These blogs will act as a way for me to keep myself accountable, making sure I keep some form of a journal throughout the week. I realized this past week that it was already the 7th week since I started Project 30. Time truly does fly by! I hope you enjoy these short reflections and recap of my week.
Run
Mileage
My mileage for the week included my Project 30 run in Lisbon, Portugal and only three days of running.
Runner's High Thoughts
My Project 30 run in Lisbon was easily the lion’s share of my mileage this past week, you can read more about that run here. Overall, I felt pretty good on the days leading up to the run. I did feel a bit under the weather the day of the P30 run but I was able to finish the run and run for another 5 miles the next day.
Lisbon offers an abundance of hills for those looking to do some great hill training while exploring a city
Lisbon is full of many calisthenic spots for all of you fellow outdoor workout enthusiast out there
During my stay I did 3 workouts in addition to my runs:
10x pull ups every minute for 10 minutes= 100 pull ups + 10 min abs circuit
20x pull ups followed by 1/3rd of a Zeus workout (30 burpee pull ups)
Zeus Workout=
5 rounds of Burpee Pull Ups Round 1) 1 pull up, 1 burpee
Round 2) 2 pull ups, 2 burpees.
And so on until Round 5
Then repeat round 5 and descend back down to round 1
Repeat round 3 times (total-90 burpees and pull-ups)
Abs Day
5 Rounds of the following:
20 reps of (4 count) flutter kicks
20 reps of V-ups
20 reps of side to side (penguins)
50 crunches
Travel
Portugal
Lisbon
There’s so much I can say about my week in Lisbon but I don’t want to get anyone bogged down into little details so instead I’ll list out some Go Tos!
Castelo de sao Jorge- the picture above was just below this castle, the views are gorgeous especially as the sun sets
Parque Eduardo- a great spot to workout and also see the sunset, there’s a calisthenics park at the top as well
Time Out Market- great food hall
I didn't spend too much time out in the night life, so it’s another reason for me to revisit.
Belém
I decided to go here to visit the Monastery dos Jerónimos and to visit the legendary cafe Antiga Confeitaria de Belém. Both of which were well worth the trip. The monastery is truly magnificent, I spent over an hour taking special attention to the hand crafted designs of the courtyard. I was truly blown away
Cascais
A beautiful fishing town that I had the chance to run through during my P30 run
would love to make a longer trip through the city the next time I find myself out in Lisbon
Sintra
Sintra was a short day trip but man is a stunning place to find yourself in. Sintra is surrounded by beautifully lush mountains and vast open greenery.
On top of one of these moutnains you will find the Pena Palace. A truly magical and fable-inspiring castle. Seriously, it’s unlike any building I have ever seen in person. The closest thing I can relate it to is a Disney movie castle.
If you visit Lisbon, go to Sintra! You can’t miss the oppurtunity to experience the palace
The Stay
Selina Secret Garden & Cowork
Selina has a chain of hostel around the world and I have to say I was highly impressed with my stay both for the quality of the room but more so for the community events that they host. It made for a really enjoyable living experience
Favorite Food
The food in this area of Portugal is amazing, especially for seafood lovers. In terms of my favorite food experience, I would have to choose Romaria de Baco in Sintra.
I decided to try as many of their tapas as possible and I gotta say I wasn't disappointed with any of them. I highly recommend their mushroom braised in olive oil with garlic, coriander and lemon juice!
Also can't talk about Portuguese food without mentioning pastel de nata! They are a fantastic pastry and I recommend you indulge and try as many places as you can that serves them.
The first ever pastel de nanta comes from the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos but the first place to properly sell them is right next door at Antiga Confeitaria de Belém. Go there, trust me!
Book
Siddhartha
There's so many great lines in this book that I had a hard time pinpointing my favorite nuggets of wisdom. I can say though that this is a very easy book to read by design. You are not bogged down by heavy language or hard to read prose, but that doesn't mean that this book isn't deep. I am more than certain that I will find myself rereading this book in the future and that I will take away something new.
Current Favorite Quotes:
“Words do not express thoughts very well. they always become a little different immediately they are expressed, a little distorted, a little foolish. And yet it also pleases me and seems right that what is of value and wisdom to one man seems nonsense to another.”
“I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value.”
Podcasts
The Tim Ferris Show
Episode with guest Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
Reflections on the episode:
This was a great podcast Dr. Johnson has great energy and describes herself as being sassy. It makes for a very good listen
My favorite portion of the podcast is how she ties the climate crises as a military/national defense crises in that rising sea levels endangers our coastal military bases.
It's an argument I haven't heard used before and I found it to be a very strong one that can easily be a bi-partisan motivator for getting the government to spend more resources to combat the climate crises.
Key Takeaway/Call to Action:
The simple act of physically calling your member congress has a more powerful and outsized effect than a message or tweet will have simply because not that many people are willing to make a call.
This link here explains the effectiveness of this approach and how to reach your specific Congress member
Entertainment
Arrested Development
My first time ever watching the show
I watched it during my stretching and cooling down sessions. It's a fun mindless watch and honestly there have been plenty of times so far where I find myself laughing out loud.
Plus it has so many great actors in it like Jason Bateman, Micheal Cena, Jessica Walter, and Will Arnett
Gratitude & Feedback
This is my first run doing a weekly review, so if there is anything else that you think I should be covering or reflecting over, please write a comment or send me a message. Thank you again to all of you that are continuing to follow me on the wild project as I try to live an uncharted and non-traditional life.
Keep pushing & much love!
-Dylan