Week 7/2 - 7/8

Mon. Josh & I hiked up Union peak. Not very exciting, just straight up a ski slope. The views were totally worth the trampling through bushes & rutty slopes. 2500ft of gain & 5.8 miles round trip.

Tues. Bagged Jacque Peak with Josh. Same route up the slope as Union. Crossed the saddle to the 900ft climb up Jacque @ 13205ft. Got to the top just after 8 am. No wind, clear skies, & views of 3 different mt ranges. Great way to start the day. 3500ft of gain 8.8 miles round trip.
P.M. Practiced forms & did some abs & push-ups.

Wed. Hiked 5 miles with Jeffrey on the CO trail. Can't wait to do all 500 with him someday.

Thurs. Hiked 6 miles of CO trail with Kim, Lindsay, & boys. Same route with an extra 300ft of climbing.
P.M. Abs & push-ups

Fri. Best hike of the week. Jumped on the CO trail to the base of Copper peak. Went straight up the scree slope to the summit. Josh & I blazed down the double black slope trying not to ski on our face. We hit the saddle to Union peak & made our way up the ridge. Took the most direct line back to the house. 3400ft of gain 8.2 miles.

Sat. 15.5 hrs driving home.

Sun. Sick

Great week in the mountains. Taking a week off from teaching always gives me that recharge to keep the mental energy high. We were very fortunate to have a house(very, very, nice) lent to us by a very generous family. I only hope my boys are not too dissapointed staying at the super 8 motel next vacation.

Lets Battle

I wish we had nerf guns like these when I was a kid. These things could shoot across the room. A kid had one that would shoot like 10 per second. We started out with some target practice on the mirrors.

After everyone had there aim down, we then started the nerf battle. 15 pizzas & 2.5 hours later we called it a night. Shooting foam darts at friends is a great way to spend a Friday night at any age.

Week 1 : 6/25 - 7/1

Sun. Traveling back from California. Had a blast crewing for elite ultra runner Liza Howard @ the western states 100. Got to run 40 miles of the ws trail. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday. Got home at 2:20 am. No training

Mon. Still tired from 6 hrs of sleep over past 72hrs. Was going to do some conditioning exercises, thought sleep sounded better.

Tues. Worked bow form, grappled a few fun matches, finished with pushups, abs, & medicine ball strenghth & conditioning drills. Stretched before bed.

Wed. Drilled getting to clinch, single leg take down from hook, protecting the open guard from passing & strikes, rotating off the wall, 4 x hold dominate position & 4 x escape. Finished with abs. Went home did some dumbbell strengthening drills. Man I feel slow & weak. Having a blast.

Thurs. 4 sparring matches. 25 minutes without stopping. Except for changing partners & some whining.

Fri. Practiced forms for 1hr & did a 30 min strength & conditioning workout.

Sat. Drove 17 hrs. Got to CO @ 5:20am. Didn't feel like doing much except sleeping & enjoying the mountain air.

Sun. Soaked in views , enjoyed good company, day dreamed about training.

Week 1 of 16 in the bag. Felt really good putting in some good focused effort. Had a ton of fun wed. night with the guys. Man, we have some really good black belts to train with. No egos, just good training. Already looking forward to getting back with them.

Let the training begin

So it's been 9 years since I last tested for a rank. I'm hoping with some focused effort I will be ready to go this October. I will spend the next 16 weeks preparing my mind & body to showcase all that I have learned in martial arts. I have been planning to test since last year. My endurance is far past where it needs to be for October. My speed & explosive power however is nowhere even close to ready. I will be replacing my 15-20 hrs of running with a gauntlet of drills to help with the quick movements that one needs to excel in the arts. Running 100 miles in the mountains helps the mental toughness & endurance, not so much on the speed it takes to dodge a punch or stuff a takedown. I just started this week on my 16 week plan & I'm already having a blast. Sometimes when you have been teaching so long you forget how munch fun it is just to train yourself. I'm very fortunate that this go around I have so many skilled treamates to train with. 9 years ago Josh & I almost killed each other not having enough partners to mix it up. I really do feel so lucky to have the people around me to train with. My plan is to blog each week of training. Many people over the years have asked me what my training is like. Well now they will get to read about it. Not the same as being apart of the actual sweat, bumps, & bruises. Still you can imagine from a distance. Now it's off to stretch my hips which have become super tight.

11th annual toy drive

Another great toy drive this year. I was a little worried that we would not have enough items for three places. As always everyone stepped up and made it happen. I hope that those who came and delivered the toys enjoyed the experience. Nothing beats the feeling of doing something for someone else and expecting absolutely nothing in return.

Echanted Rock Hike

The weather was just right for a hike out at E-rock. We started out on the loop trail and then took the trail that goes behind the main dome. After we watched some climbers we headed up echo canyon. Some of the parents & students kept stopping to shell out some push ups. I was fine just watching. I always like going up the main dome via echo canyon. Its less crowded & you get some different views than the main route. Everyone chilled out at the top for 30min or so before we headed back done the main trail. It was a lot of fun. I love seeing young & old enjoying this awesome place we have so close to us. Everytime I come out here it makes me apperciate it even more & want to get back soon.

Do you know how to take a fall?

Take a look at the form on this outstanding World Karate student. His head is tucked down with his hands out in front ready to absorb the final impact. Taken down in a sparring match or thrown off a bull, you never know when those Karate skills are going to get some use.