Sara Sucks at Fitness Update: Rest Day

Yesterday, I ran a holiday 5k (which was actually a 6k due to how they routed the 2nd and 3rd loops of the course, but who's counting).  I ran the first mile with a cheap, dollar store, reindeer antler headband but the wind turned my fashion statement into a hazard so I had to take them off.

2 hours and a half a banana later, I was off to run another 4 k with a friend, testing out the Galloway method for the first time. Initial reaction: I need to play around with the intervals. We did 1:30 run/0:30 walk and I think I'd like something closer to a 3:00 run/0:45 walk, but I'll keep experimenting.

And last, but certainly not least, drumroll please...

I have stayed true to my squat challenge!!! 360 squats later and I have reached my first rest day.

Rest days can be particularly challenging for me as a lazy person. It's hard for me to pick up my progress from where I dropped it the day, two, three, weeks before. I end up right back where I started, thinking I should workout for 2 weeks and then stopping. It's a cycle that gets me no where, pushes no limits, and leaves me feeling defeated.

On the other extreme, rest days can seem like an obstacle for your true goal.  You feel like you need to keep pushing to drop those last 2 pounds or cut those last 15 seconds. A rest day is the last thing you need in order to get harder, better, faster, stronger (more than ever/hour after/our work is/never over). But that mentality can leave you injured, fatigued, and unhealthy in a brand new way.

Like all things, exercise and dieting is best done in moderation.  Every expert and "expert" will have their own caveats, but clichés are popular for a reason and everything but the kitchen sink kills two birds with one stone. Wait, what?

Tomorrow I start again with 65 squats and it's been very helpful to do them in quick bursts of 15-20 with 10 second breaks between sets.  I am learning a lot about how I need to train myself to train, which, as convoluted as it sounds, is an essential life skill. It's great to have accomplishments and to throw out arbitrary numbers of how many reps you'll do and how much you'll lift and how far you'll run, but the hard and dirty work is the time you have to put in to prepare.  It's never just the longer runs and workouts. It's also the stretching, the meal prep, the playlist curating, the laundry, and, worst of all, the saying "no" to friends who want you to go out to eat or have another drink.

Success is selfish, but that's not a bad thing. And neither is saying "Hell. Yes." to those Quatro Queso Dos Fritos every once in a while. I look forward to keeping up this progress while remembering that self-love comes in many different, and sometimes delicious, forms.

Cheers!

This balaclava certainly gives me the "ninja" vibe.

Sara Sucks at Fitness

2017 was a year of first for me, fitness wise.

I'm pretty sure it's the first time that I have intentionally jogged at least once every single month (although maybe not every single week...). We're starting small here.

I also ran my second and third half-marathons, which means it was the first time I have run 2 major races in a single year and, totaled together, I basically ran a marathon (hearty guffaw).

I got my first tattoo.  It is located on my foot which is prone to going numb while running and I haven't yet scheduled my first doctor's appointment to see if that may be a cause.

I found my first pair of shoes that totally cured my foot-numbness-while-running (God bless you Lincoln Running Company and Brooks Glycerin 14s) and I also subsequently wore out those shoes and went right back to where I started.  To solve that problem, I made my first multiple shoe purchase and bought 2 pairs of the exact same shoe in a size that feels much too big for me normally but fit just right when I run.

I bought the Tube and it was a total game changer.

I learned the value of a good lacrosse ball and/or foam roller.

I started Zumba Step.

I ran my first adventure race, which was a triathlon sprint (canoeing, trail running, and biking) and I learned that my feet still can't handle anything but roads or they fall asleep in protest (lazy bitches, but I love them).

I started regularly attending a core class. Sure it's only 25 minutes. Sure it's only once a week. But I'm doing it and that's what counts.

I started night-running.

And yet for all of this, I'm still a turgle who magnificently manages to con myself out of morning exercise day after day.  Something's gotta change.

So I challenged myself, this month, to do yet another first.  I have always wanted to, and yet managed, to complete this thing.  It has eluded me because, as I said, I am a master deception artist who can justify my apathy towards anything in a given moment. My brain knows I am overtly lying to itself and yet I still succeed in tricking it into submission.

And so, this month, I have challenged myself.....to complete the Holiday Squat-a-Thon.  By December 31st, I will have completed 1975 squats.  Why 1975?  Idk. Because on the rest days I don't do any. Because The 1975 is a kickass band even though I sometimes can't understand all of the words they sing.  Because Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft that year in Albuquerque.  Who even knows?

Whatever the reason, I'm doing this because I can and because I want to and because, frankly, I need to up my workout intensity if I want to justify the amount of carbs I'm going to enjoy this Christmas.

So Merry Squat-mas, Happy Christmas, and to all a blessed holiday season.

Cheers!

Female Friendship

There are some friends who grow with you until you both grow apart.
There are some friends whose path you cross once and never meet again.
There are some friends who will lead the charge into drunken shenanigans.

This is a letter to one of my greatest friends, who is none of the above.
If you don't understand, good. You don't have to.
--

Florida Is Not Indonesia:

           where you have blessed

                                

Caramelizing skin in a hot southern sun,

sand like sugar crystals on bare feet

pacing slowly with great purpose

Under the omniscient eyes of her Father,

loving others as she has been loved by Him.

