Just participated in tournament #2 yesterday. My first tournament I had to sit out on half the events because of my broken elbow so it was my first time competing (i use the term loosely) in all 4 events...patterns, sparring, power breaking, technique breaking.
I was put in the bracket with all the teenage/adult guys so that is why I use the term competing loosely. It wouldn't have been fair to put me in the girls bracket becuase I think I would have swept it because of my size. I am the only adult female at the school right now who is doing tae kwon do. Makes things a little tricky every now and again.
Patterns was our first event and it went really well for me. I was nervous about going up against one person but other than that, I just went out there with my game face on and did what I knew I could do. I ended up sweeping the bracket, never losing a round and having all 3 judges vote for me each time I was up. That felt really good. I'd really like to see where I end up in a tournament that is bigger because I think it would be interesting and a ton of fun.
Next up was sparring. I wasn't mentally prepared for sparring and when I showed up to the tournament to warm up, I was told we were going to spar each other. I was not in the mindset to spar. At all. It was really sad and I'm a little upset at myself for not placing at least 3rd in this category. I really should have and I think I have the ability to but I let my mind win and take over. Not cool. Not cool at all.
I went up for three rounds. Remember I'm the only girl in this group. I won my first round which I was really happy about. My second round I went up against a guy who I know is a really awesome fighter. I really tried my best but he beat me. On my third round I went up against a guy that I should have kicked the crap out of but at that point my mind had totally taken over and taken a vacation. It was such a terrible round that I embarassed even thinking about it. I know I could have gone in there and really opened up on him but I didn't. If I had gone in on him, I would have been a contender for 3rd place.
I learned a lot about sparring. I know I made mistakes, some major, that I am going to learn from and not make again.
The last two events were breaking events where male genetics will outdo female genetics every time.
Power breaking. This is another of my favorite events. We had to do a side kick and a downward fist. I knew I had the side kick in the bag as far as being able to break a lot of boards. I feel like the kick I did was one of the best I've done in a long time. I feel like I put all of my power and speed into it. It felt fantastic!!! I broke all 3 boards.
I was nervous about the downward fist because I had only got to practice the break once during class and it was my first time attempting to do this break with my right hand. In the last tournament I participated in, I did a downward knife hand with my left hand because of my broken elbow. I'm actually very happy with how I did considering the lack of practice I had with it. The station was set up with 3 boards and I was able to get full points on two of them.
At the end of this round I was told I missed placing by two points!!!!!!!!!!!! That would have been so awesome to place in power breaking in the guys category!
The last event was my absolute worst but I did enjoy it and I tried my best. It was technique breaking. We had to do a flying side kick and a jumping front kick. The flying side kick is a mental game for me and the more I do it, the more I conquer myself. I was able to perform the kick on the first round really well. I felt like I hit the board very square on. Round two we had to jump a little farther and I didn't make it. What kills me about this is that I know I can do it with more practice and I enjoy it so much I want to do it again.
The jumping front kick I really thought I would be able to do but this is another one that I have done less than I would like....I got to try it twice before the tournament. I think with practice I could have a shot at this too. I just need to do it more.
All in all it turned out to be a good day and I learned so much about all of the events that I will carry forward.
Now it's time to heal up my shins. They're pretty bruised up from sparring and my left ankle is giving me problems again. Other than that, I'm feeling good and ready to go again.
The more competitions I do between now and Brazil, the more I will learn and grow, and the more prepared I will be to kick some ass.
Had my first bad nurse day yesterday. I had been taking care of a 400 gram (14 ouces) baby all week. Yesterday the baby decided to have a huge episode where it drops its heartrate and stops breathing. This is extremely common in premature babies becuase the CNS is still growing along with everything else so they "forget" to breathe and hence the heartrate drops. What's not usual is to have to bag the baby. Usually just some gentle stimulation will remind them that they are not in mom anymore and have to breathe on their own.
So my kiddo has this huge spell where it needed bagging. I went in when the isolette and started stimulating him as soon as the monitors started going off. I kept looking for the heart rate to come up and it didn't. It was down way too long.
Then I froze.
I don't know how long I froze but I panicked. I finally remember someone asking me if I want RT there and I said yes and I want the practitoner as well. Then my pod partner came over and jumped in and totally saved me and started bagging the baby for me.
