Tag: fencingeverydamnday

The last few days leading up to MCA were brutal. It seemed like there was a ton of stuff to do and not a lot of time to do it, and then there were days when we couldn’t work ahead, so we had all this idle time. It’s hard to explain.

Anyway, I left off on Wednesday. Let’s get caught up.

Thursday: I didn’t have much time, so I did 15 minutes of cardio (elliptical with the mask on) and then met up with a handful of people for extra fencing practice. We all kind of phoned it in, but I fought a few passes with everyone.

Friday: We had regular club practice and then did a few hours of setup. We didn’t have time to go to the gym, but I definitely got my steps in (and then some).

Saturday: THE BIG DAY. I fenced every tournament that I was eligible for (minus the sword and dagger tourney). I did good fencing but didn’t advance very far. I did have some issues with fighting my gear, but I mostly stayed in my headspace. I had taken off and packed up most of my gear when the King and Queen came to me and asked me to participate in the championship tournament at the end of the event. I was honored and gladly obliged. Again, I didn’t advance, but I did good fencing.

That’s me on the right.

I took it easy yesterday. Today I’m headed back to the gym. Everyone in the club is pretty spent, so I think we’re going to check in with the club fencers and then go lift instead of fencing. My legs are really sore, so I feel like a day off won’t kill me.

In other news, I compiled a bunch of superhero-inspired workouts to share with my friends, and I took photos of some sample workouts from a book I got from the library. I’ve deleted BodySpace since it wasn’t really meeting my needs. We’ll see if compiling workouts helps or if it’s just another form of research rabbit hole that I can fall down without doing any actual work.

I ended up not stopping cardio yet. I did 30 minutes on the elliptical with the mask on and had an average heart rate of 144

After a short rest, I went to club practice. I got to fence with Nik’s mentor Mikolaj. He’s an extremely skilled fencer, so I felt like I was doing good fencing when I gave him a good fight, even though I didn’t make a lot of touches.

I got a lot of stuff done today (you know, like my real job and sewing projects and whatnot).

I went to the gym and did my 30 minutes of cardio with the mask on. I clicked up a level on one side. I don’t remember my average heart rate, but I am maintaining rigor.

Tonight I got tipsy and did some timing, judgment, and balance drills. It was not as much of a disaster than one would think.

I have two more real practice nights and one more extra fencing night until MCA.

Today, once again, I skipped cardio. I’ll do my 30 min tomorrow, and that will be my last with the mask until after MCA.

I finished a sewing project and did some mending. I’m trying to squeeze out one more shirt to sell at the event. We’ll see.

Tonight I went to UWF fencing. I didn’t fence a lot of people, but I did move around a lot. I feel pretty good about that.

I sewed fencing clothes all day. Nik kindly did some timing and judgment drills with me tonight.

We’re in the final stretch. I’m ready for the event to be over, but I’m not ready for the event to begin, if that makes sense.

Once again, I skipped dedicated cardio time because I was doing projects. However, I fenced hard for half an hour, so I think I killed two birds with one stone.

I worked on taking my sword and buckler against a long sword. It’s a challenge, and I really have to be aggressive to make it work. If I can gain the blade and keep it, once I’m in distance, the fight is over. It was a lot of fun too.

I was just telling Nik that I don’t feel like I’m fencing when I do rapier. I move around and sweat and get tired, but it isn’t the same as when I use my arming sword. When I do sword and buckler, I feel like I’m really fighting. I don’t know if that means I need to change my rapier game or if it just means the two are different beasts. I’m not stressing over it – just curious.

Today Nik and I were on a roll with projects, so we ended up skipping the gym. We did have fencing practice, but since we couldn’t get to the equipment, we did some conditioning at the beginning of practice. I got to fence a bunch of people, and I showed folks some basic buckler concepts.

After that, we ate cheeseburgers and went to the movies. I’ll call it a good night.

Today I got too busy (and too tired – I didn’t sleep well) to do my cardio, so I skipped it.

I met up with my Krav guys and showed them my fencing games. They were pretty stoked about the potential to turn them into warm-ups for Krav. I’m also totally counting it as a two-for (fencing and Krav practice at the same time).

After that we planned some seminars, and after THAT, we practiced combinations of rolls. It was a little shaky at first, but I feel pretty good about my command of that skill.

I want to get back into the gym for cardio before fencing tomorrow.

Monday was kind of rough. It’s been gray and dreary outside, and that affects me. I did my cardio with my mask on for 30 minutes, and then I joined Nik for some lifting. I was struggling to get my heart rate in the range I like (140-160). I didn’t go to fencing practice on Monday night because I needed to get ready to teach my Tuesday morning class. Nik and I played some timing and judgment games when he got home from practice.

On Tuesday I did another 30 minutes of elliptical with my mask on, and I was able to increase the elevation. I got my heart rate up into the 140s and even into the 150s. Extra fencing practice was a little more structured than usual. We talked about a simple but effective dagger technique. It can be a bit tedious, but I think it’s a good way for people who are new to fencing with sword and dagger to start off against other new fencers or even intermediate fencers.

Yesterday (you guessed it) I did my 30 minutes on the elliptical with my mask on. I was able to get my heart rate up pretty quickly (in fact, it went over 160, which I’ve been avoiding), and I was able to increase the elevation slightly for part of my run. I think my heart rate was so high because I was watching the news. Apparently I run faster when I’m upset. After that I went to regularly-scheduled practice. I got to fence a variety of fencers on a variety of levels. Since it was Valentine’s Day, I made a point to fence with my husband (we rarely actually fence each other since we’re usually maximizing our teaching by being in two different places at once).

Today… Man, I don’t know how I’m going to do today. I want to do 30 minutes of cardio, and I want to work on my fencing, and I need to practice Krav. I don’t know if I’ll have enough time to do all of it and still get a good night’s sleep.

Today was a lazy rainy day. Park practice was cancelled. I went to the mall but got frustrated and came home when I couldn’t find what I wanted, so I walked around a little, but I didn’t go to the gym. Nik and I did some timing and judgment drills to keep the streak alive.