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I must have mis-timed myself yesterday. I went out and walked the track at the high school again today. Today's time was 19 minutes, 21 seconds. I didn't take my son with me today, so that might have something to do with it. I also worked on my breathing. I walked most of that first lap fairly slowly, but then started walking faster by the last end of the track. My husband was with me and all I heard was "goodbye" as I pulled away from him. I wasn't out to race him, I was out to walk. I didn't have my MP3 player with me, so I wasn't regulating my steps to music. I was just out to walk. I did work on my breathing. I tried to breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth as I was walking. It seemed to be the thing to do. That is something I can do on a regular basis. You THINK you know how to breathe, but sometimes it turns out, you don't really know.
Anyway, I feel successful, so I'll be working on maintaining this time at the recommendation of a couple of friends. As long as I hold this pace for the next few weeks, I'll be in good shape. I can then strive to decrease the time by a minute or two. By the end of the month, I should be walking a mile in 17 minutes. By the end of September, I can aim for 15 minutes and by the end of October, I can aim for 13 minutes. My goal will be to strengthen myself to the point where I'm shaving off a few minutes every two weeks. I think it's a reachable goal.
I missed my walk this morning. My best friend slept in and didn't go out walking with me. *I* didn't go out walking by myself because I hate being alone. If I'm going to walk, I like to have someone there to talk to. It takes my mind off how long the silly walk actually IS.
We're hoping to pick up our walk tomorrow, but there's no guarantee that it'll happen. Our temperature is supposed to be 35F in the morning. I'm not so insane that I like freezing my nose off! I may just have to wait and see what he says. If he says he can't get up (or if he doesn't call me at 9:00 am), then I'll have to break out the Wii.
This morning was a perfect morning for a walk. It was 60+ degrees when I left the house and went to the park to go walking. My friend was already there, so when I got there, he got out of his car and we took off walking. We didn't really check the time when we started out, but it was about an hour and ten minutes to an hour and 20 minutes for the walk. I'm guessing as I didn't time it either. Since we added in the lake lap, it was a full 5k.
We didn't run today, but as we're both getting back into the habit of walking, it was a good start. We both chatted as we walked. We talked about fitness plans, martial arts, etc. He's in better shape than I am since he has access to a fitness center at work and exercises there, but it was really nice of him to join me this morning. I told him that I plan on walking every weekend, plus I want to start walking at work too. I'm going to pack my clothes for walking on Sunday night so that I'm ready to go at work. I have a later lunch on Monday--I work 9:30 to 6:30, so I go to lunch at 1:30. That'll be a good time to get out and get a walk in. The other days, I go to lunch at 11:30. I'm going to be ready for it.
Since I've been out and walked, I feel like I've accomplished something. I set my mind to walking and I did. Now my next step is to get my time down from an hour and some to about 45 minutes or so. Even if I just walked for an hour, it'll be a bonus.
I also took the opportunity to have him grab me so that I could practice my Ho Sin Sul. I need the practice and he was there, so I got in the practice. I remembered 3 out of four of the Ho Sin Sul I did on Thursday, so I'm keeping up my plan to practice.
As many of you know, I left my old martial arts school in July of 2008. I wasn't happy and had a few issues that couldn't be resolved, so I left. I had a lot of angst about it and spent a lot of time agonizing over "did I make the right decision?" My former instructor tried a few times to communicate with me and I took the cowardly way out--I either let the calls go to voicemail or I didn't return calls when I said I would.
I have since moved forward and have found a new school. I am happy with that school--it was a good change for me, I believe. I do not regret my decision. It was something that was needed. I am learning my forms and am learning to ask "WHY" about the technique and the forms. It's a new challenge to me as I have to learn Korean, bunkai, Bushido Codes and other things. In many ways, I feel like I've started over again and am back at white belt, only I know the forms. I have much tweaking and adjustments to be made or I won't be able to get myself up to speed.
Yesterday I went over to a friend's house and talked about a lot of things martial arts related. We talked about Bunkai and we talked about language. We also talked about our Ho Sin Sul and one steps. I got a chance to review four of the Ho Sin Sul I would need to know as a white belt. It was a very productive afternoon for me. We talked about performing the forms in various ways--forward or "left" (because you learn it to the left), 'right hand' (opposite of how you initially learn it), "backwards to the left" and "backwards right handed".
We talked about setting goals...if you set the goal of performing a form a day, in all four ways, you'll actually learn the forms very well. It's a good thing to work on and it's something that I'm thinking will be beneficial for me.
