Last night Nik and I went to the gym and climbed the rock wall. I made it about halfway up, got stuck, got nervous, and bailed out. Then I watched him climb to the top. I tried one more time and made it almost to the top (four panels shy) before I got stuck and bailed (I didn’t really give myself time to be scared the second time). I had a really good time, and I think I climbed pretty high, even though I didn’t ring the bell. We’re going to try that again for sure!

After the rock wall, we did some weight lifting. Then we met up with Marco and Tiny NIck! for some fencing. We planned to fence 8-9, maybe 9:15. We closed the gym at 10. I’d say that was a good practice.

We did some sword and dagger work and made the boys practice sword and dagger against case (or brace – two swords). We also played with the dussacks. I showed some “hand sniping” techniques as well.

Tonight will be my and Michael’s second day of teaching Krav unassisted. I came up with my lesson plan yesterday and feel pretty good about it.

Today I wasn’t having a great day, but I got to fence. A member of my family is very sick. That sucks. Also, I planned to fence, but the weather was bad. I resigned myself to not fencing. The weather cleared up. I fenced anyway.

Today still isn’t great, but it isn’t terrible either. Fuck cancer. Keep fencing.

Last night I went to UWF fencing. We’re still working on using daggers – myself included. I’m working on holding my dagger higher and further away from my body. It’s a challenge, but it’s coming along. As we learn, I’m trying to help my students avoid mistakes I made when I first started using a dagger in my left hand (and… let’s face it… more recently than that).

I have big news! Tomorrow I go to a surgeon to be evaluated for LASIK. I’m excited and nervous. I’ve been wearing glasses since I was in fourth grade (about 10 years old). I’m 31 now, so that’s two thirds of my life. I’m elated at the prospect of waking up in the morning and being able to see the world around me, but I’m nervous as hell at the prospect of LASERS IN MY EYES.

This procedure is related to my training because I haven’t been wearing my contacts since the new year. I know that my eyes need to be their usual unaltered shape for the surgery, and I don’t know how long it takes to get to that condition, so I’ve been playing it safe (also I was suffering from sinus issues, so contacts weren’t an option anyway). Uncorrected, my vision is -4 in my right eye and -5 in my left. For those of you who aren’t optometrists or who don’t wear contacts, that’s blind enough that I can’t even tell that there are markings on the eye chart. However, I can see people (just not details), and I can delineate colors (like the safety tip on a sword). Fencing blind has been helpful for me because I don’t get tripped up in the details. I’ve had a better time of connecting to my “lizard brain” this past month. I’m grateful that I’ve had this experience. I’m also ready to be able to see. I’ll keep you all posted.

(Oh yeah, and today is apparently a rest day. I planned to work out before work, but the fitness center isn’t open until after I clock in. New plan next week!)

Last night’s trip to the gym went well. Nik was having chest & ab day, so I worked that circuit with him. I didn’t bench press partially because I wasn’t sure how my recently healed shoulder would like it and partially because I heard that the bench press can cause problems for healthy shoulders.

I tried to approach the workout like rehab, not like a workout: low weight, plenty of breaks, etc. It felt like someone was pinching my muscles – not enough to hurt, just enough to put pressure on. I iced the shoulder when I came home, and I feel pretty good today. I won’t be trying the chin-up bar anytime soon, but I definitely feel like I’m making progress.

I also worked on cardio. That will be a challenge for me at CIC. I did 30 minutes on the elliptical (with one bad earbud and more commercials than I’d like on my playlist). I’d like to try for 35 or 40 minutes in a week or so. I don’t have a particular goal or cap in mind. I just want to increase my endurance.

Tonight is fencing practice at UWF. Michael and I start teaching Krav next week, so this Wednesday will be my last one at fencing – I’ll be doing just Fridays again from now on.

I rested up and felt a bit better for the weekend.

First i assisted in a Krav seminar. The official instructors did the instructing, and I and some of my cohorts worked the room, helping people adjust form and answering questions. I committed to teaching P1 and P2 with my CIC partner. We start next week. I’m stoked and nervous – just like when I teach English.

After that I hit the road. Nik and I visited our friends in Castlemere/Jacksonville for fencing practice (shout out to Zhao for following my adventures!). I fenced a few rounds and made some new friends. I tried not to over-exert myself and had a great afternoon.

When we got back to Pensacola, we rested a bit and then went to UWF practice. I did much more fencing (but still took breaks). I’m still standing, so I feel pretty good and think I may finally be over this cold.

Tonight after work Nik and I are hitting the gym. I’m not sure what I’m going to try to do (light weightlifting? incorporating running? finally trying the rock wall?), but I’m definitely ready to get back to being active.

There hasn’t been much to report lately. I’ve been taking it easy.

I bought a FitBit. So far I like it. I explore a different feature every day or two. If you’re into that sort of thing, I bought the Flex 2. I was a little bit disappointed because it doesn’t measure heart rate, but then I saw that none of the ones that measure heart rate are swim proof, so I feel like I made the right choice for my needs. I mention the FitBit because it helps me see the merit in walking – even just short walks to the water fountain or around campus.

