Making friends and searching for fitness....

This has been a big week for meeting other foreigners. Last Saturday, we just happened to be wandering the streets on a rainy evening and passed another foreigner couple. We stooped and said hello and ended up going for a cup of tea and a chat. The next day we met up for lunch and got to know each other a bit better. They are a couple from the United States, but had been living (and met) in Spain for the past 8 years! As we talked we found we had quite a bit in common with regards to our goals with teaching abroad and our experience in Buyeo so far. It was quite relieving to hear that other people have had some of the same difficulties as us with regards to getting set up and settled here. We're excited to have met them and look forward to hanging out with them more often. The weekend was rainy so we stayed in Buyeo and made the most of it, walking when we could and getting some errands taken care of. This past Tuesday we met up with another bunch for dinner. Three are teachers the fourth is eh husband of one of the teachers. All very nice people. We had dinner at the buffet at the outlet mall and it was pretty decent. We got a lot of great info and tips for teaching and living in Buyeo and Korea. It's been a steep learning curve to date, but people like this make it heaps easier.

I (Brian) am finally in a place / routine where I can get up and have enough time for an hour long walk / jog / hike / run. I'm loving having the mountain right across from us. I step out our door and within a few minutes I'm up into the mountain. It's quiet and beautiful at 6:30AM. Just me and a handful of the ever so prominent 60+ crowd. They walk, stretch, do sit-ups and aerobics, it's awesome to see. Today I went for an hour, 40 minutes of which was in the mountain with lots of uphill running, jogging and power hiking. The last 20 minutes was back down through town, with a stop at the grocery store to pick up some soy milk for Julia. I managed 11k in the hour. Not bad considering the hills and technical trail on the mountain.  The fitness is coming back. We have the Spartan Beast (25 obstacles over 20km of running) June 13 and I have the Incheon  70.3 on July 5^th. I'll have to get out cycling soon! And Julia's main school in Buyeo supposedly has a pool that will open in June. I suspect it will be packed though.

The teaching is getting a bit easier, but we have good days and bad still. Sometimes it was our lesson or our delivery and other times it's because we aren't getting much help from our co-teacher. It's a tricky situation because we want to do a good job and have the support of our co-teachers, but we know how busy they are outside of our classes. I also start a Teachers Training class this Friday that will run from 3 – 5PM. I found out about it last week and will have to figure out what to do ASAP. After a class or two I'm sure it will be easy.

Training and Diet Plan to Prep for 4.5 Months of WALKING

So, as last year's triathlon season wound down, I really started to think about what kind of training I should do over the winter that would best prepare me to walk from Mexico to Canada, covering the 2650 miles (4200km) over 4.5 months, in the most comfort possible. I figured for at least a while, I could incorporate a LOT more weight training into my program and so I upped it from only a couple times per week to 5 - 6. I went from just doing a full body workout, to focusing on gaining strength and size and thus, only training each body part once every 5 days or so. A lot of my strength from many years of weight training came back quickly, and with an increase in calorie consumption (though no real junk) and reduced aerobic / endurance training, I put on close to 20lbs from last August until about now. Now that we're living out in Stittsville, house sitting for my parents for the next 5 weeks, I can set up my road bike on the trainer and get in good quality bike work. I've always loved the trainer, I can get a serious aerobic workout in a shorter amount of time than on the road, it builds incredible leg strength and endurance and turns your heart into a blood pumping MACHINE!! Julia also just got a membership at Goodlife, so I'll be doing weight training with her there, trying to get her strength up and get some more weight on her (maybe 5 - 8 pounds) in the next 6 weeks or so.

So I'll be trying to get in at LEAST an hour a day on the trainer, and then doing 4 - 5 days a week of weights, and sometimes the stairmill at Goodlife (also great for leg strength).

With this, I've also decided to do 6 weeks of a strict ketogenic diet. I've done it in the past with great success, and if you know what you're doing, it works incredibly well to lean you up, quickly. With a Ketogenic diet, you essentially restrict carbohydrates to a bare minimum (except fibre) while increasing fat content (preferably omega 3 fatty acids (anti inflammatory) and medium chain triglycerides (coconut oil)) and keeping protein relatively the same. As you deplete your carbohydrate stores (glycogen), your body switches to relying solely on fat as a source of fuel.You also benefit from a very stable insulin sensitivity and so your energy becomes much more stable and after the first few days, you can think clearer, you'll have more energy and you'll feel fuller for much longer after meals. Many people go crazy on cheese, bacon, butter, fatty beef etc, but that's not my style, I'll be getting a lot of my calories and fats from the following foods:

Eggs: Hard boiled or fried with coconut oil
Coconut oil: used in cooking, or taken off the spoon, or melted (melts with minimal heat) and take as a shot
Fish: Tuna, salmon, shrimp
Fish Oil: Progressive OmegEssential
Mayonnaise:  Mix with eggs / tuna
Avocado: GREAT keto food, rich in unsaturated fat and fibre.
Nuts: NATURAL peanut and Almond butters, almonds, walnuts
Greens: Salads with spinach, avocado, walnuts, a few olives, Progressive VegeGreens
Cream: mix with protein shakes and in coffee
Cheese: zero carbs, high fat only, use with meals

I don't eat poultry and beef, and the foods may seem limited (and I'm sure I've left out a couple) but there are a lot of options, and it's only for 6 weeks or so, so I'll be able to handle it!