Monday, November 24, 2008

Running Again! And X-C Fun!

Well Saturday started my trek back into running after a month off. My cardio is shot to hell, but it felt great and my shins feel like new. Yay! It was only three miles on a treadmill, but I'm very happy to get back into it.

Sunday I got to try out my new cross country skis on the Ray Brook golf course. (There was BARELY enough snow but I really wanted to play with my new toys.) It was...interesting. I kept trying to ski Alpine-style. I'll get the hang of Nordic style eventually. I can't wait to try again with more snow.

Today I went for my first outdoor run in almost six weeks. It took me over 27 minutes to run three flat miles, but what the hell. Like I said, I did need that time off.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Karate

Well, once again I'm keeping it very light this week, so the only update I have is Monday night's Karate class. Sensei couldn't make it once again, so Sensei SixPack taught the class. We started off with...SPARRING! Which I haven't done in ages. Of course Dr. Z and I squared off and danced a bit and as usual he kicked my ass. The other three fights I had were with younger, lower ranked kids where I did more teaching than getting schooled. (It was one or the other - the only other person there my rank or anywhere near was SoccerStar, who was tagged by Sensei SixPack for a marathon sparring session.)

Didn't do anything yesterday, although I should have done some weight work. My bad! Even a hardcore athlete like myself gets held up by a crazy week at work sometimes.

Tonight Sensei *should* be back, so I'm guessing bunkai and/or jujitsu will be the order of the day. I'm also hoping to at least go for a walk if work will allow.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Hiking and Biking

Good Morning! Here's your weekly off-season update:

Wednesday Night - Karate. Sensei was not there and Sensei SixPack had to leave early, so Dr. Z ended up being in charge. We worked Kata (spent most of the time teaching) and some self-defense.

Thursday - Last day at the gym. I had the bike up to level six and also worked on back and biceps. Very sad to see my pass expire, but I don't have the extra $45 a month a membership would require.

Friday - Day off. Did go to Karate with Dr. Z, where we worked on Bo sparring for the first time in over a year and reviewed kata. We left early thanks to loud Can/Am kids in the hotel.

Saturday - Gym with Dr. Z. I worked chest and triceps, after biking nearly eleven miles. (The bike at the FCI is definitely calibrated differently.)

Sunday - Hiking! We decided to do Scarface. Dr. Z got tired, so we turned around before summiting. (It was cold, windy, fogging and snowy anyway.)

Today is Karate and some weightlifting at home if I can find the time. One more week until I can start running again! (And only two until the Speedskating Oval opens!)

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

P.S.

Forgot to mention - I added a feedback/rating thingamijigy at the bottom of the posts. They're hard to read, but you get to rate my workouts either "Kickass!" "Not Bad" or "Lazy Bum!" Let me know and kick my ass if I need it.

Gym Almost Over

Well, my month pass at the gym is almost over. I still haven't decided what to do next. Speedskating won't be starting for at least three more weeks. I did buy some running tights, so may take running up again even though Dr. Z would probably prefer I take a little more time off.

It really is too bad - I'm just starting to get half-decent on the recumbent bike. However, I don't have the extra $45/month for a full-time membership, especially when I don't even need it 4 or 5 months out of the year.

Any ideas, people?

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Same Old, Same Old

Last night's Karate class was almost identical to Monday's class. Sensei was in a chatty mood again, so we didn't really get started until seven. After that it was about half an hour of teaching kata and then half an hour of jujitsu, just like Monday.

I'm getting better at the recumbent bike at the gym. It's still not very cardio-intensive, but I've built up some muscle and have been able to up the level to five. I'll need the leg muscles for speedskating anyway. Weights are going well as well. I had forgotten how much I love resistance training.

Tomorrow will be, guess what, more gym and Karate.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

More Updates

Some more random updates now that it's midweek:

- Sunday I bought my first pair of cross-country skis. The local place had a deal going and set me up completely for $150. Score!

- I noticed that they also had the Denali Lightning Ascents I've been coveting, so I asked if I could get a discount if I bought them at the same time. They gave me 15% off, knocking $40 off the price. Double-score!

The weather all week? Sixty and sunny. Hee. Not that I'm going to complain. I'll take the nice weather while it lasts and let my new purchases sit in the basement. Dr. Z and I were even able to go for a short bike ride yesterday.

Other than that, I've been hitting the gym. I canNOT wait to run again. I can't believe it's been less than two weeks and I've got at least another week off to go. ARGH!

Now that competition season is over, not much coming up except gym workouts and Karate. Once the snow falls, stuff will pick back up.

Monday, November 03, 2008

Diamond Valley Classic Tournament

Ugh...well, the DVC was NOT our school's best showing by far. First off, the only people from Lake Placid who showed up were myself and Dr. Z. It WAS a 3.5 hour drive each way, but STILL. It's one of only two annual tournaments anywhere near the area.

Anyway, not only did only two of us compete, neither one of us did well at all. First off was kata. I forgot Chinto part of the way through. I tried to fake it, but I fooled no one, earning fourth place (i.e. last) from all of the judges.

That then set me up to be all frazzled and psyched out for sparring, which was immediately after. I not only didn't win any fights, I didn't get A SINGLE POINT. There was a long wait for weapons after that, and I considered not competing in that event at all considering what kind of day I was having, but Dr. Z talked me back into it.

I watched the other two competitors first, and realized I had a pretty damn good chance of taking first. I went up, and gave a pretty good performance (although I had a couple slight missteps) and got second place all around from the judges. So yay, my first silver in martial arts! (And several people actually thought I should have gotten first.)

Dr. Z had an even tougher day. After judging all morning (as black belts are required to do), his first event was weapons, which is usually his best. Although he did his bo kata as usual and it looked awesome as usual, he took last place, beat out by two people with flashier but much last practical kata. I personally think it had to do a LOT with the school the judges on that particular panel were from.

This psyched him out enough that he then went and FORGOT CHINTO AS WELL. Unbelievable. Both of us forgot it. He fudged it well enough to beat out one guy and take third place out of four.

His final event was sparring. Unfortunately his first round was with a former professional fighter who hit him so hard so many times his head was spinning at the end. This left him unable to beat a guy that he usually would have creamed in the second round.

So, not the greatest day for either of us, but there's plenty of time to practice and prepare for the Northeast Open next summer. In the meantime, I have to admit that I'm VERY happy to have a break from competing (in THREE sports) until canoe racing starts up again in April.