2013 New Year's Resolutions

I'm not sure why many people wait for the New Year to come up with a list of resolutions, however, every year, I truly look forward to setting new and improved goals for myself. This year, I decided that I wanted to work on my health and fitness. Above all, I want to get stronger, more toned and I'd like to eventually run a full marathon.

As of January 6th, I've been going to the gym approximately 4 times a week. I've been doing Yoga, Zumba, treadmill runs and some strength and conditioning workouts. I've invested in a personal trainer who has been truly amazing at pushing me to do things I never thought I could do. I won't lie, there have been some occasions where I've felt very tired and that it was just too difficult for me, but the bottom line is that I hate to give up!

This past week was by far the most challenging for me. I didn’t sleep well, felt sick, weak and completely exhausted, but I knew I had the RAK Half Marathon Team Relay Challenge to complete today (Friday, February 15th 2013) in Ras Al Khaimah. Of course, I only had to run the last leg of the race, which was 6km, but when your body is shutting down, getting up at 5am for a 6km run does not seem like the best idea. Nevertheless, I ran my 6km leg averaging at about 5 mins per km. I'm happy with my time, but most of all, I'm glad to know what time I need to beat during my next run! This was the first step towards running a full marathon. I still have lots of work to do, but I needed to start somewhere right?!

As I have said before, I may not be there yet, but I'm closer than I was yesterday. Anyone can give up; it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength.

Comments

Ready. Set. Go.

“Once in a while, it’s good to challenge yourself in a way that’s really daunting.” Since returning to Dubai in January 2020, I have participated in numerous fitness events around the city, mostly in pairs, trios or teams of 4,5,6 athletes ( aside from our internal community weightlifting/powerlifting throwdowns ). Many of these events have challenged me with new formats ( e.g. Hyrox and Primal Race ), movemenents ( e.g. swimming and sled pulls ) and/or equipement ( e.g. the worm and the yoke ). Being part of a team has been a whole lot of fun, and I’ve been so incredibly blessed to team-up with some really good athletes who have pushed me to achieve great things, both in training and in competition. That said, for a little while now, I’ve sort of wondered what it’d be like to compete individually again. Are my body and mind still up for this kind of challenge? Throughout my time living in Vietnam, from 2017 to 2019, I became fully invested in the sport of CrossFit. I thoroughly enj

The power of a PAUSE

“Don’t underestimate the power of a PAUSE; it allows you to reflect, recharge and refocus.” We live in such a fast pace world. These days, when people ask how we’re doing, we regularly say “I am so busy!” and “I am so tired!” When we are not occupied, we think something is wrong, we feel lazy, and we immediately try to find things to do to fill up our time. We’re constantly looking to move forward; to go, go go and to do, do, do. Why is it so difficult to stop and take a break? For me personally, when I am in ‘work mode’, my routine is pretty consistent; work, gym, eat, sleep, repeat. In the past, I was really hard on myself when I didn’t feel productive and accomplished, but over the last few years, I have really tried to look for and embrace ‘down time’. Now, I am more aware of my needs and my boundaries. I am capable of laying on the couch and watching TV without feeling guilty. I can also turn down weekend plans if I don’t feel like socialising and would prefer to have a restful n

Jack of all trades, master of none

“Sometimes we strive so hard for perfection that we forget that imperfection is happiness.” At a very young age, my parents signed me up for ice skating. They invested lots of money over the years, on skates, outfits, coaches, private lessons, and competitions, and I of course invested lots of time into improving my skills. Throughout my childhood and teenage years, you could find me at the ice rink most days, trying to prepare for my next test, competition or show. Now, I was a decent skater, but realistically, I wasn’t on a path to the Olympics. Once I went off to university, some difficult choices needed to be made, and for some reason, I decided to quit skating and invest more time in my education and career, as well as playing soccer during the summers. For several years after college, soccer became my main sport. Especially when I first moved to Dubai; I played indoor, outdoor, 7 aside, 11 aside, womens leagues and mixed leagues. Some weeks, I was playing 6 consecutive nights,

One Rising Star

Search This Blog