Another thing--since I'm sidelined again this month (grrr!!), I'm going to talk to the trainer my apartment complex offers "for free". I'm going to get with him on Tuesdays and Thursdays this month and see about getting beaten into shape that way. I need the exercise and working with a trainer will be a good way to get myself back on track. I'll make sure I tell the trainer that I'm a martial artist so that he can help me focus on things I need. Upper body strength, lower body strength, cardio, etc. I truly want to get into excellent shape. Tomorrow I'm going to start my weekend out by walking a 5k. I may take the entire family with me but if they're not interested in going with me, I'll go alone. I plan on doing this every weekend. I am also going to start walking at work again. That'll be a mile a day (the route I walk is 1.9 miles round trip.). It's just a short term goal to getting healthier and happier.
I plan to return to BTK. I will have to wait until it's feasible but I WILL be there. I told my friend yesterday that when I come back, I plan on being there with the attitude of "I can do it." I WILL do it. I'm going in with the plan of being there, learning and learning well.
Now I need to go get my notebook out and practice those Ho Sin Sul we worked on yesterday. I'm going to do them every day until I get them ingrained in my head. I may show them to my friend DB tomorrow, just to show him "this is what I can do."
I spent this morning walking up and down the hall, practicing front snap kicks (Ahp Cha Gi). I have gotten very sloppy, so I figured that while nobody was paying attention, I'd practice. I was trying to improve my technique. I can do a kick that is more like a "scoop", but what I need to do is to primarily focus on the technique. A good front snap kick would break down as follows:
1. Raise your knee.
2. Extend your lower leg, with control, ball of the foot leading. Strike the target.
3. With control, retract the leg.
(edited 12/29. I was corrected and I appreciate it. Need that reality check at times!)
When I practice it like this, it makes up for not having a bag to kick. I have a regular pad in one of the closets, but I cannot get my assorted family members to hold it for me so that I can kick it. Ah well. I was SUPPOSED to go to a friend's house today, but that fell through because I didn't hop on the Internet until late and he had plans for the late afternoon. Maybe next week.
Anyway, back to my kicks. I figure that I'm going to work on my kicks this week. I am going to work on the technique, then speed, then power. If I nail the technique, I can pick up the speed and the power. I think I'm going to strive for at least 20 kicks per leg, per day.
Another thing I'm going to do is to start walking at least a mile a day. I should have started it today, but I was lazy and slept in. Hopefully tomorrow. I'm thinking of going to the high school and walking there. Four laps around the track is a mile, so I'm going to aim for that. I may have to start with a half mile and work up to it. We shall see.
Today I officially ran. It wasn't anything spectacular, but it WAS a run. My son likes to race us, so today, he raced me from the mailbox to our building. It was a five minute run, but we moved. I guarantee you, I feel better for having moved!!!
It's supposed to be very cold tomorrow and rain is forecast, so I may not get out walking or running at work. I will say without a shadow of a doubt that I will NOT go outdoors if it's cold and wet. I'm crazy, not insane.
I have started walking in an effort to make myself get out and about. I have a goal in mind...I'm eventually going to start running. When I do, I want to be able to run a mile in under ten minutes. Running and I are not friends. I truly despise running. However, it's something that I'm going to work on because I know it'll help.
I've been given a few pointers...I've been told to time myself. Walk a minute, run a minute. Repeat multiple times. Then I can increase my running time. Walk a minute, run two minutes. Ideally, it'll be a building up to being able to run from the get-go instead of just walking. I have a couple of friends who have tried this technique. I wonder if Run On recommends that? They have a running course I may have to inquire about sometime next year. As long as it doesn't interfere with my Tuesdays and Thursdays, I'll be fine.
Today, I didn't run. I DID, however, get out and go walking. Again, not a fast walk, but it *was* a walk. That counts as a start.
Balance is always important in martial arts. One of the main reasons is that you don't want to be kicking someone and fall flat on your bum or on your face because you can't maintain your balance or control your kick. Many of your higher forms require incredible control and balance. There is a part of Jin Do that requires a Ap Cha Nut Gi (jumping front snap kick). I had attempted this on one of the occasions I had to practice with Mr. Brown before I left my old school...and I fell flat on my rear!! You talk about undignified!! I didn't have my foot planted properly, so I fell. Part of that was for inexperience, part of it was due to lack of balance.
I have a new tool in my training arsenal that I HOPE will help me in the long run. It's a Wii Fit. I read BBM's blog and decided to go out and look for one the night I read it. It sat in the house for a week before I set it up, but now that it's been set up, I am using it. I have been working on the balance games. I had the silly thing set up backwards first of all, but my husband finally decided to correct it and now all is well. It's not as bad as it was the day before yesterday! I did find out that Master G was correct in telling me that I need to use my hips! I really, REALLY found out how much when I did the 'slalom skiing'.
