Five More Breaths

"When I was very young and the urge to be someplace else was on me, I was assured by mature people that maturity would cure this itch.  When years described me as mature , the remedy prescribed was middle age.  In middle age I was assured that greater age would calm my fever and now that I am fifty-eight perhaps senility will do the job."
John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley.

My AARP card came in the mail today.  I was going to chuck it but the list of offered discounts and benefits caught my eye and for this reason alone membership merits some thought.  But for my friend at L4/L5 physically I feel no different than I did in my early thirties, and much better than my late thirties, or mid forties.  In all other respects I'll take fifty any day, although, as evidenced by the post below, I am not sure I have actually matured much beyond thirteen.


Wednesday, three mile marsh walk with Brigid and Rose.  I had mentally checked out but the phone still rang a few times, and I found myself talking to a morose client with the phone in one hand, shooting pictures of a Peregrine falcon with the other.  Brigid was incredulous; she is a very patient kid, though she is increasingly embarrassed by me in public, which gives me even greater hope for her.


Thursday, back to the marsh in the morning.  It takes 35 minutes to roast four pounds of cubed butternut squash and in that time:


16kg swing, high pull, snatch combo 5+5
10 clean to five press l/r, 20kg
20 swings, 28kg
5x
Ate too much.

Friday.  Napped with dog.  Then ate too much.


This morning.  In for MH's Saturday 9:30.  He addressed the class beforehand, telling us it was going to be slow, Iyengar style class and if we got tired of the long holds, just back off. With nothing the day before was really strong, though my tree sucked.  We were holding poses forever, and with quads or whatever was screaming, it was always "five more breaths."  Yeah buddy let's do this.


Afternoon, needed some Kbell work, but just in a funk at home.  We always talk about go anywhere but I never do it, so took the 20kg to the park along with the external speaker and found a mostly flat spot under a large oak tree and put on Bob Marley.
First circuit was Brett Jones' 11/23 Goblet squat swing snatch ladder, but my snatches are still not there so stuck to all swings.  Second was 3,2,1 tgu ladder to 10 clean five press both sides, then 2,1 tgus, cleans and presses, then 1 tgu, cleans and presses.  So 10 tgus each side, 30 cleans and 15 presses each side.  20kg is light on the presses, but the 28 is too heavy for the left, my holiday present to myself will be a 24kg.


Looking up at the oak branches on the TGUS , with squirrels and crows cruising about at dusk was just great, great,great.  Fifty is just fine.