New York

One thing that still stresses me out, are mandatory events during the school semester. I've touched on this point a few times, and the anxiety that takes places leading up to the event is something I still haven't been able to manage. From weddings to work obligations. What happens, if there's an assignment due that week? What happens if I can't finish it in time?

Each time I've been abroad, there's been something due and it ultimately comes down to just better time management. This time I would be traveling during final project submission and one week before final exams. Yes, there's some apprehension, but changing how I approach school as optional study, versus mandatory study has shifted my own expectations and allowed me to deal with it a little better.

First stop, New York City. Good to meet the US team that I have been working with for the last two years. Caught up with New York folk and even a sneaky Rick Ross concert.

Bloomberg Square Mile

New fitness tracker, morning training sessions, nutrient timing and active recovery planning. I miss having to train for something - there's focus and a a reason to do things even though you might not want to.  Kind of like studying for an exam. Admittedly, a 1 mile run through a winding circuit in the evening isn't something that warrants a serious routine, but you do have to start somewhere. Our firm submitted two teams, the "serious team" and the "not-so serious team". I was in the serious team. I say serious, in the sense that we were looking to be competitive. Historically speaking, the winning teams were stacked with middle-distance runners who have run their entire life, this was a team made up of runners who consistently ran the mile under 6 minutes (a sub six minute mile is considered respectable).

At the helm, we had an iron man, who routinely ran marathons and managed to whip us into decent shape with morning runs and training plans. Overall, we performed well coming in 10th our of a total of 124 teams, with a time of 61 minutes, 53 secs. This year's winning team ran the event in 55 minutes, 23 secs and the fastest lap clocked in at 5 minutes, 4 seconds! Blindingly quick! For me, it was 6 minutes and 20 seconds - next goal, sub six minute mile.