We got back from the rocky North yesterday. It was wonderful not being in New York, although I spent an inordinate amount of time working on the translation and there were some serious interpersonal tensions. In terms of health and fitness, it was a real step back in terms of diet but great for activities.
For diet, I was without my main allies, the meat-filled cafeteria here at work and the nearby Chopt, and back on my parents' diet, and that meant I ate far more bread than normal. I also ended up eating a lot more dessert than usual. In fact, usually I eat no dessert at all. It turns out I have some serious psychological problems with refusing food offered to me by my parents. On top of that, I developed this idea that every sticky bun that I ate would be one less sticky bun that my dad ate. He is not totally healthy and I really worry about his weight. They also hardly ever eat fresh vegetables in any kind of quantity. I felt maybe a little more tired than usual, and somewhat bloated from time to time, but in general not so bad. I didn't have large amounts of work to focus on so it wasn't a problem. Almost forgot - I drank vast quantities of beer, like two at lunch. This definitely makes me feel fat, and more importantly it makes me tend to be meaner to my family than I otherwise would be. It turns me into Al Bundy. My muscle definition is currently less than it was when I left, although I feel strong enough.
In terms of exercise, I walked a ton, did some strength training, and some running and sprinting. I also went kayaking but not as much as I have in years past. The walking was easy because that is all there is to do up there. On top of the normal walking routine, the Wife and I spent two nights at the Gite Mont-Albert, and did a four-hour hike the first day and an eight-hour hike (17km) the next, both in Five Fingers. Both of the trails were pretty bad, with a lot of sharp, loose rocks, and I wasn't able to cruise like one does in hiking boots, but I enjoyed myself thoroughly and didn't regret my shoe choice. I am a bit of a masochist, as it turns out. I did four (I think) three-mile runs and two (maybe three) sets of sprints. It is beyond me why I didn't do more. My form feels great right now, which might be related to not wearing office shoes for two whole weeks. My feet were not happy to be back in those things. They feel like a vise. For strength training, I did 5 x 4s, pushups, chinups, overhead lifts, wife squats. I liked our host's chinup bar so much that I bought one myself. I also had a much easier time getting into the freezing water than in years past, and was able to do fun things like jump off the rocks and stand-up paddle the kayak without stressing about falling in.
One point that really stands out as a measure of how far I've come is that I did a single one-hand pullup, something I never, ever could have done before. I couldn't get one with my left hand, but who knows, the day may come.
