Electro-Acupuncture

Today, in addition to cupping and moxibustion, I tried for the first time: Electro-acupuncture. She attached electrodes to the needles and electrical currents caused my muscles to twitch....it wasn't painful. This is supposed to be more effective than just putting needles in because there is more manipulation involved....I'm starting to really like this stuff!

Danskin Run for Heart

Woke up at 7am to do the Danskin Run for Heart today...I'm so proud of myself that I was 1/2 hour early to pick up the race package and not late for the start of the race! Scenery wise, this is by far my most favourite run! The course was along the Jericho Beach sea wall...I made it a point to enjoy the view while I was running and it was also nice that part of the run went into the trees so we were able to run in the shade for a bit. I was really disappointed that I got cramps in my lower right side during the run though. I just looked it up on the internet....it's called side stitches and it's from my diaphragm muscle cramping up from not getting enough oxygen. I wasn't sure why I got this until now....it always seems to happen when I run too fast. I thought it was because I don't usually train for runs. I'm still not clear on whether or not the amount of training affects this......one website says that I need to practice deep breathing when I run. Expand my stomach when inhaling....this is not easy to do!
I took 36 mins. to finish the 5 km run....TOO SLOW!

~Today was a tiring day, we also filmed some scenes for Priorities 3 with Master Joe today. I had to wear a turtleneck sweater in this heat since Priorities 2 was filmed in October a couple of years ago and this was to be a continuation of a scene. It was way too hot for the running and falling scenes...

Recap:

1998 Nike 8 km Run - Time 49:15
1999 Vancouver Sun Run - Can no longer access results
1999 Nike 8 km Run - Time 50:46 (Mother/Daughter Team-Liz 50:46+Mom 51:28=1:42:14)
1999 MS Bike Tour 55 km - No results
1999 WARR 5 km Run - Can no longer access results
2000 Vancouver Sun Run 10 km - Can no longer access results
2001 MS Bike Tour 55 km - No results
2001 CIBC Run for the Cure 5 km - No results
2002 CIBC Run for the Cure 5 km - No results
2002 Fall Classic 5 km Run - Time 31:28
2003 Fall Classic 10 km Run - Time 1:05:47
2004 Vancouver Sun Run 10 km - Time 1:02:58
2004 Fall Classic 5 km Run - Time 39:26
2005 Shaughnessy 8 km - Time 55:11
2005 Danskin Run for Heart 5 km - Time 36:28

Horrible Dream

Last night I dreamt a horrible dream and the feeling hasn't gone away yet....I dreamt that someone was after me and I somehow killed him but I don't remember how. But to rid of the evidence, I backed up my car over him to flatten him and then got out of the car and tried to smear his body over the road under my shoes. His body was rubbery and not at all human like...and also he was in a small neat pile. I remember feeling concerned that I might get caught for this. I don't know how 'normal' these types of dreams that I have are??? But anyway, the theme is reoccurant....I have such dreams every now and then.... Usually, I'm being chased and I always have to do whatever it takes in order to stay alive. Quite often it is very violent and I end up killing my attacker and to ensure that they are dead and not able to come back to attack me, I have to stab or strike them many times.........maybe I shouldn't be posting this????

I have a run tomorrow...it's past 2am and I have to wake up at 7am.....I'm dead...........

Comfrey

My knee is better today than it was yesterday....iced it on and off....it's still bruised and swollen but I'm still going to hang on to hope that I can run on Sunday.......

Yesterday, Ono gave me some Comfrey Oil/Cream to rub on my knee and suggested I pick some up from the Health Food Store to make it heal faster. I looked it up on the internet today and at first I read some great things about this herb.....it's been used for centuries dating back to the Greeks and Romans. It is notable for mending bones together quickly and referred to as 'knitbone' etc. blah blah blah.......However, after reading all these good things....I came across some VERY alarming information about it.

Apparently the BC Cancer Agency warns against the internal ingestion of Comfrey since certain kinds of the herb can cause cancer. They have done studies on rats and warn against applying it on areas with broken skin if applied topically. Also, Health Canada issued a warning against the use of any kind of Comfrey since you can't be sure what kind you are using. So I guess that puts an end to that.....I'm not going near it....and it just goes to show you that there might be some great alternative medicines out there.....Comfrey might do all that it claims to do...but at the cost of Cancer?? No, thanks!

Knee Injury

Today in martial arts we worked on grappling (ground work). We learnt some techiniques for getting out of scarf hold and for getting out of someones guard. I'm going to just write some explanations down here so that I can remember them:

1. When someone has a scarf hold on you, then you push their face back towards your legs and you hook your leg over their head and push their body to the side.
2. When someone has a scarf hold on you and you can't get your head out
and you're not able to hook your foot over there body to get out, you get onto your knees and push them on their back.
3. When you're in someone's guard you grab their right hand with your left hand and with your right hand you grab their pant hem from under your left armpit and you step backwards causing them to spin out.
4. When you're in someone's guard, you put one knee on their knee and grab under the other leg...and if you're not able to push their leg out then you put the opposing hand from the knee to their shoulder and get into side control with your back facing them.

