Dare Mighty Things

"The Year of Broken Things." That is the way 2012 will forever be remembered in my mind. It was full of heartbreak and disappointment, and while I try not to wish time away, I am glad to say "good riddance" to it. I know it held some great and wonderful things, but I don't have the time to think long enough to remember them. When I woke up on the morning of December 31st, I felt a lightness of heart that I couldn't remember. I felt good--physically and emotionally--and suddenly, having felt that way once again, the absence of it in the past year and a half was felt all the more.

A couple of days before the end of the year I came across this quote from Theodore Roosevelt, "Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the grey twilight that knows not victory nor defeat." It reached out to me, as things sometimes will, and struck me as a good thought to tuck back for the coming year. Specifically, "DARE MIGHTY THINGS" jumped out. 

One of Marc's friends asked him a few months ago if I had made it through my mid-life crisis yet. After I got over being pissed off that he accused me of being middle aged, I realized he was right. I've spent the last two years or so trying to figure out my place in the world, trying to decide if my career path was completely off track or if it was just at a less scenic point in the journey. That self-reflection along with some ideas that we've been tossing back and forth for years has led to some major changes for us. I've quit my current job, and Marc and I have decided to focus a little differently on life for the foreseeable future. The rough draft has been put in place, but we're still working on the details. This quote reminded me that as we grow up and age, we lose our imagination in a lot of ways and sometimes lose faith in our ability to accomplish great things. Without imagination or faith, we stumble along in the same safe rut, never seeing the other beautiful things we can do.

So while 2012 was the Year of Broken Things, 2013 shall be the Year of Daring Mighty Things.

Challenges

Sometimes the idea of doing "a little more a little better" seems like such slow progress. Day in and day out, it's difficult to appreciate where we are going and where we have been. Occasionally though after weeks or months (or sometimes years) of trudging away after a goal, we randomly experience something we never thought possible.

For months on and off, I've been doing handstand walkups and holding them for a while as a part of some of my workouts. After seeing pic after pic of my RKC buddies doing one-armed handstands, I decided to see how far I could get. Imagine my surprise when I nailed it first time! I was dumbfounded--especially when I did it again, and then on my less strong side! I was bubbling with excitement.

With the coming of autumn and a return to standard time, the light wanes quickly but it is certainly beautiful when it's here. ...and the Gym Jen lighting system is a fun change up to the routine. ;)

Vision Board

For those of you who are not familiar with them, vision boards are a way of putting your goals and dreams on paper to help you focus on them and bring them to fruition. The idea is to put it somewhere where you can focus on it frequently which in turn gives you a sort of road map for your future. Because how can you get where you want to be if you don't know where that is?
I've spent the last several days really thinking about what I wanted for my next year or so so that I could represent it on the board. Sometimes this is harder than one might think. Often we have this vague idea that we want to live in a bigger house or have more money or more time, but as was so aptly posed in an article I read recently, "What then?" Ok, so you're retired, what now? So you're living in that house/condo on the beach/in the mountains/in Paris/on Park Avenue, what now? Ok, so you have the mate of your dreams, the perfect body, your PhD. WHAT NOW? Interesting question, isn't it?
You see, I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I am the most charmed person in the world. From the day I was conceived, I have led a charmed life, and I know this and never take it for granted. My vision board reminds me of this fact. And it'll just get better from here.
So to explain my board a little if you're interested:
The base in the top left corner is a rudimentary drawing of our little place here in the center of a clock without hands which symbolizes my desire to spend more time at home relaxing. Close by are pictures of the DH and my girls. In one, the DH and I are hanging out at a local state park--outside, together, being active. I want more of this. In the other, I am walking behind him and the girls as we explore our place. Again, time with the four of us together relaxing is something I want more of. There's a sailboat anchored in a cove--how we hope to retire. There's the book I hope to write and my camera, both things I want to explore more over the coming months. There's a pic of Coach doing a pull up and Pudgy Stockton doing a handstand, both goals of mine. There's a picture of a cave diver; I want to hone my skills. There's a quote from Epicurius reminding me to be kind to myself and some from others to inspire me. There are a rainbow and fireworks reminding me to stop and enjoy what's in front of me and to make the time to enjoy the simple things that I love so much. They are all really quite simple things that I want. How very lovely that is!

I'm Nothing If Not Stubborn

It's been 2 or 3 years in the coming, but it arrived today. I've been hitting the negative for 2 or 3 weeks now. Today I sort of forgot I couldn't get back up and what do you know? I could! Hooyah!

Goals

Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Off--162#

Ultimate Goal: 140#
Intermediate Goal: 153# by October 24th.

Why October 24th you say? Well, you see, I've decided to go to Pavel's bodyweight workshop in Ventura on the 24th. He's going to be focusing on the very things I've been working so hard to master for months now, the things I will need to have mastered to complete the RKC II as planned next June. 153# will put me back to where I was for the RKC last October and 10# closer to that unassisted pullup.

Goals do us little good without a distinct plan for reaching them. There are few times we would start out on a trip across country with no route in mind. So let's talk a little about the goals and the route.

Step 1: Continue current workouts at least 5x/week.
Step 2: Ratchet Nutrition
a. Warrior Diet: I've been trying for the last couple of months to get the Zone Diet dialed in. I really like the science of this particular plan of action, and would really like to be able to follow it. Ultimately, though, the best plan is the one I will follow. The constant grazing sort of approach to the Zone doesn't work well with my psyche. Right now, the frequent meals start well then degrade to eating crap. Maybe eventually, I'll be able to come back to this process and master it, but right now it's not working, so I need to adjust and change gears. Like Mr. Gallagher says in The Purposeful Primitive, there is nothing wrong with rotating plans. This rotation will be for the Warrior Diet.
1. One splurge day a week for the first 2 weeks.
*Upon successful completion of each week, which means having limited myself to one splurge day and having followed the principles of the Warrior Diet (for me, the large meal is at the beginning of my day because of logistics each and every day, I may get something from my list of things that I would like to have: another pair of Five Fingers, a new pair of sunglasses, a new Under Armour Shirt, Anything from my favorite store in the mall .
2. One splurge day every two weeks for the month following that. For every successful two weeks span, another purchase.
3. Reevaluate at the end of that 6 weeks. After a successful 2 months, I can get the inkpen I've been ogling.
**Note that "success" is not defined as acheiving any weight loss; it is defined as following the plan.

Now for some happy...

This, my friends, is a rock bottom squat.

His big brothers and sisters love him like crazy.

WORKOUT:
5 4-rung ladders of back and purple band assisted pullups/Elevated Perfect pushups.
During the first 3 ladders, between rungs, I did partial pistols counterbalanced with the 12kg. One on each side.
During the last 2 ladders, I did 30 sec planks between each rung.

Then I did 30 Challenge Burpees in approximately 4 min. (I forgot to start the timer right away.)
Followed that with 20kg Tabata swings.

YESTERDAY'S WORKOUT:
I dragged my ass out of bed too late to do an organized workout before work, so I took a 16kg bell to work and did Essentials once there and once when I got home.

MONDAY'S WORKOUT:
20kg C&PP x 2, 16kg C&P x 3--R then L
Perfect Pushups Elevated x 5
10 20kg Walking lunges.
Double 20kg Deadlifts x 5
Plank x 30sec
Rest 2 min.
Repeat 5x: The first press on the L with the 20 was a strict press on all 5 rounds. Rounds 2 and 5 on the right I was able to do a strict press with the 20 on the first rep.

Then 30 challenge burpees in 6'28".

SUNDAY=Scheduled off day.