Go With the Flow and My Weekly Wrap

Today I woke up with a lot of energy.

I had a quick cup of coffee with my morning reading and then jumped right into day 2 of my month of yoga flow. There are a lot of different types of yoga (described well in this article), but flow or vinyasa is my favorite type of yoga. Which is probably why I like Yoga with Adriene so much.

Today's video class focused on some of the vinyasa basics. It was short and sweet. Perfect for a Sunday morning.

After yoga, I went out to hike Lookout Point Loop because it was an absolutely beautiful day to do it.

The hike can take under an hour to do if you don't stop for pictures or pause at the top to enjoy the view ---> I don't know why people would want to skip that part, but they do. I shared my hike on my Instagram story, posting as I went, but I also kept moving at a pretty good pace (which is why you can hear my heavy breathing in the videos). Since I was hitting up the grocery after the hike, I stopped my watch before returning to my apartment but I hiked the 1.67 mile loop with 676 feet elevation gain in 46 minutes.

This week I'm trying something new and linking up with Tricia and Holly for the Weekly Wrap!

Monday - Super fun bike ride with a group of AWA members on the outskirts of Hong Kong. It was a great activity.

Tuesday - I had a meeting in Central for an AWA committee that I'm working on and then mrC and I ran errands. Running errands in Hong Kong means a ton of walking even when we take the ferry and the MTR. Days like these that mentally feel like I didn't do much are actually pretty good LISS days. 

Wednesday - I had another awesome interval run with mrC around the neighborhood. I'm so happy that I can get out and run/walk. It's looks different than it used to a couple of years ago, but at least I can do it. Doing it makes me happy!

Thursday - mrC had a trip, it was still gray and icky out, so I took a great big rest day. I did unpack and put away the groceries that were delivered from our shopping on Tuesday. And I also rearranged the furniture just for fun. So I guess it wasn't a great big rest day after all.

Friday - Worked off as many calories as I could at Bodystep: 597 calories GONE. My body craves this class every week. If I'm lucky I can go twice, but since it is only offered on Monday and Fridays, I often have conflicting activities. 

Saturday - My second run of the week ---> so cool that I can do this again ---> and the best run of the week: 4.72 miles. I finally had a sunny day for running and I'm pretty sure I was smiling the whole time. It turned out to be my longest run so far this year. In fact, the last time I ran anything close was in December 2015, the last time I ran a race, in Shenzhen.

Total miles for the week - 8.86

Tomorrow is the big day. I'll be starting my bad ass burpee challenge: 30 burpees a day for 30 days. There's still time to join me and then we can be bad ass together (or crazy)! Downloadable calendar here. If you join, give me a shout out @runningescapade #30for30burpees

And that's a wrap!

What was your favorite workout of the week? Mine was definitely my runs ;)

Sweaty Saturday, Funny Stuff and a BIG Challenge

Welcome to April!

Since I've been running A LOT more lately, it feels appropriate to talk about my stats up until now.

January - 3 runs 4.30 miles

February - 4 runs 9.80 miles

March - 8 runs 27.18 miles

Whoa, March! I like the way you look!!

I'm starting April feeling positive and healthy and I'm super excited to find a 5K to enter sometime soon. Oh, and I ran today.

Today's run was fantabulous! I finally got to run on a sunny day and I ran more than 4 miles ---> 4.73 to be exact. My longest run in 2017.

I ran the same route that I did with mrC a couple days ago, except today I also did an out and back on the promenade. My intervals were the same 90:60 seconds run/walk and everything felt really good. I think I'm going to stick with this interval for another week before increasing the run time again.

A funny thing happened in the beginning of my run. My phone rang. It was mrC calling from Thailand and since we hadn't spoken since yesterday, I had to answer. I love FaceTime. If you have it, feel free to call me 😍

After my run I did my 5 essential stretches for happy legs. I must not have stayed in my glute stretch long enough after Bodystep class yesterday because my butt was really sore when I got up this morning and it's only gotten worse since my run.

I'm really happy with today's run. The only thing that could have made it better is a running partner.

