Round 4.1 Day 14

A little bit shattered that the Bulldogs beat Sydney. Watching our lead evaporate was somehow worse that when Carlton came back the week before. I think is was because Carlton was playing so well, and Judd was basically going to win the game for them. This week, however, the bulldogs were still playing crap, and their goals were all stinky, but it just seemed like we couldn't counter that smelliness not matter how well we played. They are my new least favourite team, and I hope St Kilda smash them next week. They should. Swans finished fifth, which is about right, and they'll be better next year. Shaw played really well, too. I was actually feeling confident every time he got the ball. Did some good things. Jude Bolton knocked out again, and played great. Maybe it's time to draft O'Keefe though. Didn't do much this year. I like Kirk, toughest player ever, but that toughness has always compensated for his lack of pace and skill. I don't mind that he's going. He could have stayed another year and ended being a joke like twinkle toes Brad Johnson. Bulldogs supporters must hate it when he gets the ball. I think Kirk has overdone the Buddhist warrior thing, but maybe he's pushing for a spot on the Channel 7 boundary team next year and needs to have a brand for the Sydney market. Has his wife been on that Dancing or Celebrity Masterchef or whatever yet? Can see it happening.
So same top four again. Will the result be the same? The only improver is Collingwood.
Moving forward on the workouts. It's still bloody hot here, so they are still sweatfests. Yesterday I did a modified Crossfit workout called Barbara. It's supposed to be 5 rounds of 20 pullups, 30 pushups, 40 situps, and 50 squats with 3 minutes break in between. I did 4 rounds of 10, 20, 30, and 40, but still with 3:00 in between. I did it in 23:37. I was going to do it properly, but there's no way I could have. And I was going to do five rounds, but there's no way I could have, because I'm a pussy. I should have. But after 4 rounds I was a sweaty heap of pissweak lying on the ground, and I couldn't go on.
The food intake has been ordinary. Some doughnuts (Krispy Kreme - worst doughnuts ever - Mr Donuts shits on KK), Kitkats, coffee, usual stuff. The shame has not worked. I need to get dedicated with the food. Shopping tonight to get what I need.

Round 4.1 Days 4, 5, 6

Went for a run on Saturday. It was 38 degrees, so I waited until late afternoon to do it. 6 x 400 with 2 minute breaks in between. I was trying to run POSE style, keeping off my heels. It feels really good, but hard on the calves which are not used to it. If I revert back to the normal style I feel sluggish and short, which is sometimes how I feel when I'm running poorly. Anyway, I couldn't find a cheap wristwatch with a stop watch so I had to use my phone to keep time, and I messed it up. I was able to measure the last 400 metres, which I ran at 1:42, so I'll use that as a time to beat next time.
Yesterday was X Stretch, which I was looking forward to, but never managed. Too many things to do, too much football to watch. I'm glad Geelong lost. Kind of over them. If they're good enough, which they are, they'll be in the Grand Final, but it would be nice to see a couple of new teams in there. Bulldog are finished, and that's why it's so important for the Swans to beat Carlton. I have watched the first quarter, and we are playing well, but Cartlon are hanging in there. Wow, if we can win, then beat the Bulldogs, who knows... We did roll St Kilda in '05 to get in the Grand Final. We won't beat Collingwood though, regardless.
Then this morning I did Shoulders & Arms. No dramas.
Weekend shit file: 4 cans of coffee, 1 can of Coke, 2 Kitkats, 1 ice-cream.
EDIT: OMG what a match. The Swans have given me some great moments the last few years, and that was another one. GO SWANS!

Round 4.1 Day 3

Killer Abs today. Like Fitbomb said in one of his posts, I would be pissed off if I had paid money for this workout. It's just the ab routine from P90 and the ab routine from P90X clumped together. Did okay. I'm being a little careful not to reinjure my hip flexor, which I pulled a couple of weeks ago.
Shit file: 2 cans of coffee, 4 Kitkats, 1 bag of chips.

