Week 20 - The Madness Does Pay Off

The Numbers (as of 3/19):

		Pushups	Crunches	Kata	Sparring	Journey (Swim)	Journey (Bike)	Journey (Run)	Kindness	Journal	Video
Annual Totals:		18,150	18,150	366	138	0	418	419	388	18	0
						837
Annual Targets:		50000	50000	1000	1000	2400			1000	52	12
Percent of Annual Targets Complete		36.30%	36.30%	36.60%	13.80%	34.86%			38.80%	34.62%	0.00%

The numbers are good, staying steady, might close a bit of that gap this month. I figure I'll meet the 1,000 mile requirement next month. That's kind of a cool feeling. The goal is, of course... miles away :) But it still feels good. 

The Training:

The madness does pay off. I'm in better shape than I know I'm in. The latest 1/2 marathon was a smaller scale race, maybe because it's partially (6+ miles) on trail. Anyway, there were no pacers, so I decided just to relax on this run, enjoy the scenery and not push so hard. I guessed I was running about 2:00 or 2:05 ish. I finished 1:54:21 without pushing myself at all. I was really surprised and feel really good about it. And it was REALLY nice... to just run. It was a beautiful day, an awesome trail, some really great views. And I took it all in! I needed that. I need more of it, too. 

Sparring and kata are the same. Working more with all the angles and stuff but still a bit overwhelmed by all the things I feel need improving. Kata continues to be my happy place :) It's work, don't get me wrong, all the details and fine tuning take a lot of focus . But ... happy place. 

The Challenges: 

Are the same: 1- Time management and 2- Holding on to the fun. But, I'm in this and I am going to see it through. Just need to relax more like I did on that last run. I'll get my brain reset soon.

Levels:
Soreness: Sore calves courtesy of the 1/2 marathon so I'm back to walking kinda funny.
Injury: Finger hurts when I uppercut :)
Number of bruises: 4 
Motivation: Finding it's way
Next Event:  May 4th - The Golden Gate Relay

Motivation:
This is a good one... 

Week 19 - Feel the Burn, Feel the Challenge

The Numbers (as of 4/12):

		Pushups	Crunches	Kata	Sparring	Journey (Swim)	Journey (Bike)	Journey (Run)	Kindness	Journal	Video
Annual Totals:		17,250	17,250	348	124	0	398	382	367	17	0
						780
Annual Targets:		50000	50000	1000	1000	2400			1000	52	12
Percent of Annual Targets Complete		34.50%	34.50%	34.80%	12.40%	32.52%			36.70%	32.69%	0.00%

The Training:

Man, trying to step my sparring up a notch... Well, it feels like trying to balance my dog on a paperclip. And my dog is a spaz. He'd probably try to eat the paperclip. I am seeing angles more, maybe even moving with them more. Still working on using those angles and making something happen. Gotta use blocks as strikes, change gates, change speed, strike before they finish their strikes... And at the same time, I have to relax more. Brain explosion. Still, I feel like there is some improvement coming. 

Kata continues to be my happy place. Even with the tweaking and some other changes to techniques and stances, it is my happy place. Keeping up with my numbers, reading, in contact with Kyoshi Fierro, need to get on my videos, and solidify a plan for my empathy training. So far so good.

The Challenges:

It's all about time management. And all the things that come with that. I don't like this, but here it is: I haven't welded for fun in months, fell asleep on my friend's couch when I went over for dinner, haven't done any drawing or painting, etc. Mentally, that's getting challenging. Those are things that I really enjoy. So, in some ways I feel like the fun is falling out of things. I'm still figuring out how to wrap my head around that, and from there will figure out what to do about it. But there it is. I have put A LOT on my plate, and I'll get it done, just gotta figure out the way over this hurdle. I want the fun back. 

Levels:

Soreness: Not bad considering I spent 3 days putting a deck in (lift with your legs, Chrissy)
Injury: Just a swollen, broken-ish finger

Number of bruises: 3 - which I believe is a record low!

Motivation: It's in there, just a bit buried at the moment

Next event: Marin County 1/2 marathon - April 19th

Some Motivation:
Moving from kindness to motivation today. And I don't care if this makes me 8 years old, it's AWESOME! The eating fire part is kind of crazy. I'll just focus on hydrating better :) Take a look!

Week 18 - Keeping Up With Keeping Up

The Numbers (as of 04/05):

		Pushups	Crunches	Kata	Sparring	Journey (Swim)	Journey (Bike)	Journey (Run)	Kindness	Journal	Video
Annual Totals:		16,200	16,200	327	112	0	384	357	349	16	0
						741
Annual Targets:		50000	50000	1000	1000	2400			1000	52	12
Percent of Annual Targets Complete		32.40%	32.40%	32.70%	11.20%	30.89%			34.90%	30.77%	0.00%

The numbers are steady and mostly on track. Cycling miles finally passed up running miles and will start to take a significant lead soon. I'm hoping those sparring numbers will start to climb as well since so many of my classmates have offered to stay late or come in early just about any day. The support is awesome. 

