Friday, July 31, 2009

I'm loving training...

I've really enjoyed training without a competition focus the last few weeks. I kid that my game is the "inverted smash"-- i.e. I'm smashing you while on the bottom, har har-- but when I'm not thinking about "beating" my opponent, it frees me up to focus on more individual elements of each roll and keeps me from getting frustrated. My big picture looks at connection, center, and hip movement, while a more specific focus is, as always, on sweeps and lately on remembering when I need the underhook and why. Last night Mike G. taught a nifty sweep from bottom half guard when you don't have the underhook that was so easy-peasy I almost peed my pants with excitement. And then this morning rolling with Jim reminded me that if I do have the underhook in bottom half guard, my first first FIRST thought has to be taking their back, not this sweep stuff. So lots to think about and lots to work on as always.

It's not been as hot lately-- 99, barely 100, and we even got a brief sprinkle yesterday. This has been a great week so far... I'm training twice, usually three times a day (if you count lunchtime crossfit as training) and Tues-Wed I was in Dallas for a hearing. Still got to train Tues morning and lunch, and Wed night class though, which was awesome. Then I took Thurs and today off, and I've been training, running errands, reading (I'm on a Vietnam war kick lately) and even considering a pedicure.

If you enjoy reading, you definitely should try "A Rumor of War" by Philip Caputo. I just finished it and "The Fall of Saigon" and now I'm working my way through a series of combat diaries. Good stuff.

Don't ask me how the weight loss competition is going, though. I think my metabolism crashdived from the "cutting weight" philosophy of eating sub-900 calories a day, so I've been trying the "6 mini meals a day/~1200 cal./day" approach. At first my body was like whoohoo-- finally the famine is over! I'm back to losing but I don't even count on having lost 10% by August 14th. We'll see.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Yikes...

So lately I've been sufficiently busy at work that I really don't have time for much else during the day (of course, not so busy that I can't take my lunch break at the gym.) I apologize for the stunning boredom this blog has become!

I have a hearing next week in Dallas, and our office's travel department found us rooms (at the state rate, which is fairly low) in a luxe bed & breakfast called the Mansion at Turtle Creek. One silver lining for which I am grateful. Anyway, so I leave for that next Tuesday afternoon and get back Wednesday evening.

Training is going really well. I can't point to any major breakthroughs, but I know I'm giving people a harder time, I'm incrementally improving my understanding, and I'm enjoying mat time more and more. Making time for my lunchtime conditioning classes at the other gym is really helping. I know Marcelo Garcia says to get in shape for BJJ, do BJJ, but I find that a sole diet of BJJ is too random in focus. I'm getting better arm and ab definition now, yay. I think I need to make an effort to drill techniques in class with higher belts more often. Usually I pair up with a my-level friend, but with Scott (a purple) yesterday I really appreciated some subtleties I'd never have gotten on my own.

It's been so hot here my garden is starting to look frayed. I have a gardenia standard in a large planter and it's positively fried, no matter how much I water. The planters on the deck need daily watering too, and I just haven't the energy or interest to fuss with stuff. This weekend I need to put in some quality time out there-- finish mulching the big rose bed, deadhead some things, perhaps dig up the zinnias which are looking icky. Also some shopping for a friend's wedding gift, a baby gift, and a few birthday gifts.

Which brings me to my next dilemma-- my birthday's coming up, and I am torn between staying in Austin for a friend's MMA fight, going to San Antonio for another 2 friends' fights, finding somewhere to watch UFC, or doing something entirely unrelated. I would like to have the max # of friends available but where are they all going?

OK, gotta jet to jiu jitsu. :)

Friday, July 17, 2009

Pluggin' along...

Work's been good, busy and productive, and spent the day yesterday in a seminar about forensic interviewing. Very enjoyable way to spend a day-- watching video clips of criminals trying to lie their way through interviews/interrogations and learning about all the verbal and nonverbal clues to deception.

Jits of course is always good... missed a class here and there but I'm finally feeling acclimated to the hot weather. It's not pleasant putting on a gi that's been sitting in your 105+ car all day, but you get used to it. Our warmups have been scaled back which helps-- we run about a mile, then do bear walks/frog jumps/bunny jumps/one-legged hops and all kinds of rolls across the mat, carry or drag each other across the mat, then pushups, ab work, and stretching. Takes about 30 min and if you stand in front of one of the fans afterwards you can almost feel chilly with all the sweat you work up. I find that I'm playing a consistently defensive game with the majority of my training partners, but when I play with someone my level or lower, a more offensive side pops out. I'm also noticing that moves I'd shelved long ago are more feasible now... I never think of going for kimuras and americanas, having checked them off as too easy to muscle out of, but if my position is improving, their ability to muscle out diminishes. Yay.

Still trying to hit at least 4 of my crossfit-like classes a week. Yay. And of course still teaching salsa on Friday nights at Copa.

Looking forward next week to a visit from my girlfriend Shelley and her daughter Reagann. They're doing a driving vacation together, coming down from Little Rock and hitting Dallas, Austin and San Antonio.

