Wayfarer

Outdoor Goals for 2012

2011-11-23T10:57:00.001-08:00

I've been quiet on this blog this year because I had to focus all my free time to obtain a professional certificate for my career prospects. I did although go on a white water rafting/camping trip for my 30th birthday this year with my buddies. That was a ton of fun and hope I can do it again later in life.

I know it's a little early to begin discussing resolutions for 2012, but I hope to finally go on a real backpacking trip. I'm jealous of my wife. She gets more vacation time than I do and she carry over days she doesn't use for the next year. She has accrued nearly 2-3 more weeks more vacation time and is planning her first REI adventure to Yosemite. I wish I could go, but I'll have to be satisfied with local backpacking adventures. Most will say to start with easy trips before planning the big adventures anyway. Makes sense.

Here are my goals at glance:

Backpack 1-3 times
Ascend a mountain at least 4 times next year
Take part in trail restoring with REI
Restore mountain bike and hit the trails
Learn/take a survival class
Learn how to read a compass and map
Learn/remember how to tie at least 3 knots
Snowboarding at least once next winter
Join a hiking group or bug my friends to hit the trails
Road trip to a state park I haven't visited

Anza Borrego Wildflowers

2011-03-20T17:43:00.001-07:00

After years of wanting to drive out to Anza-Borrego Desert Park we made it this year. Flowers weren't blooming as much because February was a particularly cold month and froze many flowers. It was still nice to visit this place. My wife, me and my neighbor hiked the main canyon. Along the way we saw sprouts of flowers appearing randomly followed by a spring trickling down the canyon. The higher we hiked the closer we came to seeing mini waterfalls. That was great. We took a picnic at the top and watched a photographer trip in a stream. I felt bad for him as we watched on while enjoying our chicken sandwich subs. Fortunately for him his camera was safe! We had a little more time to explore another trail by the time we got to the bottom at 4pm, but we were already pooped. We saddled up and drove back. The icing on the cake for the Sunday was making a pit stop at Julian's Apple Pie Company. I had a slice of original apple pie with cinnamon ice cream on top. It was the perfect treat to wrap up the day. Not bad for a lazy Sunday. We literally planned the day trip last night after finding out the campgrounds were completely full for the next two weeks.

Monitoring Blood Pressure

2011-01-24T13:51:00.000-08:00

Yikes. So I go to the doctor today for something personal, but he ended up telling me that my blood pressure is on the rise and I have to keep my heart in check. I found a good guide online that I'm going to try to bring in to my daily regime.

Here are the ten helpful tips for lowering blood pressure:

avoid salt (salads for lunch might help...)
avoid caffeine (could cut out the Coke)
stop smoking (thankfully I don't)
lose weight (losing 10 lbs...)
avoid drugs and alcohol (cut down on weekend drinks)
relax (walk, chill music on ipod, hot bath before bed)
exercise (walk 30 mins. a day / 3mi/hr pace)
meditate (aim at 2-5 mins a day, then increase)
monitor your blood pressure regularly (can check at CVS)
natural remedies (garlic, olive oil, electrolyte sup.)

I'm going to work on these suggested 10 tips and check back.

Cross training

2011-01-04T16:20:00.000-08:00

I've taken a break from running since my last half-marathon at Disneyland. I did my first roller blade half marathon in November, and want to do it again this year. I had more fun doing that race than the previous two in which I ran. My wife has plans for several races this year and I will be scaling back a few myself. I don't want to over exert my body's joints so I'm taking it slower. In the mean time I'm thinking this could be a great year to not overburden myself with concrete goals, but to make one goal simple. Make it a goal to be more physically active outdoors and varied activities.

This year I plan to:

Rollerblade
Hike
Trail/beach clean up
Play tennis
Surf
Swim
Kayak??
Mud run race
Yoga (wii fit or solo)

Here's to having fun outdoors.

Tahquitz Peak conquered!

2010-08-09T09:25:00.000-07:00

Camping in Idyllwild last weekend was a success. The first night we had to deal with rowdy neighbors partying late into the evening when my wife and I wanted to get to bed early after our campfire. The sun and people talking woke us up early and we drove out to the trailhead. We wanted a hearty breakfast so we split a monster burrito. The drive to the trailhead was a bumpy one on a dirt road. The neatest thing was seeing a deer walking closely to the road.

