#250KChallenge2018 - Week 1

And so it starts - 12 weeks to transform your body to win $100,000 and more. I am happy to have recruited quite a few people and I look forward to seeing what they achieve. Below is Week 1 recap as I have done in previous Bodybuilding.com challenges. I like to track and share what I have done, show that I have flaws, failures but also successes. We’re all human.

Every week, Bodybuilding.com sends out an email with a weekly challenge to post on Instagram. This week’s is to answer “What/who is your inspiration?” Besides being more healthy overall because of the ridiculous costs of healthcare, I love helping, training and motivating people I care about that they can do it too. And they don’t mind me kicking their butt as Kim, my neighbor, states below.

Monday

Looking back, I feel I may have overdone it. I woke up early to knock out this month’s hike completely around Lake Merritt in Oakland, CA. I have never done that before as long as I have lived in the East Bay. The day before, my friend, Ji-Young, and I, and her son and my nephew, Alexander, were supposed to go around the Lafayette Reservoir. I unfortunately had to be on the peninsula at 3:30 PM and we were planning on meeting during the time Alexander has his nap. So we pushed it back to an early morning hike. She was off of work due to the holiday.

I arrived at Ji-Young’s after breakfast at Rudy’s Can’t Fail. I had their two egg breakfast with hash browns and veggie sausage to stick with my second consecutive Meatless Monday. Sad to say, Alexander was sick and he wasn’t joining us.

We found parking and started our hike. I was so sore from previous workouts so I started out a bit slow. Ji-Young was happy to be out and about. She was home all day with a sick baby the day before. It was a nice morning out and there were quite a few people doing the same. Some running, jogging or just walking like us. We passed the entrance to the Fairyland park for families, a gazebo I’ve never seen from driving around the lake, a sphere with a tree’s branches poking through, an arch structure and even people working out, some homeless catching some Zs and a guy smoking pot and rocking out to a large speaker he brought. The total hike was 3.1 miles, a 5K. We rewarded ourselves with stopping into Lake Chalet Seafood Restaurant and Bar. I had a Virgin Bloody Mary while Ji-Young enjoyed it with a pepper vodka. The Greek yogurt parfait was delicious as well!

Next, I had plans to meet Stan for lunch for Oakland Restaurant Week and Slainte near Jack London Square, then I was going to have my second golf lesson at the driving range. Parked nearby at the parking garage across from the movie theatre, Slainte is a bar and lounge that just opened in 2017. Immediately when you walk in, you feel like you’re in an Irish pub with seating around the perimeter, small tables and chairs and a triangular bar with a dart board. I was lucky enough to choose to sit wherever I wanted. I chose the two chairs and table next to the unlit fireplace with a mantle with books and a painting centered above.

Meatless Monday continued with a modification to their Oakland Restaurant Week menu items to a salad with root veggies and a leek soup and a soda bread. I’ve never had a soda bread and Stacey, the Bartender, said it was a recipe passed down by the Chef or Owner’s grandmother. How beautiful is that? Stan had his Bailey’s and coffee and a salad. He said his coffee was delicious. I look forward to coming back and hanging out at this bar. 

We next went to the driving range at Monarch Bay in San Leandro. It was a two story range and I got some really good pointers from a PGA professional. Stan has been playing golf all is his life. Hitting the ball just comes naturally to him. I need to be more flexible, especially in the hips. I think windmills and yoga will definitely help with that. However, it was fun to hit again and I hope to get better.

Already a little tired, I went home and took it easy before meeting up with Kim, my neighbor, for her second gym date with me. I was going to take a power nap but when she up’d the time of when she’d be available, I got up and wrote out what we were going to do and I prepped a BCAA drink with Shredz supplements for her to try. I had a HIIT routine planned for us that incorporated cardio moves, alternating abs and a different muscle group. For the second round, I modified the same moves so she can see how to change up these moves should she decide to them on her own. She did really well. She was red, sweaty and she didn’t say no. I added weight to her cardio moves and she said I had to add weight to my jump squats. I couldn’t tell her no and I did them. They hurt. After stretching, we both were ready to go home. Good job, Kim! And that’s Monday.

Tuesday

I started coughing the night before and I took some meds. I had plans to sleep in a bit before a Wag walk, a lunch date, a gym date with a friend and a restaurant opening event in San Francisco. I woke up coughing and tired. And very, very sore. The day before, I was offered a job for a concierge company and I will be working four of the five upcoming days. I haven’t worked those hours off-site since October. I decided to cancel all events except the walk for an 11-month old puppy in Castro Valley and take it easy. While outside, I don’t feel terrible.While home, I’m lazy and the cough annoys me. I think I went too hard the day before. The body is telling me to rest and I want to do a good job for my new employer.

Wednesday
I was hired for a new job and I had to go down to Fisherman's Wharf for my first day of training. I started to sneeze that morning before I left the house. I walked all along the Embarcadero to get to the Zephyr Hotel. When I reached my destination, I continued to get worse and had to excuse myself. I stuck it out as much as I could but I had to go home. I slept the rest of the day.

Thursday - Sunday
I basically stayed home to get better but had to go to the doctor as I was having a sharp pain in my lungs. I had come down with bronchitis. What timing. But I took advantage of the time off and got some rest to tackle the week ahead. I got in a little workout on Sunday but nothing major to avoid overstimulating my heart and lungs.

That was week one. Not a great start.