Friday, July 10, 2009

-8.6 and healthy

Wheeeew, it's been so hot! 104-105 outside usually feels like a crockpot on high inside the academy.

Thursday I missed morning class because my car wouldn't start. Apparently there's a little piece of plastic under the brake pedal which turns off the brake light unless you're pressing the pedal... alas, in my wonderful little 14 year-old Acura, the piece broke and so my brake lights were on all night. My husband jumpstarted my car, and my mechanic fixed it (FOR FREE!!! so if you're in Austin and have a Japanese car, go to Dealership Alternative and tell Bill you heard about him from me.) Anyway, I took it easy during lunch crossfit, did an hour of nogi, and just couldn't bring myself to bake for another 3 hours at the night class. Instead went shopping with my husband, had sushi for dinner, and watched a movie about Jane Austen.

Today's another scorcher, high 105 again! but I will be rolling at lunch open mat and evening open mat. Nogi-- not even bringing the gi top.

I will say, I rolled with my friend Tom and almost butterfly swept him, and I was happy.

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

-8 and yucky

Staying home sick today, think I ate something that disagreed with me yesterday. But before I started that whole thing, happily, I was down eight from June 12. Not the stunning progress I'd wished to be reporting, but I'm back on track with working out now so no biggie.

I did have some fun with Jordan last night, learning a nice alternative to an armbar (essentially a forearm crush-elbow-expansion sort of thing) and attempting to learn an improved scissor/push sweep from guard. That didn't work as well because while controlling one of their sleeves with both your hands, you get up on an elbow and scoot parallel to their body. I couldn't seem to master scooting on that axis-- I kept including an "away from them" vector as well, which compounded the difficulties of having short legs. It will take practice.

My whole body is sore today. My last crossfit class was unusually heavy on arm work, and I've done a lot of nogi in the last week, so I'm not surprised my arms right down to the fingertips are busted.. but what's up with my legs? If I feel better today I might get into the pool and swim a little bit.

Hope you are enjoying your summer...

Monday, July 06, 2009

Back from the Fourth..

We had a fantastic time staying at the lake with friends Jeff and Laurie. They have a 42' boat with two cabins and a nicely set-up boat slip that's like a home away from home so we just hung out, read books, ate, played in the lake, and enjoyed the company. I'll post some pics soon. We also had a nice morning with family-- we'll be having our niece Sarah stay with us for a week in August and I'm looking forward to seeing Austin through the eyes of a smart, active, fun twelve year-old.

Alas as always I ate salty foods I shouldn't have been eating so I won't post my weight-- but I know it's water weight and will go away shortly. I'm determined to get back to my old routine of morning and night jits, and lunch crossfit daily. Work is definitely keeping me busy but I have plenty of things I can bring home with me at night; I'm just starting a new pleading and that always involves a fair bit of reading at the beginning.

Our crepe myrtle out front of the house is just COVERED with lavender blooms this year... it's a full two stories tall and really looks impressive. I'm convinced it's bloomed so lushly because we're watering twice a week. The roses in the backyard are doing better this year, I'm sure because they're not shaded out by the crazy tomatoes. I am thinking about changing one of the patches of lawn into a raised bed for vegetables because I have a craving for sweet summer corn, freshly picked. Did you know that when you pick corn, the sugars immediately start turning to starch? By the time you buy it in the grocery it's already stale! And cucumbers, peppers, watermelon, squash... mmmmm. Of course I'm thinking gardening thoughts because it's cloudy and "only" going to get up to the mid-high nineties today. If it were its usual sunny and 105ish, I'd only be thinking about the books I want to read indoors.

My best friend Heather had a healthy (BIG! 9 lbs 1 oz) baby boy last week and I can't wait to see pictures of him. His name is Owen and I know big sis Hannah is excited as can be. It was a lengthy labor topped off by a C-section so Heather is going to have to take it easy for a while.

Have a good day back in the routine!

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Still smashed...-4.6

I took basically this whole week off work to use up some leave that I would lose if I didn't use it, and it's been phenomenal. I would really prefer not to work, if that was possible. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but I like being a housewife too. What's not to like-- there's no kids, and no pets besides a fish, so there's virtually no dirt. We have a housekeeper once a month. I don't mind doing laundry, which is good since I go through at least a gi a day, and in this heat, I soak a gi every time I train. Granted, I haven't been doing as many 3-a-days as I used to, but still. I've been able to catch up on some pleasure reading, put time and thought into home-cooked meals, and train one-two times a day. I love it. I just wish someone would pay me to do it.

I'm enjoying training for training's-sake without pressuring myself or beating myself up when I get smashed. I wish the result would be some stunning unsmashability on my part. Alas, no. Oh well. It's a process and I'm patient.

However, still totally frustrated with the weight loss plateau even though I know exactly why it exists-- I'm only training once a day sometimes. I am going to be restrained over the holiday weekend, no pigging out on fried chicken and potato salad, and I'm only missing two days of workouts. Starting next Monday it's back to 3 a days whenever possible. I did 3 today and it was heaven.

