An Active Weekend / Tournament Recap / I Cry A Lot

This weekend was fabulous. It was filled with fun, family, and fitness! :)

Friday night my husband hosted his high school Rock Show. He started it years ago, and every year it gets better. This year's show was great. The Bean got to participate with her band, and they were amazing. I love that she's already in a band. It was really cool to see these kids hold their own with a bunch of high school performers and an audience of almost 400 people. Of course, I cried because I am apparently incapable of not crying when my kids are doing something. So proud of her.

Saturday was the TKD tournament. I have to admit, I did not feel great about how much practice I had done. It was a busy week, and I couldn't fit in as much as I wanted. I was nervous, but I set myself some simple goals, which I mentioned before. How did I do?

1. Stay calm/don't let nerves take over.
I did not achieve this one. I thought I was doing okay, but when I did my pattern everything went bad. I was super nervous and messed up a lot of things. Goal for next time - don't mess up my pattern.

2. Remember anything my "plan" for sparring.
So, usually sparring is my worst event. My brain goes blank, and I forget everything anyone has ever taught me. This time, I think it was my best. It was the only thing I got a medal for. I remembered to do combos. I looked for openings. I moved around a little. I still need to work on blocking, but I did okay. We tied, and I lost during the tie-breaker. I felt good about it, and I definitely felt like I had improved. I'd say I met this goal, but it will definitely be on the list of goals for the next one. I want to get better.

3. Break the board on the FIRST try.
This was the big one for me. I've been working on my 360 back kick for a while, and it's been frustrating. It took my 4 tries at the last tournament, and it took 4 tries when I tested for my high yellow belt. I did not want it to take 4 tries again. I practiced with one of the black belts from our school, and she made a suggestion that changed everything. It made the move easier and more accurate. I went into it feeling a lot more confident.
I got it on the first try!
If there is anything better than putting your foot through a board, it is the relief after it's done. I was pumped the minute my foot went through.
I'm looking forward to trying something new for the next tournament. I want to break something with my hand.

I love going to the tournaments. I've gotten to know some of the other competitors, and we have made friends with other TKD families. It's fun to see them and compete with them. Everyone is really positive and supportive.  It's a lot of fun.

My kiddos had a great time. The Bean got to compete in weapons for the first time. She did great even though she was nervous, and I was so proud of her. (Yes, I cried.) I love watching the weapons patterns. Can't wait until I can try it.

The Artist had the best day out of all of us, and I was so happy for him. He's grown quite a bit since the last tournament, and he's gotten more coordinated. He's also been working really hard on having a positive attitude. At the last tournament, he didn't do as well as he wanted, and he stayed angry the whole day. This time he told me he would be happy even if he didn't get any medals, and he was excited to go and have fun.

He was amazing. He got a silver in his pattern and did it better than I've ever seen him do it. He only took three tries to break his board (last time it was 7), and he stayed positive when he came in fourth. His sparring was incredible. He remembered everything we'd practiced, and he did it all. He went up three times, and the last match was really exciting to watch. They went back and forth on points, and it was tough. He ended up getting gold for sparring. It was so great to see him so excited and focused and proud of himself. (I also cried during his sparring. It's was a proud, tearful day.)

Signing my kids (and myself) up for TKD is one of the best decisions I have made. I love what it has done for their self-esteem. Amazing.


This is turning into a long post, so I will keep the rambling to a minimum from now on.

Sunday was an active day. The weather was absolutely perfect. It was the kind of day when you feel obligated to spend as much time as possible outside.

I started with a 6 mile run before the sun came up. It was Daylight Savings, so it was very dark at 5:30am. The stars were out, and it was beautiful. The sunrise was amazing.

It was a good run. I've been struggling with the first three miles of all my runs. This started when I was training for the marathon years ago, and it's never gone away. It's frustrating, but I know if I can get through it, the rest will be fine. After three miles, I get into a rhythm and just go. That's how this run went. I struggled, walked, and over-heated until about halfway through, and then I felt great for the second half. This will be good as my mileage increases.

My legs were pretty sore after that, but I took the Moon Dog for a walk and also went for a bike ride with the Bean. I was completely exhausted by the end of the day, and it was the best feeling. I miss that feeling.

Today, I am doing a short run on the treadmill because the wind is really strong, and wind is my nemesis. I would rather run in anything else - snow, pouring rain, heat, anything. Since I am hitting the treadmill, I am going to mix up speeds and inclines to keep things interesting. I also have TKD tonight, so it's going to be another active day. I'm looking forward to continuing this all week.