Work, Rest, Recover

...And so it goes. Black belt training is in full swing. Last week, I hit it hard, running 2 miles (and I mean RUNNING, not jogging, not pacing, not striding), doing Kickboxing (KB) twice a week, private lessons with KJN Jonathan twice on top of my regular 3 classes per week schedule, and all wearing ankle weights. I neglected my core and that is obvious this week. I also skated on push-ups, fearful of another shoulder injury. However, I did my 100 roundhouse kicks per day with 4 days of 200 and 300. By Friday, I was knackered. Z & S had a soccer tournament all weekend starting Friday which meant early mornings to get to Roseville and long, hot days in the sun. With no rest for the weary, Monday came fast and hard and I felt my body rebelling. As I strapped on my ankle weights and got ready to work out, I realized that metabolically, I didn't have it and pushing myself would only dig me a great big hole. Plus, I had the added bonus of another early morning due to Volleyball camp and Goalie training, both starting at 9AM. After dropping off both kids, I had grand plans to run and lunge and sit up and push up but my heart was not in it. I bagged it. I went home and took a 30 minute power nap. It felt so good. I could have slept for a week. However, a mother's job is never done, so it was back in the car for pick ups, lunch and then soccer practice for S at 5 and Z at 6. I skipped Monday MMA too. Slacker! I felt guilty, but I also know that I have six months of rough training ahead and if I don't listen to my body, I will end up hating MMA, hating my body, and burnt to a crisp.
Tuesday, I woke up ready for KB. Still feeling a bit sluggish, I strapped on those ankle weights and got myself to class. It took a long time to warm up, but once I was up and running, I actually felt a little better. KB is always fun, always motivating and I always walk away with a sense of accomplishment. Andee and I did a private afterwards and worked on fighting system. I'm feeling pretty good about it so far although my take-downs still suck and section 4 (defense against kickboxing pattern) is rocky at best. Luckily, Andee is just learning it so we can go slow. KJN made us go silly fast. Sure enough, I baubled at hooks (no switch roundhouse) and uppercuts (left, left, right right). Still, by the end of our session, we had it nailed pretty well.
Apparently, there is a candidate class Tuesday at 445 that goes until 615. Unbeknownst to me, I showed up for regular red belt class at 530 only to find I had missed a crucial 45 minutes of class. Um, sorry sir, didn't get the email. Oh well. The long and the short of it is I have to be there 5 days a week at 445. Gack. I got two kids in competitive soccer, a traveling husband and a house that is constantly screaming for attention with the loudest of it coming from the laundry room. 5 days? No way. I can train 5 days, but getting to class at the peak hour of mothering is going to be just a bit tricky. As long as I am nailing my curriculum, I'm hoping 3 days will suffice, with two days of home training. We shall see if that works out. Pre-testing is next week. It's go time.
Today, was super fun. Again, run down by the early mornings of getting the kids off to their respective camps, I was wondering how much umph I would have to put into KB. KB was so fun. We did lots of back kicks, some sparring (jab, overhand and roundhouse only) and then got to beat the heck out of the bag. I did 16 pull-ups today, 200 roundhouse kicks, 25 each leg of side kick, front kick and back kick on the bag in my garage, 100 situps with a 10lb medicine ball plus, I got to class. KJN Jonathan was awesome. We worked section 4 of the Kickboxing pattern. It's already better. Tomorrow, I get to sleep in for the first time in two weeks.
I look at myself these days and I see myself getting stronger. I feel healthier and I am relatively happy. I have not restricted my eating because I know that dieting longer than 3 months is not only not good for me but I usually end up plateauing and getting discouraged. I'm not going to get sucked in. I'm 12lbs heavy right now and that's good for training. What bothers me most about my body right now is the dimpling of my skin where I am atrophied. My legs, my butt and my stomach are all pretty gross but I feel good and strong so I'm not going to let myself get sucked into feeling disdainful about my appearance. It is what it is and as a post-menopausal female, it's going to be tough. The weight will not come off as easily and I will carry more in my mid-section. More core, more core, more core.
I'm excited to be on this path. It has purpose and meaning and I am enjoying the coaching and the training. I know I will be just fine at my BB Test but I want to win the whole thing. I want that Best Tester designation and I want there to be no doubt. I'm hoping to work out Friday and Saturday and not stall out like last weekend. Mondays come hard and fast....