Musings - Michael Fucking Chabon

"I have a deadline. I'm glad. I think that will help me get it done."
Michael Chabon

No shit buddy.  The question is what kind of deadline, are you paying the recipient, or is it a pissed off judge, with a crushing case load full of meth heads and violent crime dealing with budget cuts.
Anyway.  Michael Chabon and Adam Gopnik are at the Herbst tonight and I wish I was there.  Gopnik I can do without.  Decent essayist, but I'll take real reporters like Jane Mayer, Ken Auletta or John Lee Anderson, (ok Anderson writes for the Times, but his stuff is in the New Yorker quite a bit) any day.  Gopnik did a send-up on Sing Along Sound of Music about ten years ago that was very very funny, but he lost me when he went to Paris to write about life there with his young son.  It was cloying and too easy.  Yeah it was a best seller but how could he miss the side of that barn.  It's like taking cute pictures of kittens or baby seals.  Or your children or dog.

Chabon on the other hand is pretty amazing.  I have only read Wonder Boys and bits of Manhood for Amateurs, which I also wanted to hate.  Do I really care about your sex life with your wife or your getting laid at fifteen by one of your mother's friends ?  I didn't think so but he writes beautifully.  He is a good interview  as well and Ian would have liked it.


Nothing in morning with client meeting at 8:30 which I thought would last 30 minutes but stretched to 90.  He was manic and I went along with him.  It was 10:15, and I was already behind, mentally parsing up the day in six minute increments, trying to figure out how to get everything done.  Park in Portsmouth Square in Chinatown, race around the corner and nearly run into the column above.  Strength.  Slow down.  Breathe.

Walk into gym at 6:00.  I hate Equinox at 6:00 on any evening except Fridays and Mondays are the worst.  Full of young people in Lulu Lemon, I am the oldest straight guy by a good 15 years.  Go stake out some space in the corner and try to get it started.  The trainers are all really cool and put the bells back between client sets when I am around, but there are only two 16kgs for the whole gym, and this guy is holding them doing heel raises.  He could have been using dumbells, or any two of the hundred or so 35 pound plates around, but no, had to use the kbells.  Grab two 35lb dumbells and start.


Pushups to renegade rows, 5 pushups to five rows, 2x
10 Goblet squats, 24kg
Walking alternating overhead press, ten out, ten back,  muttering Michael Fucking Chabon on the punch up r,l,r
Single leg squats to box, 10r/10l, right pretty good, left feels like shit
3x

BUP 12kg 5r/5l, 16kg 5r/1l, then back to 12, spastic but got better each circuit
windmills, 8r/l, spastic cause trying to keep torso straight
30 24kg swings, tired of being spastic so these were good and strong with bell flying up
TGUS, 2 16kg l/r, 2 24kg, l/r, spastic cause trying to keep good rkc form, though looking forward on the lunge helped.  Also better each circuit.
3x

After tomorrow it gets ugly.  Stay strong, don't forget to breathe.

Musings - Better

 

 

 

"Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right."
Scarlett Begonias, Robert Hunter


Loved that lyric 30 years ago, now sounds insipid.  But seemed tense and ugly all over the planet last week so retreated to the Grateful Dead play list in gym Thursday and it helped.
Thursday am, ten minutes late for Ericka's 7:00  class, hate it when people come in late, so stuck again on the elliptical for seven miles.  Back in the afternoon, went like this
 15 hindu push-ups
12 front squats, two 16 kgs in rack
20 renegade rows, 35lb dumbells, really focus on keeping shoulders level and no hip rotation, entirely different exercise from whatever I was doing before Ms. Tom straightened me out
eight 1/r single leg deadlifts, 16 kg, again focus on shoulders and hips level and square
3x