After hiking for 3 hours straight, we conquered Tahquitz Peak. It was a victory to reach the top because last year we attempted the South Ridge trail and fell short of hiking the steap switchbacks before the final peak because of time and leaving friends back at our campsite. The neat thing about the top was that there was a fire lookout tower that was built in early 1930s and only abandoned 5 years ago because of technology they didn't need it. We met a nice volunteer that educated us about the historic building atop the peak and we made our back down after a few pictures.

For more info about Tahquitz Peak fire lookout here is a good page click here.

I was happy to finish the peak in 4.5 hours after not finishing last year. I like Idyllwild, but after camping there three years in a row, I'm ready for something new and a campsite that isn't so crowded and campsites that aren't built so closely together.

Desire to Hike again

2010-08-02T17:19:00.000-07:00

August 6th, I'll be heading out to camp for the weekend and attempt a 6 mile hike. Getting surgery on my bad in-grown toenail has been a summer issue and I hope I don't have to lose 3 weeks of exercise to heal. Beside from the toe, I really want to get back into hiking as soon as training is over for the half-marathon. I miss going on quarterly hikes and miss being immersed in nature like I used to with my wife and friends.

About a month back I saw a really cool nature program dedicated to the Appalachian Trail (AT as hikers call it). It was amazing to see the scenery on a HD channel of the beautiful mountainscapes all the way from Georgia to Maine. The trail takes about 3 months to hike and has to be set out at the right time in order to complete. Not many complete the entire trail but the people that are met along the trail seem like neat people and over time a nick name is given: probably but hilarious stories told over the camp fire.

I've been having a deeper and profound desire to one day maybe make it a life long dream to hike the trail but will probably have to wait until I move out to the east coast in a few years. I feel cooped up from being in a cubicle 7:30-4:30 Monday-Friday and long for the outdoors. Next year I should finally start to get a bit more vacation time to play with instead of the standard two weeks.

But first, I will definitely have to start with the basics of backpacking: learning to read a map, gps,water conservation, packing light to aim for 35 pound backpack. For starters I'm asking for REI gift cards for my birthday this month so I can start collecting important items for the future.

Disneyland Half-Marathon

2010-07-29T14:24:00.000-07:00

I completed my half-marathon in early June for Rock N' Roll San Diego. Now I'm training for my second half-marathon for Disneyland on September 3rd. I've been battling a serious in grown toenail this summer that has put a dent in my training but I hope I'll pick up the pace once I'm fully recovered. I got it after the day of my 13.1 mile race (finished at 3 hours exactly) and have been trying to hard to do every thing I can to heal it.

2010-04-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

Came across a really cool article from HealthCastle.com:

Super Red: Pink grapefruit, red bell peppers, tomatoes, and watermelon

Lycopene shows promise in fighting lung and prostate cancers. Lycopene is actually more available after cooking or processing so don't ignore canned tomato paste!

Super Purple: Concord grapes, blueberries and prunes

The anthocyanins that give these fruits their distinctive colors may help ward off heart disease by preventing clot formation. They may also help lower risk of cancer.

Super Green: Spinach, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, collard greens and bok choy

Lutein appears to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke as well as guard against age-related macular degeneration. Dark green leafy vegetables are usually high in folate, a B vitamin that shows promising results in preventing heart diseases. In addition, Sulforaphane, a photochemical present in cruciferous vegetables, was found to detoxify cancer-causing chemicals before they do damage the body.

Super Orange: Carrots, mango, pumpkin and oranges

The beta carotenes in these orange super fruits and vegetables may prevent cancer, particularly of the lung, esophagus and stomach. They may also reduce risk of heart disease and improve immune function.

Super White: Cauliflower, mushrooms, banana and onions

These contain anthoxanthins and allicin, which can help lower blood pressure and protect against stomach cancer.

Hawaii Readiness

2010-04-27T10:29:00.000-07:00

Summer vacation begins a month from now. I will be leaving for Kauai on May 27th. I have four weeks to finish my training for Rock n' Roll. I go to Hawaii, relax for a week with some hiking or surfing involved and then I come back to tackle the big 13.2 half-marathon.

