Lou gets kicking

[Lou_be_Lou]

Eeeeeekkkkk!  New challenge, already one day over and I didn't notice - soooo..... COMPLETE PANIC!

Stress stations!

 

 

Total disorganisation.....  But I'm due a challenge - there is gonna be some food stuff in here, there's going to be some flexibility stuff in here, some punching and kicking practise, and I need to learn my techniques for my next jujitsu grading.  Hmmmmm, that looks like i'm doing all of the stuff. 

 

First week of challenge now = make realistic goals for the other 5 weeks.

Get to the gym 3 x  (running, BWBL3 workouts), yoga 2x, jujitsu 1x and kickboxing 1x.

 

Must away to sleep so that I get up in time tomorrow morning.

 

[Cheechoe]

Better late than never!

 

We can wait patiently..we are monks after all!

 

Seems like to have a lot of extracurricular monkishnessss! Niiiiiice!

 

 

Good Luck Lou!

[Lou_be_Lou]

Gym this morning - done! It was a mix of running (5k, 27.33min, should be doing that outdoors, but morning runs from home don't happen, treadmill runs at the gym do - so I'll take that), bodyweight circuit (the academy BWB-L3 A circuit today) and many stretches.

 

Still plotting re challenge goals and rewards.  Loving the idea of rewards.

Hoping to up the monkishness - lots of my training is just general - running and bodyweight - am planning a goal around more martial arts practise (limited classes near me, especially over summer)....... 

 

hmmmm goal list still looking like "do all the things"

[Teirin]

Excellent start to the challenge :-)

[RisenPhoenix]

No panicking!  Makes thinking up challenges that much harder, I've discovered.  Any long-term goals you have in mind?  Might help to nail those down and then use that to make your 6-week goals.

 

We can wait patiently..we are monks after all!

 

Wait, you can be patient?  I call BS.  No, not calling it.  Freaking loudly declaring it over speak phones.  And the internet.

[Taijibum]

Good job in at least getting a run in on the treadmill. That is my weakness.

[Shotokan]

Great start to your challenge!  

[Kishi]

FWIW, I haven't figured out rewards my own self, and I'm supposed to be a leader here. But, if you're looking for company on the journey, you'd be hard pressed to find better.

[Lou_be_Lou]

So, still contemplating goals - but have night at home tonight (YAY!!!!) so am going to whittle them down to a sensible list.....  OK, not sensible, but a shorter list.......

 

Meantime I'm sticking with my basics of must gym, must yoga, must get to training.

This morning was treadmill intervals, BWBL3 workout and stretching.  Job done.  Had to tell a few folk that today was intervals, otherwise I would've wimped it - it was ok, revolting, but ok.

 

 

FWIW, I haven't figured out rewards my own self, and I'm supposed to be a leader here. But, if you're looking for company on the journey, you'd be hard pressed to find better.

Ha ha re rewards!  Whats the hope for the rest of us if you're still bewildered by rewards.....  Luckily I'm easily pleased so I still love my getting to the gym reward that I've being doing for years - there's a body buffer from Lush that I love, I only get to use it after gym workouts.  It still feels like a treat every single time!  Yay for the monks being good company - I've been lurking for a while.......

 

 

No panicking!  Makes thinking up challenges that much harder, I've discovered.  Any long-term goals you have in mind?  Might help to nail those down and then use that to make your 6-week goals.

 

 

Wait, you can be patient?  I call BS.  No, not calling it.  Freaking loudly declaring it over speak phones.  And the internet.

Only really panicking about missing the start of the challenge.....  Mind you, "long-term goals" - AAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!  That is just mean making me think about those......

[thekatisalie]

I get a little jealous of those who can run a sub 30 5k. I can barely get sub 40 these days. Damn heart murmur! Nice start to the challenge!

[Lou_be_Lou]

Overdue a check in......

