Balance

Balancing 2 passions can be tricky. So far running and TKD have not been at odds with one another. TKD is a great cross-training activity that exercises every single muscle of the body , including my mind. Running helps build endurance and stamina which I can then use in TKD.

My passion for both sports is pretty much 50/50 right now, but I have a significant goal that I am trying to achieve in each. The first goal is in TKD. Next week I will be testing for my blue stripe level. My running goal is of course to run my first half-marathon. That isn’t until May of this year.

It’s been almost a year since I last tested for a new belt level in TKD and I still don’t feel 100% ready. I will have to demonstrate 6 patterns, ranging from 7 to 28 moves each. I will have to spar for a minimum of 2 minutes against an opponent who may be strong/bigger/better than I am, using as many techniques and combos as possible. I will have to do 2 different step-sparring demos – essentially 2 person patterns with specific steps and movements and then I may have to answer theory and history questions. In order to be ready for all of that in just over a week, I’ve decided to put running on hold and attend as many TKD classes as I can before the testing date. As luck would have it, my new job is only a 5 minute drive from the Sackville Dojang, so I can attend classes on Tues, Thurs and Fri, giving me 4 more classes then I would get if I only trained in Halifax.

An hour TKD class is much more physically taxing than a mid-week, low mileage run. I’m certainly feeling it today and I’ve only done 1 extra class so far. I am feeling much more ready to test, so I know that it is the right decision.

There is risk of injury with both sports. I am still covered in bruises from sparring in a TKD class more than 2 weeks ago and my hips are not too happy with me today after some of the stretches we did last night. With that in mind, I will be taking a break from TKD as my half-marathon training ramps up in the spring. I would hate to have spent 20 weeks training for a race only to have to pull out at the last minute from an injury from a different sport.

And then there is the idea of balancing all of this activity with family, work and the rest of my life. That is a whole other post!

Injury

It’s week 1 day 3 of my 20 week ½ marathon training plan and I need to skip tonight’s run.

Sigh.

I had a great TKD class yesterday full of kicks and cardio. I was sore afterwards, but it was a good sore, one that let me know that I am in touch with all my muscles. I went home, relaxed in a hot shower, worked out the last few kinks, and then headed out to pick Liam up from Cadets.

It had started to snow, a light dusting that was just covering the ground. As Liam and I headed to the parked car, I stopped him to point out a patch of ice in front of him, since he didn’t seem to be paying any attention. Then I stepped forward and the world spun sideways as I slipped on a hidden patch of ice and started falling. I didn’t go all the way down; I was able to grab the front of Liam’s jacket with one hand and a piece of scaffolding with the other.

While I didn’t fall, I did twist my left knee.  It didn't swell, but it hurt enough in the car ride home to bring tears to my eyes.  And not quite 24 hours later it is still tender when I bend it.  Once I'm up and walking it seems fine.

So even though I want to get out and run, I don't want to risk further injury.  So today I rest and hopefully tomorrow all will be right again.

2015 Goals

I have a few goals for 2015. The biggest one is to continue to live a healthy lifestyle so that I can be my healthiest. This includes better eating, more sleep, being happy with my life and exercising.

There are two things that I do for exercise that I plan to keep working on in 2015 – TaeKwon-Do and running.

My TaeKwon-Do goals are simple: Test for my Blue stripe in January and test for my Blue belt in the fall. I need to commit to attending classes more regularly for this to happen. I had a few months in 2014 where I only made it to a single class. I’m never going to learn my patterns and improve my techniques at that rate.

My plan for running is to get out at least 3 times a week and slowly increase my distance.  I'm less concerned about my speed, though of course I would love to be faster.

The one thing that keeps me motivated to run is having a planned race to train for. Right now I have at least 7 races that I want to participate in for 2015.