If you've followed this blog for more than a couple of years (first a BIG thank you for that!), then you know that I loved running with my dog, Booney. And boy, did he like to run, too.

I saw this on Twitter today and it made me think of him. He would have loved his own pair of running shoes. It's so nice of Brooks to think of our furry running buddies, don't you think?

We're taking our running technology to new heights. Introducing, Brooks Running shoes for dogs. Shop now: https://t.co/DcvqAuWCUU. pic.twitter.com/cSA6lp0kGd

— Brooks Running (@brooksrunning) March 31, 2017

In other (serious) news, I'm thinking of doing a burpee challenge. 30 burpees a day for 30 days. Seriously. This is not a joke. Want to join me??? I'm going to start on Monday. I could probably start today, but then I might be ahead of you. ;) 

When life knocks you down... pic.twitter.com/jxm30QDDXo

— Protein Pow® (@proteinpow) March 31, 2017

I made a calendar that you can download to mark off each day you do your 30 burpees with me. We should probably have a hashtag because all challenges have one. So share your progress with me on Instagram or Twitter and tag me @runningescapade #30for30burpees ---> I promise to cheer you on.

I'm also doing 30 days of April yoga with Adriene and her awesome videos. You can find all the details on this website or just go right to the video playlist here.

Here's a glimpse of day 1: 58 minutes of Shakti Power Flow. This is goddess pose near the end of the session and my quads were SCREAMING! I'm pretty sure my arms/hands are wrong because I couldn't hear over the pain in my legs, haha.

April is going to be a fun month, right?

Do you like April Fool's Day jokes?

What are your sweaty Saturday plans?

Goals/plans for April?

Running Feels Good + Random Discounts I Found on Twitter

After a day of not doing much beyond going to a meeting and walking around Central, it felt good to get up and run today. On Sunday I increased my intervals to 90:60 seconds run:walk and everything went smoothly, so I did the same today. Except...today I also switched up my route and brought mrC with me.

We live in the middle of the two main parts of Discovery Bay. We walked down the big hill from our apartment (we'll call it a warmup) and as soon as it was flat enough (my knee is not fond of downhills and this is a really big one), we started running intervals.

For the first time, I ran along the beach. I've been watching other runners do this since we moved here in November and it made me so happy to finally join the party. I imagine that one day I might be able to end my run at the beach and jump in to cool off. That would be fun!

Chatting with a friend who happened to walk by

While I ran, I thought about how awesome it felt. I was relaxed, well about 80% relaxed, but that's HUGE. It's been a long time since I was able to relax and not think about every single step I was making. It was nice to be able to just let my mind wander. I found myself thinking of all the ways my run felt good.

It felt good --->

to get up and run
to say I'm going for a run
to plan new running routes
to aim for longer distances
to enjoy running more often
to be drenched in post run sweat

When you're a runner, you are always on the lookout for deals and sales, am I right? For you ---> Random discounts I found on Twitter:

Last chance! Shop now: https://t.co/SjDu0OUAT8 pic.twitter.com/oq41jOa1nR

— oiselle (@oiselle) March 28, 2017

Just three days left to get 25% off everything at https://t.co/h74jFK2frB with code SPRINGSALE.… https://t.co/vQ3Tf9YXtx

— RUNFARGEAR, LLC (@RunFarGear) March 28, 2017

Stock up on your favourite Hemp Protein Powders by taking 20% off during our Super Spring Sale from March 27-31! https://t.co/cyvtUK69FP pic.twitter.com/Y63dv8CMXM

— Manitoba Harvest (@manitobaharvest) March 27, 2017

LAST CHANCE on this sweaty sale - 15% off https://t.co/lmx3Uw39tG with the code S4P17!@prAna #spring4prAna #sweatpinkpartner #SALE pic.twitter.com/zaiTiKijak

— TheSweatGuru (@TheSweatGuru) March 28, 2017

#BAMRs need fuel; we choose @GUEnergyLabs! Get a 30% discount here: https://t.co/CZwAtiLIKu

— Mother Runner (@TheMotherRunner) March 27, 2017

Oh, and can't forget my own!

