This is mostly a women-specific post but men, if you are here, please continue to read on!
Yes, you are guessing right - I am going to speak about what happens monthly to most women: periods! Something so natural and so normal yet so little spoken about. During this 'plastic challenge June' I would like to particularly put periods within the plastic issue.
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As this post gets published, I am likely getting ready to run my 9th parkrun - on a beach! Yes, I am being a 'tourist' today and making the most of my weekend by being up the north coast of Ireland and running the Portrush parkrun before a surf (finally some swell!)! But what is parkrun? And why do I love it so much? Let me give you some background on my running - let's just say it dates back to...hmm... just a few months ago! Yes, one day in February I decided to start running. No particular reasons apart from the fact that I always hated the idea of running, and I decided it was time to face the hate and trying to see if I could understand why so many people love it ( I know I know I sound mental...). My first running attempt was a 5 Km of mixed walk and run which lasted a whole 45 minutes and left me exhausted. Exhausted but also happy. And so I gave it a couple more attempts, getting slowly better, until the walk and run became continuous run for 15 then 20 then 25 and eventually a whole 30 minutes.. Some of my surfing friends were talking about parkruns and one day I decided to challenge myself and join them in their local 'Ormeau parkrun'. I remember that Saturday morning, so worried that I wasn't going to be able to finish the 5Km, let alone finish them in a reasonable amount of time. Worried I will come last. Worried people would have to wait for me. Planning my escape route just in case. And yet there I was, at the start line, surrounded by at least 2-300 people who looked like runners. 3,2,1 GO - first loop, 2 Km, done. Second loop, harder, pushing through, tired and yet surrounded by others like me, encouraging smiles. One of my surfing friends next to me running at a similar pace, faces that I recognise in the crowds. Volunteers at every corners, telling you where to go, clapping, smiling, 'nearly there' one says. People ahead (many), people behind (some). Finally crossed the finish line, a chip gets handed to me, my barcode scanned - my time will be online soon. A few hours later, my time is online. 29:45 - I am proud to have done it, let alone done it sub 30. 8 Park runs later I have a personal best of 24:25 (hopefully to be closer to 24:00 soon), and the faces in the crowd have become more and more recognisable. I find myself smiling as I overtake, challenging the person just next to me as we continuously overtake each other, and smiling at that tall dad pushing twins that manages every week without a doubt to zoom past me. I have been taking other running challenges since, signed up for races and take up running alone in my own time, yet the 9.30 saturday morning run is my favourite. There is something about familiarity, community, encouragement, smiling faces, everyone being on the same boat - up early on a saturday to run. I love that this run is run entirely by volunteers - many of them. From the ones organising 'behind the scenes', via the ones at corners telling you where to go and clapping as you go past, to the ones recording and organising the times. I owe them a huge thank you - they transformed my hate in love! I guess I didn't answer the 'what is parkrun' question: An extract from their site : parkrun organise free, weekly, 5km timed runs around the world. They are open to everyone, free, and are safe and easy to take part in. These events take place in pleasant parkland surroundings and we encourage people of every ability to take part; from those taking their first steps in running to Olympians; from juniors to those with more experience; we welcome you all. As you can see is very inclusive. Through the map you can easily find the running circuits closer to your home, or to your current location. After you sign up and get your personal barcode you can also be a 'tourist' (as they call them at my local parkrun) and attend other runs, maybe for convenience or for a change of scenery and path. I am really excited about my beachrun this weekend, and hope it goes well. I am super thankful to the organisers who quickly responded to my facebook enquiry about beach running shoes vs barefoot for providing me with great info in a super quick time (and remember they are volunteers!). I love this kind of community efforts, I believe they are so important - so let's keep them going! Excitement is in the air as I am getting ready (or not) to take part in this year #plasticchallenge organised by the Marine Conservation society. First things first let's have a look at what is it and how you can take part: Please register to take part on the marine conservation website: www.mcsuk.org
You will join a revolutionary movement and receive info! So how am I preparing? (am I even preparing?) - I am NOT buying plastic things in advance to avoid buying them in June (that would be cheating...) - I am, on the other hand, planning to do my shopping at the market and researching where will I find everyday life items (hello yogurt for breakfast... ) in plastic-free containers (glass jar anyone?). The mcs has a useful tip page (click here). - The MCS also has a shop for many plastic-free needs (although i haven't bought anything from it yet, so i cannot comment on delivery etc. But seems like a good place to start from if you have nothing in terms of eco shops nearby!) - I am prepared to learn and open my eyes and I know it will be tough, very tough, and i might need to swap a few things. And I am already a pretty conscious shopper... I believe that if as many people as possible will take the plastic challenge, not only overall plastic consumption over the month of June will be reduced but it will open our eyes and make us even more responsible in the following months! So ARE YOU READY for the challenge? T-1! Let's start tomorrow ! I will update you half way through to see how it going! And more updates on my twitter as well! Comment with any questions and ideas! Travelling..