 

I get a little jealous of those who can run a sub 30 5k. I can barely get sub 40 these days. Damn heart murmur! Nice start to the challenge!

grrrrr re heart murmur - must be tricky training sensibly around that......  No need for jealousy re sub 30 - managed my first ever at 41(or was it 42? - recently anyway)!  Think I told everyone I saw that day.  Running speed is so incredibly dependent on general health - and its only in the last couple of years that getting faster has been any kind of option.  This does mean though that I love feeling well enough to exercise.  Plus have only recently discovered that exercise is fun!

 

My "as yet undefined" challenge going well!

Wednesday and today I made it to lunchtime yoga - it has a different instructor for summer, and she has a very different teaching style, but this time I didn't let that put me off.  Phew. I always feel so much calmer after yoga.

 

Then last night was jujitsu class - great fun - lots of new combinations, a bit of tonfa work, had a blast.

This morning got to the gym and ran 5k (slower today, as everything felt a bit tired), then did my first BWB L4 workout - I tweaked it a bit, mainly to get the circuit to work at the gym, so exercises in a different order and some subcircuits so that I don't hog the available bar, needed to substitute for pull ups (and will have to for chinups) but everything else was fine, except for the huge volume of sweat pouring out of me.......

 

Two promises for the next few days

1) I will go the the park run (local 5 k run, happens every saturday, sounds like fun, but so far I've always had excuses - this weekend, no excuses)

2) on monday I will do band assisted pull ups at the gym!

 

Third promise

3) challenge parameters listed during the weekend! 

[Lou_be_Lou]

First promise done - I went to my local park run - and it was great!  I was slower than on a treadmill - no surprise there..... - the people were friendly - the marshals helpful, turns out I knew three of the other runners there today (made it a lot less scary), and I'll be back.

5k, 30:25, 114 runners and I came third in my category (which I'm calling fabulous forties females!).

 

Phew.  I feel a bit like a nap now.

[karinajean]

Hey peaches! You DESERVE - nap. 3rd place is awesome, and so much sweeter to think if how hard you've trained for that!

Sent from my iPhone while riding a unicorn through the cosmos.

[Lou_be_Lou]

I love that they do age placings!  All happy now cause I'm just home from kickboxing and we did lots and lots of kicking today - it was delicious.

 

As promised I've been trying to articulate my goals.....  Next time I'll do that place holder trick.

 

1) Staying healthy!

I have coeliac disease, so if I'm not crazy careful I end up feeling like I have a chronic condition (strange that....).  The carefulness has to be around cross contamination awareness, lots of cooking food full of veges and good meat and a bit of rice/buckwheat/millet/quinoa, huge amounts of food planning and prep.  I also have to watch out for stress and fatigue both of which hit me badly.  Plus, recently I worked out that at the moment I can't stomach dairy (please let this only be temporary).

So the measurable goal has multiple parts

i) avoid all gluten (this is either a pass or a complete fail, can't face a glutening)

ii) stay dairy free (score out of 42)

iii) cook one new dairy free and gluten free recipe each week - no score but I get to eat delicious new food and play with new flavours and feel that gf and minus dairy leave me with a plethora of fabulous food to explore (last challenge looked up cook books and have a list of >70 recipes I want to try pinned to my fridge - bring on the cooking!)

 

2)  Exercise - this is looking less like kicking than I expected.  I'm hunting for consistency - staying healthy is key to managing this...... 

The workouts I want are:

Get to the gym 3 x  (running [5k 2x, intervals 1x] and BWBL3/4 workouts), yoga 2x, jujitsu 1x and kickboxing 1x

Anything over this is a bonus - possible extras are park run on saturday mornings, cycling to work, at home martial arts practise including heavy bag workouts.  Small rewards = buffy body butter after gym, friday night bath, larger reward = new sports bras!