10 windmills l/r 16kg
30 swings, 24 kg
3,2,1, TGU ladders l/r, 16kg, again focus on rkc form and staying with it.
2x
Had to cut it short to get home and feed the masses.
Friday, worked from home busy busy, had to go into city for Judge Feng's swearing in at 5:30.  Was going to head into the gym before; but packing up, had not gotten Rose out and she is looking at me lovingly.  Traitor. Ok; scratch the gym, and head to the marsh. Beautiful afternoon.  Come home, and an hour later sitting in Soluna in a suit knocking back a pre ceremony Johnny Walker; three cubes will do it please, yes just like that, thank you.  Feng's swearing in funny as hell, great guy, but too many judges and lawyers in one place.  Flee as soon as acceptable, back to Soluna for one more, a really nice night.  Work up a good head of pity about how I would rather go out in SF, but no where to go.  So head back, where I thought it would just be me and Rose; but Brigid was there.  Put in Two Towers, pity gone, never should have been there in the first place.  Rest of crew comes tumbling in late.  Better.

Saturday, back down the freeway.  Ninety minute trance flow class.  MH commentary about what a weird week it was, everyone seems to agree so it wasn't just me.  Susan cancels meeting and then up to Praxis for session with Ms. Tom.  Not sure what to be most impressed by, the outstanding Stanford education, quiet low key style and observation, or the year of pole dancing on her resume.  Good coaching on everything we went over, need to watch ETK again on the elbow strike and get lats working in snatches.  Back down to downtown, accordian man playing Layla in Civic Center station.  Get down to Equinox, left the fucking keys in Hayes Valley, back up, accordian man now on I am the Walrus.  Once again to Equinox where I am waylaid by Ms. Patel who is also beautiful and smart, and she wants to sell me $300.00 worth of metabolic testing.  Yes, I am sure it would be helpful.  You are right, I probably do overtrain.  No, I don't intend to stop with the kettlebells until they need to be pried from my cold dead fingers.  Pick-up Barry at grandma's and negate all that good work by scarfing four slices of pepperoni and olive washed down with two glasses of chianti.  Barry full of soft smiles and handsome in his new haircut.

This am, take the north levee on the marsh walk.  Amazing the difference a couple of hundred yards can make on an ecosystem; southern levee is all ducks, geese and wading birds.  Northern levee is all about raptors and nervous rodents.  Rose is over-joyed.  Same place, two years ago, shooting pictures of an immature red tail, bird gets nervous and looks up.  Peregrine falcon high up on the same tower.  Red tail takes off and the Peregrine drops like a stone, get the fuck outta my space.  Never would have been there if not for being fit and for the dog.  Grateful for both every day.

Musings - Swinging in The Dark

"The sun is up, the sky is blue, its beautiful, and so are you."
Dear Prudence, John Lennon

Harsh on myself last post.  Dial it back there DT . . . yes you have work to do but so does everyone else. 
Click on the photo, the eye on the Northern Harrier is amazing, hate to be a field mouse . . .

Tuesday, hard day.  Running for 13 hours, finishing the day with a conference call starting at 3:30, dark dark in the office by the time it was done.  Long road home.  8:00 arrival, knew I would be toast if I sat down.
Quick change, out in the back yard with the moon coming up big.  Went like this, after pump stretches, Halos and warm up squats:

15 pushups to T side plank, alternating l/r
 20 tactical lunges, l/r 16kg
10 slow good renegade rows, 20kg, shoulders level, no hip rotation.
15 goblet squats, 20kg
3x

16 windmills 8 l/r, 20 kg
20 kg swings, 30 first circuit, 40 second and third
TGUs, 6 total alternating left right, 16, 18, 20 go slow, really focus on form.
15 of those sit-up that things we did on Sunday and are on Lauren Brooks' video, 16kg.
3x

All that was good, glad I did it, but back was tightening up due to the cold at the end.  Wear more clothes, no, don't call yourself a douche.

This morning, early up, five miles on the Habit Trail.  Intended to get back in pm for two more miles and core work or better yet yoga, but could not stand the thought of Brigid alone another night with her eldest brother.  Got on the 4:25 boat, some guy named Christopher L starts a YELP thread about the Beatles, rolling me back to Arcata in December 1980, drinking beer and angling for an angel faced blonde from Auburn after the Zoology final, and learning Lennon got shot.  Landing snapped out of the reverie, more work up the freeway, to early TJ's dim sum feast.