I'm getting really pumped up. Last Sunday for my 8 mile run, I finished first with 1:31:32. It was my fastest time yet! Just over 11 minutes/mile. I hope to keep improving and have found 9 "super-tips" to help me work on my gut some more, since I haven't lost much at all from running in that area:

1 - Eat foods with healthy fats (monounsaturated), such as fish, avocado, almonds and more.
2 - Drink plenty of ice cold (thermogenic effect can burn extra body fat) water daily.
3 - Get 7-9 hours of sleep EVERY NIGHT.
4 - Eat several small meals daily to help boost your metabolism and keeping you from getting hungry.
5 - Do not skip meals...especially breakfast! Skipping breakfast will confuse your metabolism causing it to slow down...and store extra calories as fat!
6 - Get plenty of protein every day. Your protein sources can come from a variety of things such as supplemental (protein shakes), poultry, fish, nuts, and more.
7 - Make sure you are getting a good amount of fiber daily. Apples, whole grains such as oatmeal and brown rice, etc.
8 - As far as ab exercises go, the best exercises is the one's you already know… forget the machines. Those exercises would be crunches, side crunches, and leg rises.
9 - Do not get confused in thinking that all you need to do is crank out 100 crunches every day to get six pack abs without doing everything mentioned above. Belly fat must be removed in order for your abdominal muscles to show, and crunches do not burn fat...proper dieting, rest, and plenty of water is what will burn fat.

Rock n' Roll Half Marathon

2010-03-29T16:15:00.000-07:00

So just a few months back I receive a text from my wife telling me she's going to begin training for the Rock n' Roll half marathon. I was shocked, because I know she's not a runner and hates exercise. I decided I would help keep her motivated by trying for the same goal myself.

The schedule is pretty simple:
Mon: rest. Tue: run. Wed: rest. Thu: run. Fri-Sat: rest. Sun: run. Each Sunday we raise the bar a mile, so every week we keep going further and further. Right now we're at 6 miles in 1 hour, 15 minutes. While that may not be the fastest time, we're on track to meet our goal to finish the 13 mile race in 3 hours. I've never trained for anything like this, so the experience is quite exhilarating. It's also fun to bond with other people that are going through the exact same training. I was supposed to start cross training last week, but skipped.... So this week I'm going to get back on that with either Wii fit plus or medicine ball workout.

June 6 is the day of our race. The week before that we'll be soaking up the Hawaiian sun for the first time. That will be our big annual trip and should be fun relaxing and hiking the pristine green mountains there.

Diet and Exercise Week Challenge

2009-11-09T10:10:00.001-08:00

I've been trying to do better about losing weight, but it seems I've been counter productive in my diet and have gained 3-5 pounds. I drank more soda, beer and fast food last week, Wii Fit is telling me I weigh 159 and my scale in the bathroom is telling me I weigh 160. I really want to weigh closer to loser 150s. My wife is traveling for work for a week, so I'm going to try to diet and exercise everyday.

A typical day should look like:

6:45-7:00 - Shower/ready for work

7:30 - Breakfast - Oatmeal w/cinnamon

11:30 - 2 fruits and/or 2 veggies

12:00 - Lunch - Protein - chicken

3:00 - 2 fruits and/or 2 veggies

4:35-5:15 - Elliptical

6:00 - Dinner (fish, lean protein)

7:15-7:30 - WiiFit Yoga

Daily intake should be range between 17,000 - 19,000 calories.

Rules: No soda, no candy, no coffee (w/creme), no pizza, 1 beer limit, get 8 hours of sleep.

11/10, Update* went to store about a variety of fruit for under $10 bucks. Every time I'm craving sugar I can snack on fruit. Missed Monday's work out to watch MNF. Got anime out of bedroom and ready to move to storage. Turns out silver coated dvds can last 20-30 years and withstand 120 degrees F. So I felt more secure about moving them to storage until we get a bigger place.

Quitting Soda

2009-11-03T12:22:00.000-08:00

So I've tried many times in the past to quit soda. I'm terrible at quitting, for I always rationalize why I need sugar enduced caffeine. I'm addicted to the taste of Coca Cola and have had terrible discipline in the past in my attempts to quit. I planned on waiting until lent to try this experiment to quit, but I want to start sooner than that.

