Resting

I was definitely right to skip Crossfit yesterday - conditioning was hard, but I had enough gas left to stay for practice afterwards.

I spent most of yesterday dealing with various feline crises before I go out of town, and will probably have to do the sametoday. My diet was more or less fine - I ended up in the tub with a protein shake for dinner, which is my oh-god-that-practice-sucked resort, but it's still reasonably healthy. I have sparring practice then meditation tonight, which should be nice, and then I have to pack for my trip tomorrow.

Conditioning

This morning I am skipping Crossfit because I'll be going to conditioning tonight - the workout was a hard-and-fast one that is just too similar to what I'll be doing this afternoon.

Karate last night was actually quite relaxing - it was basics class, so we didn't do anything new to me and the pace was not too challenging. I really enjoyed it.

Yesterday for lunch I had my weekly cheat meal, so I should be good for the rest of the week. This weekend will be erratic because I'm traveling, but it shouldn't be too horrendous.

Sore Quads

The price I pay for slacking for two weeks is terribly sore quads if I even look at them funny in the gym. I don't really lose strength, it's just that they hurt for two days after I use them. It's sort of odd, because karate is very quad-intensive, but it doesn't seem to forestall the soreness. Of course, sore or not, I did my front squats this morning.

Karate last night was fun - I got to learn a few new things, including a whole new kata. I'm still going to go to white belt class tonight - it's not like my basics are so solid that I can just forget about them now - but it's very nice to have some new stuff to think about.

I had a pretty good day yesterday, diet-wise - I went to the store and got plenty of good food, and had healthy meals. It was remarkable how much better I felt in karate, too - by the end of the first hour, I was sweaty, but not really tired.

My weight held even from yesterday to today, which wasn't a huge surprise - I figured I didn't have too much water to shed. Looking forward to getting that train rolling again, though.

School Starts

Not for me, specifically, but school started in town today, and since I live across the street from an elementary school I tend to notice these things. In one respect, though, school's back in for me - my week of indulgence while I got the caffeine out of my system is over, and I'm back to the grind. Crossfit this morning was a "warrior workout" - always a very tough workout named after a serviceman who was killed in Iraq. Crossfit is very popular with the military, and the community seems to feel that sweating very very hard is an honorable way to remember their fallen brethren.

I was shocked and amazed to get on the scale this morning and discover I really haven't lost any ground. I was expecting to be at least five pounds up, but apparently I can pretty much pick up where I left off. I'm out of town this weekend, which will throw me off a bit, but it's only two nights.

I'm off to make a proper, Zone-appropriate breakfast and get to work. Have a good week!

Blue Belt

As of last night, I officially have my blue belt. This means I get to go to some new classes (sparring and kata) which makes my scheduled a bit more flexible. I'm pleased, and the test itself wasn't too bad (although wearing the gi jacket in August is cruel and unusual - it wasn't mandatory, but everyone was doing it anyway, and I was VERY hot.)

I've also successfully avoided caffeine all week. I'm not worrying about the rest of things this week - it's busy at work, and I had the test to prepare for, and there's only so much willpower I can bring to bear - but next week I plan to get all the way back on the wagon.

Slacking

So this past week has been a stressful one for me - not even for personal reasons, really, more on behalf of other people. But as a result, I haven't been going to the gym and my diet has been terrible. I have been going to karate, but it's been more annoying than anything.

Last night I went to the half-hour meditation class that is all I'm eligible for on Thursdays, and towards the end of it I realized that outside influences or no, caffeine really messes me up. I was having trouble just sitting still - my nerves were tight as wire. I don't think that's the whole of my issue, but it's certainly not helping, and I need to get back off it in order to be productive anywhere else.

So that's the goal for the weekend - wean myself back off of caffeine, so I can deal with the rest of my life.

Too Much

Conditioning practice was great, but on top of the Crossfit workout, I was completely exhausted. I am taking this morning off to recover, and in the future if I go to conditioning I'm going to skip Crossfit that day. They're too similar, and just too much for me to handle right now.

