So I was thinking about Judo, and it brought up some of my favorite memories from being a Taekwondo instructor, and I thought I'd share.
At my old do-jang, we had both Taekwondo and Hapkido (Korean grappling). And for some reason unknown to me, their was a "friendly" rivalry between the Hapkido instructors and the Taekwondo instructors. I attribute it mostly to the old grappling vs. striking rivalry, but it went deeper than that. Pranks were pulled, insults called out across the do-jang, and classes interrupted purposefully just to annoy one another. One of the the Hapkido instructors absolutely favorite things to do was to interrupt the Taekwondo class going on right before Hapkido started, and throw whichever TKD instructor happened to be on duty around in front of all of the students. Then they'd give a short little speech about how much cooler Hapkido was, and leave to their side of the mat.
Well, yesterday as I was being thrown across the room, the instructor expressed his surprise that I'd picked up the falls so quickly; because most beginners can do it on the floor, but not after being thrown. He said it'd take like 1-2 years before it was instinct, but I was doing extremely well! And I was all like, thanks! And then was like....actually, I did spend 2 years getting thrown on my @$$. Before I even allowed the Hapkido instructors to touch me, I made darn sure I knew how to take a fall. After all, their object was humiliation, not actual hurt.
Not that this makes me a Judo prodigy or anything, I just thought it was funny that getting thrown around all those years is actually helping me out now.
Now, some of you may ask, did they Taekwondo instructors ever retaliate in turn? Go over to their classes and beat them up? Well, no. Not really.
There's a big difference between getting thrown on the ground a few times, and taking a flying fist or foot to the face. TKD is not just going to leave you sore in the morning, it will leave you bruised and broken.
HOWEVER, we did take great pleasure in very rarely dressing up one of the Hapkido instructors up in full pads and using them our kicking pad for a few minutes. I think I yelled out "Where's you flippy magic now?????" right before delivering a spinning hook kick (it was pulled) to the head.
I miss those guys.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Muay Thai vs. Taekwondo, part 2 plus Judo!
So today was my second day of Muay Thai and my first day of Judo.
If I were to sum up both in one sentence, you'd get...
1) Muay Thai hurts. Period.
2) Judo is fun. Ridiculously so, even.
Muay Thai is the single most painful martial art I have ever tried, and I spent two hours getting thrown on the ground today (Judo). I'm sure any MTer out there who stumbles across this blog will feel very validated in the fact that it is painful and difficult.
From the warm-up were we had to do push-up hops across the mat, to 100 kicks with my SHIN on the heavy bag, to clashing SHINS during drills, I am beaten and bruised.
I loved it! Muay Thai is great. It doesn't fit the usual mold of the martial arts I've tried, it really is like boxing. We spent the whole time conditioning and honing skills. I'm slowly adjusting to the major differences from taekwondo to Muay Thai, and picking up a few new tricks along the way. The major differences so far revolve around the kick. In Muay Thai, you kick with the shin vs. taekwondo where you kick with your foot. This also causes a different in the blocking style. The theory behind the shin kick is that as one of the strongest bones in your body and being kicked with it is akin to being kicked by a baseball bat. I definitely want to avoid taking a real hit for a while. Of course, its never fun to take a taekwondo kick either.
I guess its mostly a power vs. speed issue between the two. Taekwondo kicks are fast. Lightning fast. Studies have shown that taekwondo athletes have the fastest reflexes, and that's because they need to. Everything about the technique is designed to be fast. Muay Thai is vicious. It's powerful. Very powerful. But slower. Not slow. Slower. It is The technique feels a little crude, but that might just be because I'm used to elegance. Taekwondo has some of the most beautiful kicking in the world. Muay Thai some of the most painful.
The only problem I have with MT kicks are I feel they're telegraphed. I can see them coming a mile away. It'll be an interesting problem to fix. Also, they hurt. I wasn't kidding. Kicking with your shin just flat out hurts until you deaden your nerves in your shin. That's a level of hardcore I'm not used to. Sure, I'm used to punishing my body by pushing it to move at painful levels of flexibility, and I have over-calcification in my hands from punching since I was a tyke, but deadening nerves? Hmm. However, as I've heard multiple times, it may hurt your shins a little to kick, but imagine how much it hurts the person getting kicked.
Now, judo.