My quitting soda reasons are:

Reduce the risk of diabetes
Too much sugar in my diet -> extra belly weight
Regaining health with better muscle development and immune system
Save money dining out

My quiting schedule is:

Nov 2 - 8: 3-5 Cokes/week
Nov 9 - 15: 3 Cokes/week
Nov 16 - 22: 1 Coke/week
Dec: 0!

* also - no refills, that defeats the purpose!!

My resources:

http://www.wikihow.com/Quit-Soda-Pop

http://quittingsoda.com/

To do better this time, I don't plan on telling people I'm doing this so I don't feel like they nag me for when I slip up or teasing me about quiting.

After I quit soda, maybe I'll then be able to enjoy a soda every once in a while, but for now I have to cut the addiction.

Back to Fitness!

2009-09-20T22:24:00.000-07:00

The summer was a busy time again and I found my self with little to no time to work out. My wife and I were traveling to see friends and family every weekend. With the crazy schedule I had, I basically gave up on working out for the season.

During August I got a cold that put me out for a week and then a week or so later I through out my back in bed of all places trying to rise and get up one weekend morning.

The good news is that it's the Fall and I'm ready to work out again! Surprisingly I've gained four pounds, putting me at 157.6. I want to lose 3-6 pounds and get my stomach back into shape. My other goal is work on flexibility with Yoga.

My first week I've exercised on the eliptical twice and even did all my yoga exercises available on WiiFit for 30 minutes, so I think I'm off to a good start. I hope to continue exercising more and more each week, so I can build up a daily workout routine to get back into shape.

Go me!

Update November 3rd - So far I've managed to get 35 minutes of cardio a week. I plan to up that to 2-3 times a week.

Idyllwild

2008-07-30T07:50:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went on a camping trip with some good friends of my fiancée and I. I had never been to Idyllwild and fortunately for us it was a quick 2 hour drive from San Diego. We camped Friday through Sunday and went on a 8 mile hike Saturday to the top of Suicide Rock.

The hike was the longest hike my fiancée and I have done since Half Dome last year. Surprisingly it was half the distance, but I still felt I was out of shape. With all the moving and wedding planning stuff I've been pre-occupied with... I really haven't find time for the outdoors.

Next month we'll be heading to the Sequoias for another weekend trip with just the two of us. I hope it will fun and romantic and better than it was last weekend.

Wii Fit

2008-06-16T13:57:00.001-07:00

My fiancee has been bugging me to get the Wii Fit for our Wii for a while. After the initial release, I missed out on the release because of limited supply for pre-orders. We eventually got our copy from a Craig's List seller. I had fun the first month with the game and got to see some changes in my physique.

The game takes time and discipline. I've had to curve my diet to keep up with all the physical work I'm putting into going to the gym.

I try to do elliptical 3 days a week and do Wii Fit on the other days to sculpt my body with Wii Fit's yoga and strength training exercises.

I liked feeling my body becoming more flexible after a few weeks and hope to maintain the work out.

I found the game was great for core training of the body, while physical exertion (cardio) should be done off the Wii board and else where.

This summer I have two camping trips planned. I can't wait to get outdoors again. I'll try to check into to this blog and post some pictures from the trip.

Health & Happiness

2008-04-28T11:56:00.000-07:00

Good news on the health front.

I quite soda a week ago and hope to not look back. I read an article that was truly helpful in understanding how food & beverage consumption effects the body. In particular to bad calories that aren't wanted and proceed to stick right to the gut and the mental and physical stress that access weight puts on the body.

I'm also cutting down on my sugar and alcohol intake.

No more drinking heavily socially. I'm sticking to my two drink limit.

No candy as well. That's out.

I used the elliptical 5 days straight last week and it felt awesome. After quiting soda I began to sleep better at night and didn't feel like I really needed all that caffeine.

Vegetables and fruits are helping me fight my cravings and my energy levels feels stable for once.

I'm weighing in at 153. My goal is 144 with a better looking stomach.