I haven't tried much of the yoga yet. I have done a trunk twist with my virtual trainer and I've got issues with the Wii as far as what it says my weight is, but I'll suck it up and deal with it. I have other things on my mind, like correcting my balance. So far, I'm "unbalanced". I DID, however, find that I can do a couple of serious aerobic exercises for about 15 minutes and I'm winded. This is something I will definitely work on. I AM going to get into better shape.
Tomorrow I'm packing the kids up (as long as it's not raining!!) and heading out to the local high school. We're going to put the track to good use. I want to start walking a mile...and I'll time it. Once I have a time for my walk, then I can start working on cutting that time down. At some point I need to start running. There's nothing that says I have to LIKE running...but I'll be running. If I get to the point where I can run a quarter of a mile in 2-3 minutes, it'll say something for me. My goal is to run a quarter mile by the end of...how about a month ending in "y"? That's one of four months. I won't say exactly WHICH month it is, but I'm going to work on it. I definitely feel like I'm facing the correct path. I'm not fully engaged on that path, but I'm facing it.
I think I need to learn NOT to walk when I'm angry. It is beneficial, yes, but at the same time, it *hurts* because I don't temper my stride. I have a tendency to literally pound the pavement. As a result, I do injury to myself.
Case in point...I was so stressed out yesterday that when I went walking, I walked with a hard stride. Not necessarily a good stride. I know it wasn't fast. It was just hard. My right foot now feels like it's "locked up". The instep is painful and stiff. Not what I want, especially since I want to go walking again. I have set myself a goal (almost typed "goad"!) of at least 3 miles a week, walking.
I may skip the walk today. I'm not sure. I haven't made my plans yet. I don't go to lunch until 11:30 and it's 10:15 now. If I go, I have to get out to my car and get my things.
When I walked yesterday, I met two ladies who were out running. I'm assuming they have a route planned out. They ran past me as I was heading out, then I met them coming back...and they ran past me at a fast walk! That's when I felt like I was too slow. I tried to speed up to keep up with them and wasn't able to. They're in *much* better shape than I am and it showed.
I really need to stop comparing myself to other people, but I really have a hard time stopping myself from doing it. It's like comparing apples to oranges. Both are fruit, both can be sweet, but that's where the resemblance ends. One's got a rough outer skin, one's edible from the get-go. It's the same with people. No two people are alike. I know this but haven't managed to keep it in my head. It's the same with martial arts. I know that I'm not expected to keep up with the people who are higher ranked than me. They may have a different outlook on training, etc. I shouldn't look at what they're doing and say "I have to keep up with xyz..." It just isn't going to be possible!! I am me. I'm not in superb shape. I am coming off a long (7 month) hiatus where I haven't done much.
(This is changing, I'm not just sitting here bitching about it!)
I didn't do any push ups yesterday, so today is a bonus day--I get to do *4* of them! Hooray! I'm going to see if my son wants to do push ups with me. That way it'll be something we can do together. I need to do some crunches too to start working my abs. If I can find where hubby hid my bo, I'll be able to get it out and use it for ab work. I found an exercise on Shape.com that is a good abs-shaper. It uses either a broom handle or something along those lines. You hold it at shoulder level with your arms up across the back of it (think an old picture of a "milk maid" or something like that). Then you perform a trunk twist. The most effective way to do this is to sit down and twist. You can use a towel while you're sitting on the floor and you can do this while you're watching television if you're a television sort of person. I may have to start doing this on my nights that I'm off from karate. It'll help build up my obliques and abs and maybe, just MAYBE, I'll wind up with a shape other than round!!
Training consisted of my two push ups and a walk. I felt really good about it. When I got in, I felt like I had just accomplished a lot. Granted, that walk wasn't the fastest thing, but it was a welcome change from sitting on the couch, doing nothing. I enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment after the walk. I wasn't walking for speed, but just for enjoyment. If I do this, plus eat right and drink plenty of water, I'll be able to lose some weight.