I feel like I'm a terrible nurse because I froze and could have killed this baby due to my lack of action. It really makes me second guess what I do.
Please don't mistake this for me giving up. I LOVE what I do. It was just a HUGE blow to my confidence that I need to recover from. I also learned a lot of what not to do for next time.
Then it doesn't help that every time the charge comes around (this was not a permanent charge btw) she hounded me on how I need to ask for help.
Well yeah, I kinda figured that out and am already beating myself up over this, I don't need your help.
I'm very nervous about going back to work now. I know I can do it though. It was just a setback.
Today I got my braces on. I was supposed to get the upper and lowers on but it was determined that there is not enough room for the braces to clear my overbite so they put the uppers on and are going to get them moving and then I will get my lowers on.
I got them on this morning and was thinking that it wasn't so bad. Now it's 4:30 in the afternoon and I'm singing a totally different tune.
Ouch is all I can say! I tried to eat some Triscuits with sour cream (don't knock it til you try it, yum!) and it hurt so much when biting and trying to chew the Triscuits that I ate two and gave up and got a can of soup out because it was soft. So far the can of soup is still sitting there. I drank the juices off of it but am a little leery of trying to chew the veggies in there.
I took some ibuprophen before my appointment at the suggestion of my coworkers. I just took another dose now. I sure hope it helps.
If I don't touch my top and bottom teeth together I'm OK but if I accidently bump them, it's game over.
I'm going to see how I feel but I am planning on going to tae kwon do tonight. I don't know if I will spar or not. I got a mouthguard but I don't like the way it fits. It doesn't do much at all in the area of shock absorption which is the big issue with being hit and not getting a concussion. So now I am going to search the internet to see if I can find a good mouthguard for braces that I like.
Wish me luck.
Had a really awesome tae kwon do class tonight! I wish I could have sparred. Should find out late this week if I will be able to or if I'm going to have to take a break from contact for a while.
We did some drills using pads tonight and I paired up with one of the black belts. She really pushed me and I liked it! I feel successful in what I did and attempted. I've been struggling lately trying to get people to come at me faster so that I can have a challenge and improve. I've been feeling frustrated in that aspect for about a month now.
Tonight the black belt I worked with came at me at a nice good challenging pace and I loved it! Working with her is exactly what I have been looking for! Was I perfect? Heck no! No matter what rank you are in TKD, there is always room for improvement.
Did my skill grow? Definately!!! That is what I strive for! Every class I push myself to become faster and better than I was in the last class.
What people need to realize is that improvement doesn't happen overnight like we would like it to. We have to work at it. If I learn something new in one class and attempt to use that skill or do my best to improve my form on an existing skill, that is advancement to me. I know that if I stick with it, I will eventually reach my goal of improved form or landing that kick that I've been working on forever.
I remember when I was a white belt a year ago and couldn't land a back kick when someone was walking toward me to save my life (I could hardly land one standing still)! Tonight I totally nailed it! I need to work on getting faster.....having the person holding the pad run at me. Like I stated above, it's an improvement on an existing skill I'm going to work on. Hopefully in a year I will be able to look back to this day and see the improvement I've made through dedication.
Tomorrow is weigh in #4 at Weight Watchers. I've been slacking this week in weighing myself. I don't have any excuse as to why, I just haven't been. I'm a little nervous becuase I'm not too sure what to expect when I step on the scale tomorrow.
A little part of me is expecting either no change or a small, less than a pound, change just because of where I am at in my cycle. I've been feeling a little water logged these past few days........go figure.......I've been craving salt.
We shall see.
Night all! Be safe if you are getting snow!
Watch out Albuquerque Fit folks! Terie's back (but not as a coach)!!! Hahahahahaha!
It felt good to be out with the group again. I've sure missed all these people! I needed the break but I'm so ready to do this again.
Right now I have no race plans. I'm just running to run so there is no pressure either way to run more, harder, faster. I'm going to run what I run and that's how it goes.
I ran with the half marathon people today. I did 3 miles. That was enough. Any more and I think I would have been too tired. Can you believe that? Tired after only 3 miles?!?!?!?!?! How crazy is that?!?!?!?! Needless to say, I have to build my base back up before I think of doing anything big. Right now the only thing on the radar is Boulder Boulder over Memorial Day weekend. Even if I end up walking that, I'm perfectly OK with that. I'm just excited to be back.