I spent the majority of class getting thrown on the ground. Apparently I'm really good at falling on my butt. This is a good thing in Judo! No, seriously, I picked up the falls in a New York minute, thanks to a few Hapkido lessons I took back in the day. I was doing jumping roll falls in a matter of minutes, and they are so fun! I really enjoyed having a reason to throw myself around on the ground.
I also learned a few new throwing tricks. Judo was actually closer to taekwondo in feel than Muay Thai. MT class is like a really hard sparring class. Judo had uniforms and structure and bowing. The technique and style is completely different from taekwondo, so there will be no comparisons, but it felt like home.
I'm excited to get good at this sport. The fighting looks exciting. There's a real elegance to the throws too, but after watching a few Olympic level bouts, it looks like any pretty throws are very very very hard won.
Overall, I'm a happy camper. I've decided to focus on competing purely at the collegiate level in taekwondo for now, and compete in beginner Judo as well. I'm just enjoying martial arts again, which is great. Taekwondo is my one true love, but it comes with a lot of baggage. I'm just not as good as I used to be, and it makes practicing frustrating. But practicing new martial arts has a total freedom to it. There's no expectations for me, and I'm free to fail (even though I'm pretty good!). Then, with greater clarity, I can return to taekwondo on my off days and feel good about it, even if I can't get that 540 spin kick down.
If I were to sum up both in one sentence, you'd get...
1) Muay Thai hurts. Period.
2) Judo is fun. Ridiculously so, even.
Muay Thai is the single most painful martial art I have ever tried, and I spent two hours getting thrown on the ground today (Judo). I'm sure any MTer out there who stumbles across this blog will feel very validated in the fact that it is painful and difficult.
From the warm-up were we had to do push-up hops across the mat, to 100 kicks with my SHIN on the heavy bag, to clashing SHINS during drills, I am beaten and bruised.
I loved it! Muay Thai is great. It doesn't fit the usual mold of the martial arts I've tried, it really is like boxing. We spent the whole time conditioning and honing skills. I'm slowly adjusting to the major differences from taekwondo to Muay Thai, and picking up a few new tricks along the way. The major differences so far revolve around the kick. In Muay Thai, you kick with the shin vs. taekwondo where you kick with your foot. This also causes a different in the blocking style. The theory behind the shin kick is that as one of the strongest bones in your body and being kicked with it is akin to being kicked by a baseball bat. I definitely want to avoid taking a real hit for a while. Of course, its never fun to take a taekwondo kick either.
I guess its mostly a power vs. speed issue between the two. Taekwondo kicks are fast. Lightning fast. Studies have shown that taekwondo athletes have the fastest reflexes, and that's because they need to. Everything about the technique is designed to be fast. Muay Thai is vicious. It's powerful. Very powerful. But slower. Not slow. Slower. It is The technique feels a little crude, but that might just be because I'm used to elegance. Taekwondo has some of the most beautiful kicking in the world. Muay Thai some of the most painful.
The only problem I have with MT kicks are I feel they're telegraphed. I can see them coming a mile away. It'll be an interesting problem to fix. Also, they hurt. I wasn't kidding. Kicking with your shin just flat out hurts until you deaden your nerves in your shin. That's a level of hardcore I'm not used to. Sure, I'm used to punishing my body by pushing it to move at painful levels of flexibility, and I have over-calcification in my hands from punching since I was a tyke, but deadening nerves? Hmm. However, as I've heard multiple times, it may hurt your shins a little to kick, but imagine how much it hurts the person getting kicked.
Now, judo.
I spent the majority of class getting thrown on the ground. Apparently I'm really good at falling on my butt. This is a good thing in Judo! No, seriously, I picked up the falls in a New York minute, thanks to a few Hapkido lessons I took back in the day. I was doing jumping roll falls in a matter of minutes, and they are so fun! I really enjoyed having a reason to throw myself around on the ground.
I also learned a few new throwing tricks. Judo was actually closer to taekwondo in feel than Muay Thai. MT class is like a really hard sparring class. Judo had uniforms and structure and bowing. The technique and style is completely different from taekwondo, so there will be no comparisons, but it felt like home.
I'm excited to get good at this sport. The fighting looks exciting. There's a real elegance to the throws too, but after watching a few Olympic level bouts, it looks like any pretty throws are very very very hard won.