My belt test is in two weeks - I got official word last night. I have the paperwork and the essay portion to do between now and then, and I'm not terribly worried about the test itself. Two weeks should be plenty of time to get totally used to the new shoes, and be able to execute everything I need to do during the actual test.

I'm not terribly hung up on advancement, but getting my blue belt opens up quite a few classes for me, which will make my schedule much more flexible. I'm very much looking forward to sparring class, and having a kata class once a week will also be good.

Oh, My Aching Legs

Heavy squats yesterday, squat snatches today - my poor quads are REALLY trashed. And today is the first session of karate conditioning class - I may die. In a good way, I mean. Well, at least I hope so.

At Least It's Not Monday

This morning's workout was heavy squats. I did pretty well, but completely burned out by the last set. I feel like I put a lot of effort into it, but it is frustrating not to be able to complete the set properly. I suspect I'll feel it tomorrow, too.

Otherwise, things are chugging along. I regret to admit that I'm back on the caffeine - I did really well, but during all the dojo work I had a couple Red Bulls to keep going, and that got me started again. It's not the biggest crisis ever, but it does tend to mess with my eating habits - it makes me less hungry, and also increases my overall carb intake, throwing off my balance. It's something I'll have to work on, again - just as soon as I finish this soda.

I Hate Mondays, redux

I love that Firefox's auto-fill reminds me when I re-use a post title, but I really do hate Mondays. This one was unpleasant mostly for work reasons - it was a rest day, so I got to sleep in, and my shoes arrived in the nick of time, so I got to use them at practice.

I was 95% pleased with the results. The 5% is solely due to pride - my very strong roundhouse kick was slowed down quite a bit by the extra stickiness. Otherwise, it was very nice to be able to control my movement, and with just a little practice I think I'll be in very good shape. I was also invited to watch sparring class on Thursday, which I think I will do - at least for a little bit. Thursday evening is meditation class, which I'm very much looking forward to.

It's Hot

Really, really hot. I don't hate the heat as much as I hate cold, but it's still kinda draining.

I ran this morning, as directed, then had lunch and ran some errands with my usual weekend workout buddy. I have no major ambitions for the day other than to get the house marginally closer to "clean" than it has been these last few weeks. It's quite a chore.

Saturday

I slept in - and in, and in - this morning, but did drag myself to the gym. It was a near thing, though. I haven't done the late night partying thing in a looong time, and my body resents it. Deeply. It was a good workout, though.

I'm still pretty light despite a fairly epic cheat meal last night, which is good, I guess. It'll be nice to break my current best and feel like I'm really moving again. I've still got a long way to go even to my next milestone. But my schedule is pretty settled for this month, so I should be able to get back in a groove.

Catching Up

Yesterday was a rest day, and I managed to lose track of my morning and forget to post. Now, of course, I don't really remember anything I had intended to post about. So it goes.

This morning was pullups and dips, which is quick and painful, and I always feel pretty good about. Looking over the July Crossfit spreadsheet (yes, I keep a spreadsheet) I was perfectly consistent, with the exception of the planned triplet off and the expected two days of running around a convention rather than working out. That's just what I was hoping for, and I plan to keep my streak going in August.

Karate the last two nights has been more annoying than usual, since the A/C got turned off at some point and so the dojo was hot and I was sweaty. My new shoes should get here on Monday, and I cannot wait. I'm sure training in shoes will present its own challenges, but I'm sick of sliding around the floor and straining my joints trying to stay upright.

Weight-wise, as I mentioned before, August was pretty much a wash. I'm a couple of pounds below my July starting weight, but far from the 8ish I was hoping for. I don't regret it, exactly - ten days of vacation will have that affect, and I probably should have set my expectations a little lower - but I am slightly annoyed. August should be a much better month for me in that regard - I'm looking forward to a solid month of progress.