Two Straight Weeks

So today concluded my second week of training every day.  Sometimes twice.

I had to do something drastic to get myself out of the slump I was in.  After the week of downtime at the beach, and a day visiting Middle at college, I began my new routine.

Sunday night, I dressed in my gi pants and rashguard before bed.  The alarm was set for 5:15 a.m. I woke up easily Monday, and again on Wednesday and Friday, and in the second week found myself waking before the alarm, ready to go.

The nice thing about dressing for class the night before is that I can get up, turn the alarm off, brush my teeth, grab my bag, and head out.  After class, I have time for a quick shower before the race to get Little to work, and then myself to work on Monday and Wednesday.  (No work for either of us these last two Fridays.)

The morning class is a recent addition to the school's schedule, and it's pretty small - probably 10-15 guys who are all pretty serious about their training. It takes a certain degree of dedication to want to drag your ass out of bed at 5:15 to engage in such a grueling activity - or drag your ass in to train after finishing a late shift at work, as the case may be.  The guys who teach the class are brown and purple belts, and very good at what they do.

After warm-ups and some time drilling the technique of the day, we rolled a few rounds.  When I finished my round with the brown belt instructor, he said, "You know all this stuff.  You know what to do. But you hesitate.  The next step for you is to stop thinking so much and to trust it."

Hmmmmm... a recurring theme with me, perhaps?  I did try to remember what he said and incorporate that advice throughout the next two weeks. Things definitely went better when I was a little less cautious, a little more reckless and daring. Something good to keep in mind going forward.

I took the evening classes as well, and open mat, yoga, no-gi, and women's class last weekend. It seems like a lot, but it really only came down to an hour or two per day.  This weekend is the Keystone State games, and I'm not competing, so I will rest and recover.

For now, feeling pleased with myself for making this change.

Friday

It's the last day of vacation. Funny how the first few days stretch on forever, and then the last few fly by and suddenly it's time to start thinking about the trip home. Time does weird things on vacation.

I think that, for me, a lot of this has to do with making the transition to a new routine.  It's uncomfortable at first, being away from familiar surroundings and having this much downtime.  It's difficult to adjust to not having to do anything, and I'm restless, constantly searching for ways to feel productive. I'm reading, writing, exercising (or trying to), and doing math.

By Wednesday, I'm staring to adjust to hanging around doing nothing all day.  I wouldn't say I've embraced it, but it's no longer uncomfortable.

Today, I feel like a slug.  Savageman got up and went for a run.  I wish I felt like it, but all I want to do is lie around, maybe read a book.  The thought of returning to the real world tomorrow, with work and housework and my new ambitious training schedule - is exhausting.  Not to mention the idea of 8 hours in the car to get there.

Heading to the beach one last time.  Today will go fast - got to soak it all in.

OBX 2017

We do this (almost) every year, but this year it's a little different. 

With Middle already away at college, and The Eldest and Girl of the Eldest working full-time this summer, it's only Savageman, Little, Me, and The Parents at the beach house with the pool and the hot tub, just a short walk from the ocean.  

There were some advantages. 

With Eldest and Girl watching the house, we could leave the pets behind.  That Dog is getting kind of old to put him through an 8 hour car ride, new surroundings, and a house full of stairs.  Also, dogproofing the house is always a trick, as he loves to eat things he's not supposed to eat. It's nice to not wake up to him yodeling to go out in the morning, or constantly have to worry about latching the doors or hiding the trash cans. 

My Cat usually stayed home alone, but I had someone stop by and check on her. This year, it's not an issue. 

Plenty of room in the cars, less food to buy / prepare / more opportunities for field trips, etc. with only one kid. 

But it's not the same. 

Little (not so little) is 14, and he's being a good sport about not having his brothers to play with.  He's been looking for ways to meet kids (girls) here, and he was always pretty comfortable with his alone time, even when there were brothers around. 

I reminded him that my entire childhood was spent doing vacations without siblings.  He responded, "Yeah, but you read books and stuff."  

Books!  And Stuff!  What a great idea!

I brought a copy of a good YA novel I thought he'd enjoy reading, and of course the math we've been doing all summer to get him ready for High School.  He's not especially amenable to doing either of these things.

Still, it's nice having some time with just him.  The Eldest had his time as an only child when he was little. Middle never did, but we did a lot together with JSD, traveling with demo and competition team, etc. Little and I have had BJJ together, so that's something, but most of our interaction consists of him trying to bite or choke me, or me trying to get him to do math and him running away.  

So there are some things we can work on.... 

Today is Tuesday, and we're here until Saturday.  

Math Goals

I've always tried to stay a step ahead of my kids when it comes to their academics.

When we were homeschooling, this was a necessity. I couldn't very well teach them things I didn't know how to do myself.  On rare occasions, I would have to cram the night before, or give the "You know, maybe we should look that up together" answer to a question.  It's not a terrible thing to do that from time to time, but it's not ideal.  For the most part, I've been fortunate to have been able to navigate familiar waters.

This changed when Middle started taking the advanced science and math classes in High School.  I was no longer able to help him with his homework (and thankfully, he didn't seem to need my help).  I paged through his textbooks with envy, wishing I had been taught the cool things he was now learning. My own high school math career ended in my Junior year with Honors Algebra II / Trig.  I took Statistics in college and grad school.  No Pre-Calc or Calculus, and certainly no Linear Algebra.  I was advised that I didn't need these and it would only pull down my GPA.