Overall, I'm a happy camper. I've decided to focus on competing purely at the collegiate level in taekwondo for now, and compete in beginner Judo as well. I'm just enjoying martial arts again, which is great. Taekwondo is my one true love, but it comes with a lot of baggage. I'm just not as good as I used to be, and it makes practicing frustrating. But practicing new martial arts has a total freedom to it. There's no expectations for me, and I'm free to fail (even though I'm pretty good!). Then, with greater clarity, I can return to taekwondo on my off days and feel good about it, even if I can't get that 540 spin kick down.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Muay Thai vs. Taekwondo, part 1
So I'm going to start up a little continuing series of Muay Thai vs. Taekwondo on this blog, because I honestly could not find a single unbiased comparison of the two.
If I had, I'd slap a link to it so quickly it'd make your head spin, and have done with it. Alas, people are rude.
Aside from my hesitation at MMA due to the UFC and all their madness (not to take away from the fighters, they are legitimately talented), I have always resented MT fighters boasting about how much more "real" MT was than TKD. It just gets under my skin in a way no other insult about my martial art ever has. There is no single martial art, not a single one, that isn't "real". There may be instructors, or heck, even whole fleets of schools, where the discipline and technique is lacking, but that doesn't reflect the entire art. Screw you if you think differently, I don't care about your opinion anyways.
That being said, the egos always intrigued me. What were they doing in those schools that made members who'd been training for six months want to go around bragging that they could take down someone who'd been training in taekwondo for years? Were they really that good, and I just didn't want to admit it? I was intrigued, and more than a little anxious to get my hands on some of this Muay Thai magic if it was as good as its very vocal practitioners proclaimed.
I walked into the school nervous. I wasn't sure if I was going to be participating in the upcoming MT class (my goal), or told to sit in a corner and watch. If it had been the latter, I can assure you this post would have a different tone. I abhor waiting around watching martial arts. Makes me want to kick someone.
Luckily for me, after a few quick questions and a waiver, I was being set up in a separate room with the head instructor for a quick intro. I dodged the "have you done martial arts before" question pretty easily by quickly saying I had no experience in Muay Thai or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu/Judo (haven't decided which of the two I'll be taking). To be honest, I hate that question. I understand its necessary and all, but I didn't want to be treated differently from any other beginner. I wanted the basics. And did I ever get them.
He started off by teaching me the mechanics of punching, which was intriguing, In my head I was silently running a tab of the differences, and it was good for me. I immediately picked up the three he wanted to teach me, jab, cross, hook. The footwork was a bit trickier. There's a lot of weight shifting in Muay Thai that isn't present in taekwondo. The hip movement is also different, and I haven't decided how I feel on it yet. Nevertheless, it was thrilling to finally be learning something new in martial arts instead of perfecting upon years of technique. After a few minutes of solitary teaching, a few more new students joined us. He told me to practice, and set about teaching them. I slowly went over the routine again and waited patiently. After a few minutes, he returned and told me to show him again. I quickly did so, and was sent off with praise to the real class.
From there I was partnered off with two other girls to perform drills. I immediately hit a wall with them. Both were sweet, about 6 inches shorter and much smaller than me, both obviously not martial artists. That's fine, they were at the same class I was at, training. But our motivations were different. I was there to even out already extensive training and gain new perspective on old moves. They were there to learn basics and burn some calories. Both noble intentions, but I don't do well around true beginners unless I'm teaching them. There was just two much of a power and size difference for me to feel comfortable training around them. So I bid them adieu and took up a place at one of the heavy bags.
Feeling at home, I began practicing my punches again. The (very cute) assistant instructor came up to me and told me I was doing really well, but one of my foot placements was wrong. Confused, I asked him which was I was flubbing, as I'd been pretty sure I'd gotten them down with the main instructor. He told me I was moving my back leg in as I hook punched. Frowning, I told him the main instructor had told me to. In a more-than-condescending tone, he told that I must have "misunderstood" him. I told him fine, but doing it that way hurt my rotator cuff. He told me to do what felt comfortable. For now, I'm moving my foot back in. I'll ask the main instructor about it tomorrow.
After that he told us to add a kick drill to the mix. Finally! Just because I'd decided not to say directly that I was pretty darn practiced didn't mean I was going to hold back. Snapping out a clean roundhouse with a very resounding thud, I was reminded that I pull my best moves around others. I guess, in a way, I'm a bit of showboat. Honestly, I know I am. I like to be the best in the room at any time, and it drives me to train harder. I don't really question it, whatever motivates me, motivates me.
