Day 48: Some Thoughts at the Half-Way Point

...of course, it's not really the 'half-way' point. Just as the PCP is not really just 90 days. But still a good time for reflection.

First, the Stats:

1. 87 hits with the ping-pong ball.

2. 'Cold' morning bend: finger-tips hovering about 2 and 1/2 inches above my feet. Not great, but an improvement.

3. Standing jump: 8 feet, 11 inches (2.718 meters)--almost 3 inches gained.

Mindfulness

I recently decided to give up caffeine. I realized that my one--and often twice--daily ritual of heading down to Bourbon Coffee to get my fix was really just getting me wound up and tense, and therefore costing me a quality work-out, quality stretching, and quality sleep.

I feel like I'm definitely more aware of my mood swings, and what affects them. I still bury myself in my work. Today was a great--not so great?--example: a 12-hour day, much of it packed into my chair. I almost caved and got caffeinated, but settled on defaf, instead. Back on the horse tomorrow...

Strength


Tons. I can knock out V-sit after V-sit. On Day 46, I was also able to complete all 4 sets of 8 dips, with decent form, AND the 3 sets of 10 elevated push-ups. My weakness is still the pull-ups, where I always hit failure on the last set, before completing the minimum reps.

Flexibility


Still my achilles heel--pun intended. And I know it will take time--long beyond the end of the ninety days (probably several hundred in total). But it'll be worth it; I can imagine how cool it would feel to be able to draw giant circles in the air with a crescent kick, or touch my knee to my chest on a leg swing.


Balance

Tons better. Limited flexibility keeps me from going horizontal in the Buddha pose, but I can rock the crane and flying crane with minimal difficulty. I can easily stand on the subway for minutes at a time without holding the hand rails.

Coordination

Getting better; I run into fewer things (usually), and find myself more easily snaking my way through crowds on the subway, especially on the escalators.

Speed

Steady, but slow progress. My new nemesis: the paper, which I only blew down with a punch twice this evening.

On an up note:

As I ran for the bus today on my way home from work, my umbrella bounced out of my backpack. I sprinted back across the street, grabbed it--and then got stuck waiting for traffic. The bus motored on up the block toward the next stop. I lept across the avenue at the first break in the cars, then launched into a full sprint--when my coffee mug took its turn and bounced out of my backpack. "S%$#&!!". The bus crossed the next street north, and pulled up to its next stop; two riders began to board. Still a half-block away, I ran back, grabbed the mug, tucked it under my arm like a football, and then let my legs unleash their full fury. I focused on pulling my knees up as high as I could, and covering the most pavement with each stride. I breathed easily and let my upper-body relax and my arms propel me forward. I took advantage of the green light and remaining 10 seconds on the 'walk' sign and sailed across M-Street. The last rider cleared the yellow line as my face, with wide eyes and a half-crazed expression, filled the side-view mirror. The driver paused long enough for me to bound into her field of vision, then waited for me to bounce aboard. I pulled my SmartTrip card, then looked down: a map covered the meter. "It's broken, unless you want to pay with cash..." she said. "Naw, not really," I replied, smiling. Then, breathing quickly but deeply, a small shot of adrenaline coursing through my buzzing arms and legs, I took my seat and enjoyed the free ride.

Mindful consumption and mindless grazing

I Friday, I decided to kill two birds with one stone. I combined the mindful consumption with a dinner party with some friends. Of course, since this was a dinner party, I slightly modified the criteria--I defined 'one sitting' as the general time frame during the party over which everyone would be eating/drinking/drinking more. So, really, any time between when I got off of work, and 1:00 a.m.

And just to be sure I kept it mindful (so I told myself), before the party I went solo on a grande gelato with brown butter, espresso, and Mexican chocolate flavors. (I truly wish I could entertain with a picture, but my phone had died by the time I started to dig in). The flavors were amazing, each unique and sharply delineated from the other, bound together by the same creamy, smooth texture and cool temperature. The brown butter was almost like a soothing balm against the spicy kick of the Mexican chocolate, while the espresso took it in an entirely different direction. After about the half-way point, as I dug down deeper into the butter flavor, I found my mind wandering, and I started people-watching in the gelato shop. About two thirds of the way in, my tongue partly anesthetized, the sugar rush kicked in. I ended by focusing more on the buzz than on the flavors.

