Coughing

I've been fighting a cold for about two weeks now.  In of itself, it's not bad because I can still work (and work late), but not it seems to have settled in my lungs making me cough a wet sounding bark whenever I have slightly elevated breathing.

I've become somewhat concerned that I haven't been able to exercise regularly due to work and a change in the weather.  That means gaining weight is right around the corner.  So I went to class figuring I'd get a little sweat going and maybe jump start my health regimen.  

When I got to class I realized it was going to be a long night because it was only Teacher and myself for the first hour.  Most of that time was spent on talking, but every time we'd start doing something I'd end up coughing and hacking for a few minutes. By the time Dave showed up in the 2nd hour I was done.  

The good part to all this is that I finally went to the doctor for a nagging shoulder pain and it turns out that I have small rotator cuff tear or sprain.  It was good because I've dreading going to class because every little thing seems to make it hurt.  Class is the perfect place to exacerbate the whole thing especially since that's where I got it in the first place. In the end I avoided hurting myself further and went home and slept for 10 hours.

Today I'm at home avoiding a lot of stuff so I worked refining and completing Kong Sang Goon. Here's a really nice rendition:

Once I get mine refined I'll take a video and everyone can giggle at the poor comparison.  

Birthday Bash

Yesterday I turned 46.  As I've entered my 40's I haven't been entirely excited by the calendar and this year seemed a little more daunting than years before, but taking things into perspective I'm doing rather well.  

Previous to my Black belt test over a year and a half ago, I starting running with a classmate, Dave, so I wouldn't be winded during the testing.  In retrospect I probably started way to late and really didn't know what I was doing to get ready, but it started a trend that I've been keeping up.  After getting my knees to cooperate, I stuck with the treadmill during the winter and sloooowly added time to my runs.  In May I was able to run my first 5K race and I just did my second one last weekend.  I was able to shave off a minute which wasn't great, but wasn't bad either.  

This run was done at 43 degrees and in the rain.  So no matter how you dressed you were going to end up sweaty and cold at the same time.  Coupled with working exhausting hours for the last month and disrupted sleep I ended up getting sick Sunday night.  

Boom, it's now my birthday week and I had to skip working late to indulge in NyQuil so I could get ahead of my new cold.  Thankfully parts haven't come into work so I could actually relax for a few days. 

To celebrate his birthday, my old classmate Greyhound, came over from the big city to visit friends, come to class and participate in my big annual party.  Ironically, he's actually sicker than I am, but he wanted to see Teacher and see how class compared to his current school.  

We showed up last night sneezing, blowing snot and generally hacking germs all over the place.  But the best part was that it was a spontaneous home week.  The guy that broke my ankle came to class, The baker and Greyhound all being there gave class a very surreal feeling.  The baker hadn't been on the island for 7 years!  Ankle breaker hadn't been there for over 8!  The both had kids and respectable lives!  I'm sure using a lot of exclamation marks, but it was great.  We couldn't stop talking which is a sure sign we weren't working  hard enough.  

Once we got started the lightheadedness almost had me stopped a few times in the first hour.  After teacher got us through the basics we moved on the technique which thankfully seemed less strenuous.  

Great night of knife hand blocks to grab and then side kick.  Then we learned a new counter (apparently we learned it before, but I'd forgotten like Steven Seagal) to the step behind trip.  Rotate the body at the point of being taken to escape or force your opponent down.  Very cool and fun.  

Slept great knowing that I can still do this at 46.