After that, however, my dear friend Andrew, the assistant instructor, came over and eyed me warily. I eyed him warily back. After a stalemate staring contest, he opened his mouth.
"You did taekwondo, didn't you?" ....Aw, crap.
".....A bit." A slight nod and he motioned for me to move away from the bag.
"Your kicks are...very good. But in Muay Thai we kick with our toes flexed, striking with the inside of our shin." Nodding and absorbing, I quickly spun off a kick in imitation of what he had shown me. He gave me a slightly warmer grin and told me I'd gotten it. Too focused to pay attention to the cute boy next to me, I launched back into my attacks on the poor bag that hadn't done a thing to me, and waited for him to move to the opposite side the expansive room before quitting to address my issue with the kicking style.
Muay Thai kicks hurt. Not the receiver even, the kicker. My shins were bright red, and are still aching hours later. I was practically whimpering, but there were a butt load of guys there. Even if I was in some serious pain, I wasn't going to be the wimpy girl in the corner whining about shin pain.
Then I realized that every single guy in the joint was wearing shin guards. The wimps! The jerks! All I'd heard about Muay Thai was how strong their limbs were from kicking trees bare shinned, and the lame-o's couldn't be bothered to kick a pad unguarded. Not to mention every single practitioner was wearing boxing gloves, which is just stupid. Who wears boxing gloves in a real fight? Where's that "practicality" now, ya bunch of softies?!
...I get a little rude when I do martial arts.
Undeterred, and spurred on by the fact that I'm man enough to kick with my shins unguarded, thank you very much, I returned to the assigned drill despite the discomfort. The head instructor came up to me a few minutes later, while I was punching and seemed really pleased with me. Apparently, I'm a fast learner. Which is exactly what my tai chi and and kung fu instructor said of me, so apparently taekwondo is good for something (another...HA!).
Asking if I had any questions, I immediately asked to see a kick. He told me to focus on punches. I frowned at him. He sighed and demonstrated the same basic roundhouse variance cutey/annoying Andrew had shown me. I copied the motion again and waited for approval. He gave it, seeming surprised, and then, before I could think, my mouth betrayed me.
"It hurts. A lot." Laughing, he told me to slow it down a bit to adjust. Since "slowing down" isn't part of my vocabulary when it comes to kicking, I resigned to the pain, and pushed on. Before I knew it, class was over. I hadn't really broken a sweat, but if given another hour, I'd be taxed.
Packing up, Andrew asked me, pointing to my shirt, when I graduated from UT. I told him I was still in school. He told me he'd just graduated. Crap. I couldn't hate on another Longhorn. The jerk.
I can't wait to do it all again.
I realize there wasn't much of a comparison yet, but I promise I'll get plenty technical later. For now, I'm just going to enjoy it.
If I had, I'd slap a link to it so quickly it'd make your head spin, and have done with it. Alas, people are rude.
Aside from my hesitation at MMA due to the UFC and all their madness (not to take away from the fighters, they are legitimately talented), I have always resented MT fighters boasting about how much more "real" MT was than TKD. It just gets under my skin in a way no other insult about my martial art ever has. There is no single martial art, not a single one, that isn't "real". There may be instructors, or heck, even whole fleets of schools, where the discipline and technique is lacking, but that doesn't reflect the entire art. Screw you if you think differently, I don't care about your opinion anyways.
That being said, the egos always intrigued me. What were they doing in those schools that made members who'd been training for six months want to go around bragging that they could take down someone who'd been training in taekwondo for years? Were they really that good, and I just didn't want to admit it? I was intrigued, and more than a little anxious to get my hands on some of this Muay Thai magic if it was as good as its very vocal practitioners proclaimed.
I walked into the school nervous. I wasn't sure if I was going to be participating in the upcoming MT class (my goal), or told to sit in a corner and watch. If it had been the latter, I can assure you this post would have a different tone. I abhor waiting around watching martial arts. Makes me want to kick someone.
Luckily for me, after a few quick questions and a waiver, I was being set up in a separate room with the head instructor for a quick intro. I dodged the "have you done martial arts before" question pretty easily by quickly saying I had no experience in Muay Thai or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu/Judo (haven't decided which of the two I'll be taking). To be honest, I hate that question. I understand its necessary and all, but I didn't want to be treated differently from any other beginner. I wanted the basics. And did I ever get them.