Cardfio and Kbells tomorrow, unless I can get in for a 7:00 yoga class with Ericka H, the sweet voiced drill instructor.  Need to breathe deep these days, a lot to do and it all matters.

Musings - Back up, Assess as in Ass- ess

"You are strong, you are beautiful"
John Wild Buckley

I have always liked JWB's slogan; positive, simple, empowering.
Me and Brigid, her at seven, August 2003 in the parking lot above Tom's Place at the trailhead to John Muir Wilderness.  Pre-Rose, I was pushing 240 and she could tuck up nicely under my belly . . . Eee gad, fat Dad.  But I did get her there.
 Ok week last week.  Saturday was a great flow class with  MH, started out, two old guys talkin': him, "how ya doin D ?"  Me:  "I don't know yet."  Him: "well we are going to take this slow. . ."  Me, channeling Lyle Lovett: "Honey its so early, we prob'ly shouldn't speak yet." Him: sidling away politely.
Slow did not mean taking it easy; held poses forever, series from warrior two to peaceful to triangle to half moon took about ten minutes per side and after 90 minutes just wrung out.  But felt strong.  Marsh walk in pm with Rose and Brigid was sublime.
Sunday, morning full of difficult work for good clients, then off to Praxis for late afternoon kbell clinic with the redoubtable Ms. Tom.  Beautiful afternoon in the City, god how I miss living in SF.
And god how I have missed good coaching.  Good mobility drills and some humbling takeaways:
1.  Renegade rows:  go light so you can keep the shoulders level and no twistng at the hips; mc did a good article on this, now listen, check your fucking ego at the door and stay at around 35lb, even lighter if you have to, until you can do it right.
2.  Snatch: no you really don't know how to do this exercise; what ever you have been doing ain't gonna cut it period, let alone for anything heavier that a 16.  Been grooving some really awful stuff here and I need to fix it.  It will take one on one work and I just need to start over; Cecilia busted me in about 1.5 seconds.  So no unsupervised and NO V02 max until you learn to walk.
3.  Deck squats are fun; saw the non momentum variety on You tube, think I can work toward this;
4.  Don't give up on your get-ups on the way down; another place where I need to slow down, check the ego at the door.  Time to groove a 16 or maybe a 24 if the 16 goes well.  Yes there is a lot of crap out there on the TGU's but that is not carte blanche to be a sloppy.

Oh yeah, and don't be too hard on yourself . . . You are strong, you are kind of ugly, but you do have a terrific dog.

Today, depo starting at eight am, grinding all day until 5, was going to skip workout but forced myself to hamster land and six miles on elliptical, which was a little over an hour.  Heart rate above 160 for most according to the hamster handles; whatever, I was glad I forced myself to do something.

Musings - wading in

"Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you."
Thomas Jefferson

Tried a V02 max workout tonight, more later.
Sunday, three miles in marsh.
Insanely busy week, two workouts a day not in the cards, looks like my turn on the clock to ramp up the practice which is very good.

Monday, elliptical madness in morning, six miles, afternoon went like this:
15 pushups, feet on box, one foot up and switch
20 body weight box squats, , clean two 16kgs, then ten squat to press
20 renegade rows, 24kg
30 walking lunges
3x

10 1/r windmills, 16kg
30 swings, 24kg
TGUS, 2l/rx2 24kg
1 minute plank, foot up 15 sec and switch.
3x
Focusing on rkc form, straight leg, arm at 45, no more, hip bridge, hinkey left shoulder hard.
Tuesday
five miles elliptical
Wednesday
morning
20 cp 24kg alternating, then flip to ten pushups
Bulgarian split squats with 16kg overhead, 10 each side
16kg press 10 l/r kneeling on 65cm ball
30 body weight box squats
3x
snatch,windmill,tgu combo, 45lb oly bar, 2r2lx3
30 swings, 24 kg
10 reverse pull ups off of smith machine, feet on box
3x
oly bar combo was fun fun, need to remember to do that more often
evening
Good 60 minute vinyasa class
Thursday  3 mile marsh walk
Friday
Ragged work day.  Never got to the marsh, running non-stop, two new clients and one I am ready to fire.  Was tired and gonna blow off any training, but picked up the 16kg and did a few snatches.  What the hell.  Did 25 minute snatch session with the 16kg  15:15, 7x 50. 12,250 pounds, felt really good, then was going to go into a couple of hundred swings with the 20kg and just make it a light bell workout.  Hah.  Gassed after 60 swings, started to tear a callous and that was that at 29 minutes.
90 minutes of yoga in the AM then marsh walk, oh goody.