The party was not pretty. Unlike the gelato, my experience was pretty far from meditative. Essentially, over the course of 3 hours, I gorged myself. The upside: half the fare was actually pretty healthy, with chicken & veggie skewers, a spinach & green-leaf salad, all washed down by water. The downside? The other half, not so healthy. I munched on potato and tortilla chips carrying teaspoonsful of either fatty dip or salty salsa. And towards the end of the evening, after everyone was on to their third (or fifth, or sixth) beer, I was downing the lemon squares our hosts made for dessert. About five of them.

Honestly, aside from a bit of a sugar hang-over and a somewhat bloated stomach, I felt fine the next day...

...as I would have if I hadn't lept quite so far from the wagon into a sea of gluttonous indulgence.

Day 39 and the last 10

I was happy to finally unleash my appetite on all the veggies that I can eat, but I also noticed that comes with the price of more--more reps, more sets, more jumps. But definitely worth the 'cost.' I'm trying to stick to PCP rules--80%full.

Otherwise, the diet has been fairly easy to stick to; I've done well cooking & prepping everything ahead of time, and when I've been caught eating out in social situations, I've successfully steered friends towards places with healthier options--a kabob house (meat on a bead of fresh greens) yesterday, a Moroccan place with plenty of decent salads on Friday, and the local cafe (Open City) with some fairly healthy breakfast options on Sunday. (A couple of their meals feature arugula salad. For breakfast. Love it.) Tonight, I did hit a happy hour for my grad program, for prospective students & alumni. All bar food, all carb-y. I had a spoonful of salsa, then headed home for a proper meal.

At this point, there's only one thing I could use a break from--the eggs. (And I'm sure we're just warming up). Seriously, I think I may end up triggering one of the bomb-detecting devices on the subway. In the interest of my social life, I'm open to doing some substitutions...

The workouts go well. I still keep forgetting to bow, especially when I break up the rope, strength/agility, and flexibility segments. Throughout the PCP, I never really finished out the recommended sets of dips, within the proscribed range of reps. This morning I successfully pounded out 4 sets of at least 6 reps; a definite first. The new bar-stool chairs, with their wide, flat surfaces, are definitely helpful. And I'm loving the targeted freestyle & shadow boxing. For a while, I was starting to feel robotic; now, I just slap my round, albino nemesis with whatever combo works best.

The challenges remain the same--the flexibility (slooooowly getting better) and trying to get enough sleep. (I flipped from night workouts to mornings, again, but my z's took a hit last night.) I'm sure my form, especially on back-kicks and side kicks, is atrocious. And I can definitely relax a bit more on the stretches, especially the Big One. I did work in a couple extra sessions on this puppy over the last week or so; hopefully I can squeeze in 1-2 more before Friday.

My right ankle has been feeling gimpy the last several days; that, along with my Improv show and trying to catch up with friends, has put Aikido on hold for almost 2 weeks. Obviously, I'm not worried about losing my physical condition, but would like to retain what I've learned so far.

One interesting side-effect of our more realistic, organic, messy free-style kicking and punching: I notice myself sizing people up more, imagining what they might be like as adversaries.

Off to stretch, meditate, and sleep. Hope every one's week is gong-fu-y.

Day 37: Alive and kicking

Just checking in, still alive and kicking... ...the ping-pong ball.

It's been a busy week; my last improv class, our showcase on Sunday, and having to exercise skill in balancing a social life/friendships, diet, workouts, and sleep. All in all, not bad, all workouts & sets knocked out, but I'm looking forward to being a little more regimented during the coming week.

Details later (hopefuly early) this week.

Off to sleep...

Day 28: Sweet Meditation and Some Sweet New Gear

Mindful Consumption and Mouthful of Meditation

Friday afternoon, I lept 'off the wagon', deliberately, and enjoyed the following:

The bran muffin was sweet, with earthy tones from the whole wheat. I savored the silky texture if the foam from the caramel indulgence, with it's own earthy, coffee flavor. The sweetness from the muffin seemed to mask the sweetness of the coffee drink. There was a richer, more varied texture to the muffin, which changed as the fluffy cake was compressed by the tongue, giving it a doughy consistency accented by the hard, more bitter flakes of oat & bran. The sugar rush kicked in right after the muffin was gone, but with half the drink to go. I felt the same rush as I do after a filling meal or the first couple minutes if rope, but more sudden, almost panicked, as if my body were looking to justify it's own reaction to the sugary spike coursing through my veins. The coffee became fluffier an creamier as it sank lower, the froth gradually overtaking the liquid and the spirals of caramel syrup replacing the sweetness of the muffin.