2015 Race List

1. NS Lung Run May 2 – I really liked this race last year – It’s run along the boardwalk and through the container terminal. And it’s nice and flat.
2. Recharge with Milk ½ Marathon May 17 – MAYBE.... I haven’t decided yet if I can train enough to run my first ½ marathon by May. The idea that I’m even considering this freaks me out.
3. Ocean Breeze June 20 – I’m planning to do the 10k again this year. Hopefully it won’t be in a torrential downpour!
4. MacPass Mile Aug 02 – New to me for 2015. This involve running across the Macdonald Bridge from Halifax to Dartmouth. It’s got a pretty wicked up slope, followed by the same down slope once you pass the middle of the bridge
5. Natal Day Road Race August 03 – This is a great 2 mile race through Dartmouth. 2015 will be the 110th year this race has run.
6. CIBC Run for the Cure Oct 4 – 2015 will my third year running this 5k race through downtown Halifax. This is also the only run that I actively fundraise for.
7. Runway Run (was in October last year) – I hope they have this race again for 2015. Running on the airport runway was a lot of fun.
8. All the Shrinking Jeans Virtual runs (usually about 3 a year) – I like the virtual races because they help to keep me training for something between other races.

I will hopefully pick up a few more races along the way as well.

Most notably for 2015, I don't have a weight goal.  Do I want to lose weight?  Of course!  But I am not setting a specific goal of how many pounds I want to lose, or what my goal weight for the end of the year would be.  Instead, I'm going to focus on being healthy and exercising.  If I do those 2 things, the weight loss will follow.

What’s next?

Now that my TKD tournament is over and I’ve run my 10k race, I need to decide what to do next.

With TKD I always have the goal of my next belt to work towards. This gives me a new pattern to learn, new kicks to master and new sparring techniques to conquer.


This is my next pattern – Won Hyo. It has all sorts of new moves that I’ve never done and will be a challenge. Especially the part where I have to balance on one leg and throw a kick.

On the running front, I have two 5k races that I’m currently signed up for. A virtual run at the end of June and the Run for the Cure which isn’t until October. I think I will look for some other local races so that I have something concrete to work towards. The big question is whether or not I want to do another 10k, or stick with 5ks. There is a 5k in September out at the airport that I’m thinking of doing. How often would I have the opportunity to run on a runway? But I have not yet found any 10ks that I want to commit to.

I plan to continue to run 3-4 times a week. The heat of summer worries me, for I don’t do well with running when I’m hot. My schedule is such that I can’t run in the morning before work when it’s cool out, so I usually end up running around 5:30 when I get home from work.

I hope to keep up doing long runs (5k+) on Sundays, with shorter runs the rest of the time.  I would like to work on improving my overall performance and speed.  I might even through in some hills!

One heck of a work out

Last night I went to the adult/advanced Tae Kwon Do class. It’s always more challenging then the family class, since the class isn’t made up of 5-10 year olds. For some reason the instructors expect a lot more from the grownups. This class was by far the most physically challenging class I have ever done. You could wring out my shirt and I was still dripping sweat from my brow after I had walked home. At the end of class when we line up and bow to our instructor, I was pretty sure I was going to throw up.

But I didn’t throw up and better yet I made it through the whole class. My technique needs a lot of work, but I was able to do all of the drills.

We started the night with 2 minute rounds of punching drills. An easy start to the night, except for my tiny, little, girly wrists.

This was followed by a killer drill. It involved doing push ups at one end of the gym and then running to the other end and doing back kicks. You start off with 1 push up and 1 kick, and keep increasing till you get to 10 of each. THEN you go back down from 9-1. Added all together that is 100 push ups and 100 back kicks. And let’s not forget the running in between. I didn’t think I was going to make it towards the end, but I powered through. Granted my version of a push up leaves a lot be desired, but even so I am feeling it in my arms today.


I am no where near as good as this 7 year old kid!  I was lucky if I hit the pad 50% of the time.


Our next drilled was 30 pushed leg lifts. This sounds and looks pretty easy, but by the time I had done 10 I wasn’t thinking that any more.



We finished the night off with some advanced kicking techniques that helped to reinforce that I need to work not only on my flexibility, but my basic understanding of left vs. right.

I’m really glad that today and tomorrow are rest days! I can barely lift my arms over my head today. It was certainly one heck of a work out.

Hip Pain

I've been very lucky that in the year I've been running, and the two years I've been doing Tae Kwon Do, I have not injured myself. So the fact that I am having hip pain 4 days before my first 10k is a little distressing.

The pain is not severe, but enough to be uncomfortable when I walk. I first noticed it on Saturday morning. I think it’s from the combination of the 2 hour drive Friday night, sleeping in a strange bed and then standing/sitting around for 4 hours Saturday morning at the TKD tournament. I was able to run 9k on Sunday with no pain, but by Sunday evening it was bothersome again. I skipped TKD last night and bought myself a foam roller instead. I've read lots of great articles on how foam rolling can help, so I thought I would give it a try.