Annoyed with the fact that I would soon know less than one of my kids, I started working on the math I never learned.  I had taken the oldest two boys through Algebra I and some Geometry before they started school, and that was all pretty fresh. On the other hand, Calculus was a complete mystery, and Trig was a distant memory from age 16. I dove in.

At the age of 42, armed with The Guru's college Calculus textbook (and some context to make it more comfortable), I started working through the course on my own.  I supplemented with Khan Academy and a few Coursera lecture courses here and there, and it was going well until I hit the chapter that dealt with Trig functions.

There was clearly stuff here I was expected to know but didn't.

I went back to Khan Academy and pulled up the Trig course.  Completely overwhelming.  Had I ever learned any of this?  If I had, it was gone.  I couldn't go forward without knowing this piece, and it seemed so overwhelming to start a second course at the very beginning. I took a break.

Several times over the last few years, I've revisited the course, vowed to make sense of it without the Trig, vowed to simply learn the Trig...  But I didn't. It just seemed like too much.

I've also attempted to take a few physics courses online and again, this Trig stuff comes up and it's assumed that I know it.  Being trapped by the lack of knowledge in this one area was definitely a source of frustration.

About a month ago, the frustration peaked.  I enrolled in a Coursera Trig class, watched the lectures, took notes, and did the practice problems.  I followed up with Khan Academy and as of tonight, I have about 90% of the course completed. Honestly, once I knew what I was doing, it was fun.

As I near the finish line in that subject, I've taken a look at the Pre-Calc and Calc courses offered on Khan Academy.  I had considered skipping Pre-Calc, assuming it was essentially just more Algebra and Trig, but the first time I pulled it up, there were questions on complex numbers and matricies, neither of which I've learned in a math class ever.  So it looks like Pre-Calc will be my next mission, both on Coursera and Khan.

We're currently at the beach with Little and my parents, and my mother noticed I was working on the Trig course after dinner.  She was surprised that I would do math for fun.  I thought about the kinds of things we do to pass the time when we have downtime, and I think learning a new math is not really any stranger than doing crosswords or Suduku or reading a novel or watching TV.  Yes, it's challenging, but it's also quite satisfying to work on a problem and get the right answer, and it's just as much of a mental exercise as reading or doing puzzles.

Even if I never need to use this knowledge, constantly challenging myself is as good for my brain as doing puzzles would be, and it feels good to know I won't be confused by one of Little's High School textbooks.  He will likely need my help with math in particular, and I want to be comfortable enough to help with it this time around.

Getting past the mental block regarding Trig was a big step.  It only took a few weeks, and, had I done that right away, 5 years ago when I hit the snag in the first place, I'd be miles ahead of where I am now.  It's a good reminder that the time passes anyway.

Starting the Pre-Calc classes tonight.  Should be fun.

When Motivation Fails....

... discipline prevails.

Or so the saying goes.

I'm working on it...

After a few months of low motivation and sporadic attendance, I got up at 5:20 a.m. this morning and headed in for the early class, which I have to admit was quite awesome. It was definitely worth the sleep I lost, and hopefully something I can add to my MWF routine when we get back from the beach. Mornings are busy for me this summer - driving Little to his job dismantling cars and getting to work myself by 8:30 a.m. - but barring unforseen circumstances, it's doable.

In other developments, Middle graduated with multiple honors from high school on June 3rd, and headed off to Penn State on the 25th for the LEAP summer program.  He's taking English and a Kinesiology class which will include a 5 day backpacking trip.  Am I jealous?  You bet I am.

And I miss him.

We spent the night before he left watching videos of him as a baby, which was quite entertaining and seemed apropos.  My sweet little guy... sigh.

In a few hours, we'll be headed for our annual trip to the Outer Banks of NC, but this time without Middle, and also without the Eldest, Girl of the Eldest, and That Dog, who devoured one of Little's first real paychecks today. They have to work, and That Dog is getting too old for travel.  Maybe he'll find more delicious Important Things around the house to eat this week.

Last year, I spent the entire beach vacation trying to rehabilitate my bad shoulder. Fortunately, this year the shoulder is pretty much okay.  Not perfect, but okay. I can do most of the things I did pre-injury, except for judo.  My judo career may have ended at Orange Belt. I'll spend some time this week on yoga and strengthening exercises, and swimming, of course.  But the main goal for the vacation is to get my mental mojo back.

My goals:

Sunday: Women's class and open mat - I need to start bringing a second gi
Monday: 6am BJJ and evening kickboxing
Tuesday: 10 am JSD and evening co-teaching kids and women's self defense classes
Wednesday: 6am BJJ and possibly evening BJJ or kickboxing - or rest - we'll see
Thursday: Two evening BJJ classes
Friday: 6am BJJ and evening open mat
Saturday: 9am yoga and no-gi open mat

Yoga and lifting a few times per week will be icing at this point, but I'm willing to try for those as well.

One of the pieces of encouragement I got from a brown belt at early morning class today was to commit to rolling at least 3-4 times per week when I feel myself hitting a plateau.  Resuming my previous schedule and adding those early morning classes should help get me back on track.

So... discipline.  Until recently, my rule for days I'm not feeling it is that I have to drive to the school and then decide if I'm going to train or not. 9 times out of 10, I'll roll if I'm there, even if I had to drag myself in. Adding the early morning class will help a lot, if only because it's novel and fun and means training with a smaller group of highly motivated people. Discipline is contagious.

It's an ambitious plan, but I'm going to try.