Enjoy a safe, fun holiday weekend, ya'll!

Monday, June 29, 2009

Tagged, I'm it!

Grappledunk tagged me... and I'm slow to respond. Call me a dork.

What is your current obsession? Jits, but of course.

What is your weirdest obsession? Okay, so picture this: in 108 degree weather and no AC, instead of hanging out in my pool wearing as little as possible and sipping a frosty beverage, I'm putting on layers after layers (not just a gi, but rashie and athletic bra and bike shorts!) of hot, heavy, thick fabric which hasn't been updated with modern textile technology, then running in circles, picking up and putting down and pushing and pulling heavy things, then squirming around on a mat with other similarly-dressed people who often outweigh me by 20, 40, 60, 80 pounds, while they try their best to make me pass out... either by choking me out or suffocating me or with the manmonia of their not-washed-frequently-enough gis.... for three, sometimes five, sometimes eight hours a day, seven days a week.

What is the weirdest sub-obsession of the weird obsession you just described? Collecting instructionals and trading them with friends across the country, yet not taking/making the time to watch 99.99999% of them. Dork!

Coffee or tea? Tea (Earl Grey or Irish Breakfast) very strong, very sweet (love you splenda) with cream or at least half-and-half.

What was the last really exiting thing you bought and the next exciting thing you plan to buy? It's a tie: got a Lucky gi on Ebay for $67, and I'm still in awe of the fabulous induction cooktop in our kitchen island (though we've had it nearly two years, it is every cook's dream... ask me about it... magnetic energy cooks faster, uses less energy, produces less ambient heat, and was a perfect excuse to "have to" buy All-Clad) Next exciting thing? A car. That's a long way off though.

What are you listening to right now? Husband is watching Merlin episodes on Hulu, sitting next to me on the couch.

What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Butter pecan with TONS of caramel sauce.

What do you think of the person(s) who tagged you? I'll copycat and proclaim that Grappledunk is creative, fun, intelligent, beautiful, and a certified aquabadass. But seriously folks-- swimming that far, in open water?! WHOA! Way cool.

Which language do you want to learn? Italian or French, for the accent; Brazilian Portuguese, so I can talk with our resident Fadda blackbelt from Brasilia, Ronny Lis.

What is your favorite color? Green.

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe? A sarong.

What is your worst habit? Snacking.

If you had $1,000 now, what would you spend it on? Savings for a new car someday. Boring, sorry :)

Describe your personal style? Simple, casual, no ironing required.

What is your favorite fruit? Ranier cherries.

What inspires you? When sheer effort and determination overcome a lack of native talent.

Do you collect something? Gis. Fourteen at last count.

What are you most proud of? My parents-- so cheesy but I owe everything I am and have accomplished to them.

Cats or dogs? Love 'em both but allergic, so for the time being I don't have either.

What’s your biggest fashion mistake? Knickers and a matching vest circa 1984. Gack.

Loving this weather... -4.6

It's that gorgeous, hot, sunny weather that makes watermelon, fried chicken, potato salad and lemonade taste their absolute best... that makes the chlorine-smell of the pool something akin to perfume... that makes you purr as you come out of the freezing-cold movie theater... that simply screams for some Beach Boys or Peter Gabriel on the radio. It's not even July yet but we've been seeing triple-digit temps for a while now and despite the lack of AC (got it, don't use it) at the jits academy, I'm really enjoying the full bloom of an Austin summer.

Happily weight still moving in the right direction though I have a ways to go to reach my goal by August 14. Tonight a local news crew will be filming part of a story on alternative ways to exercise at the academy, so I'll be trotting out my green gi in all its glory. (And as usual, within 5 minutes, the sweat soaking into my pants will make it look like I peed in them. Nice.)

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Ahh, the weekend... -2.6

I had a great roll with Scott yesterday-- great for me because I was just playing around, wasn't really trying to win, trying to get in good positions and observe what he did... improved my halfguard passing, saw two armbars, survived some choke attempts, and he was extravagantly complimentary, which was nice to hear even though I believed about half of it.

Last night had some jits friends show up for salsa, and of course, they picked up so quickly! There are neural pathways they've polished so the new movements seem to get into the brain more easily.

My weight is going in the right direction again, which is to say DOWN, hooray! I need to be a little more resistant to the late night snack (last night after salsa, my hungry husband fried some eggs, made rice, and cooked up little sausages, so I was compelled to eat at least 8 of the sausages. Woe.)

The garden is doing nicely-- lots of happy roses, agapanthus, hummingbird bush, butterfly bush, and even some ripening tomatoes. But my gardenia lost about 5 buds to some kind of strange black speckles-turned-to-rot. So I sprayed with some organic insecticide/fungicide/miticide and we'll see what happens. I needed to spray the roses for rust and the zinnias for powdery mildew anyway.

Today is a very exciting day-- I hope my best friend has her baby today (she's not in labor yet to my knowledge) and I am going to an event tonight that I will discuss tomorrow... but it's a happy event :) :) Anyway, off to jits soon. Phew.