Lazy Update

2008-04-17T14:07:00.000-07:00

I started strong in retraining again at the end of the last month and the start of this month, but again I find myself getting back to just being lazy. I've been making excuses to not go to the gym and it's been ridiculous how I rationalize not going.

So I think I'm going to try to make it automatic.

Instead of finding time before or after work, I'm going to go during lunch and hammer out some cardio. I've also been trying to quit drinking soda and alcohol but haven't been as disciplined as I should be.

New rules to implement:
No soda
2 drink limit

Lazy

2008-03-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

A quarter into this year already and I can admit I've been totally lazy this year.

I haven't been exercising regularly and have been using all my free time to watch anime and read my Dune novels. I have three Dune books left in the series, and I'm putting them aside for just a short while to get my body and health back up to speed.

Last month I was successful in quiting energy drinks again, but I've allowed my self to drink soda almost every day. I'm trying to re-introduce vegetables in my daily diet again as well. Eating more broccoli, carrots, etc.

What's worse is that I haven't been sleeping well at all. I'm tossing and turning every night with too much anxiety and unrest. I'm going to trade all that in with a good week of fitness that gets me to sleep better. Time to get my passion and energy back!!

My "Back to the Gym" Schedule next week:

Mon: Swim 20 pool laps
Tue: Chest/Arms 30-40 mins
Wed: Elliptical 30 mins
Thu: Shoulders/
Fri: Swim 20 pool laps
Sat: Rest
Sun: Rest

Wish me luck!

Unexpected Flu Season?

2008-02-14T09:48:00.000-08:00

Surprisingly coming back from Vegas after New Year's... I got a little sick. Then two weeks later I get really sick from a snowboarding trip up to Mammoth Lakes. A night or two after I got back I came down with a fever that felt like my head was on fire. The fever stayed in for my system for three days and I had to work from home two of those days. At the same time, I've been avoiding the gym because of all the new years resolution people that crowd the gym and steal up all the lanes in the swimming pool.

I'm starting to finally get back to 100%, so I want to get back on a routine schedule working out. I thought about gaining some muscle, but I still need to lose my gut, so I'll be trying to eliminate that first, then sculpt areas that need work.

Hopefully working out regularly at the gym again will refuel my energy. I've been trying to quit eating unhealthy foods and stay off soda. Hard goals, but they should pay off for the body in the long haul.

Swim: Week 2 & 3

2008-01-04T13:36:00.000-08:00

It's been about three weeks since I first started swimming. I average about 25-40 laps for the 30 mins that I swim. I want to work up to 45 mins then 60 mins. For now my body can't take much more than 30 laps before becoming exhausted, so I'll just have to keep swimming often and much. I'm going 2-3 times a week, but would like to get out there more. I am however juggling swimming with some light weight training.

I have to say I bought a few items off of swimoutlet.com and have been loving the feeling of swimming faster and safer with my speedo equipment. My girlfriend makes fun of me that I'm "turning gay," - I just laugh at her and tell her I'm a faster swimmer for it and it makes me feel better in the water. It's not a traditional speedo either, it's tight black speedo competitive shorts for racing in the water.

Future items I'd like to purchase would be ear plugs and possible a waterproof case for my iPod.

I'll check back in as a I progress.

Swim: Week 1

2007-12-19T10:20:00.000-08:00

I'm going to start swimming this week as of this Wednesday, December 19, 2007.

Currently I'm weighing in at 149 lbs with a belly showing so I'm going to concentrate on getting my stomach back under control. I'm going to cut soda (coke), monster energy drinks while introducing fruit/veggies into my diet for a start and see how that improves me.

I found a great discussion online discussing miles vs. laps. For the discussion see my right menu under "Diet/Excercise" Without further a due, here's what I'm planning for using the metric calculator to calculate distance needed to burn fat:

Metric calculator
http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/conversions.html

1 mile= 1609.34 meters
1 length of pool=25 meters

So 65 laps is 1625 meters.
I plan to do 66 laps on my lunch break M-F.

65 lengths, not 65 laps is 1625 in a 25 meter pool.
65 laps would be 2 miles or 3250 meters (65 x 50 = 3250).

There's the math and the goal. By the end of a few weeks I hope to be swimming 2 miles a day. It's a lot of time spent in a lap pool, but I should see improvements.

