Sunday, December 15, 2013
Epic Adventure Day 12: VietFighter day
This had a been a MUCH anticipated day on the itinerary. A month or so before I began my adventure I had been in contact with Matteo about the upcoming visit. He informed me that during my visit, his gym would be hosting a "Fitness Challenge."
It was a free event, open to anyone who could come. Teams of three would complete a 15k relay around the lake (each member running approximately 5k), 3 minutes each of pull-ups, sit-ups, pushups and the ever loved, burpees, and finally each member of the team would complete a short obstacle course. Each team was comprised of 3 members, one of which must be female. Some of the teams were having a hard time finding a girl, so Matteo suggested I join and it seemed like it would be fun, so why not?
The day started bright and early, with Matteo, Rachael and I all scrambling to get ready and get out the door. Upon arrival I was introduced to my two teammates and then there was lots of waiting around and fake smack talk. The local climbing gym VietClimb had put together several teams and with one exception, I think all the teams were either VietFighter or VietClimb … which of course lead to some fun rivalry.
After a quick overview of how the day would go, we sent the first runners out the door and the rest of us loaded up onto various motorbikes and headed to the first exchange point for the 15k. Myself and one of my teammates hopped on a moto with the owner of the gym. (3+ people - one moto… we call that family style) Since the two guys on my team had been living in the area for a while and I have a truly unnatural ability to get lost, we decided I should take the 2nd leg which was strictly by the lake (no navigating from the lake to the gym or gym to the lake). After getting lost multiple times (assuming that the owner of the gym would actually know where the first exchange point was… bad assumption!) we finally pulled up about 5 minutes before my teammate came jogging in.
I took off on my section of the run feeling really good, but desperately wishing we had started earlier so that it wasn't so hot! I ended up passing two girls from VietClimb, and while I had never actually attended a class at VietFighter, it was Matteo's gym, both my teammates were from there and they did give me a tank top… so i felt like an honorary member and therefore took pride in passing the VietClimb girls. I was also closing in a girl from VietFighter, but she got to the exchange point about 10-15 seconds before me.
The third runner on our team took off, and I rode back to the gym with Matteo to await the arrivals. Our third guy passed the girl I had been closing in on, plus two more and our team finished 5 out of about 10 (I think). Overall, the VietFighter gym came out on top for the most part on the run.
Next was the strength portion of the challenge, also known as the part where I am useless. On the roof of the gym were two long bars perfect for pull-ups. Each bar fit two people perfectly, and we began to cycle through. I'm not sure why everyone seemed surprised, but it only took the first two VietClimb guys to get on the bar before VietFighter knew they would be decimated in that event. Having never been able to do a pull-up in my life, I jumped up, grabbed the bar, pulled and strained for about 10 seconds before deciding it'd be better to save my muscles for all the other crap I would have to go through. So I played cheerleader for my teammates.
We continued on through sit-ups, which Matteo insisted had to be standard all the way up, elbows to knees style, push-ups - chest to mat, boys style only, even for the girls, and then burpees - oh yeah chest to mat on those bad boys too! I finished each event with embarrassingly low numbers for the 3 minute time periods and probably shouted, "Can't I just run another 5k?!?!" at least once during each set. (Which was actually funny, because I was clearly the only runner there that day, everyone one else was talking about how brutal the run was.)
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| Sit-ups (Photo stolen from VietFighter's fb page) |
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| Push-ups! (Photo stolen from VietFighter's fb page) |
Finally it was time for the obstacle course. It was a short little circuit including some long jumps, quick stepping through a ladder thingy, lifting and carrying a punching bag across the room, good ol' elementary school style crab walk across the room (MUCH more difficult to do at 32 than I remember it being at 6), and something I think was called a frog run… let's just say it wasn't pretty. I was slightly less embarrassed by my obstacle course performance than I was the strength portion. I was one of the few girls who managed to get the punching bag up on my shoulder and I didn't fall over with while running with it (several members of both sexes did).
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| Obstacle Course (Photo stolen from VietFighter's fb page) |
In the end, I think our team finished 5th of 10, I've always strived to be averaged!! I think 2 of the top 3 teams were VietFighter, so yay for that!! Honestly, the best part was seeing how supportive everyone was. Sure it was a competition, but everyone encouraged and pushed each other. During the strength portion, a member of another team would count the reps, and they were constantly saying things like "Come on, you can do it!," "Only 30 seconds left, you got it!," "You're doing great!" And that was pretty much always followed with a high five or pat on the back at the end.
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| All the participants! Go us!! |
Afterward, not everyone, but a large portion of us headed out for much deserved lunch… street food Vietnam family style. Matteo needed to wrap up some stuff at the gym, so we were some of the last to arrive and rather than making people shift around so that I could sit with Matteo and Rachael, I just grabbed a seat at the end and made some new friends. About 7 or 8 dishes in, I did get up and go to the other end of the table to chastise them both for not warning me that the last part of the fitness challenge was actually marathon eating!