He started off by teaching me the mechanics of punching, which was intriguing, In my head I was silently running a tab of the differences, and it was good for me. I immediately picked up the three he wanted to teach me, jab, cross, hook. The footwork was a bit trickier. There's a lot of weight shifting in Muay Thai that isn't present in taekwondo. The hip movement is also different, and I haven't decided how I feel on it yet. Nevertheless, it was thrilling to finally be learning something new in martial arts instead of perfecting upon years of technique. After a few minutes of solitary teaching, a few more new students joined us. He told me to practice, and set about teaching them. I slowly went over the routine again and waited patiently. After a few minutes, he returned and told me to show him again. I quickly did so, and was sent off with praise to the real class.
From there I was partnered off with two other girls to perform drills. I immediately hit a wall with them. Both were sweet, about 6 inches shorter and much smaller than me, both obviously not martial artists. That's fine, they were at the same class I was at, training. But our motivations were different. I was there to even out already extensive training and gain new perspective on old moves. They were there to learn basics and burn some calories. Both noble intentions, but I don't do well around true beginners unless I'm teaching them. There was just two much of a power and size difference for me to feel comfortable training around them. So I bid them adieu and took up a place at one of the heavy bags.
Feeling at home, I began practicing my punches again. The (very cute) assistant instructor came up to me and told me I was doing really well, but one of my foot placements was wrong. Confused, I asked him which was I was flubbing, as I'd been pretty sure I'd gotten them down with the main instructor. He told me I was moving my back leg in as I hook punched. Frowning, I told him the main instructor had told me to. In a more-than-condescending tone, he told that I must have "misunderstood" him. I told him fine, but doing it that way hurt my rotator cuff. He told me to do what felt comfortable. For now, I'm moving my foot back in. I'll ask the main instructor about it tomorrow.
After that he told us to add a kick drill to the mix. Finally! Just because I'd decided not to say directly that I was pretty darn practiced didn't mean I was going to hold back. Snapping out a clean roundhouse with a very resounding thud, I was reminded that I pull my best moves around others. I guess, in a way, I'm a bit of showboat. Honestly, I know I am. I like to be the best in the room at any time, and it drives me to train harder. I don't really question it, whatever motivates me, motivates me.
After that, however, my dear friend Andrew, the assistant instructor, came over and eyed me warily. I eyed him warily back. After a stalemate staring contest, he opened his mouth.
"You did taekwondo, didn't you?" ....Aw, crap.
".....A bit." A slight nod and he motioned for me to move away from the bag.
"Your kicks are...very good. But in Muay Thai we kick with our toes flexed, striking with the inside of our shin." Nodding and absorbing, I quickly spun off a kick in imitation of what he had shown me. He gave me a slightly warmer grin and told me I'd gotten it. Too focused to pay attention to the cute boy next to me, I launched back into my attacks on the poor bag that hadn't done a thing to me, and waited for him to move to the opposite side the expansive room before quitting to address my issue with the kicking style.
Muay Thai kicks hurt. Not the receiver even, the kicker. My shins were bright red, and are still aching hours later. I was practically whimpering, but there were a butt load of guys there. Even if I was in some serious pain, I wasn't going to be the wimpy girl in the corner whining about shin pain.
Then I realized that every single guy in the joint was wearing shin guards. The wimps! The jerks! All I'd heard about Muay Thai was how strong their limbs were from kicking trees bare shinned, and the lame-o's couldn't be bothered to kick a pad unguarded. Not to mention every single practitioner was wearing boxing gloves, which is just stupid. Who wears boxing gloves in a real fight? Where's that "practicality" now, ya bunch of softies?!
...I get a little rude when I do martial arts.
Undeterred, and spurred on by the fact that I'm man enough to kick with my shins unguarded, thank you very much, I returned to the assigned drill despite the discomfort. The head instructor came up to me a few minutes later, while I was punching and seemed really pleased with me. Apparently, I'm a fast learner. Which is exactly what my tai chi and and kung fu instructor said of me, so apparently taekwondo is good for something (another...HA!).
