Here’s a new non-scale victory for me, and one I’m going to start tracking pretty heavily. I’ve always traveled, I’ve often exercised, and now I’m lucky enough to do both pretty often.
The food blogger in me makes sure I get to sample the local delicacies (in Miami, Cuban food; in Dijon, the mustard and wine; in New York…everything) but the Food Blogger on a Diet in me is making sure I’m working out (and going for a run outside when possible) in every city I visit, too.
Last year I talked about packing food while traveling, and also exercising while traveling, but since I’m a big statistics geek, and I post a big recap of my personal stats every year on my food blog (check out my 2011 Year in Review for what I track), after I started exercising on these trips, I decided that I should start tracking how many cities & countries I exercise in. I’ll be adding these to my Year in Review moving forward, too.
Running the Automattic Worldwide WP 5k in Spain
I’m in Spain for the week, and I’m in a place where it’s always sunny and rains only a few days a year. I ended up buying a Garmin which my mother brought over with her, so I was really excited to do an outside run for the wwwp5k and use it.
But instead this has been the weather for the few days I’ve been here:
Yep, rain. Lots and lots of torrential rain. So I wouldn’t be running outside.
Luckily there’s a fitness room I have access to, so I set up to run it on the treadmill (this pic is after the run):
Workout Playlist: Power Song Edition
I’m gearing up for the Automattic Worldwide WP 5k this week and I thought I’d put together the playlists of all playlists to accompany me on my run (though lately I’ve been listening to podcasts as well on my runs).
If you’ve ever used Nike+, you’ll know that you can set one song as your “Power Song” which you can use at any point in your workout to get a boost when you really need it. I pushed the Power Song button probably a few too many times. 🙂 I haven’t been using my Nike+ recently since I changed shoes (but I have the sensor+pouch so I’ll give it a go soon).
So I thought I’d make a whole playlist of my past Power Songs – hopefully they’ll help you get that extra mileage. Read more…
Automattic’s Worldwide WP 5k on April 29th
It wasn’t just a one-time event! The Automattic Worldwide WP 5k is back again in 2012! Set your timers for April 29th!
At Automattic we work from all over the world, and we use internal blogs for socializing and exchanging non-work ideas in addition to making WordPress.com and our other products more awesome. We care about fitness, too…[read more]
Last year, participating in the Automattic Worldwide WP 5k was one of the first things I did to get back in shape and get motivated. I didn’t even have Food Blogger on a Diet yet – I opened it a few weeks later.
When I first started working for Automattic, internally we talked about doing some sort of event which would unite our distributed company which is spread out all over the world. That idea led to the creation of an internal fitness blog where we exchange ideas and opinions on healthy living and exercise, and finally to the organization of the WWWP5k last year!
This year I plan on participating and I already know I’ll be faster than last year since I’ve run 5k a few times since then, but I hope to bring along a few more people with me!
How does it work? I go into detail in the announcement post but two things to quickly note are: you don’t have to run 5k to participate (you can walk/run/swim/bike) and if you’re busy on the 29th, you have the week before to get it done! It still counts 🙂
Will you participate with me? Post a picture of your finish line on April 29th!
Check out my playlists for some music inspiration for your 5k!
Eating what you Love, Loving what you Eat
Recently, I was chatting with some of the Italian ladies I work out with, and they wanted to know a bit about my “diet.” Most Italians are skeptical of diets that are “fai da te” (DIY) and will see a doctor/nutritionist if they’re serious about going on one. Those who I have known on Italian diets have strict and explicit instructions, down to the gram/ounce, of foods that can be eaten and those which should be avoided.
But since I wanted to make a lifestyle change, I knew that any changes I made had to not feel as if I was following some sort of regiment because once it’s broken, it feels like a failure of sorts. I wanted to have some flexibility, some room to experiment, to make mistakes, and still be “on plan.”
One of the things that was important for me, other than knowing when I am hungry (which my food journaling helped me realize), is recognizing what I enjoy eating.
Food Blogger on a Diet 