Back to the glamour muscles!

I don't have much in the way of glamour muscles, with respect to arms -- or anything for that matter -- but I love doing those exercises.  Makes me feel strong after the hard workout.  Haven't been feeling well lately, caught a bug or something, so I've been taking it easy on the exercising.  I did run a 5k last Saturday, and placed 13th out of 80 something.  Was a decent run, but I know I could have done better.  I haven't really ran or trained for running in a long time, so I'm satisfied with the placing.  However, in the past couple weeks I have started running again, and I'm actually liking it!  It's not like how I used to run in the Army, but I'll get back there.  Without the P90X routine, I wouldn't have even attempted that 5k.  My body didn't hurt so much, but I was losing wind fast.  I gotta work on my cardio more.  I should correct that, my body didn't hurt while running, but shortly afterward, I felt the effects of not having run hard for a long time.  Couple days later I was feeling good again, with the exception of the bug I got.  And thank you to my wife for getting me to run on their team :)   It was a great time, and had fun over the weekend.  Thanks hotness, appreciate everything you do!

Things are looking up again :)

I went to see an orthopedic specialist concerning the problem with my toe/foot, and it turns out that I pulled tore part of the ligament along my toe, which in turn pulled away a piece of bone.  The good news is that it is healing well, and I can return to my normal routine.  I just have to take it easy for a while and listen to my body.  Really excited that I get to run again this coming Saturday.  I don't expect to win this race at all, but I think I just want to prove to myself that I can still run good.  It will be fun either way. 

Aside from that, taekwondo is going good.  I hadn't been attending classes too often, giving my foot a chance to heal better.  But now I'm back into it and learning some new things.  We have been focusing a lot on forms and kick techniques.  In addition to that I have taken a liking to weapons, especially nunchukus and bo staff.  I practice every now and then, but that takes a lot of patience and time.  Not too bad though, because even if my foot acts up, I can try working with nunchukus while standing or sitting.  Still no sparring for me for a while, at least six to eight weeks. 

New Belts!

Yesterday was belt testing for my son and myself, along with a full day of activities at the gym.  I am super proud of our boy, he did so well!  We both past our tests, and stepped up to the next level.  Now its time for new training and more improvements.  We also did a nunchukus seminar, ninja obstacle course, food, cake, and many other activities.  It was a great time.  And thanks to my wife for supporting our martial arts :) 

I have continued the running, and plan on adding that to my routine on Mon, Wed, and Fri.  P90X has been good as always, although I missed a workout today with easter activities and a bbq with family.  Tomorrow is a rest day, and I think I'll do a bunch of stretching to get myself ready for the week.  I'm excited about things to come.  I'm going to start joining the demo team on Friday evenings and practice individual and/or team demonstrations, either with forms, weapons, sparring, whatever.  It should be fun as well. 

Cardio city today!

This morning I finally got up to run.  It was a great run, going further and faster than I did last year.  This P90X routine is really changing me.  The only problem I had was the cold air in my lungs, could have done without that.  But since there is no hope for warmer weather, I have to make due for now.  After the run I ate some breakfast, rested for a couple hours, and then did my cardio routine with Tony.  I didn't do some of the plyometric exercises for fear of aggravating my foot.  Still had a great time burning calories.  Its nice to be back to working out, I kept feeling like a part of my day was missing without it.  My weight fluctuates between 160 and 165 now, so I think my diet is still going well.  I could also do less sweets, but I'm working on it.  Tomorrow I got a CTscan to make sure nothing is seriously wrong with my foot.  Really hope there is nothing there, just a bruised bone and joint.  I can work with that. 

Things are looking up :)

Today I completed the legs and back workout, with a little gritting of the teeth and a lot of perserverance.  I now realize how much it sux stopping a routine once you really get into one.  I hadn't done that workout in two weeks, and it felt like months.  My legs were sore as hell, and my calves were especially sore.  That wasn't the end of it though.  After the legs/back routine I had some ab ripper to do.  I worked my butt off, but I was still only able to do most of the exercises.  I just couldn't do all of those reps today.  Tomorrow is a scheduled rest day, and I'm gonna do a lot of stretching.  Hopefully the weather is good now, because I really want to start running again. 

Back in it!

Today I started back on the P90X wagon, and my foot felt pretty good for almost the entire workout.  Now I'm confident it's time to really hit the workouts hard.  I've taken too much time off for injury already, and I don't want any of the work I've already put in to be for nothing.  There is still a long way to go as far as my physical fitness is concerned.  Today I jumped back into the routine with some Kenpo X.  Burned a bunch of calories, sweat like crazy, and still felt good after!  Its pretty crazy, I really did miss working out, and sometimes I felt bad for missing so many days.  Tomorrow I'm gonna give the legs and back routine a go, and really see if my foot can handle that. 

Belt testing is next weekend, really psyched about that.  My son and I are going to test together, it should be fun.  He does really well so far, and I hope he sticks with it.  Super proud of how far he's come.  There is also no tournament this month, it was pushed back to July/August time frame.  It was a local tournament though and there are still plenty of others going on in the northwest.  I talked it over with my instructor and sparring is on hold for me for a while, to give my foot a chance to heal better, and get some testing done for it.  Oh, and I have also taken a liking to weapons and forms.  I have been studying the bo staff and nunchukus, and began working on simple techniques.  I found an amazing set of nunchukus online, but I'll need to fit that into a budget before purchasing.  They are light, have the perfect size chain, and are a little flashy -- perfect for forms demos.  Looking forward to trying weapons forms in the future. 

Still recovering :(

We are back from the mini vacation now, and happy to play with the boys again.  It was a nice break from Burns though.  So anyway, my foot is still very sore and tender, and recovery isn't going as quick as I would have hoped for.  I guess if I walked on it less that might help.  That's hard to do though with kids running around and household chores to do.  I am seriously considering NOT competing in the local tournament coming up, which means my foot must be pretty bad.  I've been looking forward to this tournament for a long time, and not competing really hurts inside.  I love martial arts and was hoping to kind of show off to the local community.  Might be better to let things heal first, even though I'll be missing a great tournament.  There will be others though. 
Belt testing is coming up soon and I should be ok to do that much.  I believe its next weekend but I'll have to check with Mr. F.  We're trying to get my son to break another board before we pay for his testing, that way we know he can do it in the gym in front of people.  Its more of a confidence builder, because last time he struggled, and that brought him down.  He'll do great though.