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Sunday, September 30, 2012

Travel to the USA - Day 2

Jet lag still got the better of me last night. Although I labored hard not to fall asleep through all the activities of Day 1 including the fast track tour of Washington late at night...and the huge noodle dinner, I still had a hard time sleeping last night. I ended up sleeping at 3am.

I still managed to do an easy run and enjoyed a good heavy breakfast. The run was AMAZING. The residential areas in the outskirts of Washington (actually Virginia already), are typical American homes you'd see in the movies. The weather was perfect and I ran in temperatures of maybe a comfortable 17 degrees Celcius. Lot of greenery and very clean air.

This is the home of my friend and former track teammate, Cherryl Jimenez.

I won't give you the address lest my good friends gains more stalkers.

Most of the homes here kinda looked this way.

Day 2 is a little bit more relaxed. First of all, it's a Sunday!

We decided to just have a slow and easy day (how Sundays really should be except that we are Triathletes who love to torture ourselves in training in our free time).

We ended up driving to the Gaylord National Harbor, a very popular site in Maryland. It was absolutely beautiful. I am always drawn to the water and this was a very clean, cosmopolitan yet quaint harbor town with shops and dinning places that were classy yet affordable. The mix of a very faint smell of the sea marries with the sweet fragrances of the various theme restaurants and coffee shops that I am reminded of Christmas travels with my family. As I was walking along the well manicured streets and walkways, I begin to miss my kids terribly. Anu ba yan, isang araw pa lang, home sick na? It's just that we used to travel a lot together and the trips to the USA and Europe are the most memorable to me. Here are some of the pictures I took at the Harbor.


One of the unique theme shops in Gaylor National Harbor.
This store sell clothing that promotes "positivism".




One of the side roads at the Gaylord National Highway.
How much more American can you get?

There is also that huge glass structure that serves like an Atrium or a  "green house" of sorts as a frontage to a fancy hotel facing the harbor. This is truly an impressive piece of infrastructure.



Wow!
Windswept - a nice piece of sculpture along the harbor.

Inside the Atrium. It's full of shops and dining places.

Christmas Ornaments for Sale Inside the Atrium!
We used to buy at least one ornament a year.

Happily Ever After - Saw this cut elderly couple walking around the Atrium still holding hands.

Mosaic Art near a row of art shops.

Picture by the harbor. At least, it's one of those rare times I am at the sea
and I'm not wearing a tri suit.

The Awakening - an art piece on the sea shore. It's like Poseidon getting up in the morning.

A nice shop full of "pasalubong items".

 
After doing a little shopping, we then had lunch at Nando's Peri Peri. A Portugese Chicken house that served the tastiest, juiciest and most delicious Chicken I ever had.



If you see this sign, EAT HERE!

The Perfect Chicken!

My driver here in the Washington DC area.

Akala ko si Eddie Garcia - Manoy!
Artsy chair along the sidewalk.
Nice little art shop.

At the coffee shop after lunch.
 
The perfect Mocha Latte!
 
After lunch and coffee, we then headed back to grab my stuff and head to the airport to catch my flight to Savannah, Georgia. This is via a the Delta Hub in Atlanta.

Security at the Washinton DC - Ronald Reagan Airport was unsually tight. The long line in TSA led to some minor delays. It didn't help that rain was pretty hard in Atlanta. The plane I took landed around 20 minutes late which necessitated me to run from terminal T to Terminal A. I made it with bearly a few minutes to spare.

Upon landing at Savannah, I am impressed at the charm and welcoming attitude of everyone.

This looks like fun!
I rent a car from National Rent a Car (the only counter open at 11 pm, my arrival time at Savannah). I chose to rent a Yaris instead of an SUV or Minivan because I figured it was easier to drive the Yaris. That's the probinsyano in me.

After a 30 minute drive, I finally arrive at the hotel. No less than the Hyatt Regency Savannah! Nice!

Hyatt! Sweet! I wish the kids were here.
View of the Lobby from the 6th Floor Balcony

Running Path courtesy of the Hyatt. My marathon training won't get to messed up after all.

I brought my Armani Suit to this trip. Good decision. It doesn't get 
wrinkled even if I packed it in my suit case.

It's going to be an interesting day tomorrow.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Travel to the USA - Day 1


I'm off to the USA to expand our business in this large market and in the neighboring Central and Southern American countries. My itinerary will take me to 6 major cities and two countries in a little over a week.

The Lincoln Memorial. Commissioned in 1914, carved by 5 Italian Brother who
worked 2 years to complete it. Made from the best marble from Georgia.


Here are the highlights of Day 1

Enroute to the USA and a night in Washington, DC

The trip to Washington DC via Detroit leaves at 6:30am from Manila via a 2 hour stop in Nagoya, Japan. I was very impressed with the efficiency, courteousness and skill of the Delta Airways ground crew in managing my check in. I was at the airport a bit late at 4:45am but they quickly breezed me through the check-in seeing I was among the passengers of the 6:30 flight. "Crowd control" and right process allowed me to comfortably complete all check in requirements despite the late hour.

It's rare that I am late to the airport. But having a full load at work this week, the only time I had left to put household admin stuff in order before the weeklong trip was the night before. After having dinner with the kids, I spent the rest of the evening writing out checks to pay the bills and organizing these into a schedule that Robert, our family driver would follow while I am away.

I ended up not sleeping as I finished at 4am, took a quick shower and rushed to the airport. Thank goodness for the Skyway!

Nagoya Stop

Delta now has individual movie screens and a really wide movie selection. Picture and sound quality is even better than the one used in Singapore Airlines and the movie list goes "Movies from A to Z". Their leg room is also noticeably wider and the crew, though not as "sexy" as the Singapore Airlines slim Asian built, they were significantly more courteous and service oriented than I remember.

