I departed from Tampa today at around 12:00 AM and arrived in Washington around 2:00 PM. Since then I have had a blast, meeting up with an aunt, an uncle, and a grandfather whom I do not get to see nearly enough and meeting with all of the amazing people who are taking part in this program. It's really been humbling to see how brilliant and proficient many of these students are. The introduction, getting to know you stuff was light and did not last long, and I spent more time getting acquainted with people on my own. We are to rise before 8:00 tomorrow for a joint breakfast, followed by a whirlwind of orientation-type activities. And then, Saturday, we finally leave for our destination......
Looking back on this blog, which will end on Saturday (in shaa2 allah right before we depart) at the same time as my new blog, The Run Through Muscat begins, I am disappointed both with my lack of posts and with my lack of activities. I had many good goals but unfortunately lacked the motivation and discipline to achieve them all in the time span given me. I cannot say that I accomplished nothing with this blog and my routine and set of goals, but I sincerely hope that I will be more diligent in Oman. Only time will tell........
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Omani National Anthem
OK so I meant to post this last night but sleep got the better of me.
So without further ado: the Omani national anthem + translation
يا ربنا احفظ لنا جلالة السلطان
O Lord, preserve His Majesty, the Sultan
والشعب بالأوطان
And the people in their homelands
بالعز والإيمان
In strength and faith,
وليدم مؤيدا
May he live long (not sure what “(le)yadamm” means but English, German, and Hebrew Wikipedia translate it as such), supported,
عاهلا ممجدا بالنفوس يفتدى
As a regent, glorified; our lives we lay down for him
ياعمان نحن من عهد النبي
O Oman, we are of the covenant of the prophet
أوفياء من كرام العرب
Reliable from the honor of the Arabs
أبشري قابوس جاء
Send good tidings, Qaboos cometh!
فلتباركه السماء
Let the heavens bless him
واسعدي والتقيه بالدعاء
Rejoice, and greet him with prayer
Comments:
As far as anthems go, not terrible complicated, and pretty nice sounding (IMHO). It is my solemn intention to memorize this before I go to Oman, and to sing it (off-key, of course, as I posses no musical talents what so ever) to the great amusement of my Omani comrades. I would really like to know what the root verb of "leyadam(m?) is, though.
Now for some more running!
So without further ado: the Omani national anthem + translation
يا ربنا احفظ لنا جلالة السلطان
O Lord, preserve His Majesty, the Sultan
والشعب بالأوطان
And the people in their homelands
بالعز والإيمان
In strength and faith,
وليدم مؤيدا
May he live long (not sure what “(le)yadamm” means but English, German, and Hebrew Wikipedia translate it as such), supported,
عاهلا ممجدا بالنفوس يفتدى
As a regent, glorified; our lives we lay down for him
ياعمان نحن من عهد النبي
O Oman, we are of the covenant of the prophet
أوفياء من كرام العرب
Reliable from the honor of the Arabs
أبشري قابوس جاء
Send good tidings, Qaboos cometh!
فلتباركه السماء
Let the heavens bless him
واسعدي والتقيه بالدعاء
Rejoice, and greet him with prayer
Comments:
As far as anthems go, not terrible complicated, and pretty nice sounding (IMHO). It is my solemn intention to memorize this before I go to Oman, and to sing it (off-key, of course, as I posses no musical talents what so ever) to the great amusement of my Omani comrades. I would really like to know what the root verb of "leyadam(m?) is, though.
Now for some more running!
Friday, May 28, 2010
Work Out Log 28 May 2010
Well it's been 18 days, almost 3 weeks since my last entry. My goals for this blog have thus not been attained....fortunately I have almost 2 weeks left here in Tampa before I ship out for Washington, and 2 days there before I arrive in Muscat, so that's plenty enough time to justify blogging here.
Now as for today, I ran up to the gym, 2 miles, and then proceeded to run 4 miles on the treadmills. I finished of with abs, that is to say leg raises, roman chairs, 200 crunched and 120 bicycles. I felt really good at the end of it all, and could easily have run the whole 2 miles back home, if not for the rain (and lightning). Not bad, considering I'm fasting (as today is Friday) from meat, milk, and eggs and have not had 1000 calories all day long! Tomorrow I should get a great work out with kickboxing, to be followed up by a vigorous run, in shaa' allah. I also have one Arabic post ready for tonight and several more coming down the pipe. Over and out, for now.