In addition to generally moving around during the day, I’ve been taking walks on the indoor track at UWF. At first it was frustrating because I wanted to move fast – run, jog, or even just power walk. I had to stop thinking of it as exercise and approach it as rehab instead. I used the walks to get my lungs used to activity again. I did that for several days, and I felt really good.

Last night I fenced for maybe a quarter of the allotted practice time.I worked on a couple of specific techniques and then played in some melees. I felt pretty good but a little sore when I got home.

This morning I was miserable. My throat is sore, and I have a headache. I’m hoping that I just pushed too hard and not that I’m getting sicker. I’ve done everything I was supposed to do. I don’t know why I’m still feeling so lousy.

Tonight I’m taking it easy. I’ll get my steps wandering around work and forgetting to bring things downstairs at home.

Welcome to the New Year!

I’m already sick. No joke.

I made it to a few Krav classes before our break for the holidays. Nik and I did some traveling, so most of our exercise consisted of walking around, but we did do a little fencing and spear throwing. We also spent a lot of time sitting in the car and eating rich foods. For the most part, there’s nothing to report here.

I didn’t feel too hot on New Year’s Day. I assumed that was a side effect from treating my body like an amusement park, but I stayed inside and chilled out nonetheless. On the second, Nik and I made it home from our vacation, and I felt really lousy, but there was a bad storm, so instead of going to the Minute Clinic, I took some cough syrup and slept for 10 hours. This plan didn’t help.

I had to miss my first day back at work, which isn’t nearly as much fun as it sounds. I’m on antibiotics (again) because the doctor thinks this is a secondary infection from the last illness I had. I swear, as soon as it felt like I was getting better (I had a cough long after I stopped the last course of antibiotics), I got worse. This can stop any time now.

Fencing starts up again this week, if I’m not mistaken. It would be wise of me to sit out tonight, but I won’t like it. My yogi moved, and I’m not sure if taking the employee class is best for my schedule, so I’m going to look into attending classes at a studio in town that my friend recommends. We have a Krav seminar coming up this month, and I’m going to help with that. We’ll have regular classes again after that. I’m glad we aren’t having class before the seminar – I’m hoping I’ll get better before it’s time to get back to work.

So I can’t work out, but I can manage my diet, so that’s what I’m doing for now. I’m using MyFitnessPal again, and I’m strongly considering getting a FitBit with my Christmas money.

Other than that, there really isn’t much to report.

My body has been trying to get sick for a couple of weeks now. Fortunately I made it through Magna Faire. I got to fence, and I did well enough that people were coming by and complimenting me, but I didn’t feel like I was fencing my fight. I assumed it was because I haven’t been practicing as much since I got hurt (remember that I’ve been to maybe two practices and Serfo since the shoulder sprain).

On Monday Krav was rained out. The weather was bad enough that we didn’t want our students out driving around. I welcomed the reprieve.

Tuesday was my last day of yoga, my first aid final, and my psych final. Toga was restful, and I aced my finals. Yay!

Apparently that took everything I had out of me because my body finally decided to be sick on Wednesday. I visited the MInute Clinic to make sure it wasn’t strep and was diagnosed with a cold. I’m taking some low dose steroids to deal with the symptoms. Now I’m full of energy but also not really up for doing anything. Of course, since I missed work Wednesday, I didn’t go to Krav. I probably will not go to fencing tonight.

This is frustrating because I want to get out and do stuff, but I also want to rest up and heal well so that I can enjoy my winter break. I have to keep reminding myself that there will be fencing practice and Krav, even though the school will be closed.

I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired (and hurt).

Since everyone in my Krav class has tested to one level or another and we have less than a month of classes ahead of us, the next six classes will be “play” classes.

Last night we did some relays involving carrying heavy punching bags (indoors) and then went into the alley to do some scenarios that were kind of a hybrid of flag football and capture the flag. It was a hell of a workout and generally a good time. I may have pushed a little harder than I should have, so I iced my shoulder when I came home.

I’m gearing up for Magna Faire this weekend. I’ve barely fenced since Serfo. I’ve been ill or in a slump so much since then, and I’m hoping that being around my friends will help me get some of my enthusiasm back. I want to want to fence. Does that make sense? I go to fencing, and I think I want to fence, but I get there, and I just can’t give my best fight. I’m hoping that a couple days of rest will get me back to myself on Saturday.

Monday night when I was getting ready for Krav, I felt really warm and looked flushed. I took my temperature and saw that I had a fever. I called Kita, told her what was up, and we agreed I should rest, so I settled in on the couch with my cat, some water, and a couple ibuprofen. I did some homework and took a nap. Apparently that did the trick because I was back at work the next day. It stinks that I missed a practice night, but I guess my body needed it.

Tuesday was wild. After working a normal day, I enjoyed yoga class. Then I went to my night class, and from there I went straight to Krav for my P3 test. I felt pretty good walking into it.

I felt FREAKING AWESOME walking out of it. I had to correct some things here and there, and I always have room for improvement (plus I got punched in the face – I don’t like this new tradition), but I think I passed. We get our results tonight. I’ll let you know when I remember to update.

If I don’t update, it’s because I’m frantically getting ready for Magna Faire this weekend. Nik and I are taking some of our fencing students up to Birmingham with us. They are so stoked – I hope it’s contagious.