Perrymecium

Whew, finally this blog is as close to current as it could get. In another double-meaning, I also had an electrifying workout session tonight. It was very good times.

I gave Christie a taste of the treatment, sparring her until she could hit three solid points. It took her about 30 minutes and a lot of beatings, but she managed to get the job done. Hopefully this will mold her competitive spirit.

Workout 1: TKD running practice (730-830P)
Workout 2: TKD team practice (830-1130P)

Awake: 817A
Sleep: 148A

Meal 1: 1 chicken shwarma wrap, 1 box fries with babaghanouj, 3 slices pita bread
Meal 2: 1 cereal bar, 1500mg glucosamine, 1000mg fish oil, 1 multivitamin, 5g creatine

Quantity: 5/5
Quality: 4/5
Macronutrients: 3/5
Timing: 2/5
Tapering: 5/5

Total: 19/25

I didn’t have much time for working out today because I was catching up on studying and sleep. I also spent a lot of time hanging out with people.

No workouts

Awake: 920A
Sleep: 1211A

Meal 1: 1/2 lb salmon nanban-yaki, 1 apple, 3 multigrain crackers
Meal 2: 1/2 lb salmon nanban-yaki, 1 bowl udon noodles, 1500mg glucosamine, 1000mg fish oil, 1 multivitamin, 5g creatine

Quantity: 3/5
Quality: 5/5
Macronutrients: 4/5
Timing: 3/5
Tapering: 2/5

Total: 17/25

My first day back and it was very slow getting back to form. I’m not injured from Western Collegiates but I am quite dinged up, with a sprained right big toe and bruises on both arms. I am also very tired from two awful nights of sleep. The silver lining is that I have come to greatly appreciate blankets.

Workout 1: TKD demo team practice (830-1030P)

Awake: 910A
Sleep: 1150P

Meal 1: 1 bowl ramen, 1 can tuna
Meal 2: 1 cup mocha freeze boba
Meal 3: 1 cereal bar, 1500mg glucosamine, 1000mg fish oil, 1 multivitamin, 5g creatine

Quantity: 3/5
Quality: 2/5
Macronutrients: 2/5
Timing: 2/5
Tapering: 5/5

Total: 14/25

The day was spent traveling back to Berkeley and it was much more troublesome than it had to be. First off, there was the post-competition party last night that ended extremely late with people vomiting from alcohol consumption and a lot of hanging out. The room smelled quite bad and I dreaded sleeping on the ground again, so I moved to the car with Andrew and Stephen. Things weren’t much better there, but they weren’t worse either. The drive itself was relatively uneventful, unless you count gossip as events, which I will not for the purposes of this blog.

No workouts

Awake: 715A
Sleep: 1005P

Meal 1: 3 sausages, 1 cup yogurt, 2 cups apple juice
Meal 2: 3/4 double western bacon cheeseburger, 1 box crisscut fries with ketchup, 6 onion rings with ranch sauce, and 1 cup raspberry iced tea

Quantity: 2/5
Quality: 1/5
Macronutrients: 2/5
Timing: 2/5
Tapering: 1/5

Total: 8/25

Today was the competition day. I had an absolutely awful night of sleep, taking the ground with no blanket. It was very cold and very uncomfortable. Still, I woke up trembling with anticipation and I wanted to run riot.

Overall, results were moderate. The team did better than before and people looked significantly better than they have in the past, but nobody won more than two fights or advanced very far against opponents from other schools. As with the past, a large percentage of people were gapped and one guy got KTFO with a fractured jaw. So there’s still a lot of room for improvement but the signs are very encouraging.

My results were very satisfying and I left feeling extremely good about myself.

My first fight was against a guy who was obviously very inexperienced. I managed to dispatch him 7-0 in the first round within a minute. There were some problems though. My kicking mechanics were awful and I got greedy to win too quickly when I realized that I held a big advantage.

My second fight was against a taller Korean guy from a private studio training national level fighters. I ended up losing 12-7 with 24 seconds left in the third round. The first round started off well, as I came out strong and established the initiative. As with the first fight, I started getting greedy and made several decisions that were not smart, mistakes that cost me dearly. The first round ended with me down 5-2. I fell into a deeper hole in the third round, actually down 7-2 at one point, but started fighting much smarter and earned some points with very good strategy. The second round ended 8-5. I continued the effort in the third round and came within centimeters of tying the fight with a head kick that just missed. Unfortunately, I got into a situation of trading points and took a hasty kick to the head, eventually succumbing 12-7. Still, I was extremely proud of my effort against a superior opponent and felt like I walked away having given my all.