The excellent inflight offerings, wide selection of movies, great food, great service made the trip to Nagoya go by so quickly.

Nagoya Airport - nice but not too many food options though.

Japanese "Promo Girls" for the Telco company, DOCOMO.

I used the 1.5 to 2 hour lay over to do some work...naks....:)
USA via Detroit and onto Washington

We used the same plane going to the USA and re-boarded after a short stop in Japan. Again the wide range of movies and generous, excellent cabin crew made the trip very comfortable. I was fighting off the need to sleep because I wanted to see so many of the movies available in my individual screen.

Immigrations in Detroit is also efficient and they were friendly and accomodating. I can say that it was one of the more pleasant experience going through Immigrations and Customs in the USA. This made the fact that I am travelling alone much easier to manage. I was actually having fun!

There were healthier food choices in the airport.....but...

Choices at the Airport


I indulged in McDonalds (we Pinoys call it McDo for short) as my first meal during this trip. Bad for triathlon and running but good on the palete and the appetite I built walking around the huge Detroit aiport. The hub of Delta in the USA. Sayang, walang longganisa with fried rice.

Hahaha, stereotypically McDo while in America!
 
Some stuff at the Detroit Airport


Grey mania is alive and well....

Washington DC

After a contecting flight to Washington, I then get a chance to see the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument and do a drive by of the Pentagon and the Capitol Building after doing some business.

Helping me in the tour was former DLSU Trackster from the late 80's, 400m low hurdler, Cheryl who now works for the World Bank here in the Capital of the USA. She was good enough to drive me around despite the late hour.




 
Former DLSU 400m and 400m Hurdles Trackster, Cheryl.
My Teammate from the DLSU Track Years, Candle
Sponsor in my wedding and god mother of one of my kids.


It's going to be  very hectic but so far, seems like it'll be fun as well. Will be doing a 2 hour run tomorrow here in Washington DC. I will just warrior it out despite the cold.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Want to lose weight? CHILL!


Yup, you read it right. By being more relaxed and calm, you can actually fight off ugly weight gain!

Studies reveal that STRESS affects our eating habits, metabolism, weight gain and even where fat is distributed in the body!



Our bodies respond to stress by producing cortisol and adrenaline. Adrenaline induces the body to metabolize and convert fat to produce energy. Cortisol is a hormone that is also churned out by our adrenal glands in response to stress, whether it be physical, mental, emotional, environmental, chemical or even imaginary stress! You see, our brain is hardwired to survive and protect the body from harm at the first sign of stress by trigerring the "fight or flee" response essential to survival.




These two hormones work in tandem to put the body on red alert mode and ready for battle! Our pupils dilate, thinking becomes sharp and alert, our heart rate raises and lungs open up to take in more energy! It tells the body to get ready for battle or at least flee if the challenge is insurmountable. When the stress situation is gone, adrenaline dissipates but cortisol remains to help bring the body to a "normal" state. It partly does this by increasing our appetite so we can take in more carbohydrates and fat which the body assumes we burned while fighting or fleeing from the scene.
 
 
 

That automatic stress response and the replenishment or reward system was good in the days when us humans had to run from predatory animals or even predatory humans. But nowadays, the beasts we battle or run away from are our boss or a bullying, annoying office-mate, an irrate wife or a demanding girlfriend. Or our beasts can simply be just problems at home or with money or with our jobs.  Whatever it is, the body still reacts the same way. The brain tells the adrenals to pump us up with adrenaline and cortisol but we don't use up much energy. Instead of wrestle with a Lion or run in a jungle, we retreat to an office or at a Starbucks sipping coffee to deal with being in a constant state of stress. Some also make things worst by smoking.

Meanwhile the cortisol that lingers in our system and drives our appetite and insulin levels to rise. This produces glucose which in turn becomes fat because instead of battling and enemy or running away chicken to avoid conflict, we are just likely to be sitting on our butts to calm us down. It is not converted into energy. And the favorite storage space for this unused fat is around the waist line. The stressful event also leaves us tired and wasted thus triggering the need to eat to recover.




Another thing happens when the body is stressed. The body's self healing system slows down. This is because healing also requires energy and "raw materials" in the form of nutrition. And the need for immediate survival steals this energy and raw materials away from the body instead of use it to heal thus supressing the immune system and recovery.

Constant Stress

When put in a constant state of stress, more and more cortisol and insulin is pumped into our system. And more and more fat accumulates in our mid-section. Chronically elevated levels of cortisol contribute accumulation of ugly abdominal fat that is hard to get rid of. The immune system also takes a beating making you sickly.

So, how to fix the cortisol balance?

Stress Reduction is Key!

 Resolve the stressful environment or take on interventions such as triathlon (although it can also get stressful), running, swimming or whatever physical activity suits you. This balances out the bad vibes and helps burn the fat that stress accumulates. Meditation is also good or other means of relaxation such as art, movies, etc.



Rest is also helpful.

Managing workload is important. Sometimes, the source of stress is not so much the environment but more our desire to get a lot done. Oftentmes, too much.

Attitude Change is also a powerful and potent weapon for lowering cortisol levels. Don't be a bitch or an ass. Just be generally friendly and appreciate your state in life, whatever it is and your stress levels will slowly melt away.



Drink less coffee! The effect of too much coffee replicates the "flight or flee" stressful state. Cut back a bit.

Easier said than done, I know. But your overall well being depends on it.

Cortisol is also known as the "ageing hormone". Who wants to look old? Stay stress free.