Musings - Smackdown

"Found someone who can comfort me, but there are always exceptions."
Steve Winwood, Empty Pages

Wanted to do better this week; tally was 25 miles, two yoga classes, and three training sessions.  But could have done better but for a lost Friday.  Thursday was three miles in the marsh, which is all I was aiming for.  But Friday I wanted five miles and a training session, setting up a third yoga class Saturday.

Not happening.  Friday hour long meeting stretched to three and a half, so no dice,  Got a mile in the morning, and late marsh walk with Peter W., and Ian.  Stunningly beautiful, Rose was ecstatic.

Saturday, knew would have to have a bell session; yoga would be the casualty.  Rolled out on another walk with Rose and Ian, he is very chatty these days and really really good company.

Training in the pm went like this:

16 pushups to side plank, alternating sides
step back lunges, 10 l/r, 20 kg in rack
10 rows, l/r 28kg
12 front squats, 20 kg
3x
7 windmills l/r 20kg
10 clean to five press 20kg, l/r
15 swings, 28 kg
TGU's, 2 28kg l/r, to 2 20kg l/r
3x

Pressing the 20 kg was easy on the right side, which was expected, but also good on left, which after last weeks crap with the 24kg was good.  Kept the swing count low with the 28, just cause the back felt hinkey.
What was really hinkey was climbing out of the shower, stepped onto the tile floor, and slipped, bad, hit the ground hard but strong core and arms took most of the momentum out, so when the head snapped back and hit the tile step it was a hard hit, but not too bad.   Still no fun, but if I had been weak that could have been bad.

Musings - Sore Shoulders

"Naturally we would prefer seven epiphanies a day and an earth not so apparently devoid of angels."
Jim Harrison

The above is one of my top five favorite pictures of the thousands I have taken; Brigid at five, nine years ago, skipping down a long green trail to the Pacific.

I was so heavy when I took that the lousy half mile to the beach had me sweating; but I got the shot, so who's to judge ?
Priorities change and we ought not be so hard on ourselves.


Sunday Kbell clinic with Cecilia T.  Smart person, sort of whack job I like.  When a trainer tells me to move a foot in an inch, straighten a leg three inches, watch the arm angle, fix your wrist, work on it.  Confess to a weak left side.  Go light on the demo, all stuff worth listening to.  Ninety minutes, worked up a sweat, good stuff.


Monday, six boring miles on the elliptical, heart rate, at least according to the hand sensors, above 155 for a solid 45 minutes, thanks to mid-70's Stones and Tower of Power.
Afternoon grueling yoga, too fast, no soul, miss MH.  Whole class joylessly sucking wind.


Tuesday, five miles, then

10 pushups to l/r renegade rows, 24kg
10 l/r single leg squats
10 clean to five press, 24 kg four on right, no more than three on left, drop down to multiple 16's for left, too easy.

8 single leg deads, l/r, 16kg
3x


10 windmills l/r 16 kg
30 swings, 24 kg
TGU's, 2 32kf l/r, 2 24kg l/r
10 woodchoppers, l/r 6 plate cable machine
3x


Above was gruelling but all felt good.  Left side press just sucked, whereas right flew up.  TGUS a total grind, but happily so.


Wednesday, four miles in the am, great MH vinyasa class.  Lots of hard core work, plank felt rock solid, the real deal.  Slow tomorrow, kick out Friday, long yoga class sat., as Picard would say: "make it so."