The Lisbon Trainer

Off-duty looks lately 👩🏻‍✈️ Been on the hunt for something to put under the Thailand top I got for ages ✔️Neon jumper was my fave puchase of winter 100%. Loads of the same old clobber, just styled for the season (which is hopefully now going to be a definite spring…!) x

ACTIVE SHOPPING IN SHANGHAI - and the pet sporty collection exclusive to China.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS:
🪩 I had to hunt in Shanghai for actual workout wear, it was sporty fashion mostly.
🪩 I was surprised with the amount of outdoor active wear I found.
🪩 I was not surprised and ALWAYS happy for the sporty streetwear on offer 👅

I visited in January - which is ski season time in China. There are ski resorts in the country but many will also visit Japan. In the summer months, climbing and hiking are really popular.

Outdoor active fashion in China is elevated with a lot of beautiful things on offer. Brands that stood out for this were:

Bosideng - Chinese
Li-Ning - Chinese
Descente - Japanese
Arc’Teryx - Canadian

Nike also had entire floors dedicated to their ACG line that is dedicated to trails, climbing, winter sports etc. ACG stands for ‘all conditions gear’.

OUTDOOR ADVENTURING IS BIG IN CHINA.

General active brands include all your regulars; Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, Puma, New Balance, On, Vuori and Lululemon.

In terms of PRICES; it varied. I found some bargains in the sales compared to the same items in UK sales. Other things were higher priced.

SIZING - sadly for me, all the shoes I found only went up to women’s UK 6 and I am a 7.
Leg lengths are shorter for Chinese women’s sizing.

EXCLUSIVE Chinese New Year collections by each brand yearly. This was so cool - I did a reel about that on my page.

LASTLY - Adidas Originals dropped the pet range exclusively in China. And I am not surprised because I saw many pampered pooches dressed in their finest, strutting around the city with their owners 🐩

You can tell when I really like a place because I’ll take loads of pictures ♥️💙 I have wanted to come here for years and it’s even more than I imagined. Tomorrow I leave the city for the countryside but I will have another few days to enjoy it after that :)

Chiang Mai - where my imagination went wild, as the (mostly) only guest at the meditation resort with its padded pyramids and location being beside a shooting range for extra effects 👻

⚡️ Decided to get into it and get my meditation habit going (succeeded fyi - let’s see how long it lasts)
⚡️ Then tried to make myself very uncomfortable by joining the chanting I heard from the hall - discovered it was just being played through a speaker and all the people I had imagined were not there.
⚡️ Milled about in local roadside coffee shops
⚡️ Discovered you can’t park scooters anywhere and got chained up - to meet the nicest clamper ever who helped me get back out
⚡️ Did my fitness highlight - the trail run event
⚡️ Got SUPER inspired by all the running fashion - watch out!
⚡️ More eating - best chicken rice, grilled pork and rice + khao soi curry noodle soup
⚡️ Signed up for a week of Muay Thai - lasted 4 days. You know that story.
⚡️ Caught up with my friend while she was in town…
⚡️ …but generally I had far too much time alone, with it being some distance out of the city and I decided to move on earlier than planned.

My time in CM was great for creativity and planning - as well as reminding myself how much I like outdoorsy fitness. I would 100% would recommend if that’s your vibe. You can do trail running, hiking, cycling, join Muay Thai/fitness camps, go to adventure parks - it’s all on offer! Just necessary with other people, rather than a solo adventure if you wanted to be out in nature a lot.

My favourite fitness experience of this trip so far :)

After being told about this event in Chiang Mai, I looked it up and it turned out to be the last day before registrations closed. GO! Not too sure which distance to do, I decided on the Chedi 20, thinking it would be easy breezy. A little taster. Some nice views. Cute!

A few runs in Bangkok later (chasing lizards around the park or on a treadmill) and I’m collecting my race bib.
Mandatory items ✅
Optional ones ❌ Didn’t bother because they seemed unnecessary (from me, who actually has no idea).

Now, I’ve done trail runs and a half marathon on the road but not this route. Oh Wow 😅😅😅

Climbing for what felt like forever, me in my head being like, “oh they’ll have put that bit in just at the beginning and then it will be some nice flat km’s before we go back down.”
Pah. No.
More like: up, down, grab a tree branch, up again, dodge rocks, up again, when is my ankle going to finally go?

And then: the refuel station 🙏🏻😇🤤
Banana sticky rice parcels, ice cold drinks, electrolytes, noodles, peanut butter bars… heaven…I indulged and then I got a stitch.

Also, let me please mention, the STYLE! 💁🏼‍♀️
The stalls the day before were full of brands I’d never seen and the race day was like running street style. Outfit inspo was a great distraction.

Yes, it was tougher than I thought it would be, but that made the last couple of kms feel incredible. A feeling I would like more of. But if I am to do that then I will need to commit to full training 🫡 The timing will need to be right, it’s tempting, let’s see!

Will I research things in more detail in future?
Probably not! Keeps it fun, doesn’t it 🙃

Some people were there doing 166km!!! and there are other distances in between incase you’re interested.
Friends of mine were doing 100km in the Azores at the weekend - and one of them won the women event ( !!!!! )
From my little taster, my goodness - so much respect and admiration - and even more inspiration for more!!!