Many people want to do it, yet the excuse always is "it's too expensive". But is it? Can you travel on the cheap? And what are the risk? How do you avoid falling in some of the low-cost holiday trap? And most importantly what are the differences between traveller and tourist? This is my breakdown based on personal experience and I don't mean for my personal account to be universally meaningful or valid - just to be a starting point / inspiration to some of you. Traveller vs tourist I see these two words as something with two very different meanings. I would call a tourist someone who takes the flight to destination, reads the travel guide in advance and has a list of "sightseeing" to do, goes straight to the hotel (rigorously a chain hotel, or something offering at least free breakfast) using the route provided by the travel guide of choice or buys ticket in advance from the seller on the flight or the typical tourist guide on arrival halls in airports, takes guided tours, goes to all the museums and the "tripadvisors" 10 must see places, takes selfies with the "important" landmarks (without appreciating them really) and by dinner time he/she goes to eat at expensive tourist-trap restaurants which promise "typical cuisine". Also I see a tourist as someone who rarely would go alone, tourists often travels in at least pairs (couples, two friends..) or larger groups. A traveller, on the other hand, is someone who has read about the culture of the place in advance (perhaps, or maybe not - maybe he/she wants to discover it as he/she goes), travels to destination, arrives and takes time to get accustomed to the public transport, finding a cheap and local way to get from the airport to the city centre, and from there walks, looking carefully around (up and around, taking the new place in), to his/hers accommodation. Accommodation-wise a traveller would normally be found staying in hostels (sometimes) in AirBnBs or, even better, couchsurfing. This will allow the traveller to get accustomed to the life in the city (e.g. by cooking meals in the kitchen, meeting with people actually living in the city, seeing the local houses and how people live). During the day, the traveller may wander around - seeing the sights, perhaps, sometimes by "accident". Most of the times the traveller would take in the sight from the outside, appreciating its architecture. At times, depending on personal preference, he/she may go in (e.g. some particular museums etc... depending on traveller preference, but these would be selected on personal preference not on advice from guides or internet sources) Travelling on the cheap As you can see from my above description, travelling can come at a cheap cost. Yes you still rely on low-cost flights companies however once you reach your destination (provided you don't choose a super-expensive-to-live-in country) you can experience the city from the local perspective. In my opinion a trip on the subway during rush hour and shopping at supermarket can tell you a lot more about a place than a guided tour! Plus you get new experiences and you develop new ways to deal with stressful situations, as you learn to become skilful with ticket machines and decipher weird languages and become quick with new currencies! Mention this at your new job interview... Often room in houses such as airbnb are cheap and you get to speak to locals, hostels often are great places to meet like-minded people, and if you like adventures then I totally recommend trying couchsurfing (and also hosting people at your place). Couchsurfing is basically a free-stay in someone's apartment/room/couch/floor, however it is a lot more - you meet people, share experiences, great conversation, great food (sometimes the host will cook, sometimes you will cook, sometimes you will order in, sometimes you go eat out...) and it's always a cultural experience. And you get to stay in a real house! The societal/environmental benefits of travelling vs being a tourist? It goes without saying that being a tourist can have a great impact. Yes, sure, you may argue some places rely on tourist monetary input, thus by not being a tourist you are "robbing" them. However, just by being there and spending (even the minimum) I believe that you still feed into society. If you are a classic tourist, you often feed in big companies that own the big business chains of hotels, so effectively you are NOT helping the local economy. As an anti-consumerism person I am a strong believer that travelling is a better option. Moreover, you will come back refreshed and for sure with some new perspectives! As May sets in I am getting ready for the "Outrun May" challenge. My goal is to run 40 miles (65 Km) this month raising funds for MacMillan cancer support. I started my first run this morning with a 2.7 miles (4.4 Km ) completed in 23:45! Bring it on. You can follow my updates on my strava profile. Why do I believe is good to take part on this challenge: - You set your own pace - Makes you work towards a goal - Motivation - Supports a healthy lifestyle - Running makes you happy (who needs alcohol and drugs when you have endorphins?) - Raise money for a good cause Would you join me? Holidays, aren't they what we (most people) work