DAY 9: DORA! / Turning into Bruce Lee

The Swashbucking Adventures of Karly and Michel!

Today's run was magnanimous!!! It had everything one would want:
1. a cozy walk so that you'd get in the mood
2. some jogging
3. ballistic running
4. exploration
5. interesting findings
6. some fear and suspense
7. good information
8. calm relaxing walk after the storm
9. one last effort
10. a return to the neighborhood as a hero (in one's mind – a sweaty pig and his dog in people's)

So I woke up late! at around 7:40! I was really tired from yesterday... I couldn't even walk if you remember... Karly hadn't woken me up and was playing with his ball. Apparently he came over at around 6:50, hovered around my bed for a while, then figured it wasn't the time and then got caught up playing with my mom who is starting to love him more and more each day.

Side note: Karly used to see me and only me as the center of his world for the first 5-6 months. During that time, my mom used to approach him, pet him, feed him every once in a while, even play with him, but never admitted that she liked him. Even one bit. She even said that he was a very ugly dog and that she only gives him the light of day because of how much he loves me; he actually jumped from the balcony of our house (1st floor – 5 meters high!) when he was 5 months old, because I had left him alone... But things are looking up now; because of my constant nagging to mom, repeating every moment I see her enjoy her time with him that she actually loves him (A LOT I might add), she finally admitted it. First it was "eh bi sallé"(he is fun), then it was "m3abba el bét" (his presence fills the house), then "chta'tello la Karly, emtin ra7 tjibo?" (I miss Karly, when are you getting him here), to know "habboub, ma ahdamo habibeh" (he's adorable and so cute)!
He even has a nickname (that I don't like but is unfortunately growing on me): KOOKY!! ARRRGH!!!
Even a SONG! YES I SAID SONG! And it goes something like: "YA KOOKY YA KOOKY! KOU-KOU-KOU-KOU-KY!" (repeat twice with alternate ending). Maybe one day I'll even post it not in your wildest dreams.  SHIT! MY MOM JUST SPRAYED KARLY WITH AXE!! YES MY DEODORANT! FOR "HIM TO SMELL GOOD"! ... this has gone too far! And Let me add here patrick's Double facepalm

Anyway... So I get up at 7:45. Decide to go out and see what I got today. A couple of gulps of water to hydrate and we're off! I set a three song playlist to get me going: "Thubthumping", "Mr.Jones" and Chamilionnaire's "Ridin" (yes, as ghetto as it can get to spice things up)! I decided to let my feet guide me today and see where I'll get to. I created a tiny playlist and I found myself getting to Bachir's Ice Cream and then running down the bridge till I got to the Peugeot company. Then I ran all the way to Forum and decided to cross the threshold: I entered Bourj Hammoud and got out of Ashrafieh.  Then I thought, I'm going up to Faraya at some point, maybe I should start working on distance. That's when I decided to go to DORA! And I did. Haha! Funny detail: I get to Dora and there's all that traffic around; open snacks, people having coffee ... etc ... and oblivious of what's going around I just yelled from the top of my voice, all proud of my progress: "D-D-D- DAOUUUURAAA (RoRoRotanaaaa style)!! OOOOH YEAH!" ... no need to elaborate on their reaction.
You know, I don't think Dora is further away from Jeitawi than Sodeco would be, it's just the fact that it is out of Achrafieh that gives that impression. Doesn't matter, it got me really happy and excited. That's what counts.    

Here's a map of the places Karly and I have been jogging to

While back I decided to go through Nabaa and discovered a gorgeous running track and soccer green field! It was the Bourj Hammoud Stadium! I think Karly and I can play ball there! It would be awesome! And even a great way to cardio and sweat a bit! I asked around and had to take permission. They were obviously still closed. But I'll pass by and ask soon.

To top it all off, we finished with style and took the Sekké stairs – 10 flights of stairs – all the way up to Jeitawi! We DIED! As a consolation though, I put Inception's last track "Time" – where Cobb gets home – and pretended to return to my neighborhood after the huge action adventure that we just went through. I got greeted not as a hero, but as a guy who needed to pay the parking bill, later got treated as a sweaty pig by one of the neighbors and finally as a "complete IDIOT" by my mom, who instead of congratulating me for pushing myself, started yelling at me for going to Dora and walking around cars. There are sidewalks you know ... Moms ... what can you do? In all cases, the whole glamorous Hero welcome wasn't there, but hey, I know what I did and I am proud of it. It was awesome! It was Mortal Kardio!

TIP(S) OF THE DAY

1. NEVER! NEVER EVER – unless you have a change of clothes with you – run with a cotton T-shirt! It will soak up all the sweat and then get you COLD! That will slow you down and even get you sick. I took mine off and squeezed it and put it back on. But I'll never mix cotton and cardio again.

2. Some suspense. And I can add this as another tip. NEVER CROSS A BRIDGE THAT DOESN'T HAVE A SIDEWALK. ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE A DOG! It wasn't fun for me. Actually it was shit! With stupid inception suspense music playing, I felt I was gonna become roadkill! I kept my hands hovering in the air just so drivers can notice me and drive a bit less recklessly than what we're used to here in Carmaggeddon-Lebanon.

3. Never run in Beirut after 8, the car smoke will asphyxiate you. You won't enjoy it as much as at around 7ish.

4. Trim/Shave your chest. You can't believe how much you can sweat during this kind of training. Whether it's cardio or any fitness/bodybuilding session. I actually get very disgusted when chest hair gets involved. No need for me to dwell in the detail, you get the picture. It's just cleaner.

5. While on runs, I don't take anything apart from my ipod, not even my keys if there's someone that can open the door for me upon my return; I feel much looser then. I even wear either very short tennis or soccer shorts when I know it's ON! One other thing, NEVER take money with you! You will learn to pace yourself and force yourself that no matter where you are, you're actually gonna WALK back home rather than taking a service!


As for the P90X, it was supposed to be Legs/Back. However, there was NO WAY I could go ballistic on it after the adventure I had in the morning. My legs, abs, lower back were all KILLING ME. But I couldn't not train, so I did the Kempo X; my saturday class instead. A combination of Martial Arts, including Boxing, Taekwondo, Kung Fu etc... very cardioesque. Turned out to be so much fun that I didn't feel the time passing by and pretended to be Bruce Lee all the way – with the sounds and attitude he has in the Game of Death. Kempo X is the funnest training of them all – unfortunately the easiest one too... I'll use it in break days. One thing for sure is that the only cardio I'll do tomorrow is walking. I need to sum up all my strength for Leg training, the hardest and most draining workout, since Legs are the biggest muscle group – which also means it requires the biggest amount of effort to strengthen and improve.

Till Tomorrow,
HAOUUU!!