I love swimming too because it clears my head of stress and other anxiety that fights to get me down.

Cheers, to the big blue! :)

Swimming for a Change

2007-12-19T09:06:00.000-08:00

Right now we're about in the middle of winter at December. It's a week before Christmas and it has finally started to rain again. What that means for me is that I can't really get much outdoors.

About the time I was getting into hiking/camping and discovering REI a few months ago, I fell out of shape again. Around the same time, I also got some funky "tendon" injury behind my knees. I need to go to a doctor soon, I just have been too busy at work to schedule it. I also found out my asthma has come back to me at 26...

Most of my allergies unpleasantness has to do with my sister-in-law moving in and bringing her cat with her. I noticed the change after the cat had only been in the house for a month. It hasn't been fun and seems to rob me of my sleep. I'm determined not to let any of that bother me though.

So! I've decided to hit the gym heavily swimming up to 5 times a week. It's great because swimming is low impact and gets the body into overall healthy shape while toning muscle.

Christina left home to Long Island today for 10 days, so I hope to surprise her when she comes back with some change with instituting my diet and exercise changes. I also hope that leading by example, she'll be motivated to begin going to the gym again.

Back to Training

2007-09-12T08:07:00.000-07:00

Due to the sheer time consuming career life, time spent with a significant other and reading non-fiction... I've let my health fall by the weigh side. I've been eating fatty carbs and pastas my girlfriend makes, but I've decided to not let that all get to me and get my butt back in the gym daily. I took soda and energy drinks up again, but will be trying to re-quit that too with the aid of water and green tea.

I tend to be more productive in the fall/winter so we'll see how everything goes. I'll also be going to REI sometime this fall to pick out a sleeping bag and maybe a tent depending on my resources. After that I'm going to plan for my first backpacking trip.

I can definitely see how cutting off physical activity can drain the body from having energy and vitality to do anything else, so it will be a motivating factor to have energy back with dedication to staying in shape.

Current stats:
5' 9", 147 lbs, 13% bf

Gym goals:
Cardio to shred the pudge around my waste
Sculpting to get the "6 pack shape back".

Half-Dome Accomplished!

2007-08-20T09:26:00.000-07:00

My girlfriend and I started the bottom of the trail at 8am and didn't finish until 12:23am. Unfortunately, we didn't realize how out of shape we were. We planned on turning back once we realized how much more distance we had to cover and the sobering thought that sunlight wasn't going to be around much longer. I believe it was our sheer stubborness that kept pushing us forward to complete the entire circuit.

I used up 3.5 liters of water (hydration pack+water bottles). Part of the problem is that we didn't eat enough of our snacks on the way up and back.

Fortunately for us, 3 Brazilians caught us on the way down just before dark and agreed to be our trail mates until getting to the bottom.

I think the only thought of being eating alive by bears is what pushed us to make it to the bottom. It was hard to keep up with the Brazilians in the darkness.

Finally when we reached closer to the bottom around Vernal Falls the three Brazilians (2 guys, 1 girl) dropped us off with a slower group of high school kids to make our way to the village.

I had to deal with fatique and bruised muscles everywhere. I certainly learned the lesson of training and going with someone who's equal in fitness and not as out of shape as my girlfriend was.

I'll post some pictures this week when I get some more time.

What an awesome trip though!!!

Yosemite this Friday!

2007-08-14T07:07:00.001-07:00

So I'm stoked for Friday. I'm working early M-Th, so I can leave half day for my trip up to Yosemite. Unfortunately, I injured my back during a move the last two weeks, so I am unsure if my back is going to be up for Half-Dome. I've been using IcyHot patches to combat the lower back pain, but don't know if I'll be healed in time. If nothing else I'll get the lay of the land and be better prepared the next time I drive up.

Week 4 Training

2007-08-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

Last week for training and I can feel my self getting "there" as far as healthier physique goes. I have noticed since placing emphasis on training my legs, I've felt more strength from the lower half of my body. Stairs don't bother me and I'm more inclined to run up them then take my time.

Looking forward to Half-Dome next week. I don't think the difficulty will bother me, the only thing I imagine getting to me is the the amount of time going up then coming back down. I'll be hiking at 7am then returning around dusk.