Asking if I had any questions, I immediately asked to see a kick. He told me to focus on punches. I frowned at him. He sighed and demonstrated the same basic roundhouse variance cutey/annoying Andrew had shown me. I copied the motion again and waited for approval. He gave it, seeming surprised, and then, before I could think, my mouth betrayed me.
"It hurts. A lot." Laughing, he told me to slow it down a bit to adjust. Since "slowing down" isn't part of my vocabulary when it comes to kicking, I resigned to the pain, and pushed on. Before I knew it, class was over. I hadn't really broken a sweat, but if given another hour, I'd be taxed.
Packing up, Andrew asked me, pointing to my shirt, when I graduated from UT. I told him I was still in school. He told me he'd just graduated. Crap. I couldn't hate on another Longhorn. The jerk.
I can't wait to do it all again.
I realize there wasn't much of a comparison yet, but I promise I'll get plenty technical later. For now, I'm just going to enjoy it.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Backish?
So, I'm really going to try and update this thing more. I recently got a new job that's been pretty demanding of my time, and has me on a crazy schedule. I'm not going to mention exactly who they are (legal issues?), so let's just called them "Large Sports Company". So LSC has me working only around 25 hours a week, but those hours have ranged from 8 in the morning to working overnights from 9pm to 5am. Needless to say, both my sleep schedule and myself have been completely thrown off. Working out was of little concern compared to getting adequate shut eye in-between shifts and renovating my parent's kitchen (they waved a fat check in my face, I had to! I'm poor!). Not to say I'd given up, but my gym wasn't open later than 11pm, which is when I usually get off, and I usually work through my prime running hours of 6-8pm. Plus, I suffered a pretty emotional blow from when I came back home and saw my grandmaster, the man who saw me through my blackbelt years, had retired. I didn't know what to do, I had to give up on my other coach because there's about an hours distance between LSC and his school (my house is 30 mins away from both). So to say I was pretty distraught is an understatement.
But that's all gone now! I'm slowly adjusting to work, and am done with everything but painting for my parents kitchen. Plus, tonight I found a new school. No, it's not taekwondo. I think it's high time I resign myself to training myself for a while. But it is martial arts.
For a while I've played around with the idea of MMA. It's an...interesting phenomenon. I love boxing, I grew up watching it and MMA kind of gave off the boxing vibe to me at first, before it turned into a real version of Pro-Wrestling. The egos, the badmouthing opponents, the babes in short, tight shirts? None of it really screamed martial arts to me, and I was turned off even though the concept of a blended style all-out fight intrigued me. But ever since I read that (personal hero) Ronda Rousey had decided to delve into MMA, I've been determined to re-evaluate it and maybe give it a shot. Then, by luck, a great new MMA place led by a respectable instructor pops up right next to my house! So tonight, I checked it out.
I'll be there at 11am tomorrow to hand over my firsts month's check and get some training in.
Then I'm going on a long Week 4 run, before finally getting around to week 5.
But that's all gone now! I'm slowly adjusting to work, and am done with everything but painting for my parents kitchen. Plus, tonight I found a new school. No, it's not taekwondo. I think it's high time I resign myself to training myself for a while. But it is martial arts.
For a while I've played around with the idea of MMA. It's an...interesting phenomenon. I love boxing, I grew up watching it and MMA kind of gave off the boxing vibe to me at first, before it turned into a real version of Pro-Wrestling. The egos, the badmouthing opponents, the babes in short, tight shirts? None of it really screamed martial arts to me, and I was turned off even though the concept of a blended style all-out fight intrigued me. But ever since I read that (personal hero) Ronda Rousey had decided to delve into MMA, I've been determined to re-evaluate it and maybe give it a shot. Then, by luck, a great new MMA place led by a respectable instructor pops up right next to my house! So tonight, I checked it out.
I'll be there at 11am tomorrow to hand over my firsts month's check and get some training in.
Then I'm going on a long Week 4 run, before finally getting around to week 5.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Week 4 Day 1, C25K
So, I've been lacking a little motivation to blog lately, but I've more than made up for that in workouts. I've been running stairs, sprinting, lifting weights, erging...everything but C25K, it seemed. I don't know why, but I've just been avoiding long distance running. And avoiding this blog because I felt guilty about not talking about C25K.