Poised and vivacious laughter spilling from the same lips

as speak encouragement to wayfaring hearts

and comfort to salt-streaked eyes.

Calloused souls massaged and manicured

by a collective sense of peace.

Ask of her nothing. She already gives freely

and gift her your time to be rewarded twice over.

Wit, tenor, charity, true

Kismet drawn, and bound by greatness

to travel with grace to the least of these.

Endings are bittersweet, a chocolate best found in cookies

which there are sure to be a lot of.

Her sweet tooth is as bad as mine.

So I ask of the universe, could one have been sent a better friend?

Career Goals: an introspective

The world is white-black and my eyes are liars who’ve not yet betrayed my heart.

Destructive interference in cardiomyopic waves,

Solutions muddled in a Collins glass shaken with two parts rum, one part lime juice and Hemingway’s pen scratching away on a white-black book against this dingy bar,

Drinking until his dreams are no longer paralyzing.

A Hemingway and a Hamlet

Torn in directions by dreams

By dreams, per chance, or by duty

To find calling in the world or to be led, listless, towards a destiny chosen by your father?

It’s a difficult path to pioneer when you head fights your heart,

but where is the path for the heart that fights itself?

A ring with only one boxer has no winner,

Only a point: it is fruitless to try to strike the left hand with the left glove.

By duty am I bound

But lies down this fate no freedom, that is

No delight, that is

No guilt.

By passion am I drawn

But lies down this fate no honor, that is

No fidelity, that is

No rancor.

Butter-rum skin on universal white-black canvas

melting indecisively as though relativity were a joke everyone is in on but me:

An imposter-scribe of my own life events

Fighting the shadow of the thoughts that create me

Betraying the cardial crossroads when my eyes sneak a glance at one of a million possible destinations.

10 things I learned from my first 10 days in China

I am embarking on a year-long journey to teach English in a country where I can't speak or read anything, with credentials any American school would scoff at.

I better have a steep learning curve.

1. Develop a keen sense of SPATIAL AWARENESS.

This is probably the most important thing I've learned. One of the guys in my program is half-Chinese and he noted that this generation really is the very first generation of Chinese drivers.  Hence the merging, lane changing, turning, and stopping like complete maniacs.  Also, standing in line? Doesn't really happen much.  So, whether you want to stay alive on the streets of Beijing or simply get on an elevator, know who and what is around you at all times.

2. Don't laugh at people wearing masks.

I know. In the US, it looks weird if someone is walking around wearing a medical mask. You might think they're being overcautious or pretentious.  In China, however, the pollution is so bad that they sky is almost never blue and the sun is never ever yellow. My host sister in Shijiazhuang explained to me that the sky is always gray and the sun is always white and if they ever see a blue sky, it means that the following day will be extremely hot.  I actually got sick in Shijiazhuang because my system wasn't prepared to filter out that much pollution.

3. Get used to the staring. Get used to the pictures. Get used to being a novelty.

Chinese people are shameless at this. Best thing to do? Smile and wave.

4. Just about anything can be eaten with chopsticks.

Watermelon? No problem. Pizza? Absolutely. Rice? You guessed it. Soup? Somehow, miraculously, yes.

5. Just because you can't speak the language doesn't mean you're stupid (even if they think you are).

This goes for Americans too.  All this nonsense about "If you're in my country, you better speak my language" is completely obsolete.  With the world becoming more and more connected (through internet, travel, etc.), knowing just a few important words and phrases (combined with a lot of pointing and sign language) is much more important for communication.  Language is very cultural and has meanings that can go beyond simply conveying information. You are not stupid just because you don't understand those cultural meanings.

6. Watch your tone.

A former teacher in Chengde told us a story about a time when he was with his boss and a bunch of colleagues signing for his pay.  He intended to compliment his boss (a woman) about her pen, which he said was nice and looked very expensive. However the word classifier for pen is zhī which looks the almost the same as the word for vagina (zhì).  So instead of complimenting her pen, he accidentally sexually harassed his boss.

7. There are a ton of holidays in China.

Seriously, when I start teaching next week, I'll have 2 days of class and then a 3 day holiday.  I get a week off  in October for their National Heritage Day (think Chinese-version of 4th of July, only spread out over a week).  I get 2 months between 1st and 2nd semester, and those are just the ones I know about. America, take note.

8. There is such a thing as Cheenglish and yes, it's as hilarious as it is sounds.

You'll see it everywhere. Menus that say "Sons of Milk Tea". T-shirts that say "Rock and Roll Never Die Will".  Laugh it off. Don't bother to correct. Take lots of pictures to show your friends.

9.  Don't drink the water.

Move over, Mexico.  You've got a rival in the competition for worst water quality ever. Fortunately, bottled water is super cheap over here (about 9 yuan or $1.50 for a 5 gallon jug) and always readily available. Most Chinese drink bottled water or boiled water because the tap water is so bad.  I personally have been buying tea and juice in large jugs and then reusing the container to hold tap water that I've boiled.

