Peachy

30 minutes of road work, 30 minutes of practice: footwork, shadow boxing, heavy bag.

Thanks! Xenophon is one of my heroes.

Well, that was a week. Stress eating, no time/energy... blah! But! It is a new week, and, as my people say, "Today is a good day for someone else to die!" Press 110 5x5 Bench 160 5x5 Squat 226 3x5 (gently, gently, say the knees) W. pullups 25 5x5 Deadlift 250 3x5

No bear-measurement, but puns are always welcome! Today: 4 rounds at the heavy bag with 1 minute rest between. Combination work: 1, 2, 1, 2; 1, 2, 3, 6 1, 1, 2, slip, 5 1, 2, duck, 3, duck, 4 tabata: medicine ball drops

Simple record of my work. No bears this time! (I mean, no bear theme. Bears are welcome). 8/1: 5k (Race for the Homeless). My cross country coach always said that there are only two race strategies: negative splits, or "Jesus, take the wheel". Started the race with the intention of the former, but realized by mile 2 that I had inadvertently chosen the latter. Still, finished in the top ten (with a decidedly unimpressive pace). 8/2: strength day press 116 4x5 bench 176 4x5 w. pullups 20 4x5 deadlift 266 2x5 No squat--knee trouble post race.

It's the last day! Here's the week to date: Monday: 1 mile run. I made it to the trailhead, my knees said, "nope", and I said "okay". Pyramided pullups to 5 and back in revenge. Tuesday: Heavy bag work: 4 rounds with a minute rest between. Some auxiliary lifts because, why not? Wednesday: Woke up at 5 for an hour long boxing class. I am not a morning person, but this was a good day. Then in the evening: Overhead press: 126 lbs./ .2375 ibw (5x3) Bench: 190 lbs./ .3591 ibw (5x3) Squat: 280 lbs./ .5292 ibw (5x3) Deadlift 300 lbs./ .5671 ibw (3x3) Weighted pullups 20 lbs./ .0378 ibw (5x5) Thursday: 2 mile run. Felt better, but I really want to compete in a 5k in August, and I want to stay healthy for it. Friday: Woke up at 5, etc. Punched the things, lots of footwork. Saturday: Rested! Sunday (today): Light lifts: Press 106 lbs 5x5 Bench 150 5x5 Squat 220 5x5 Deadlift 240 3x5 CHALLENGE RECAP! Outrun a bear: C Didn't get my runs in every week, and didn't get nearly enough timed 5kses. Still put my feet on the trail often enough to (bearly) pass. Aagh! So close to making it to the end of this challenge without the puns. Lift a bear: A Got my lifts in every week. Loved this. I'm going to try increasing to three times a week and see how it goes with... Fight a bear: FAIL I started strong with the kicks, but dropped off in the second half of the challenge. Heavy bag work, shadow boxing, footwork drills--they're all a lot more enjoyable than straining for an extra inch of height. I want these back--but--I think I'm going to need to find a school to keep me going on this. Meet some non-bears: B! Two classes with PEOPLE I DID NOT KNOW. And I've been back twice to the gym for more. Really glad I made this part of my challenge. I'm going to continue to try out schools in the area. THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO HELPED! The community here keep me going when I really, really, didn't want to, when the bed gravity was particularly strong, and when I thought to myself, "I could just keep walking past this door, and no one would know that I chickened out.". Thank you everyone who posted horrifying motivational bears, and spasmodic dancing, and advice, and encouragement. THIS WAS AWESOME.

Not having a routine can make it so much harder. Body and brain both say, "This isn't what we do now," and try to shut down. Great job getting back into a walking schedule. But aren't you burying the lede here? YOU. WROTE. A. FRIGGIN'. BOOK. That is amazing! Even if you didn't meet all your goals for this challenge, that is a great accomplishment. Although now that should probably be "This day we edit", but it doesn't have the same je ne sais quoi. Congratulations!

If anyone is interested, there's a couple upcoming events near Portland: Sean's Run, a fundraiser for autism. I'll be there, running a slow 5k. It's August 8th. Aaaand, a little nerdier, I'm getting my costume together for Faerieworlds, in September.

It's been an interesting week! I have not been eaten by bears (yet. The menace is real), but have had a sudden increase in work. But! I have not entirely neglected the challenge. So: Monday (7/6) I tried to pick up the squats and deadlifts I'd left off on Sunday. squat 260 1x3 (yeah, not happening) deadlift 270 1x5 (better but still tweaky) Knees, y u no? Tuesday: rest, let tweaky knee heal Wednesday: lifts! Still not feeling the squats, so: Press 116 5x5 Incline 150 5x5 Bench 170 5x5 DB row 70 5x5 Deadlift 270 2x5 (still a little nervous!) Thursday: Tried a krav maga class! This was the second class of my challenge, and I want to get one more in before the end. It was... good. The class size was big, which was a little intimidating, but everyone was friendly. I liked the focus on practicality. But I didn't feel the immediate elation that I got from boxing. Still! Glad I tried, and I might go back (one of my co-workers is in it, and it's nice knowing someone. They are also very encouraging). Friday: knee was worse. Nuffin. Saturday: See sad bear above. Sunday! Feeling much better! Lifts, yo! Press 126 5x3 Bench 190 5x3 Squat 290 4x3 (cut one set just in case, but these felt great) Deadlift 300 3x3 The weights felt. So. Darn. Good. Today. Knee wasn't an issue, and I think the extra rest day gave me a big boost in energy. Happy bear! We'll see how tomorrow feels--I'm hoping to get back out on the trail. Cheers!

Today's rating: brown bear. I ended up taking Friday and Saturday off to let my knee get better. Which it did, but still not great. So today's lifting is somewhat modified: Sunday: OHP 116 lbs./ .2192 ibw, 5x5 Bench 176 lbs./ .3326 ibw, 5x5 Incline 150 lbs. / .2836 ibw, 5x3 DB Row, 65 lbs. / .1228 ibw, 5x5 Weighted pullups (kinda), 10 lbs. / .0189 ibw, 5x5 Hopefully I'll pick up the squat and deadlift tomorrow. It's time to get.. extreme!

And onward! Thursday: rating: poison-fist bear. 5k trail run. But wait:WILDERNESS ENCOUNTER! PEACHY has encountered a SWARM OF HORNETS! (not bees!) PEACHY used OUCH! PEACHY used CUSS! PEACHY used RETREAT! Other tracks and trails: a good number of turkey vultures and some corvids, circling something. It must have been off the trail, and fairly large, since I could smell it when I got near, but not see anything. Stellar's jays, crows, etc. More beaver sign. I'll be using a different route from here on out. I'm also taking Friday off; I've tweaked my knee, and want to give it a full day to recover. I'll try to pick up the kick workout on Saturday, but it may need to be a punch workout instead. Which, frankly, would be fine with me, because apparently boxing is my jam.

Great workout! Nice to hear those bodyweight squats got what was coming to them!