The Training:
I like the weeks where I can get three dojo days. Getting the additional day of sparring is helpful. I can see myself finding some angles here lately. Now I just have to figure out how to do something with them. :) Kata.... it's all about those details. It gets... almost tedious sometimes. I enjoy tedium and detail, but sometimes it's hard to break old habits or to start doing things differently. That's why we get 1000 tries :)


I've come up with a schedule to get me thru the four months before the triathlon and am happy about my decision to block one day a week from all things work out. Rest days are as important as work days. For the next couple of months I'll be more loose with my tri training but still have to make it a priority to get time in for each discipline.



Challenges:

These are the same, too. It's all about time management. Some days I fear that I bit off more than I can chew by making a 1/2 iron my goal. I worry that maybe it takes away from my martial arts specific training (heavy bag, sprints, etc). Essentially I'm training for five events (sparring, kata, swim, bike, run) and that's intimidating. I have to take a step back and suck in some deep breaths to realize that I can get them to all connect if I balance it right. And so far I have remembered to feed the dog so I must be doing okay. 

Levels:
Soreness: the lowest it's been since the Oakland 1/2 (thank goodness)
Injury: Well, I don't miss the finger splints so I'll just call that good
Number of bruises: 4 
Motivation: Feeling good
Next Event:  Marin County 1/2 marathon - April 19th

Some Kindness:
I like this one because... Well, because I have tattoos and don't like being judged for it. 

Week 17 - Crazy Math!

Seriously, the weeks are just whooshing on by...

The Numbers (as of 03/29/2014):

		Pushups	Crunches	Kata	Sparring	Journey (Swim)	Journey (Bike)	Journey (Run)	Kindness	Journal	Video
Annual Totals:		15,750	15,750	318	104	0	354	340	328	15	0
						694
Annual Targets:		50000	50000	1000	1000	2400			1000	52	12
Percent of Annual Targets Complete		31.50%	31.50%	31.80%	10.40%	28.91%			32.80%	28.85%	0.00%

Still feeling good with the numbers. Consistency is the key here. Mileage dipped a bit this month but that 100-ish mile gap will be easy to close as the triathlon training gets going and those longer rides kick in. 

The Training:
Well... it's pretty much the same. I'm staying consistent with things. The push-ups and sit-ups just kind of happen now. Katas, too. Started taking longer lunch breaks a few days a week so I can get more mileage in during the work day. It makes my day at work longer, but it's a more efficient use of time. With the longer breaks I can get a longer run in or even some mileage on the bike (once the weather clears). 

My frustration level with sparring is not as high lately. I chose two things to focus on and that is helping. Just want to loosen up, not "force it." Don't plan a move, find one. And working on those angles.

I set a new personal record (PR) for the 1/2 marathon at the Oakland race. I was feeling good and decided to see how close I could get to my goal time of 1:45. I approached it all wrong and suffered the consequences. My calves may never be the same. I went out too hard at the start. Couldn't find my way thru the masses at the starting line so ended up starting in the 2:10 pace group. Caught up to the 1:50 pacer by mile six and felt great about that. Decided to hang with them and take that as a good improvement to my standing PR. Then at around mile 9 that pacer started to slip away. Kept her in my sights until about mile 11. Lesson learned. I ended up shaving 40 seconds off my PR for a new PR of 1:52:12. I have some work to do. Still, I feel like even the short workouts that I'm getting in, because they are consistent, they are allowing me to improve. 

Challenges:

Right now, and what I'm thinking will be the most consistent challenge in this test is the time management aspect. Getting to do a solid workout on my lunch break helps. But, the rides I'm getting in aren't long enough, the runs aren't either. I need to figure out how to get more time. Training for a 1/2 iron... Ideally you shoot for 3 swims, 3 rides and 3 runs a week. Then there's class at least 2 days a week. Now, I was an English major, but my math skills aren't bad. Here's what I came up with:

3 swims + 3 rides + 3 runs + 2 karates + remember to feed the dog = CRAZINESS

Based on that, I'll likely push the 1/2 iron from the Folsom race in June to the Rancho Cordova race in October. That way I can do 2 of each workout a week, remember to feed the dog, have a life, and STILL not pass out! 

Levels:
Soreness: Pretty high, unfortunately. My calves... oh my goodness
Injury: I ditched the splints (mwahaha)
Number of bruises: 5 - with a really funny shaped on on my hip
Motivation: Feeling good
Next Event:  Marin County 1/2 marathon - April 19th

Kindness:
This one is something I can imagine any one of the students at our school doing. Some, we know, already have. Here it is.