The food JUST KEPT COMING!!! And everything was amazing… and I wasn't sick the next day. Don't get me wrong, I love Thai food… but Vietnamese food is just a different level. And I'm not just talking about the Pho that seems to be the new craze in the Western world… Everything I ate was delicious!! Even the frog wasn't bad (boney little dudes though)! Below are photos of just a few of the many dishes served.
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| Beer and food with a bunch of awesome (sweaty) people. |
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| Fried frog! |
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| Veggies with pork! |
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| Squid! |
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| Fried chicken feet. Still haven't been able to bring myself to try these. |
After gorging ourselves on food, Rachael, Matteo, and I hopped on his moto and rode family style back to their apartment. Perhaps the best moment of, certainly the day, perhaps the trip, was as we turned the corner onto their street. A mototaxi driver that they use frequently was standing on the corner, and actually applauded as the three of us rounded the corner on one moto.
Back at the apartment, we took turns hitting the shower and then laid down for much needed naps! Later Matteo drove me to the train station to buy my ticket for the next day and we met up with a couple of Rachael's co-workers for dinner.
Total cost: 1,684,000 Dong ~ $80.19 USD (This was mostly the train ticket at 1,380,000dong. Lunch, which was the most expensive meal I had in Vietnam, and included roughly 2 hours of eating and drinking beer hoi, came out to a whopping 210,000dong, or about $10 USD… did I mention how awesome Vietnam is??)
Labels: fitness challenge, Hanoi, VietClimb, VietFighter, Vietnam
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Sometimes life changes...
This is a break from the Epic Adventure. I swear I'll get back to it. I AM still writing, I will finish!! But today, this…
I had a moment today where I realized how drastically my life has changed over the past few years. Today, I went out for a run, as I do 5 days/week. At almost exactly two miles, I got to the largest shopping center in my immediate vicinity and I proceeded to run around the perimeter, passing an Ikea… and I had no desire to go in. As I pondered this, I started to think what I would even buy if I did go in. What could I need from Ikea? You see, I used to drive 3-4 hours one way to go to an Ikea and then spend several hours there shopping, only to turn around with my purchases (often strapped to the roof of my car) and drive the 3-4 hours back.
After college I did what many, but especially American's are taught to do. I got a good job. I bought a car. I bought a house. I was in long term relationship and we had two dogs. I was living the American Dream. I won't go into all the details, but things changed. The relationship ended. The job went away. I sold my car, moved out of the country, and eventually the house sold. Save for a pile of crap some friends have graciously stored for me and a couple meager (by US standards) accounts, I'm pretty much asset free though, with the exception of student loans (meager by US standards) also debt free.
My current salary is under the poverty line in US. While I used to live in an 1800 sq. ft. house - 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2 car garage, bonus room - I now live in what I estimate to be a less than 300 sq. ft. studio apartment. Though by US standards I don't think we'd actually call it a studio. Maybe more like a dorm room, since there's no kitchen. The "selling points" for the apartment are air-con, a sink (besides the one in the bathroom), and there is actually a divider between the shower and the rest of the bathroom (no hot water), which is an improvement from my last apartment. (Though shower between your sink and toilet is always a great way to start the day).
I don't have a car. I don't even have a motorbike anymore. I don't have a TV. I mentally debated with myself for days before allowing myself to "splurge" and purchase an electric skillet, because I wasn't sure if it was worth spending the approximately $18. My clothes haven't been dried in a dryer in I don't know how long, because I don't have access to one. With the exception of eggs in my electric skillet, I never cook for myself, because it's cheaper to eat street food.
Back in the States, my then boyfriend and I used to go to "home shows" on the weekends occasionally. We'd tour multimillion dollar houses and dream of the day we could live in one, or at least one that had some similar features, like a pool table and theater room in the "basement." (Weren't basements made for storage and access to all the under the house stuff?) I now enjoy trolling websites that give designs for "tiny houses" - usually small enough to put on a trailer bed and pull behind a truck or SUV… even better, I dream of living in a tour bus.
If you don't know me, you're probably thinking my life has gone to crap, and I should probably do something to pull myself together. The truth is, I'm really happy. I know that probably doesn't make sense to most people, and I know this life isn't for everyone. This isn't meant to be preachy. I'm not one of those "give all your stuff away" people. Hello!! I'm typing this on my MacBook, and when I finish I'm going to go read on my iPad. But maybe, just be open to the idea of something different. I'm by no means suggesting that you sell your house and car and flee the country… although… I never imagined this being my life, but I'm so glad it is.