It’s really quite awesome! While the pain isn't completely gone, it really did help. And as an added bonus the foam roller let’s me give Hilary great shoulder massages too! I’m going to go for a short run tonight to keep myself limber before the Ocean Breeze and fully plan to rolling my hip out when I get home. Hopefully everything will be fine by Saturday.

Do you use a foam roller? Love it or hate it?

Mid-May Update

It’s a wee bit past the midway point of May, but never too late for an update.

1. I’m on par to get in all my miles for the May Mileage challenge. I wanted to finish with 155 miles (5 miles a day) and I’m currently estimated to finish at 159. 
2. I hate the scale. The numbers are going up, not down. 
3. I can’t seem to control my snacking lately. This might be the problem with the #2.
4. I had a moment last week when I realized that I AM a runner – with less then 10 minutes to go till the start of TKD class, I was able to run to the house and back to class to get Liam’s sparing helmet. And I still managed to run the warm up with the class. 
5. I’ve only missed one TKD this month. I finally feel ready to test next week.
6. I ran 6k on Sunday with my co-worker who is running the Ocean Breeze with me. We seem to be well matched for pace, even if she can carry on a full conversation the whole time while I wheezed out one answers.

How are you doing this month?

I may be crazy

but less than 48 hours after the Taekwon-Do tournament, I have signed up for another one!

Weigh In - April 27

Last Weigh In - 219.8
Current Weight - 219.8

Weight Lost - 0

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I was pretty hesitant to get on the scale again.  It has been nearly 2 weeks since my last weigh in and during that time I had a lovely visit from my MIL which involved lots of yummy meals at home, eating out, wine and a more than a couple of martinis.  In the middle of her visit we also had Easter which involved a lot of chocolate and Peeps.  There was also very little exercise in the last 2 weeks.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had not gained any weight and had stayed  the same.

So now the journey continues.  My goals are to run 4 days a week, to get back to TKD on a regular basis and to eat well.  Becka from Fat to Happy shared a FB group called Mileage May that I've also joined.  My goal is to walk/run 5 miles a day (approx. 10,000 steps) every day in May, for a total of 155 miles.  So far for April I only have 92.4 miles, so it will be a push to get 5 miles in every day!

Want to join in the Mileage May challenge?  Let me know and I'll send you an invite.

Commitment

The best ways to ensure that I do something is to first publicly declare it so that my friends and family can help keep me accountable. Secondly is to pay money or officially sign up for it.

So I’m now telling all of you that as of last night I am officially registered for the Nova Scotia ITF TaeKwon-Do Open Championship tournament on May 3rd.

That gives me three and half weeks to conquer my 24 step pattern Do-San  and to practice my contact sparring  – hopefully with other adults and not the little kids I usually train with. This is the same tournament that I entered last year, so I at least have a sense of familiarity for how it will be run. That doesn’t help my sense of nervousness and fear however!

Weigh In - April 6

Last Weigh In - 219.8
Current Weight - 215.1

Weight Lost This Month- 4.7

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So it's been a month since my last weigh in.  I got hit with a stomach bug two weeks in a row and life just seems to have been extra busy.  But the good news is that I've lost 4.7 pounds!  I do chalk at least half of that up to being sick.  Not the way I want to lose weight, but I'll take it.

The weather has finally turned to spring, and I'm back to running outside.  We started the 10 week Learn To Run Programme at Liam's school on Friday.  My goal is to be ready to run a 10k by June.  I was really feeling how out of shape I've gotten over the last month, and was glad that I was running with the newbies with a run 1 minute/ walk 1 minute intro.  I hope to build up my endurance and speed by getting out and running at least 4 times a week.

I'm also back to TKD.  I hope to test at the end of the month and there is a tournament the first weekend in May that I would like to enter.  I've been so inconsistent with attending classes for the last 6 months, that I really need to not miss any being now and then.  So far I'm 2 for 2!

I'm still drinking the Shakeology shakes for breakfast, but have stopped with the DVD workouts in lieu of running and TKD.  I think they will make a nice back up if the weather is horrible, or I just don't have time for more then a 30 minute workout.