I'm oficially signed up for the 10k program but they start at 2 miles so the plan right now is to follow the beginner HM program until they get to 6 miles wich will be in about a month and then I will evaluate from there how I feel and how things are going and make a decision on if I will continue with the half program or modify it to keep me in shape for a 10k.
The reason I'm not trying to push it is because running is for fun and to enjoy. Plus tae kwon do is still my primary sport. I LOVE it and if I let running take over, there will be no time for TKD which would be tragic.
Off to church I head now. I'm singing in the choir for the first time in about 6 months or so. This is going to be fun!
I can't believe I've been at Weight Watchers for only 3 weeks and have already lost 6.2 pounds! This really works!
Those of you who know me well know that I once let myself get up to around 235 pounds and have lost a lot of that on my own. It took me about 2 years to lose it all. I wonder what I would have done if I had taken on Weight Watchers back then! Before it took me about 2-3 months to lose 6 pounds.
I also tried using Sparkpeople last winter. I had success. I lost the same amount of weight that I have with Weight Watchers but it took me 8-9 weeks.
There is something to be said for finding a group to hold you accountable. The rewards are also very nice to get as well. I've been looking forward to getting my 5 pound sticker since I joined and I got it today (along with a bravo sticker)!! The support is so amazing and I really like the group leader. She's so motivating even though she's about 40 years older than I am (this is not an exaggeration).
I know I am over the average 1-2 pounds a week right now but I have a feeling it's going to slow down soon.
Week one -3.6
Week two -0.4
Week three -2.2!
Woot!
Maybe that is the pattern my body will follow.
Either way I am super happy with the results I've been seeing. I will take my weekly measurements tomorrow morning since I've already filled my stomach with my yummy dinner tonight.
This week I had two yummy splurges. One was a frozen pizza I made and ate however much of it I pleased. The second meal was at Sadie's. If you live in the Albuquerque area, you know how dangerous Sadie's can be. It's so yummy and they serve my favorite New Mexican food.
I tried at first to resist the chips n salsa but was too hungry and I gave in knowing I was having a splurge anyway. We did so good though in that we did not get a second basket of chips when they came around to ask us. Yay us!! Instead of ordering my typical chicken tacos (I usually order two tacos, one to eat there and one to take home for leftovers), I changed it up and ordered a chicken burrito instead. I still got double papas with red chile that of course came with cheese. I decided since I really wanted this splurge, I was going to eat as many of the papas as I wanted until my heart and taste buds were content. I made this decision since I didn't get a whole plate full like I would have with the tacos. There was about one cup worth of papas on the plate. Perfect portion to satisfy!
The burritos are pretty big that they serve so I menally broke it up into thirds and decided I was going to eat one third of it and then stop. Before I asked for a box to go, I asked Scott if he would eat the leftovers. He was a little shocked that I asked him because usually if he eats my leftovers before I get a chance to get at them, I'm not happy. This time I was happily offering them to him. He seemed hesitant at first, probably a lesson learned from before. :) Once he was sure I was 100% for real about it, he was on board and agreed if the burrito came home, he would eat it so I wouldn't be tempted.
That's what I got my Bravo! sticker for! :)
Work is still going well. I had to take a class today on sprituality. As if I weren't already bombarded by this through school, orientation, and continuum! It was so boring! Luckily we got out an hour early so I didn't have to deal with rush hour traffic.
The lady who taught this class was such and idiot though! She asked who the person was that works NBICU and I said it was me. She then proceeds to ask me if I know any cultural rituals around birth! I gave her the, trying not to be sarcastic answer aka biting my tounge....hard!, that we don't have anything to do with the birth of the babies, that is L&D (I had to point that one out to her since she she seemed to think I do L&D in NICU...eye roll), we just deal with the babies after they are born.
The person teaching the class is a seasoned RN. Wow is all I can say.
Tae kwon do is going well. Had a super awesome workout last night. I wish I could have sparred but I wasn't able to so I worked the bag using techniques we did in class earlier and I also practiced my test kicks and combinations that I like to use to see if I can add on to them for future use.