Round 4.1 Day 2

I saw a man running for his life, carrying his infant son, and a bullet rips through him and through his son and they fall to the ground. I saw soldiers tear a girl from her mother, and then incinerate the child and then chop the screaming mother's head off. How can I reconcile what I've seen? How can I just resume a normal life?
I think Rambo: First Blood Part 2 fucked me up when I was a kid, and now Rambo has fucked me up again. Holy shit! Violent much? Great stuff. I'm watching it now. Don't tell me he makes his own knife! Hah! He does. Killin's as easy as breathin'. Tell me about it.
So Yoga went well tonight. Yoga is awesome. If I had to choose one workout to do for the rest of my life, it would be Yoga. Love it. I did Patience Hummingbird from Tony's One on One series. I like this one because the poses are held for longer. Tony's entertaining in it, too.
Let's talk coffee. Specifically, Suntory Boss Cafe au Lait. 190 mls of creamy, sweet coffee. Hot or cold. Cold now, because it's Summer, but in a month or two the vending machines will start offering hot cans, and for a while it will depend entirely on my mood which one I chose. Then, when Winter comes, it'll be hot all the way. So hot I can't hold it a single hand for very long. They cost about AUD$1.20. Awesome value. Hard to give up.
I have my first one when I get to work. I have about 500 mls of water with breakfast, which recently is a piece of toast and a fried egg, so this is my morning pick me up. I'm afraid I'm turning into one of those "Don't talk to me before I've had my cup of coffee" people. ("Only if you don't talk to me after you've had it." - Bill Maher.) Then I have one at lunch, with a few Kitkats. I should probably skip this one, because I get jittery. Then occasionally I'll have another one in the afternoon, though I usually regret it afterwards. I'm having one now because I'm doing overtime.
3 is too many. 2 is probably too many too. I hate to think how much sugar and caffeine is in one of these things. I'll try and find out tonight (I've been warned about my Internet use at work). But then if I cut down to one, that one will become so precious to me that I will never be able to go without, which is the ultimate goal. I might bring in some alternative like milo. But then I just find that I drink the same amount of coffee, and less water. I drink a ton of water every day, 2-3 litres easy. So my shit list hasn't improved yet, but I've only started. My goal is for it to be 1 can and 1 Kitkat. All I have to do is do it, and it's done.
Great line from Mad Men last night. "Nobody knows what's wrong with themselves, but everyone else can see it right away." What a show. After watching shows like Lost and Dexter with their big secrets and cliffhanger finishes I was kind of reluctant to start the 4th season of Mad Men. I forgot how good it was. There are clunky moments, but they only stand out because the rest of the show is so good. It looks this season, all the drinking is starting to catch up with Don. He's a mess.
Shit list: 3! cans of coffee. 4 fun-size Kitkats. 4 Pino.

Round 4.1 Day 1

Chest & Back. I almost didn't get up. But I did. I had my protein shake while I did the workout, so there was no fatigue or nausea. 144 push ups, 32 pull ups. Can only improve. I felt sluggish after a week and a half off. I've also had a stiff neck for a couple of days now, which is uncomfortable. I've got Yoga tomorrow, which might help loosen things up a little.
Shit list: 2 cans of coffee, 4 fun size Kitkats. 1 ice-cream.

Round 4.1

I had a cold all last week, nothing too serious, but I didn't do any workouts. I haven't done anything for a week. It's been a nice rest, but I'm keen to get going again. So Round 4 is a write-off, and round 4.1 starts tomorrow, the first of September. One thing I've learned from working out and from stopping smoking, if you don't have the right attitude from the start, you won't keep it up. If you do have your mind right though, it can last for as long as you want it to. The main thing is not to quit when you fail. For each round of P90, P90 Master, or P90X I have completed, I have started two or three that I didn't finish for one reason or another, usually a cold or an injury. That's okay. I don't have to get down on myself, think stuff like "I never finish anything" or "it's too hard, I can't do it". I know that I can do it because I've done it, but it takes a few goes to get the mind right.
This round I want to concentrate on a few things specifically, and it's going to be a little different that the previous rounds. I'm doing abbreviated P90X rounds, same as before. I do about half the workouts. P90X workouts are long, so it's still challenging. I will be able to lift heavier weights because I won't be so buggered. When it cools down I might go back to a full-length workout, but I doubt it. I think the next step will be making up my own workouts from the P90X exercises that I think work for me. But that's round 5 stuff.
I want to do more running, increasing the length from about 2.5 kilometres with breaks at the start to a full 5 kilometre run at the end of the round. This is a really modest goal, but I have never really liked running, though I appreciate the benefits of it. I was impressed with the muscle aches I got after doing it last time, which means it's working my legs like the other exercises I do don't. I might even get to liking it at the end.
Also, I want to incorporate a bit of Crossfit. I tried last time, but to be honest, I whimped out and chose the running because those WODs scare me. But I'm going to do it this time. They are timed workouts, so I'll be able to see the improvements I'm making as I go.
A typical week looks like this:
1. Chest & Back (or another P90X workout)
2. Yoga
3. Rest
4. Shoulders & Arms (or another P90X workout)
5. Killer Abs
6. Running or Crossfit WOD
7. X Stretch
So that's the workout aspect. Nothing too strenuous, but certainly not nothing.
The next is to cut down on the shit I eat. I'm going to work on the principle that with shame comes change, so I'm going to keep track of the shit I eat. Let's use yesterday as an example. I had 2 cans of coffee, 1 can of 7Up, 4 fun-size Kitkats, 1 ice-cream, a couple of biscuits, and a piece of cake. That's a heavy shit-eating day. I'm not fussed about calories or carbs and all that (not yet, anyway), but it's just common sense. Shit food is shit food, and I want to put less of it in my body.
So by December I hope to be in really good shape. And by December it will be cold! Oh, to be cold. Wearing jeans and jumpers. Sleeping under the covers. Enjoying a nice warm coffee or milo. Seems so long ago now.
Anyways, pumped up for a big AFL finals season. Go Swans! I hope we can give them all a big fright. Like in all sport, the winner is the one who wants it the most. How bad do the big boys want it? We've won it from fifth before, we can do it again.