Two hours later, the sugar high burned off, I noticed I was hungrier than usual. And, therefore, crankier. I found I was quicker to get frustrated; I lost my patience at the grocery store checkout, of all places, when the card reader didn't register my debit card strip, and I had to switch to a credit card, instead. I didn't mellow out again until after I managed to grab some dinner.

I substituted a 3-mile run for the rope today; I'll be knocking out the new workout in just a few.



Gear


And to tackle this week's work-outs, here are a few new additions to the apartment:






I shopped around for shoes, but couldn't find anything that was both sturdy (not just for pretty looks) and flat-soled. Luckily, Amazon saved the day with the martial arts sneakers above. Did my first work-out in the park with them two days ago--a world of difference on the kicks!


I'll be trying out the two bar stools above in a few minutes. One looked like it had been used for some home carpentry, then returned to the store, so I was able to talk Target down to $5. Together, they were around $30. Not bad for a home-made dip station--and a better set of chairs for the kitchen. I'll also be putting together the pull-up bar for some fun tomorrow--looking forward to getting back into the real pull-ups.


How is everybody else doing with the workouts? Anybody else still sore, aside from yourse truly? I think the goal this week, along with the working on the spacial awareness punches and getting down the new, targeted punches and kicks, is going to be to focus on more skillful sleeping.

Off to go hang a ping-pong ball--then kick its ass!

Days--or Day--27 & 28

On the PCP, I felt that the trade-offs were always pretty clear; I worked out EVERY day, rain or shine, no matter how little sleep I've gotten, or how much, or what other activities I subjected my body to. Likewise, I stuck to the diet, no matter what sugary, carby garbage friends and co-workers shoved my way. PCP was linear.

The past week's soreness and fatique have been a wake-up call. All the stuff that I ignored or essentially shelved on the PCP--sleep, stretching, and coping with stress--has a MUCH bigger impact on my progress on the KFB. Some of that I chalk up to how out-of-shape I was pre-PCP; I could stomp blindly ahead with workouts and diet on 6 hours of sleep and still see tons of progress. But now, the starting line is in an entirely different place. I began this journey near my physical peak--to push further, I can't ignore that little list of 'shoulds' I put up on my blog last July: more sleep, better protein, and consistent stretching.

Yesterday, I stayed later than I wanted at work, then went directly to a Peace Corps 50th anniversary party I had committed myself to attending--my second of the week. Unlike the first, there weren't many diet-friendly options; all of the protein came with mandatory carbo-packaging: empenadas. I had 2 of them, just to get in the protein grams, along with some raw carrots (good) and corn-bread (bad) for 'veggies.' Aside from a few sips of cranberry juice, I stuck with water. The party went late; by the time I got home, I was exhausted. Worse, I didn't have access to the gear I needed for pull-ups and Kung-Fus. The apartment buidling's gym was closed, and it was far too late to go 'hang out' in the park.

I contemplated doing everything but the bar-dependent exercises, but then I stopped myself. Really, what would be the most 'skillful' response? Staying late at the party wasn't very gong-fu; however, neither was working out until 1:30 a.m. then logging 5 hours of sleep, then getting up and trying to tackle the stresses and challenges of the day ahead. Unskillful decisions are not math--yes, they have a multiplicative impact on your day, but they don't equal out to a positive in the end just because they are negative. So I skipped yesterday's workout, and basically did Day 27 and Day 28 same-day; I did my Day 28 jumps along with the workout, mindfully at my bran muffin and slurped my caramel delight in the afternoon, and hung out in WAFB this evening, all after getting a fairly good night's rest.

Maybe there's a lesson here from meditation. As our thoughts wander and get tangled up in the random laundry lists our mind spews out, it's best not to fight or push them away, but just let them go and return to focus on the breath. As we make less than ideal decisions, is it really best to try to scramble to 'catch up'--to sprint back to the point where we strayed from the path, then sprint to where we think we should be? Perhaps it's better just to stroll back to the path with the same attention with which we walk it.

My stretching and levels of (in)flexibility are still pretty atrocious; however, I did manage to touch my toes on the twist-leg forward bend, as well as the half forward bend. Possibly for the first time since I last sucked on my thumb.

One more thing I realized this week: on the PCP, as I knocked out increasingly difficult leg exercises, I would inevitably wake up with painful leg cramps in my calves--a direct consequence of nil stretching. So far? Nada--none. Not a single episode.

Onward to Day 29.