My speed has been increasing. I was surprised at how much faster my slide in turn kicks have gotten! I was so surprised that I had to do them several times in a row on each leg just to make sure it wasn't a fluke or something!
Have I mentioned how much I love TKD?????? :) Even after almost a year, I'm loving it. Probably even more than when I started!!!!!
I'm feeling a little nervous about stepping on the scale at my meeting tomorrow. I really hope I have lost. I've been tracking fairly well. The only thing I haven't tracked was last nights meal out at Rudy's. I had 10 points left to use and I ordered a quarte pound of turkey and a baked potato. Well within my 10 points. For a bedtime snack last night I had a can of drained and rinsed mandarin oranges, 0 points and super yummy.
I've been weighing myself throughout the week and have seen about a half pound loss on my scale at home. I went to weigh myself this morning and forgot to do it before I took my morning pills with a huge glass of water. Doh! I won't weigh again until my meeting at noon.
I feel I've done a pretty good job with tracking everything I put into my mouth, no matter how healthy or unhealthy it is. I've also reminded myself to have a treat every now and then.
My "big" meal out this week was at Dion's. I ordered a turkey sub on wheat. I wasn't super hungry going in so it was really easy to only eat half of it (I ordered the 6") and about half of the chips that came with it. I'm very proud of myself for that. It would have been really easy to eat the whole thing and then some.
That's been the biggest challenge for me so far. Not letting myself get too hungry. Last week I was terrible at it. This week has been much much better. Every once in a while I will feel those "overhungry pangs" but I've really been trying to keep on top of it. It makes it easier to make healthier choices and if I know I shouldn't eat all of something, it makes it easier to stick to that plan.
I called the orthodontist this morning to make my second appointment to get braces put on. I thought they were going to put them on at the appointment but it doesn't sound like it. At least I have the ball rolling on it. They called this a records appointment. I know they are going to take molds of my mouth.
As nervous as I am about it, I really hope that they put the braces on that same day as well. I can't believe I'm this nervous! I really wonder how it's going to change the way I look with them on and how it's going to feel. I'm not worried about the pain at all. Nothing a little Tylenol can't help. That and some cold food or ice water to numb it (probably ice water for me).
Our new furniture should be here today. It will be nice to be rid of our old furniture. Especially since the couch is broken.
TKD is going alright. We've been doing a lot of sparring lately. A lot. I'm ready for a break. Just one week off would be nice and then we can get back to it. Last Wednesday I had a terrible day. I just couldn't think straight and wasn't throwing and landing things like I have been doing. I'm pretty sure it's a mental thing.
Sparring, for me, is mentally taxing because it's comparable to a game of chess. It's a game of strategy so you are constantly watching cues from your opponent and looking for the right time to attack. When it's right, you just know it and go for it. I got some good rushes in but I wasn't happy with what I did otherwise. I really hope tonight goes better. I have some frustration I need to get out.
I'm pretty excited! I had my weekly weigh in yesterday with WW. I was surprised at how nervous I was about going! I'm used to weighing myself 2-3 times a week but when the weigh-in counts, it felt different. It shouldn't have. But it did.
It was really awesome to see the face of the person who weighed me in. She smiled at me real big and was very happy and proud. I had lost 3.6 pounds in one week!
I knew I had lost because of tracking my weight at home. I wasn't expecting it to be that much though. I was expecting around 2 pounds so needless to say I was super super happy.
I need to take some before and after pics. I plan on doing that today.
The thing need to be careful of now is to not expect this every week. Weeks like this, in real life, are the exception, not the rule.
I would be thrilled with a 1.5 or 2 pound loss next week. That would give my my 5 pound sticker in two weeks. If that's realistic or not, we shall see.
That's the other key to success in weight loss. One needs to realize that there will be ups and downs and we have to take the highs with the lows.
I made a goal this week of having fresh fruit with my breakfast. So far I haven't done that. I am planning on having an apple with peanut butter for my snack today. Our group leader challenged us this week to make 10 meals of just power foods. I'd like to do that as well. I know two goals can be quite lofty. I'm going to try my best. If I don't reach one, then it will be my one and only goal for next week.
Last week I used all of my activity points (I have it set up to use those first) and had 35 "bonus" points left over. I hope to do the same thing this week.
