Barking Space

We Will Rebuild Him

Lately I’ve been feeling sluggish. Nowhere has this been more apparent than in Karate.

I’ve never really had all that much endurance to begin with, but lately it seems as if I have lead weights attached to my legs.

So, I started running with Mrs. J. She’s quite good, and is a lot of fun to run with because she has a reasonable pace, and is very positive.

Last night, I went on my own. I was a little worried before I began, because I’ve always had a problem motivating myself to go. I usually rely on an MP3 player to get me through the session, but I sold mine off a little while ago.

It was just me and the rain.

And the run was the best one yet!

All Part of the Plan

Not only have I been physically lazy, but I have been mentally lazy as well.

In our dojo, the mental and the physical work hand in hand. Knowledge of history and philosophy are part of the requirements to become a higher belt.

When I started with this dojo, I created two notebooks in which to take notes on techniques, history and the like. It began to get messy, as the learning is done in chunks. Several points will be revisited and revised as we learn more and more about each technique. Due to the messiness of the editing process, I became discouraged.

I recently started transcribing my notes into the computer. This allows me to edit my entries much more effectively.

The goal is to write a manual so thorough that someone could conceivably pick it up and read it and actually understand part of what I understand.

What do you think about this concept?

Inspiration

I’m very lucky to have so many sources of inspiration from which to draw positive energy.

Mrs J, for one, makes me very proud. Her running ability makes me want to do better.

Dave and I are going to be running a half marathon next year. When we did a 10K a few years ago, he was very supportive, and didn’t complain once at how slow my pace was, or how many times I wanted to stop.

Another friend, Isha, just did a half marathon in the most God-awful heat. But she finished. Other people were being hauled off on stretchers, but she managed to run the whole thing! So awesome.

And then there’s Mama, who turned her critical eye to her own swimming education and is now outracing mermaids.

How can you be friends with these people and not want to improve?

Wish me luck!

Filed under: Friends, General Dialogue | 16 Comments »