Eynar Oxartum

Good! I am kind of lazy, it is good that I do not even have a dryer (in fact, it is not common in Madrid, as the weather is very dry). 2 weeks ago

Nice! 4 weeks ago

Getting a good diagnosis is the key to improve your health!

The urge of some non-vegetarians to try to solve everything by telling a vegetarian that he/she should change his/her diet… is for me somewhere between annoyance and tiredness. 4 weeks ago

First time I am under 70 kg since I was a teen. But I will not mark this as done until I get four weeks in a row under 70 kg.

After so many years trying different ways… I am almost there! 4 weeks ago

After almost five years, this dream has come true!

This was the oldest goal I had here at 43t. I accomplished it in a race at the Retiro Park, in Madrid.

I blogged about it (in Spanish, sorry).

I will write a “how I did it” story, but now I am too tired to do it. 1 month ago

Running a 10K at 7min/mile means running it within 43:30. I will put the deadline at midnight of the 1st of September. It will be tough, but not impossible. I run recently an 8K in less than 38:30, which means a pace of 7:45, so I have “just” to improve 45 seconds in about four months (around a 10%). 5 years ago

My goal is to stay under 70 kg. I have been under 71 kg for some weeks, and it seems my lifestyle change is really working to keep it under that.

The good news is that I am getting there very, very slowly, but steadily. This usually means my weight loss is a result of the constant habits I have been building.

I feel much better and I am getting much better at two of my favourite activities: running and cycling.

Hope to mark this as “done” shortly. 2 months ago

I have calculated my water footprint. Honestly, I did not expect my needs to have such an impact!

It is good that I am a vegetarian, otherwise I would double my impact (in fact, this is one of the main reasons I am a vegetarian).

Thanks to the site, I have learnt that 1/4 of my impact is just for having 3 litres of milk a week. Perhaps I should consider going more vegan.

Very interesting information. Thanks a lot for the site :) 2 months ago

I like this goal. I am not adding it to my list, because it is pretty cluttered right now, but I will keep an eye on it. 2 months ago

I am working (sort of irregularly, but every week) on this since November. Currently I am doing about 100 push-ups in three sets two or three times a week. My maximum amount of reps in one set is 43 (achieved today).

Probably the main reason I feel more motivated now is the fact I weigh 8 kgs less (how?) than four months ago :D imagine doing push-ups with an 8 kg rucksack! My rucksack is gone, and I feel much better now.

Slowly but surely. 2 months ago

Thanks! 3 months ago

Today I have smashed my own Half Marathon Personal Best: it dropped from 1:46:14 (in 2011) to 1:35:41 :) more than 10 minutes!

The fact I am at my lowest weight ever (72 kg) obviously helped a lot. But it also helped learning about the flow state: I looked for flow while running, getting a constant pace, and enjoying the rhythm between my steps, my breathe and everything else.

It has been a delightful experience!

It is funny that I only missed by 2 seconds my 10K record… which is a great pace (for me) if we take into account the fact I still had 11 km to go at that point ;)

Being this the current situation, I am convinced I am about to complete this “7 min/mile 10K” goal very soon. Just need to look for a 10K in the horizon! 3 months ago

Autotelic. I knew the concept, but I learned the word a couple of days ago.

An autotelic person is someone whose motivating force comes from inside. Probably everyone who has made something worthwhile in this world was autotelic. From Mohandas Gandhi to Richard Feynman, from Miguel de Cervantes to Wangari Maathai.

According to Mihály Csíkszentmihályi,

“An autotelic person needs few material possessions and little entertainment, comfort, power, or fame because so much of what he or she does is already rewarding. Because such persons experience flow in work, in family life, when interacting with people, when eating, even when alone with nothing to do, they are less dependent on the external rewards that keep others motivated to go on with a life composed of routines. They are more autonomous and independent because they cannot be as easily manipulated with threats or rewards from the outside. At the same time, they are more involved with everything around them because they are fully immersed in the current of life.” 4 months ago

Boston? Olympics!?? Wow!

Setting a bet/challenge to myself, as I did last year, fuelled my motivation enough to prevent myself from overeating. This way I reached 72.1 kg, which is almost my ideal weight. However, once the challenge was over, I went back to my usual weight (at about 80 kg).

Then my workplace moved away, and, as I use to cycle to work, my average usual weight dropped a bit (from 80 to 78 kg). But this was not enough.

I realised my main problem was about binge eating at home. When I am outside, I am usually limited by the restaurant’s portions. But when I am home, I use to eat while I am cooking, while I am at the table, and after finishing. This is a problem.

Or better I should say this was a problem. I found a way that helps me avoid this. I made a set of rules to follow when I eat at home:

1) I can only eat what is on my tray (so I have to use a tray to put on it all I am going to eat).
2) the tray can only be provisioned with a list I write down (with plenty of details) at least three hours earlier (preferably after the previous meal, while I am full)
3) finishing everything that is on the tray is not mandatory, I can leave it for another moment. However, if I finish my meal, the meal is over and I cannot keep eating the items I left until the next meal (and only if they are in my list)
4) modifications in the next meal list are not permitted if it is going to happen within three hours (they are allowed if meal time is modified, or if modifications are about elimination of an item, though)
5) exceptions that can be added even though they are not in the list: rooibos tea, salt, vinegar, species and herbs.
6) additional exceptions: sport’s drinks, if they are consumed within one hour after jogging
7) these only apply at home only. So I feel free when I eat outside (I cannot eat while cooking there, so it is fine)

These rules helped a lot to eat more consciously. Now, while cooking, I have to ask someone else whether salt is ok, which is something strange for me, even funny. I do not feel anxiety about food, because I know what and when I am going to eat, so I do not keep thinking on food all the day long.

A good side effect is also that I keep track of food that is about to go off, so I use it up on time. Making a list also helps me to think better what should I eat at each moment (for example to combine pulses with bread to get protein, which is important as I am a vegetarian).

Now I am 72.5 kg, and I feel much better and with less anxiety than last year. I feel I can keep this as a lifestyle habit :) 5 months ago

Today, as in my last entry (which was long ago), I took part in the ARBA Tres Cantos plantation (the local association for the conservation of woods), and helped to plant five trees.

I really enjoyed it. Is is like a plantation festival!

My dog is now very tired. He did not plant trees, but we canicrossed all the way to the place and back. 5 months ago

I don’t know yet when am I going to do this (probably not even by 2014), but I just found a blog which might provide help on the (probably) most difficult part of the trip: crossing the Pyrenees:

http://nosinmibici.com/2012/10/21/de-francia-a-espana-en-bici-2012 5 months ago

By “without hurting” you mean “without getting an injury” or “without pain”?

While the first one is an important, loable goal, finishing a marathon without (some) pain looks quite difficult. But the fact is that you will enjoy the finish line so much, that pain will look unimportant.

So, now that I have completed a marathon, this is my next goal about running. I will focus on this for the next months, fingers cross! 6 months ago

How was your progress on this? 6 months ago

Thanks a lot! So much positive energy was really helpful! 6 months ago

3:53:01 (my watch time). Being my first marathon I would have been happy even with more than 4 hours, but getting less was great! 6 months ago

I will be at the starting line in three hours… and hopefully at the finish line four hours later!

I hope the next entry of this goal will be a “how I did it” story. 6 months ago

Wow! 6 months ago