 

Score = out of 42 (one point per essential workout)

 

3) Life stuff

Again its a multiple layered challenge

i) play that bass, score out of 42, treat = sticking sticker on sticker reward chart after double bass practise.  Must practise every day - especially as it makes me happy.  Then even happier from stickers!

ii) life organisation - not everyday (cause that would break me), but 5/7 days do something towards sorting out the chaos I'm living in.  Things like cleaning windows, sort out my cupboards, belated kitchen spring clean, lots of the jobs that undone just make me feel overwhelmed and bleugh.  Plus it doesn't have to be a huge job each day, just something towards improving how i'm living.  No I'm not an utter slob, my flat just looks a bit like i've been too busy.  Reward = much much less stress from surrounding chaos.

Score out of 30.

 

Week 1 summary:

Diet: no gluten, no dairy, cooked not one, not two, but three new recipes (persian onion and egg soup, a spinach and garlic risotto, smoked mackerel pate)  All of the yum!  7/42.

Exercise: Did all of the workouts, including leveling up to BWBL4! also manage a bonus park run, 7/42

Life: sticker reward chart full for the week for bass practise (7/42), life organisation - did lots, including sorting my shed, hanging up washed curtains, folding my washing backlog, trip to the tip, trip with books and kitchen stuff to a charity shop, sorted two drawers of clothing (and threw some out!!!). Yay! 5/30

[Lou_be_Lou]

oh rubbish, my challenge is still do all of the things...........

but the sticker reward chart is shiny

[Kishi]

Welp. If a sticker makes you 'stick' around, then so be it, right?

[Teirin]

Excellent first week! 

 

Hope that your intestines just need to heal and you'll be able to handle dairy again.  In the meantime, do you handle dairy alternatives well?  Soy, almond, etc?

[Lou_be_Lou]

Welp. If a sticker makes you 'stick' around, then so be it, right?

Ha ha !

 

 

Excellent first week! 

 

Hope that your intestines just need to heal and you'll be able to handle dairy again.  In the meantime, do you handle dairy alternatives well?  Soy, almond, etc?

Oh I so hope so.....  And I'm managing some almond and soy, but not a lot, so pretty much avoiding alternatives and just going innately dairy free.  It'll be fine.

 

And today's gym done - 5k 27:14, BWBL4B circuit - am predicting DOMS from this one.

YAY. 

[Lou_be_Lou]

Loving my rest day!

But off to do house chore stuff...... But with Lucky Thompson and Oscar Pettiford turned up loud, so life is much better than it could be.....

Then bass practise and another sticker on the chart - YAY!

[Kishi]

Oh, you play? Score! Musical monks are the best.

[Lou_be_Lou]

I play!!!!  I especially like being able to tell people that I'm off to play with friends.  Oh the confusion. 

But oh my confusion as I try to fit double bass practise and exercise into days.....  Am hanging on to the idea that I am very very much happier on the days when both happen.  Plus the sticker chart helps a lot!

 

Meantime, morning gym done.  My fastest ever treadmill intervals (5.13 min/km average time, and managed 2 x 1 min at 14k/h), very very happy with this (until next wednesday when I'll attempt to go even faster), and BWBL4 A circuit.  Heavy on the arms (typing is hurting, oops), but fine, definitely harder than L3.  Plus, lots of useful bits for this week's monks challenge.  Off to log them in!

[Kishi]

Sweet! Keep the training and the playing coming. Any chance we'll get to hear something?

[Lou_be_Lou]

Yikes!  At some point I'll check through old clips and see what I'm willing to admit to.....  My favourite trio is a bit out there, one review described us as "blasphemous saxophony" and "Never have I seen a double-bass used, or even abused, in such a way as to emit the chirps, twangs and whines........."    Apparently it was a "living tapestry of sound". 

 

Meantime today is a life organisation win - managed to book two different tradespeople in for flat (=apartment) repairs!  Its only taken 5 months of phone calls to the wall repair guy........  Fingers crossed that they actually turn up. It'll be amazing to get 1) a waterproof end wall, 2) plumbing that doesn't leak.  Ok, that might be too optimistic for the first round of repairs.

[Teirin]

A dry and not-leaking apartment is a major improvement.  Hope you're not having mould problems.

[karinajean]

That review just hardens my resolve to one day hear you play.

Sent from my iPhone while riding a unicorn through the cosmos.