5.29.11 New Surroundings

Ok - a quick update.

Since my last post, I sold, gave away, or threw out just about everything I owned and moved to South Korea to take a job teaching English to elementary and middle school students. The kettlebells, clubbells, macebells, and pull-up rack all found good homes, and I spent my final days in the U.S. throwing away just about everything else. I had to condense my belongings down to two suitcases, and almost all of that had to be clothing because stores in Korea don't generally carry anything in my size (men's sizes usually stop at 36" waist and 44" chest).

We arrived and spent the first month getting adjusted to our new jobs and new city of Jeonju. We didn't even try to have a regular workout schedule during that time, as we were adjusting to walking everywhere. I walk a minimum of two miles every weekday now (to work and back), and on most days I take our dog for a walk in the morning and evening so I'm getting in 4-5 miles per day. On weekends, we usually go for a hike in the mountains near our apartment - not as many miles but much more intense terrain - usually very steep.

This week, we felt that we were setled in enough to start TFW again.

TFW Pre-Recruit Mission, Day 5

No Intensity Day - Strain Prevention

I'm a little bit sore today, but not too bad. I figure that I'll be quite sore tomorrow, since we hiked about three hilly miles yesterday in addition to doing the high intensity day. On the past two days I didn't really worry about score and I didn't take my pulse during the rest periods. I just wanted to get back into the flow of doing the movements. Assuming I didn't go over my target heart rate (I don't think I did) my score on the day 3 moderate workout was 29, and on the day 4 high intensity workout I got a 31.

I probably didn't need to go back to the pre-recruit level, but I've been feeling very tight and inflexible lately, especially in the lower back. I thought that backing off the difficulty level would help prevent any injuries. I was actually surprised to find that all of the sitting on the floor (we have a semi-traditional apartment - some Western furniture, some Asian) has improved my hip strength and flexibility somewhat.

Today we are going to be doing a bit of city walking, going out to celebrate with a friend who just finished a huge test in her University studies. We will eat shabu shabu (a hot pot dish with a bit of pork and a ton of veggies) and probably finish off with patbingsu (a red bean and fruit dessert served over shaved ice). I'm taking the dog for a long walk now to help offset all those calories.