Week 4 Already

I really enjoyed watching the Swans Freo game last night. They've had the wood on us for years, and this year they've been playing great, though recently they've suffered some injuries. We played really well, much better than Freo, but it seemed every time I looked at the scores they were three points in front! We got up in the end, and the young guys did really well, and there were some inspirational attacks on the ball that were awesome except that they took themselves out of the game. Jack was sensational. He plays a lot like Gary Ablett Jr., except that he doesn't whine constantly like Ablett does.
One thing about whining. I really hate that "Why didn't you kick it to me?" thing that a lot of players do. Typically it goes like this. A midfielder evades a tackle or two and has a shot from forty and misses, and there's a team mate in the goal square with his arms up like "I'm right here!", whether he's covered by an opposition player or not. Fevola does this when he is playing like shit. Most teams have players that do it. If I was the coach, I would absolutely ban it. Any player that does it is off. There is one player at Sydney who does it all the time. Rhyce Shaw. The Human Turnover himself. He's always yelling at teammates when he thinks they did something wrong. The arrogance of this is astounding, especially considering the amount of errors (mostly unforced) that he makes every match. Ted Richards has been doing well lately, but Rhyce, I hope this is your last year at Sydney.
The Chinese guy sitting next to me at work is back from a week in Shanghai, and is as sick as a dog. That's what happens when you don't wash your hands after going to the toilet. And I'm guessing Shanghai toilets are pretty bad. Maybe it's some mad new virus, pig-chicken-human strain that hasn't made the news yet. Maybe it has already killed tens of thousands, and the Chinese government is desperately trying to keep this lethal new virus under wraps for fear of it ending the economic bubble, and this man has somehow slipped though the net. Maybe this man saw some things in Shanghai that made his blood curdle, societies being torn apart, parents dumping the bodies of their dead children, dogs tearing at the corpses on the side of the roads, and he thought he got out. But then he woke up this morning with a runny nose and bleeding rectum, the first symptoms. It's just a cold, he thought. I'll be okay. And now he's sweating up at his desk next to mine, wondering if he's going to make it until lunchtime.
I'd better go check my rectum.
Workouts are going well. I did Just Arms yesterday. Tony is in good form in this one. Funny.
I'm at work today, but tonight I'm joining the family at a hotel in Shizuoka, and spending tomorrow at a pool park. I'll take some photos. The last few days have been Obon, which is traditionally when Japanese people go home and see their parents, or go to the cemeteries and clean up grave sites and all that. I was visited by the dead in my sleep last night. I had a dream about mum that had me waking up like they do on TV, gasping and covered in sweat (actually, I'm always covered in sweat because it's so fucking humid here, but anyway, even more sweat). Mum was sitting in a chair in the blue (or green?) dressing gown she always wore the last few months, and I saw her and came at her, arms out, blubbering, mum, mum, mum, and she kind of started backing away like she was scared of me and she wouldn't let me hug her. Nice, thanks dream-mum. I liked the one I had last year better, when I was walking through the Botanical Gardens in Melbourne talking to her on the phone, saying mum! Where are you! Where are you! and she said "I'm right here" and I could hear her real voice as well as the voice on the phone and I looked up and she was picnicking with all her friends on the lawn right in front of me and we hugged and cried.
Dunno. Messed up. I've been a good boy, and I don't know why mummy is upset at me.