Don't miss this #race #discount ---> 15% off #Utahvalleymarathon (any race) registration. Use #promocode re15 #runchat #running #runuv

— Amy C. (@RunningEscapade) March 26, 2017

Fill in the blank: the last time I ran, it felt good  _____________

Discovery Bay Hike in Pictures

We're back in Hong Kong and slowly getting over our jet lag. It had been awhile since we hiked here in Discovery Bay and since mrC is joining me on a big SWIC hike on Monday, we decided to do the Lookout Loop today. The whole loop takes around an hour and is a about two miles start to finish from our apartment building. 

For fun I wore our GoPro on the chest strap and took random pictures as we hiked. 

For details on my hiking-wear ---> here

And one from mrC...

Hope your Saturday was awesome!

This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. Thanks!

Hiking: Tiger's Head - Lo Fu Tau

A couple of days after the Mui Wo hike, my new friends showed me another popular trail in Discovery Bay, Tiger's Head.

This was the hardest hike I've done, besides climbing a volcano in the dark in Bali.

The hike can start two ways: 1) climb to Lookout Point and then continue to the Tiger's Head trail head or 2) walk up Discovery Valley Road to the trail head. We choose option #2.

The start of the trail was pretty painless and even offered great views of the final destination off in the distance.

Pretty soon the friendly incline and well defined dirt trail became a bit more tricky. More rocks were scattered on the trail and it started to feel like a climb and less like a walk.

At some points the trail was also a bit overgrown (we would later run into workers trimming back the trail). It didn't interfere too much with the ability to hike, but I kept thinking about what animals might be hiding in the brush!

The last push to reach Tiger's Head Peak was the hardest. The trail was very steep, significantly uneven, and may have caused me to wonder once or twice what I had gotten myself into. However, about five minutes after reaching the top, I forgot all about the climb. The views of Discovery Bay and the rest of Lantau Island were just stunning.

I was admiring the view of Tiger's Head on my way to the summit
when this little woman came down carrying her groceries!

An additional little climb got us to the summit (with more great views!) and connected us to the rest of Lo Fu Tau (Tiger's Head in Cantonese) Country Trail.

Most comfortable hiking shorts ever! (see here)

From the summit we got a view of the ridge trail that would be our way back down to civilization. From here the trail looked nice and easy ---> read on to see what it was really like!

Lo Fu Tau Country Trail skirts the edge of Lantau North Country Park which conveniently places distance markers and maps at the trail heads. From Tiger's Head we could follow the trail all the way to A Po Long (the starting point) and then take the Olympic Trail either to Tung Chung or Mui Wo.

Looking toward A Po Long

We decided to loop back down to DB using the ridge trail. This is considered an unmaintained trail (although someone obviously does care for it) so hikers are on their own meaning there are no markers or maps along the way ---> at least none that we saw or that I could find online.

Most of the trail was a rocky dirt path with steep descents at times. It was not as fast going down as the view earlier suggested it would be.

We saw some interesting rock formations along the way down. Some were large enough to climb up on for those important I didn't do it unless I have a photo moments.

Eventually we took a path on the right. Before heading down I looked back at how far we had come from Tiger's Head and the summit of Lo Fu Tau. I was feeling pretty good about that effort.

The last part of the trail was overgrown and so steep I had to get down on my butt at times. I started to reconsider how good I was feeling just moments before up on the ridge. But thankfully the path leading us down into "The Greens" village of Discovery Bay wasn't too long and then it was high fives all around. 

This is a good trail for hiker's ready to transition to something more challenging. The trail distance was just about 3.5 miles and took us about 2 hours. The elevation gain is around 1400 feet. The hard parts are relatively short, but if you have bad knees you might want to bring a hiking stick.

A few other hiking posts I've written:

Exploring Chiwan, Shenzhen
Shenzhen International Garden & Flower Expo Park
Dragon's Back and Big Wave Bay

Shenzhen Botanical Gardens

Kuta, Bali: Mt. Batur Sunrise Trek

Hiking: Tai O to Tung Chung

Hiking Discovery Bay: Lookout Point Loop

Hiking: 3 Best Parts of the MacLehose Trail Section 2

Hiking: Mui Wo to Discovery Bay