So some weeks ago I decided that this year I will run a marathon. You'd think running would be easy, right? Just run every week and run a bit further every week.

Wrong. There are like 600 different ways to run and train. Fast paced, slow paced, inclined, interval, you name it and it exists probably.

I'm still in the process of finding out how I want to train. Do I take it slow and build things slow and steady? Do I want to spice thing up every now and then? I don't know yet.

I currently go for 5-7 km at a time. I think it's okayish for now. I hope to reach 10km somewhere in March. This week I decided to go 3km but at a fast pace. I did like 4:20 (!!!) To 4:50 minutes a km and at the last 750 meters I was even going at 2:30 per km somehow.

It's a long way to go still. It's much different than the explosivness of strength training and I have to find new ways for myself to train. But I keep going.

Currently doing Dry January as I usually do after New Year's. Maybe I'll do it for longer now, maybe not.

I also want to train for a marathon this year. Not sure which, but it would be nice to see if I could do it. The first test will be a ten miles in april and I'll see where it goes.

Maybe I'll do a physical exam somewhere soon to see what's going on in my body. I'm not having any problems but I'm curious if things will come up.

What about you?

So what I mean with my question is that I'm looking for ways to manage my energy without working out. Recently office work is physically getting harder for me as I just feel done with sitting all day. Today I'd swear that I could feel my muscles screaming, wanting to be used lol. Luckily I had a workout planned today.

But I can't workout every single day. I need to find ways to stay more active and to let out more energy, but I don't really now how.

So I went ice skating yesterday and it has left me pretty sore today. I figured it was a good workout that you could do every once in a while to spice things up.

I also do futsal sometimes with friends and I'n considering swimming as well.

What things do you do that are physically demanding yet not necessarily a workout?

It's been a while since I made a thread like this, mostly because I have been busy and I didn't have too much time to work out until in the past week.

I ran a trail run some weeks ago and I was pleased with my time. I am now going to focus on a 10 miles somewhere in spring 2024, so I'll try to go running at least twice a week. Should be very much doable.

I did two home workouts this week, nothing too special. Diet has been good as well, so overall things are fine.

Cold showers has become a bit of a challenge. It's getting colder over here and my bathroom is not that easy to heat, so it's been a steady 10-13 degrees over there. The water temp is around 15 degrees too I think (at its coldest setting). Shit is cold yo. I know a few people who do cold showers as well and everyone keeps telling me the winter is the best, when it's cold outside. They like the cold water best then. I think they are all lying. No sane person likes freezing to death lol. But at this point I won't quit, mostly because I'm too stubborn for it it seems. We'll see how winter goes.

How was your week?

On Sept. 9, activists from Extinction Rebellion (XR) are once again blocking the A12 to persuade the government to stop giving benefits to the fossil industry. I too am concerned about global warming and went to an XR information day on a rainy day. It was about the consequences of climate change if the global average temperature rises by more than 1.5 degrees, and about civil disobedience to do something about it.

Although I shared the same concerns with everyone sitting there, I didn't feel like a participant. I missed the broader context; there was not a word about institutional inequality, climate refugees and climate justice, which makes people like me, who are aware of such inequality and also want to do their part, unlikely to join.

ALREADY, PEOPLE ARE FLEEING THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION

For me it would be that lifting can take time. It's okay to start with light weights and it's okay that getting bigger will take more than three months. Sure, pushing yourself is good to make progress, but everyone has their limits.

Also, lifting can be for more than just getting bigger. In the beginning I was hyper focussed on getting more muscular and it led to me taking awful homemade protein/caloric shakes which cannot be healthy long term. It took me pretty long to understand that this way of training was not what I wanted. Luckily I now know that I want to focus on strength and stamina and that size comes second.

How about you?

This week has been so humid it's not even funny. It wasn't even that hot, like 26 degrees max or something. But the 80% humidity slapped me in the face. Every movement I did made me sticky.

Anyway, it hasn't stopped me from going at it. I did my strength exercises and my runs, and I'm starting to look more muscular than when I started after my three week holiday.

I did have a problem with fatigue this week. Despite eating and getting my macro's in, my body struggles to repair itself. I even didn't feel like working out at one point. I'm glad I did, though.

Anyone else experienced this before? And do you have any tips to combat it, maybe?

It has Dutch subs but since it is in Spanish, I figured y'all might like it

I just got back from my 5am morning run. After more than a month of rain and 15 degrees, the wetter has suddenly changed to sunny and 30 degrees. This makes running after work, when it's at its hottest over here, not ideal. So with my sigma money grindset I decided to get up early and do my runs then. Today I did a 5.5km run (mostly because the round I had was 1.1km instead of the 1km I thought it would be). My upcoming trail run should be no real challenge and I am thinking about doing half a marathon in october. We'll see how it goes.

Running in the morning with a cold shower afterwards is great. I'm doing this thing in the shower where I stand still under the cold water for 30 seconds while I keep focussing on my breath. It gives me a great adrenaline boost it seems and my senses are all fired up when I get out.

I did some strength training as well, but nothing special going on there. I am thinking about buying a weighted vest to do my push ups with, as it is probably easier than filling my backpack with weights every time. Anyone over here with experience with weighted vests?

I thought I might share a tasty, high protein recipe for y'all.

Note: of course you don't have to add all the ingredients in the vid. If you don't have bay leaves anywhere near you, leave them out lol.