Monday:
Rest.
Tuesday:
Elliptical, 25 mins, 230 cal. burned.
Wednesday:
Rest
Thursday:
Legs, Abs again
Friday:
Elliptical after work
Saturday:
Big moving furniture day.
Sunday:
Rest

Week 3 Training

2007-07-31T15:37:00.001-07:00

Third week in and I'm exhausted on Tuesday morning at work. I had the bright idea of seeing a band play in Los Angeles, so I had to drive up through rush hour for that and then drive home at nearly midnight. The fatigue's killing me... so I'm going to push to train later this week.

Monday:
Skipped due to reason above.
Tuesday:
Skipped due to reason above.
Wednesday:
Rest
Thursday:
Legs, Abs again
Friday:
Rest
Saturday:
Rest
Sunday:
Did a 7.5 mile hike (1/2 the distance I'll be doing at Half Dome).

Week 2 Training

2007-07-25T13:54:00.000-07:00

The second week in training got off to a rough start. I was told my presence was required Monday to help my parents load "two pieces of furniture" into my aunt and uncle's U-Haul. Low and behold I had to dissemble a few things before moving everything into the garage to load onto the truck. So there went my Monday... the rest of the week should be more committed.

Monday:
Skipped due to reason above.
Tuesday:
Incline lvl. 4.5 Resistance Treadmill, 30 mins, 150 calories burned
Wednesday:
Elliptical, 35 mins, 333 calories burned
Thursday:
Legs 40 mins, Abs 5 mins. My gluteus maximus is sore.
Friday:
Rest
Saturday:
Rest
Sunday:
4 mile hike up the tallest peak in my city = 2 hours

Week 1 Training

2007-07-20T09:10:00.000-07:00

I started training this week for the Half-Dome hike set for next month in Yosemite. I want to be able to reach the peak and climb up the face when the going gets tough.

Here's what my week looked like so far at the gym:

Monday:
Elliptical, 30 mins, 282 calories burned on manual quickstart
Tuesday:
Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps exercises
Wednesday:
Elliptical, 30 mins, 300 calories burned on manual quickstart
Thursday:
Rest
Friday:
Rest

The weekend I'll be recovering, but next weekend I want to go on a practice hike in my city. According to my "How-To Hike Half-Dome" link on the sidebar, I need to be climbing lots of stairs and be doing pull ups as well as squeezing tennis balls. Heh!

Yosemite: Half-Dome

2007-07-19T15:33:00.000-07:00

My first documented journey on this blog will be to Yosemite, California USA. During the next 30 days I'll be training to build up my endurance for a long all day hike up Half-Dome's peak.

I found two sites that recommend training 2 months prior to the trip and to pack a lot of water and be prepared to do a lot of vertical trecking along a steap walking climb up the peak.

I'm getting excited to do this trip, since I've never camped somewhere and climbed. It should be a good trip and in the mean time, I'll be practicing on local mountains in my city before I leave in August for the weekend trip.

I'll probably see Glacier Lake, Half-Dome, and Yosemite Falls. More trip details to follow.

...And so I embark

2007-07-19T14:08:00.000-07:00

Pack on my back I wander
Over mountains across the seas
My yearning soul keeps roaming
In the endless search for peace
Sky is my roof, my shelter
Stars shine and light my way
Earth is my bed, my altar
On this road that leads to nowhere
"Soul of a Vagabond" ~ Stratovarius

...And so I set out to embark on more travels. It's no secret that I'm a traveler and and a restless wayfarer. Ever since high school ended, I've enjoyed the freedom to take travels around the world to foreign countries and destinations.

I leave behind my city to take in the sights, culture, and faces of places not reminiscent of home. Every time I do this however, I come back more charged and ready for life. It's as though I get stir crazy in my own town or as my girlfriend calls it "cabin fever" and I long to see more of the world.

In this blog, I shall document my travels more extensively and what happens on the road and what I see.

I've been to almost every country in Europe, but haven't seen much of my homeland in the United States and I'll be trying to take time away from the 9-5 grind to go on some adventures.

Here's to adventures and other adventurers out there!