for? Thinking of holidays we think of sunny beaches, snowy mountains, adventures, culture-filled cities.. however holidays also come with a cost, both monetary and energetic: flights, check-in times to hostels or hotels, finding a good apartment to rent, bus connections... Not to think of the environmental impacts associated with taking frequent flights. So, especially for a weekend get-away, the costs may outweigh the benefits. But spending a long weekend stuck at home, while it does seem to have zero costs and not impacting on the environment may impact your own wellbeing! Everyone needs a change of scenery, new atmosphere, new experiences.. However I am ready to bet there is plenty yet left to explore just a short drive away from your home! Lucky for me, living in Ireland there is plenty to do a short drive away! On this bank holiday weekend I explored more parts of North Donegal (Inishowen Peninsula) and I was lucky enough to participate in the Culdaff climbfest, and climbed outdoors for the first time in my life. New experience, check! I might be addicted to climbing now and can't wait for the next adventure. For those who wonder: doesn't climbing have an environmental impact in itself? My answer it: it depends on how you do it. I can assure you that we made no damages to the cliffs climbed, care was taken not to impact vegetation on route to the cliffs and on the cliffs, not to damage the rocks themselves, not disturbing nests (by not placing routes in areas with potential nests). Being outdoors and enjoying the countryside and the seaside can have positive effects on both us people and on our perception and respect for these amazing environments. Where do we sleep, you may wonder? We pitched up our little tent, together with other climbers, with permission from a local landowner. Again, little impact. We brought food from home and made sure to "leave no trace" of our passage by taking any refuse with us and recycling when possible. Tips to make camping as sustainable as possible: be mindful of location, both in terms of nature and the community, bring reusable bottles and containers for food and drinks, and most importantly leave no traces. In terms of driving, try to limit driving once your destination is reached, explore your surrounding by walking, longboarding, biking, running.. and pack as many friends as possible in the same car - you might find some real face-to-face instead of face-to-book interactions may be fun (pack someone good with directions and a good dj as a minimum). Your surroundings may surprise you, and you may find you will come back more relaxed than if you had to go through various security and passport checks! Last rule: remember to have fun! And little 'daycations' to explore nearby areas can also be part of family adventures too, just be sure to have things at hand to entertain the kids (screen free of course!). My yoga journey...So where to begin...
My yoga journey is definitely not one of those most romantic, love-at-first-sight thing, or maybe, in its way, it is. But when they say "timing is everything", they are right. Yoga arrived to me in a weird time of my life: a recent hearthbrake, which also led to the breakup of a circe of friends, and being close to the end of my degree brought me to trying this new evening class at my fancy new gym. That's how I first stepped on a mat. And, as I was first instructed on how to breathe, I began to find peace - I remember the teacher voice telling us to imagine how are breath would look, and, that the scientist in me began to imagine inhaling colourful molecules passing through the nose to the lungs, moving the colours to the organs and back out, now depleted of colours. I remember finding peace and stillness for the first time, the "living in the moment". I still try to imagine my breath when I am feeling stressed, or anxious, Not only I find this image deeply relaxing, but also a way to connect to our surroundings, our mother Earth nourishing us with its air... After going class after class, week after week, I had healed, I was myself again. However this meant that with some turns of events I cancelled my gym membership and with it I stopped going to yoga and forgotten about it. Until a few years later. When I found "Adriene" on YouTube. I loved the idea of yoga videos, to do in your own time, at your own pace. Her voice soothing, her practices suitable for every yoga levels, options endless (whether you want to stretch, to build heat or just get a little creative). I started practicing more and more often. Morning yoga, one of the best ways to wake up - taking time for yourself and do something good for your mind and your body before the day ahead hits you with its demands is an habit that once learnt is hard to let go of.. Then I joined a surf and yoga camp in Portugal, which not only introduced me to the "yin" practice (so great after a day on the waves!) , but allowed me to meet some amazing people and fellow yogi at different levels in their journeys, and learn from both the more and less experienced. I have found inspiration, and I am now making my own practices at times and introducing my friends to this relaxing "art". |
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