But today I really needed a long run. So I turned my iPod on, jammed out, and just ran for days. I even considered doing the workout a second time, I felt that good at the end of it. Part of what made it so easy was that I think all my sprint work and stair running has really improved my breathing. Also, I'm really stiff and sore these days. My knees creak, my left hamstring is pulled, and I'm just overall beat down. So I ran W4D1 a little slower than usual, maybe averaging 5.5mph at best. I'm over running fast, and back to running for time instead of distance. I think this is a good move for me, because C25k is no longer my main workout, but one of many. If I'm working out somewhere around 4 hours a day, a 30 minute run shouldn't be my main focus. Plus, C25K really felt like a treat to me today. Other workouts for me are all anaerobic, because taekwondo is anaerobic. C25K really loosened me up and got rid of all that pesky lactic acid I've had floating around. So I'm going to finish the program (I really really want to graduate!), and move onto Gateway to 10K, but its going to be sloooooowwww. Oh well, I can sprint like a mother. Ciao!
But today I really needed a long run. So I turned my iPod on, jammed out, and just ran for days. I even considered doing the workout a second time, I felt that good at the end of it. Part of what made it so easy was that I think all my sprint work and stair running has really improved my breathing. Also, I'm really stiff and sore these days. My knees creak, my left hamstring is pulled, and I'm just overall beat down. So I ran W4D1 a little slower than usual, maybe averaging 5.5mph at best. I'm over running fast, and back to running for time instead of distance. I think this is a good move for me, because C25k is no longer my main workout, but one of many. If I'm working out somewhere around 4 hours a day, a 30 minute run shouldn't be my main focus. Plus, C25K really felt like a treat to me today. Other workouts for me are all anaerobic, because taekwondo is anaerobic. C25K really loosened me up and got rid of all that pesky lactic acid I've had floating around. So I'm going to finish the program (I really really want to graduate!), and move onto Gateway to 10K, but its going to be sloooooowwww. Oh well, I can sprint like a mother. Ciao!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Sports Bras and Stadium Stairs
So, I was whining to my mom about how crappy my sports bras were Monday after hip hop (and lots of bouncing), and realized something shocking. I hadn't replaced my sports bras since my senior year of high school. That is horrible. After pondering that, I realized it was because my entire freshman year I did yoga and pilates. Not easy stuff by any means, but hardly high impact.
So I immediately went off to Academy where I scored the deal of a lifetime! I got a sweet new Nike Pro sports bra for $15 (usually $30), and OMG it made all the difference in my run tonight. I felt really free to focus on running instead of "the bounce", and it was awesome. I will never ever again neglect the importance of a proper sports bra. This I vow!
Along with my amazing new sports bra, I just felt really on tonight. I ran stadium stairs and then did a couple of 400's with some fast sprinted 100's. Then I hit the gym and did the elliptical/kick work out. Lots of fun! Going to do some more running tomorrow, I was going to run all of day 3 today, butttttt it got super dark super fast and I was alone...on a track...in the middle of nowhere...
Ciao!
So I immediately went off to Academy where I scored the deal of a lifetime! I got a sweet new Nike Pro sports bra for $15 (usually $30), and OMG it made all the difference in my run tonight. I felt really free to focus on running instead of "the bounce", and it was awesome. I will never ever again neglect the importance of a proper sports bra. This I vow!
Along with my amazing new sports bra, I just felt really on tonight. I ran stadium stairs and then did a couple of 400's with some fast sprinted 100's. Then I hit the gym and did the elliptical/kick work out. Lots of fun! Going to do some more running tomorrow, I was going to run all of day 3 today, butttttt it got super dark super fast and I was alone...on a track...in the middle of nowhere...
Ciao!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Training and Trials
Whoo! Well, I've started working out again, and its so hard...
Monday I had a long hip hop class that was crazy hard! I don't remember hip hop being that hard! I'm not sure I ever mentioned this, but I love dance classes. The rhythm really helps my more creative martial arts forms (especially the musical ones!) and it gets me so warm for my real work outs! So I took a class, then decided to just stretch my kicks and maybe do some light tumbling. Oh was it ever a failed attempt....