Now as for today, I ran up to the gym, 2 miles, and then proceeded to run 4 miles on the treadmills. I finished of with abs, that is to say leg raises, roman chairs, 200 crunched and 120 bicycles. I felt really good at the end of it all, and could easily have run the whole 2 miles back home, if not for the rain (and lightning). Not bad, considering I'm fasting (as today is Friday) from meat, milk, and eggs and have not had 1000 calories all day long! Tomorrow I should get a great work out with kickboxing, to be followed up by a vigorous run, in shaa' allah. I also have one Arabic post ready for tonight and several more coming down the pipe. Over and out, for now.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Work Out Log 10 May 2010
Today, it should be noted, marks the 30 day mark before my flight to Washington (that is to say in 30 days, 30 June 2010, I will be arriving in Washington for my pre-flight orientation before we come to Oman, which will last two days, at which point we will then depart for Oman).
Now as to the log, yesterday the work out had to be cancelled due to Mother's Day related issues. Today I ran 4 miles outside and got in a very good work out on triceps and pectorals. I made the run during the heat of the day, around 2 O'clock and was surprised at how much the heat sapped my strength and slowed me down. I was also surprised to find that I had received a somewhat mild sunburn on my shoulders and part of my chest, which kind of puts my plans for getting a tan on hold.
Now as for my weight-routine, I was somewhat disappointed on chest today, as initially I was only able to put 275 twice on the flat bench, and required a good amount of help to get to six reps. In my defense I had completely run out of supplements, had had nothing to eat since breakfast (I started with this exercise at 5:15 in the afternoon), and my spotter was not very good IMHO (no offense to the man, he seemed very nice but not to knowledgeable about weight lifting etc.). On the bright side, I managed to put up 225 on both the incline and decline benches subsequent to the flat bench, did very well on dips, and managed to lift more than 100 pounds on skull crushers. In addition to all of this I also found that I had dropped weight to 207 (despite my sister's delicious carrot cake and all of the extra icing that she made yesterday!). I will continue my progress tomorrow, in shaa' allah, with another good run (for the time being completely indoors....) and also a good biceps and forearms routine.
Now as to the log, yesterday the work out had to be cancelled due to Mother's Day related issues. Today I ran 4 miles outside and got in a very good work out on triceps and pectorals. I made the run during the heat of the day, around 2 O'clock and was surprised at how much the heat sapped my strength and slowed me down. I was also surprised to find that I had received a somewhat mild sunburn on my shoulders and part of my chest, which kind of puts my plans for getting a tan on hold.
Now as for my weight-routine, I was somewhat disappointed on chest today, as initially I was only able to put 275 twice on the flat bench, and required a good amount of help to get to six reps. In my defense I had completely run out of supplements, had had nothing to eat since breakfast (I started with this exercise at 5:15 in the afternoon), and my spotter was not very good IMHO (no offense to the man, he seemed very nice but not to knowledgeable about weight lifting etc.). On the bright side, I managed to put up 225 on both the incline and decline benches subsequent to the flat bench, did very well on dips, and managed to lift more than 100 pounds on skull crushers. In addition to all of this I also found that I had dropped weight to 207 (despite my sister's delicious carrot cake and all of the extra icing that she made yesterday!). I will continue my progress tomorrow, in shaa' allah, with another good run (for the time being completely indoors....) and also a good biceps and forearms routine.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Work Out Log 8 May 2010
Well, I have to admit this is not going quite as planned. No too much work on Arabic or related fields got done today, in spite of yesterday's promise. Not good. I suppose there's nought to do but try harder tomorrow (which shouldn't be too hard as I'll have ample chance to talk Arabic tomorrow morning).
Now, at least when it comes to working out, I did make some progress. I managed to run 6 miles today, not a personal best by far but good progress considering I have been having trouble making it to 4 miles as of late. I rode up to the gym, got in a good, fast paced 3 miles on the treadmill, before I took a short water break (I did not have time to properly hydrate before my run as I usually do, but luckily this proved not to be a problem). I got back on and finished another mile at a more leisurely pace. I then did my standard ab workout of 100 crunches and 60 cycles, before experimenting with some other exercises. After this I got outside, knocked back a bit more water, and ran 2 miles back to my house at a good clip, without stopping once. For the first time in what seemed like forever, it did not seem to be an interminably long distance! After I was done I felt I had at least another two miles in me. Hopefully tomorrow I will have the time to hit my triceps and pecs hard and get in at least 4 miles on the treadmill, though since it is Mother's Day and all my time might be best spent elsewhere in other pursuits......... For now, good night and God bless.
