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Monthly Archives: August 2009
Karate 123 …what do you mean I’m not doing it right?
Today’s class had me thinking that I can actually kick now. The Sensei keeps saying, your form is good but don’t leave your leg hanging out there. Make sure you snap it back right away or it will get grabbed and you’re going down. Or something to that effect. What he doesn’t realize is that we know this already, it’s just that I am so surprised at how good I’ve just kicked that I just pause and blink at it for a while thinking how great I just kicked and relishing the moment! There are a lot of moments like this in karate. Another goes: Don’t pause during your turn-and-block. Again, I know this. It’s just that I’ve just done it so well that I’m all surprised about it and I want to enjoy the warm fuzzy feeling I get when I’ve done something right. I’m not ready to do … Continue reading
Posted in Karate, Training Notes
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Run 64, 2009 …5peaks 16 km trail race in Edmonton
I had a great run and I am sure I improved my time a whole lot. It’s the first 5peaks trail race I ran that was under 2 hours if I remember correctly. I ran the Enduro course in 1:59:06 for a 7:26 pace. I think I may have suffered a bit because I donated blood on Thursday. I felt a bit dizzy sometimes and I had to really work on my breathing to recover from hills and such between burst of speed. It’s just a theory. I was up at 6:45 AM and had two cups of coffee plus two toast with almond butter for breakfast. Then we headed for the race in Terwillegar Park in Edmonton’s North Saskatchewan River Valley. Marilyn was a volunteer so we got there early. I got a 5peaks hat, some Kicking Horse coffee beans, and a race bib holder. The weather was great, … Continue reading
Posted in Training Notes, Training Runs
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Karate 122
I was very happy to get our blue belts (finally) today in class, thanks to Sensei Tony Baller for bringing them out. Today’s class was tough physically. We did lots of stretching, pushups, crunches, leg raises and other core exercises alternating with basics practice such as kicks, and walking. One of the practices we use is to do an x pattern, which just means you turn and face different directions while practicing blocks, kicks, and punches on each turn. Your feet trace out an x pattern on the floor as opposed to basic kata which traces out an H pattern. I still have a long way to go, but I am happy with the improvement in my kicks. Few things are more satisfying than kicking properly and knowing you did it right. You just feel it. Later we practiced Aoyagi which means bending willow and it is a woman’s kata … Continue reading
Posted in Karate, Training Notes
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Run 63, 2009 …why am I always surprised by my running performance?
My last run before my 5Peaks trail race at Terwillegar Park in Edmonton this Saturday kind of surprised me. According to the web site the Enduro course is 16 kilometers, which is two laps of the Sports course. My run surprised me because I was still beat up from karate last night so I started out with a pace a full minute slower than I wanted to until I got warmed up and it did not look good or feel good. It surprised me because after I got warmed up and worked out all the kinks and sore spots (at around kilometer 3), I was still intent on beating a certain time goal which was to take the 3 kilometer trail loop and return to the road home at kilometer 7 in less than 50 minutes. At that point I was three minutes behind but I simply increased the pace … Continue reading
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Karate 121
A bad day was had by none. How’s that for a fake left and strike right? Today Jordon Sensei came in from the Elmwood Dojo to take over from Juan who had other commitments today. Thanks, Jordon! Of course, Jordon had to make us work hard and we practiced kicks. I find these quite hard, the worst being the side thrust kick because I have flexibility issues. OK, so I have strength and endurance issues as well. OK, so I have some balance issues too. Can I stop now? Kicks take a lot of effort, and for me I can do them fairly well the first few reps but then I get tired and sloppy and I can’t do them as well anymore, to the point where it looks like I’m not even trying. But it’s just because I am so stressed all the time – I mean stressed physically … Continue reading
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Run 62, 2009 …planning my modest wish list.
Running went well today, but not as well as I had hoped. I tried to finish faster than Thursday’s run but I guess I was a bit too tired and not quite recovered from whatever yet. I was thinking about my next race, a 5Peaks race next Saturday. I think my last run before that race will be Tuesday. I’ll be resting up the rest of the way to that 15 or so kilometer trail race in Edmonton. I was also thinking about doing the Terry Fox run here in Devon this year, and of course the Half marathon in Devon at Thanksgiving. But my next big challenge race will be another marathon, this time in early May of next year and it will be the Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt Redwoods State Park located in rural northwestern California. Should be fun. But it will require training up for … Continue reading
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The myth about Nibiru…
PROBLEM: Chicken Little people fleeing and squawking about the end of the world. CAUSE: Lack of thought, common sense, and critical thinking ability. For entertainment purposes, and to keep up with the huge number of conspiracy theories out there, I sometimes watch You Tube UFO and other videos about modern and not so modern mythology. Last night I came across a series of interviews by the “Project Camelot” team, which I’d never heard of until now. I don’t know much about it because this is the first time I saw one. It was almost two hours of an interview with Robert Dean, a former intelligence analyst in the USA. I have no way of verifying anything here and I don’t really know all the characters involved in these multiple conspiracy theories nor the people who try to publicize their own revelations, the so-called whistle blowers. I intend to watch other … Continue reading
Posted in Astronomy, Science Friction
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