I emailed my best friend and told him I was in panic mode. He hasn't answered me back about getting together for coffee yet, but he knows why I'm panicking. I've talked a little bit to my hubby, but he doesn't quite 'get' it. He knows I'm worried about my weight, but he's not a martial artist, so he doesn't understand the pressure I'm feeling. I wanted to talk to my friend to hash out some thoughts. I don't know if Master G reads my blogs (I know some of the other people at the dojang *might* read them), but I have to sit down and talk to someone about my concerns and fears. Fear is natural. If you're without fear, you're either very confident of your abilities (ha, not me!) or just faking it very well. Me? I am so scared, it's not funny. I have a lot of work to do to 'tweak' my forms. I have to learn a whole new range of one steps. I have to learn bunkai. I have to learn Korean. There's a whole new set of things to learn.
I have to learn to keep a training log that is cohesive and makes sense.
I went out today and got myself two new pairs of shoes, so I'm set for walking. I bought one pair to wear as "everyday" shoes and one pair for strictly walking. We shall see how this works for me. I'm going to be walking quite a bit.
I looked at my push up requirements again for my fitness test. I made a mistake. I need to do 32 push ups, rather than the 38 I had posted that I was supposed to do. I looked at the requirements for someone 30-39 years of age, rather than 40-49. OOPS! I guess I'm trying to fool myself that I'm not as old as I am?
I am still working on trying to do a correct, "guy" push up. I did my two today. It's hard to do, especially as I have a tendency to sag down at the belly!
I'm going to work on that. I bet that if I work on holding my stomach in, I'll get a bonus of strengthening my abs.
I have to work on the crunches. I don't do them the way the people at BTK do. They do more of a Pilates-style crunch, where they are straight legged and fold up to the middle. I do my crunches with my feet flat on the floor, pulling my shoulders off the floor toward my knees. I don't know if it's right or wrong, but for now, I'm going to keep doing my crunches with my feet flat on the floor. I'll do that until I get my core muscles built up.
I had to give my instructor a list of my availability for classes up to the end of the year. I did that yesterday and got a response back today. I really do feel like I belong to this group. They ALL email you to keep in touch with you!
I've not been walking, but I'm attempting to eat better. I think I'll get myself back on track with my eating first. One step at a time. That'll be my first step.
I'm going to class tomorrow night. I am looking forward to it. I'm sure I'll be very tired and sore by the time I get home, but it'll be worth it. I hope I remember the commands for calling in the class. I have a feeling I need to practice it again before class. I will be reviewing tomorrow to see what I can do before class. I know the basic salutations. I just have to work on it.
At camp on Saturday night, I was able to show one of my former classmates the opening to Bassai and was able to explain to him what it meant. I feel like that was a good refresher for me.
I spent most of Saturday on my feet. I was at camp with my son at a Cub Scout camp-out. We started out on Saturday, at 9:00 am. Our evening ended at 10:00 pm when we finally fell into bed. It was a lot of walking from activity to activity. Time to sit down were few and far between. I don't know how far we walked...I didn't have a pedometer on. I DO know I walked enough to rub blisters on both of my big toes. I told my son that I needed to take the time to get a good pair of shoes that fits right. I will do that too. I think I learned a hard lesson.
I haven't done a lot today since we got home. I made it upstairs and crashed. I've been resting since.
Since I did so much walking yesterday, I won't be doing any walking tomorrow. If I get a new pair of shoes tomorrow, which is under consideration, I will walk on Tuesday. Of course, I have to make sure that I have good padding in the form of new shoes and thick socks!
I have been stressed out at work so much that I am daily experiencing headaches. I finally went down to HR and talked to her about it. She told me to get myself out of the office at my breaks and lunch time, so I actually listened. Yesterday, I made sure I didn't stay at my desk during breaks and left the building with a friend for lunch.
Today, I had an early lunch, so I went out for a walk. I used to walk with DB before he got his new job (this was last year...haven't walked for about a year now!). We would walk about 1.9 miles, I want to say. That was round trip. We did that for a few months, then got adventurous and changed our route up a bit. I think our total distance was about 3 miles. I could be mistaken. (It's been so long ago, I have fuzzy memories.)
Today I went out and walked our original route. It took me 35 minutes to walk 1.9 miles from start to finish. I feel pretty great about that! I was able to get out, get back in, change clothes AND nuke my lunch by the end of my hour! I feel good about that! I am not walking tomorrow unless I do it after I get home, but I plan on walking on Thursday again. If I play my cards right, I should be able to repeat the 35 minute walk on Thursday. If I walk every other day, I should start building up my endurance and cut my time down. Master G said that I should strive for a lower number on the mile, so it stands to reason that I could walk a mile in 15 minutes or less. If I was REALLY smart, I'd actually start RUNNING, but...there's a lot of sidewalk to run on. Need to make sure the ol' legs are in better shape first so I don't mangle my knees with a run.