I'm hoping that April is the turning point and that I can keep to all my goals.  What are your April goals?

Weigh In - January 12, 2014

Last Week's Weight - 225
Current Weight - 222

Weight Lost This Week - 3lbs

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That's a great way to start things off!  

Even though I was not 100% on plan with my eating this week, and had a couple of days that I was over my calorie goal, I still managed to lose 3 pounds.  I'm sure that this is because I'm back to exercising. I managed to get in 3 days of Tae Kwon Do and 1 run this week.  We are also back to not having a car for the first time in weeks, so I'm walking a lot more too.

My plan is to continue this week with more focus on making better food choices, especially snacking in the evenings.

5 benefits of Tae Kwon Do

I have been studying TKD for almost 2 years now. No one is more surprised than I am at how much I enjoy it.

Here are the top 5 benefits that I have derived from studying a martial art.

Flexibility and Coordination

• 2 years ago if you had asked me to kick higher then my waist I would have laughed at you. Now, not only can I get my leg up that high to kick, I can do it with enough force to break a board. 
• I have learned 5 patterns so far, with the highest level one having 21 movements. When I started I could never get my lefts and my rights sorted out for the simplest pattern. Now I have the coordination to move somewhat gracefully through 21 distinct (and complicated) movements. 

Cardio workout

• An hour of TKD burns nearly 1000 calories! 
• We warm up each class by running laps around the gym. 2 years ago I couldn't do 2 laps without having to take a break and walk. Now I can easily do 10 and could keep going.

Self Defense

• I never would have thought that I was capable of throwing a punch at someone’s head before. Now I know that I can! It’s an odd feeling to actually hit another person, but once you get over the initial strangeness you soon recognize the power that you have. I truly believe that if I was ever in a situation where I needed to use self defense, my TKD training would be second nature now and I would be able to defend myself. 
• We spend at least one class a month focusing on self defense overall, not just TKD. I know how to escape a chock hold, get out of someone’s grip and am okay with yelling and screaming like a fool to attract attention. In our society we always seem to feel the need to be quiet and polite, to not make a fuss. Practicing situations where it’s okay to fight back and make a fuss is very freeing. 

 4. Confidence

• I wear white pants and a white t-shirt and drag my butt along the gym floor while we do a “Crab-Walk” warm up. I don’t have the arm strength to get my butt up off the floor, but I keep going. In a class full of kids (who could crab-walk all day long and never get tired) while all their parents watch and laugh. 
• I can stand alone in the gym, in front of my instructors, while a room full of people watch and do all of my patterns during a test for my next level.  In high school I couldn't stand up in class to ask to go to the washroom. 

Stress Relief

• Any physical activity works well as stress relief. Add in punching and kicking things with all your might and you can work out the kinks of a bad day in no time.
• TKD has turned out to be a great parenting tool as well.  Since Liam and I both train together, we both have sparring gear.  That means that anytime we are having a rough day with each other, I can just say "go get your gear on" and we can duke it out.  All in the name of sport, so there is no need to call Children's Aid!

TaeKwon-do

It's been almost a year since I started TaeKwon-Do with Liam.  I aim to go to a 1 hour class three times a week.  It's a great work out and a whole lot of fun, something that I hadn't expected.   An hour of Tae Kwon Do can burn over 900 calories!  I didn't think that I could find a sport, a contact, martial art sport at that, that I would fall in love with in my 40s, but I've fallen in love with this one.

Weigh In - Jan 13, 2013

Starting Weight - 217 on January 1st, 2013
Current Weight - 210.5

Weight lost this week -  2.4 lbs

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I had a great week!  I made it to TaeKwon-Do 3 times (and the Wednesday class was a killer!)  I've kept up my TribeSport challenges at home everyday.  I walked 2 mornings even though it was icy out.

I did have 2 meals that far exceeded the calories that I should have, but that's okay.  This isn't about dieting and denying myself certain foods.  It's about making a lifelong commitment to health and fitness. Yes, what I weigh is still an important part of that, because I don't believe that I can be healthy and physically fit at my current weight.  But while I'm working on seeing the number on the scales improve, I'm also working on being able to do better lunges, to run longer and farther and to hopefully one day be able to do an actual, proper push-up.