My right leg is almost perfect. I still have a great hook kick which is key, and I can still kick about 9 inches over my head when warm, so I was happy about that. Realistically, that's about as much as I could hope for for being out of the game this long. But my left leg...First of all, it's never been my strong leg. Second, that's the leg I have sciatica on, and it shows. I can't get my full range, it just hurts too much. What's so frustrating is that mentally I know its just a nerve, and even though it hurts it's not actually hindering my ability to do anything. But then it hurts and I forget all of that and just wimp out. Le sigh. But I have an appointment with an orthopedic soon, so hopefully he can handle it. I'm just so sick of spine doctors, I could scream. One says, work out, it'll be fine. Another says, just rest, it'll be fine. Well folks, I've done both and nothing has worked. I've been living in pain for a year, and I'm sick of it. I'm really not one to whine, but that's ridiculous. Just imagine having a pulled hamstring. Now have that pain go from your low back to your calf. Then picture living with that for a year. That's what I've gone through, and I'm done. Either someone gives me cortisone, some decent physical therapy, or I'm going to a surgeon. He can cut my piriformis in half and have done with it. He can even do both sides while he's at it! I don't care. Usually I balk at the idea of surgery, and it took like 3 months before I'd have shoulder surgery after I tore all the ligaments in my shoulder, but this I'm down for. I just have to weigh the odds. I only have maybe 10-12 good competition years left, and a ton of catching up to do that's probably going to take me 2 years. After that, I'll have another 4 before I'm really up to peak condition. And by then I'll be 26! Looking at getting married and having kids and graduate school! I do not have time to waste on a long-term condition!
On the bright side, I'm going running tomorrow! I would have gone tonight, but my brother needed math tutoring and since I conquered me some calculus (rocked the final!) I was up for the task and then some. Patiently explaining super easy problems made me wonder if that's how my tutors felt when they were explaining maximizing area problems to me though....Eep!
Overall, I'm keeping the faith alive. This orthopedic will work! Or I'm screwed, whichever! All I'm going to focus on is re-rocking week 3 part tres, and eating right. Speaking of, expect a food post soon! I've got some yummy healthy meals to share!
Monday I had a long hip hop class that was crazy hard! I don't remember hip hop being that hard! I'm not sure I ever mentioned this, but I love dance classes. The rhythm really helps my more creative martial arts forms (especially the musical ones!) and it gets me so warm for my real work outs! So I took a class, then decided to just stretch my kicks and maybe do some light tumbling. Oh was it ever a failed attempt....
My right leg is almost perfect. I still have a great hook kick which is key, and I can still kick about 9 inches over my head when warm, so I was happy about that. Realistically, that's about as much as I could hope for for being out of the game this long. But my left leg...First of all, it's never been my strong leg. Second, that's the leg I have sciatica on, and it shows. I can't get my full range, it just hurts too much. What's so frustrating is that mentally I know its just a nerve, and even though it hurts it's not actually hindering my ability to do anything. But then it hurts and I forget all of that and just wimp out. Le sigh. But I have an appointment with an orthopedic soon, so hopefully he can handle it. I'm just so sick of spine doctors, I could scream. One says, work out, it'll be fine. Another says, just rest, it'll be fine. Well folks, I've done both and nothing has worked. I've been living in pain for a year, and I'm sick of it. I'm really not one to whine, but that's ridiculous. Just imagine having a pulled hamstring. Now have that pain go from your low back to your calf. Then picture living with that for a year. That's what I've gone through, and I'm done. Either someone gives me cortisone, some decent physical therapy, or I'm going to a surgeon. He can cut my piriformis in half and have done with it. He can even do both sides while he's at it! I don't care. Usually I balk at the idea of surgery, and it took like 3 months before I'd have shoulder surgery after I tore all the ligaments in my shoulder, but this I'm down for. I just have to weigh the odds. I only have maybe 10-12 good competition years left, and a ton of catching up to do that's probably going to take me 2 years. After that, I'll have another 4 before I'm really up to peak condition. And by then I'll be 26! Looking at getting married and having kids and graduate school! I do not have time to waste on a long-term condition!
On the bright side, I'm going running tomorrow! I would have gone tonight, but my brother needed math tutoring and since I conquered me some calculus (rocked the final!) I was up for the task and then some. Patiently explaining super easy problems made me wonder if that's how my tutors felt when they were explaining maximizing area problems to me though....Eep!
Overall, I'm keeping the faith alive. This orthopedic will work! Or I'm screwed, whichever! All I'm going to focus on is re-rocking week 3 part tres, and eating right. Speaking of, expect a food post soon! I've got some yummy healthy meals to share!
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