (joke courtesy of dad, followed my many other inappropriate puns related to exhaust). 

Let’s take a look at what I have done to keep myself nutritionally satisfied.

3 am: 2 scoops protein and 2 packs Nature’s Path Flax and Oats

7 am: Clif Bar

9 am (Seattle time so add an hour): 3 eggs scrambled with Dungess crab and Dungess Shrimps, and about 4 little hashbrowns

12 pm: 5 Dark Chocolate Covered Macadamia nuts (my caving to some sweet cravings

3 pm: Slices beef with rice noodles and vegetables and 1 glass of merlot

8:30 pm: 4 pcs of almond cluster crack

My goal of getting sleep has worked out pretty well. My section of the plane is nearly empty so I laid across the 3 seats in the middle and dozed off, first an hour then our meal, and my post feeding 5.5 hour nap.  I have successfully killed 7 of my 11 hours in this plane so far sleeping, not bad.

With 2 and a half hours to go, I am going to immerse myself in Sons of Anarchy.

Keep pushing, you can do it!

That line sticks in my head. I don't think I can ever forget Sean T, shouting that in my ears over the thumping of feet on the ground and dripping of sweat on the floor during insanity workouts. Yesterday, a conversation with a coworker Insanity came up, as well as the question "how can I eat healthy?"

Likely the most popular question I get asked when someone discovers my background and also a nearly impossible question to answer in one sentence. While I can't hit the nail directly on the head instantly a book I read a few years ago certainly does. His answer (not exactly just one sentence).

"Eat food. Not to much. Mostly plants." - Michael Pollan Food Rules


Simple and easy to understand. With the way North America and much of the developed world is heading, waistlines are expanding and food is becoming, well less food-like. Generally speaking, I like to say if you can't find the ingredients in your mom's kitchen pantry, you are probably best off to stay away.

I have been very easily distracted today, bouncing many ideas, from left, right and centre field. Back to my topic at hand, Keep Pushing. I finished the insanity workouts last year while I was in Singapore, and while they were tough and I sweat a lot, and even pushed myself very hard nothing compares to the feelings of todays workout. Its been a few years since I felt the intensity, the leaping of your heart from your chest, the pulse racing through your neck and palpable at every point of your body. This is over exertion at its finest. Few people let themselves get to this level and even fewer enjoy it. I do enjoy this though.

I am chock full of quotes today, here is likely my favourite quote I have come across. Written by a man who received a Nobel prize for Literature.

"Only those who will risk going to far, can possibly find out how far one can go" - T.S. Eliot

Chris at 2110 wrote up this insane workout for me. I nearly spilled my cookies (gluten free of course), almost fell countless time jumping and in the end felt pure bliss knowing I pushed myself to my limit. Here it is:

10 minute Dynamic Warm-up

Airdyne sprint - 800 watt, 5 sec rest x3 10 Pushups, 10 Situps, 10 Jump Squats (Repeat circuit for 9 reps, 8,7,6... to zero. No rest.

Rest 5 minutes and set up equipment for complex.

Complex

25x Pullups
50x Pushups
50x Deadlifts 135 lbs
50x Floor wipers (per side)
50x 24" Box Jumps
50x One Arm Dumbbell Snatches 55 lb DB
25x Pullups

Complex For Time: _17:56____

While the complex certainly presented a big challenge for me it was that damn Air dyne. By around the 7th round nausea set in, and the last 2 sprints yakking seemed inevitable. I fought through and survived to tell this tale.