Now, at least when it comes to working out, I did make some progress. I managed to run 6 miles today, not a personal best by far but good progress considering I have been having trouble making it to 4 miles as of late. I rode up to the gym, got in a good, fast paced 3 miles on the treadmill, before I took a short water break (I did not have time to properly hydrate before my run as I usually do, but luckily this proved not to be a problem). I got back on and finished another mile at a more leisurely pace. I then did my standard ab workout of 100 crunches and 60 cycles, before experimenting with some other exercises. After this I got outside, knocked back a bit more water, and ran 2 miles back to my house at a good clip, without stopping once. For the first time in what seemed like forever, it did not seem to be an interminably long distance! After I was done I felt I had at least another two miles in me. Hopefully tomorrow I will have the time to hit my triceps and pecs hard and get in at least 4 miles on the treadmill, though since it is Mother's Day and all my time might be best spent elsewhere in other pursuits......... For now, good night and God bless.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Work Out Log 7 May 2010
Well to start of with there was no work out log yesterday because I did not work out to speak of (at least not in anyway that's worth blogging about.....).
Today I had an alright workout out. Drove up to the gym and ran around three miles on the treadmill before I did a good, fast leg routine. As to the run, it was a fairly good run, though I did have to take a pit stop. All in all I managed to finish it up in less than thirty minutes, not counting the stop. I did around 635 or so on the leg press, not my best by far but not bad considering my rather unfortunate recent trend of neglecting my legs. Not a bad work-out, all considered, but tomorrow I will be doing an all cardio workout that I expect to pick up the intensity a bit, not to mention hitting my abs, which were neglected today.
Now I realize I haven't blogged on anything Arabic, CLS, or Oman related but I will rectify this tomorrow, in shaa' allah. For now good night and God bless.
Today I had an alright workout out. Drove up to the gym and ran around three miles on the treadmill before I did a good, fast leg routine. As to the run, it was a fairly good run, though I did have to take a pit stop. All in all I managed to finish it up in less than thirty minutes, not counting the stop. I did around 635 or so on the leg press, not my best by far but not bad considering my rather unfortunate recent trend of neglecting my legs. Not a bad work-out, all considered, but tomorrow I will be doing an all cardio workout that I expect to pick up the intensity a bit, not to mention hitting my abs, which were neglected today.
Now I realize I haven't blogged on anything Arabic, CLS, or Oman related but I will rectify this tomorrow, in shaa' allah. For now good night and God bless.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Work Out Log 5 May 2010
Well today was a lazy day. Certainly caught up on my sleep lol. And I found my wallet and keys! Maybe it was the emotional duress and following catharsis that tired me out,lol.....
So anyways at about 9:00 PM I decided the day was not going to be a total waste so I grabbed the car (after yesterday's debacle I did not feel like running up again and anyway this would not have left me much time as I left around 9:30) and headed up to the gym. Tonight I engaged in the mother of all work-outs (at least as far as I am concerned): chest and triceps. I managed to put up 275 on the bench three times before I needed help (my gracious spotter gave me just a tap on the third rep) and I managed to put up 125 on skull crushers. I finished off with a hundred crunches and 60 bicycles and headed on home. All-in-all not a bad little work out, but the lack of any cardio was a serious oversight. Luckily tomorrow I am doing just cardio so this problem will be easily remedied.......
So anyways at about 9:00 PM I decided the day was not going to be a total waste so I grabbed the car (after yesterday's debacle I did not feel like running up again and anyway this would not have left me much time as I left around 9:30) and headed up to the gym. Tonight I engaged in the mother of all work-outs (at least as far as I am concerned): chest and triceps. I managed to put up 275 on the bench three times before I needed help (my gracious spotter gave me just a tap on the third rep) and I managed to put up 125 on skull crushers. I finished off with a hundred crunches and 60 bicycles and headed on home. All-in-all not a bad little work out, but the lack of any cardio was a serious oversight. Luckily tomorrow I am doing just cardio so this problem will be easily remedied.......
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