Workout 1: Western Collegiates (6A-730P, won 1st fight 7-0, lost 2nd fight 7-12)

Awake: 430A
Sleep: 445A

Meal 1: 2 sausages, 1 cup cranberry juice
Meal 2: 9 pieces nigiri, 16 pieces sushi roll, 1 bowl edamame, 1 cup hot green tea, 1/2 bowl frozen yogurt
Meal 3: 1 bottle beer, 1 shot rum with lemon

Quantity: 4/5
Quality: 3/5
Macronutrients: 3/5
Timing: 2/5
Tapering: 2/5

Total: 14/25

I spent the entire day driving.

One remarkable thing was that there are wildfires down to southern California and we saw a LOT of fire trucks from all over northern California down there. I also spotted at least three jets and four helicopters circling over LA. One fireman told me that reports indicated that the fire was blowing towards the ocean, so it shouldn’t be too terrible. Contrary to his words, however, was the fact that there was a column of military vehicles, presumably the National Guard going down to help with evacuations. None of the firemen knew about them.

No workouts

Awake: 730A
Sleep: 115A

Meal 1: 1 cheeseburger, 2 boxes fries, 1 cup lemonade
Meal 2: 1/2 bag popcorn, 1/2 box Sour Patch Kids
Meal 3: 1 cereal bar, 1500 mg glucosamine, 1000mg fish oil, 1 multivitamin, 5g creatine

Quantity: 2/5
Quality: 1/5
Macronutrients: 3/5
Timing: 2/5
Tapering: 5/5

Total: 13/25

This was the last day before our trip to LA for Western Collegiates.

Workout 1: TKD practice (8-10P)

Awake: 845A
Sleep: 1227A

Meal 1: 2 cereal bars
Meal 2: 1 protein shake, 1500mg glucosamine, 1000mg fish oil, 1 multivitamin, 5g creatine

Quantity: 2/5
Quality: 4/5
Macronutrients: 4/5
Timing: 2/5
Tapering: 4/5

Total: 16/25

I’ve completed the gauntlet of exams so now it’s time to prepare for another TKD competition. It’s the most significant one until Collegiates, so I really want to do well and show off my improvement.

Workout 1: TKD team practice (830-1030P)

Awake: 910A
Sleep: 145A

Meal 1: 1/4 lb albacore, 1/4 lb tuna, 1 cup rice, 1 package seaweed
Meal 2: 1 cereal bar, 1500mg glucosamine, 1000mg fish oil, 1 multivitamin, 5g creatine

Quantity: 4/5
Quality: 4/5
Macronutrients: 3/5
Timing: 2/5
Tapering: 5/5

Total: 18/25

I am disappointed today. I bombed the CMA exam, which was very discouraging. There isn’t much time to feel bad though, because I have Western Collegiates on Saturday and I want to do well there.

Workout 1: TKD practice (730-9P)

Awake: 845A
Sleep: 1220A

Meal 1: 2 cereal bars, 1500mg glucosamine, 1000mg fish oil, 1 multivitamin
Meal 2: 1 box Godfather’s Favorite pasta, 1500mg glucosamine, 1000mg fish oil, 5g creatine

Quantity: 3/5
Quality: 3/5
Macronutrients: 2/5
Timing: 4/5
Tapering: 2/5

Total: 14/25

My big thing for the day is that I cooked a new recipe at night. I’ve been trying to put myself out there a lot more with my cooking, and so far it’s been fairly successful. I am a pretty decent cook, although my knife work is awful and I have significant gaps in basic knowledge. In particular, I need to do a lot more cooking with vegetables.

No workouts

Awake: 940A
Sleep: 1250A

Meal 1: 2 cereal bars, 1500mg glucosamine, 1000mg fish oil, 250mg caffeine, 1 multivitamin
Meal 2: 1/2 lb salmon nanban-yaki, 1 cup rice, 1500mg glucosamine, 1000mg fish oil, 5g creatine

Quantity: 4/5
Quality: 5/5
Macronutrients: 4/5
Timing: 3/5
Tapering: 2/5

Total: 18/25