I’m moving to the tropics for the second time in my life.  Unfortunately, my body is not tropics ready!  I took a similar version of this body to the tropics almost ten years ago.  Here is a photo of me after I was picked up from the airport in Accra.

I’m still smiling at this point because the air conditioner is on. But soon after that photo was taken, I had to get out of the van. I naively thought I was prepared. I was wearing a light cotton shirt, a knee length skirt and I had applied some tactically placed talcum powder.

You may not know what happens to talcum powder on your thighs after walking in the tropics for an hour, but I do! And I’m sure as hell not going through that disaster again!

By the time I left the tropics, I no longer needed talcum powder, bike shorts or bandaids.  My body had morphed with little conscious effort, although the dysentery did help a bit,  into tropics go condition. The photo below was taken about 18 months after I had arrived. By then, I was already good to go.

The first year in Ghana was tough but it would have been a lot less tough if I wasn’t so physically uncomfortable all the time. So I’m not going to take my circa 2010 body back to the tropics. This time, I’m going to be tropics ready, before boarding the plane!

The Plan

1. Give up alcohol
   I had my last drink at Dale and Kristie’s on Friday a week ago and the homemade gluhwein was delicious as was the bottle of Moet I took along!My next drink will be during brunch at the Sheraton in Bangkok – book it Kimbo!
2. Running, running, running,
   I’ve already started training for a half-marathon in February.  Now I just need to find similar races for March, April, May and June!
3. The two day fast
   This worked so wonderfully well for me before.  And frankly, whilst I’m not working, it will help with my budgeting!
4. Tell everyone about it.
   DONE!