SVong-Along

On March 30, I started the "classic" 4 day, 3 night Inca Trail hike to Machu Picchu. It spans 26 miles, with 20-24 hours total of hiking and reaching a peak altitude of 13,828 ft. Even though I hiked with Alpaca Expeditions who provided porters that carried our duffel bags, food, and set up camp, it was one of the most physically challenging things I've ever done. Below are my suggestions if you are considering trekking to Machu Picchu: Generally, I Don't recommend the Inca Trail unless : you have done an ultra-marathon or Olympic distance triathlon OR you really know what you're getting into. Just a snapshot of what I suffered on the trail: The trail was a lot harder than I expected, and 20-30 minutes of cardio 2-3 times a week was definitely not enough preparation.  I had altitude sickness the first night I was in Cusco, and 2 days was not really enough time to adjust- I was constantly out of breath on the trail even though I had Diamox. I got ...

About a year ago, I started my blog and came up with a list of 30 goals before 30 . How did I do in terms of reaching these goals? I've been crossing off ones I've accomplished, and sadly, I only did 7/30 this past year. Barely over 20% of my goals is not so great, my excuses being: Some are objectively hard to measure or actually take 3 years to accomplish Feeling too tired to do anything productive after work  Life  Analyzing by category- I accomplished more professional goals than others and sadly neglected  health, finance, and fun. This past year, I learned that I need to be more realistic with my goals. Some of my unrealistic ones include: Apply for jeopardy (I love watching, but the questions are so damn hard nowadays)  Apply for program in Cambridge (student loans T_T)  Lower body fat to 15%  Thus, while I am proud to have accomplished some of my goals, I am deciding to adapt and make my list more realistic. As a [newbie] civil lit...

Why did I do a DXA Scan?  I consider myself a physically healthy person- I try to exercise at least 30 minutes a day, watch what I eat, and have at least 3 Lululemon items in my wardrobe. [Since I am a crazy person,] I also weigh myself constantly, and use an app linked to my  1byonewellness  scale to keep track of my body fat %. The app constantly tells me I am overweight (based on my BMI), so I wanted to do a truly accurate body composition test to see if my $20 scale is worth it and as a general diagnostic of my health. My sister suggested I try a DXA Scan. What is a DXA Scan? A DXA Scan (Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry) is "the gold standard test for body composition," and uses an extremely small [less than 1/10 of a standard x-ray] radiation to determine bone density, fat, and muscle mass. (http://www.radiologyinfo.org) How did I book the Scan? I decided to do my scan with the UC Davis Sports Medicine Center in Sacramento, called the office, and sch...