Sunday, August 27, 2017

Summer in Hong Kong: heat, humidity, typhoon, repeat.

The summer weather in Hong Kong certainly lived up to its reputation this week. Believe it or not, we were hit by two tropical storms in five days: Severe Typhoon Hato and Severe Tropical Storm Pakhar. Needless to say, my workouts for the week were not the norm.

Monday - The week started off with record-setting high temperatures. That didn't stop me from getting outside for my low carb Tabata workout and it was a good one: jump squats, in and outs, scissor jumps (I did star jacks instead), mountain climbers with a twist and toe taps. I decided to forego my normal Bodystep class because the Tabata workout sounded good on paper. Even in the heat, it felt good to do my workout outside.


Diverging for a minute...I've been meaning to share my FASTer Way to Fat Loss carb cycling results and since I keep forgetting this seemed like a good time to squeeze it in.

My initial six week program ended while we were at Cape Cod, so I took my measurements after doing another two weeks once we were back. Overall, I lost about 6 pounds and a total of 4.25 inches (mostly from my belly, hips, and thighs). I think it is hard to see a difference in the photos (easy to see my bad posture, ha!), but my clothes are definitely looser and my stomach feels flatter (most days). After doing multiple rounds and loving the program, I've continued carb cycling with the FWTFL VIP program which means that every month I get a new set of workouts along with even more interaction and accountability in the VIP online group.


Back to my Monday workout, my second time with the Discovery Run group was a hot one and mrC joined me this time. At 7:45pm the temperature was still 90 degrees with a feels like temp of 104! It did not stop us or the other 38-ish people from showing up to run together. The run was a little short of a 5K (that was ok with me because it was so hot) and it was a different route. I like that they will be switching things up week to week. I wore my favorite tank and shorts from Oiselle and they were soaked when we were done.


Tuesday - I had another laser hair removal appointment in Central which means no sweating for 24-36 hours. I ran some errands and then hung out with mrC in the AC because it was another record breaking hot day.

By the way, we all know how important it is to stay hydrated, not just in the summer when it's hot, but all the time. Hydrant wants to help you stay hydrated. Sign up here for a chance to win a one month supply. Winners will be announced September 1st.


Wednesday - Typhoon Hato came. This was the biggest storm I've experienced in Hong Kong. The winds were so powerful that I could feel the change in pressure and the building sway. I alternated between watching the storm from our 20th floor apartment or the lobby and being worried about it. Thankfully, mrC was home to keep me calm!



I did a little #typhoonyoga to distract myself and that helped a bit in the beginning. It felt good to go through a flow and just let my muscles stretch out and relax. Well, try to, when there's a raging typhoon going on outside.


By late afternoon, the storm had mostly passed, so we took a walk to see if our SUP boards survived. I was expecting to find them blown off the rack. I did not expect to see trees down and boats/canoes upside down and piled up like a mass collision on a highway.



Thursday - we walked down the hill to the boat club to get our SUP boards. The cleanup would involve removing the fallen trees and we didn't want to worry about the boards being in the way or getting punctured. We deflated the boards at the beach, rolled them up, and backpacked them up the hill to our apartment. 


Friday - the weather was quite nice for a walk in the morning. It was still warm, but the strong breeze and lower humidity made it feel cooler than it had in a long, long time.


In the afternoon, we joined one of the beach cleanups. If you have never done this kind of cleanup before, it is quite a workout! There is lots of squatting, lunging, lifting and dragging. 


Saturday - mrC had to work, but I headed to the boat club for some more beach cleanup. The nice thing about this one was the boat club fed us! Again, it was all about squats and lunges. I even double dragged trash bags across the beach once ---> it reminded me of dragging the tire on the rope at Bootcamp.


Sunday - Another day of watching stormy weather out the windows. Pakhar was not as strong as Hato and it was farther away, but the winds were still strong enough to blow a leaf up to our bedroom window on the 20th floor. It's crazy that there is a huge hurricane happening on the other side of the world at the same time. We are praying for you Texas.


It was a wild and wacky week. I am hoping that things will be nice and quiet and normal around here until we leave. We are heading back to the US in a week and I can't wait!

What's the most extreme weather you have run during?
Have you ever had to ride out severe weather?


Linking up with Tricia and Holly for the Weekly Wrap!


13 comments:

  1. Wow sounds like you have had some crazy storms! How scary and how generous of you all to help clean up the beach. I'd love to hear more about how your carb cycling works not sure I could do it!

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    1. It's actually a very sustainable way of eating and working out. Each week is made up of low carb, regular calorie and low calorie days (sometimes an optional 24 hour fast/juice day too) and the workouts are aligned to the day to get the best results. It's also easy for runners who are training to incorporate long runs into the workouts. I did it because my body needed a reset and it worked!

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  2. That is freaky to have a leaf appear on your 20th floor window! YIKES! Two years ago, I did an overnight ultra (beginning at midnight). We had lightning (off in the distance), but heavy rain appeared about an hour into the event and lasted for almost two hours. It was so hot (90's with extreme humidity), the rain actually felt refreshing...but a total downer to have to run deal with in the midst of keeping the mojo alive for the sis total hours.

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    1. Yikes, that's a long time to run in the rain! I would have been worried about chafing from my wet clothes hanging on me.

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  3. Okay 90 degrees at 8 pm ....guess I can't complain about the heat and humidity here in Mississippi any longer!

    You guys have had quite the week with typhoons! Glad you all are okay with no severe damage. Being on the 20th floor with that type of wind would scare me to death!! We were actually supposed to be connecting in Houston on our flight home from Hawaii and they rerouted us through Chicago. Last I heard, Houston has had 50 inches of rainfall with Hurricane Harvey!

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    1. So sad what is happening in Houston and other parts of Texas :( Glad you were able to get home ok! It was crazy here, but nothing like what they are dealing with.

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  4. Wow, that is crazy weather! I'm glad you are ok. I'm curious about that inflatable SUP--is it as sturdy as a regular one?

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    1. It is! Military grade PVC. Feels exactly like a regular SUP except lighter to carry ;) I have one and so does my husband. He's 6'2 and 190 pounds.

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  5. That weather sounds so hectic/scary! Glad that you are okay but talk about frightening! I love that you helped with the beach cleanup - that was super nice of you!

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  6. I can definitely see the difference in the pictures! I don't get so lucky when I do loose a few pounds though it's usually in my big toe, ok not really but it seems that way. Ive heard about Amanda's program and even looked at it before. Great job on getting these results!

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  7. I'm glad that you stayed safe.

    I have to admit I can't see where you NEEDED to lose weight -- you already looked great to me! I know others using her program that are very happy with it, too.

    I've run in a thunderstorm on more than one occasion. No intentionally, of course. And there was a small tornado not far from us when we did live in TX -- had to gather the cats into the bathroom (this was pre-dogs). We also flew out the day a small town not far away from us got clobbered by a really bad tornado -- and everything was beautiful when we left.

    Mother Nature can be fierce. :(

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  8. I've run outside during some pretty extreme weather - mostly extremely cold, but I do remember some very rainy and windy runs over the years. This morning I ran in the outer bands of Tropical Storm Irma that's hitting the Outer Banks tonight and tomorrow. The ocean is crazy angry and there are red flags up all along the beach warning not to go into the water.

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  9. Wow, crazy weather and glad you are OK. The leaf looks looks but at the same time not cool. :-)

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