10. In most traditional style restaurants or cafeterias, portions are twice the size you'd expect.

In America, we always talk about portioning and eating smaller meals.  Here, portioning doesn't exist.  If Chinese people want to lose weight, they'll simply skip meals. This is likely because, if you go out to eat a lot (because restaurants are literally everywhere and relatively inexpensive), they will give you huge portions of everything you order. I made the mistake of ordering a big bowl of soup once. I could have split it with 4 people and still have been stuffed.

I have learned so much more, but there is also still so much more to learn.  I am settling down into my apartment in Chengde, making friends with other foreign teachers and residents in my complex.  I look forward to keeping this blog updated every couple of weeks.  I will edit this blog to include pictures later, but I just wanted to get this out there now while it's fresh. Also, I want to go to bed because it has been a long, exhausting, exhilarating 10 days. 

Keystone XL Pipeline VETOED!!!...And why this isn't as good as it sounds

I'm someone who considers herself to be deeply connected the environment that surrounds my home. When I heard about the Keystone XL Pipeline and all of it's not-so-secret detrimental effects to the environment, I took up arms and banners against it. I protested and posted blogs.  I let my friends on social media and the poor interns at my senators' and representative's offices have it.  I was angry.

I still am.


1) The Keystone XL Pipeline infringes upon thousands of acres of valuable corridor habitat. These places allow migratory species to rest and refuel before continuing their journey to their summer or winter homes.

2) KXL carries the severe potential to leak.  While the the organizations who have vouchsafed the material that the pipeline would be constructed out of, they either could not or would not test the junctions, which is where most major leaks occur.

3) The process to extract and refine tar sands oil is inefficient and costly.

4) The "thousands" of jobs created are part-time and does not create a sustained job market.

BUT...Who is invested in this project?

If we just look at the list above, you see 2 investors:
            1) The United States (Government and People)
            2) Canadian Fuel Market

But (hold onto your socks, they're about to get knocked off) we're not the only ones who matter in a global market.

Are we honestly so arrogant to think that if we stop KXL from being built that Canada will just say, "Oh, OK. If the US doesn't want our oil, then we just won't develop this highly coveted resource"?

I was. I thought about my home.  Nebraska farmers and city-folk alike came together and submitted claims of unconstitutionality against KXL.  I thought about about the sandhills and the bluffs and the rivers, all unique environments desperately needed by the migratory birds that we are so famous for in early spring.  I thought about my air and water quality and the economy that I participate in.

But, in the grand scheme of things, I don't matter.

Let's give ourselves a brief pat on the back, U.S.  Even though we are still far from acceptable, the United States has set, maintained, and (more importantly) enforced certain environmental standards that are among the best and most rigorous in the world. And that's just on a federal level. State-wise, there can be additional regulations and consequences to reduce contamination and detrimental development.  (Insert happy dance).

But don't get too happy. In 2010 study, we still ranked 25th out of 25 developed and typically Western countries with environmental standards.  And, if we are so low, imagine the types of standards and level of enforcement (or, perhaps more fitting, lack thereof) in less developed countries or in those countries that are even more isolationist than we are.

Let's look at China, another heavy hitter and high bidder for this valuable, but dangerous resource. In a very brief comparison summary of Chinese vs US air quality standards, you can see that Chinese air contamination (and lack of strict environmental regulations) severely affects the quality of life of the people, especially children, living there. Primary school students have to be taught how to breathe shallowly in order to minimize their exposure to pollution.

Now let's get hypothetical:
The US has broken off all ties to Canada's tar sands oil.  We've explicitly stated we will not permit it within our borders.  China, now the highest bidder, gets the oil.
              Problem 1: Oil can only be exported to China via oceanic oil tankers. Great.  Before we even get the fuel to China, we have to deal with an increased risk of oil spills in the Pacific. 
Once the oil gets to the various Chinese plants and stations that require it, it is burned.
             Problem 2: Depending on the location of these plants/stations, environmental regulations cannot be reliably enforced. Cool. So, omitting the disastrous levels of pollution that get put out in the extraction and refining processes AND  the pollution and risk of spills to get the oil to these plants/stations [both of which hold similar variables in the US's version of this equation], there might not be any actual environmental regulation on how much of this oil can be burned at once/how to get rid of any dangerous by-products/etc...

In this hypothetical situation, the net negative of the US not having KXL outweighs the net negative of the US building KXL.  In this situation, one of many like it, the US was actually globally irresponsible in refusing the oil.

Back to the point: the president vetoed the bill to approve the construction of KXL today.
For the US regional ecosystem, this is undoubtedly a win.
In order for it to also be a win on a global scale, we have to look past our economy, our environment, our small but significant lives.
At the grandest scale, we need to eradicate the need for oil.
At the present scale, we need to eradicate the need for this particular Canadian tar sands oil.

Senior Year Round 2: The Beginning of the End

I know I haven't been the most faithful of bloggers. It escapes me from time to time.

But just to prove I'm not just another dingus-head, I figured I'd show you a bit of what I'm currently up to. And I promise: big New Years Post coming soon!

Cheers!