I think that was all we learnt and then we practiced them....after that we sparred on the ground for the rest of the class. On the last person I sparred with, I happened to get an injury. Arneil somehow dropped his knee with his body weight behind it onto the inside of my knee right beside my knee cap. Caused a sharp pain....and now it's swollen...it will take some time to heal but it's just that I have a 5km run on Sunday!....Ono gave me some comfrey oil to put on it after class...he says that it promotes healing at a much faster rate so I may pick some up for a few bucks tomorrow....I'm up for trying it since I really want to do the run.

Moxibustion

Today, in addition to regular acupuncture, I also had Moxibustion done to me. Moxibustion is a method whereby mugwort (artemesia vulgaris), or other herbs, is used to apply heat to an acupuncture point.
It is used to treat certain debilitating conditions as well as arthritis and pain. The heat warms the Qi and Blood in the channels and is therefore useful in the treatment and maintenance of health. What's cool is that I watched Shadow Boxers yesterday and there was a scene where Lucia Rijker had this done to her....and this was the first time I had ever seen this being done. She had one on each arm and one on each leg....but I had them all over my back. I could feel the needles getting warm....wasn't painful or anything. Then I had the cupping done to me again. She said I need a couple of more sessions to get rid of the knots. I felt better after this session but a little tired in the afternoon.

Mosquitoes need to die

Today in martial arts we did all the black belt self defence combos (1-6) over and over with partners. Then Master Joe gave us 15 mins to work on our curriculum during which he had to refresh my memory on the sword pattern. (I haven't had any time to practice it since he first taught me...terrible!) Then we got into two big circles and took turns attacking the person in the middle while that person had to perform one of the self defense moves depending on how he/she was attacked.....we had music during the whole class so the energy was quite high.

Salsa afterwards was pretty good too...my feet still were sore afterwards but not as bad as last wk.

Sunday nite while taking out the garbage, even though i covered up...I even had my hood up....a mosquito managed to bite me on the one place that wasn't covered up...My FACE....right on my cheek....it pretty much looks like a zit so it's annoying 'coz it's still there.

Stay hungry. Stay foolish.

Went swimming again today...didn't fool around at all...just swam laps for 45 mins. and stopped in between laps to catch my breath. I tried not to wait too long between laps and pushed myself a lot...even ended up choking on water a few times....ended on 2 laps of the breast stroke which I did really fast because I was swimming in the fast lane and this guy was coming up close behind me. Relaxed in the hot tub for 10 mins and that was it.....my jeans felt like they were falling off my body after the swim...that was an awesome workout! So the tri is a 600 m swim and the minoru pool is only 30 m....which means i have to do the equivalent of 20 laps....I don't know how many laps I did but I'm sure I did way more than that...I'm going to have to start keeping track.....

On a different note.....everyone MUST go to this link and READ IT....

http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html

Speeding Ticket

Went to auntie Alicia's house for uncle Paul's bday. On the way there I got a speeding ticket damn it! Some asshole was speeding up behind me and as I changed lanes, he quickly followed...so I sped up so that he wouldn't crash into me and then he changed lanes again to speed ahead of me and just then the cops came running out of the bushes and pulled us both over! The cop spoke to the other guy first and then he came over to my car and I explained to him what had happened. He said the other guy didn't have nice things to say about me either...basically he was blaming me! ASS! He said he clocked me at 90 km! I'm sooooo pissed it was all that jerks fault! I'm going to dispute it! @#%&*!

~Weighed myself at their house again...I'm still at 129 lbs....which is fine but my fat percentage was back up at 24% argh! @#%&*!!!

Acupuncture & Cupping

Last night my back muscles were in so much pain, I decided I would need to go to the acupuncturist today to get some relief. I went to a different one than before....this must be like my fourth or fifth time having acupuncture done to me.....and today was quite tolerable...only 12 needles so not too bad....and I didn't feel nauseous or anything after. Even when the needles were stimulated I was pretty relaxed...in the past I've always been so tense and sweating. It could also be that this time I only had the needles on my back and not in some painful place like behind my knees! Gonna go for a few more sessions to get my knots sorted out. Oh and I had something new done to me today! It actually felt good....it's called cupping. She used this globe-like aparatus made out of glass and lit the inside of it with a lighter to burn the oxygen which creates a vacume. She then placed it onto my back and then my skin and superficial muscle layer is drawn into and held in the cup...she then lifts it up to pull the skin out and glides it all around my back. This stimulates circulation through the tissue. It's only slightly uncomfortable but its a good feeling 'coz my back felt nice and loose afterwards.

~lizPod is back from the dead?!...I dunno what's going on with her!

Punches in Bunches

Today in Martial Arts, we went back to basics and practiced punches all class. We practiced parrying them, blocking them, evading them, etc...and near the end we added what ever counters we felt like doing....that was about it.....

~I had to rub Tiger Balm on my biceps twice today because they are so stiff that it's getting annoying!

~lizPod is dead.....Apple will be sending her coffin here so that I can send it back to them and they will replace her :(

Sexy Vegetarian

The only part of my body that's sore today are my biceps....and they are quite sore. When I work out my biceps, I do as many reps with the free weights as I can until I just can't do anymore...even at the very end...if it takes me 20 secs. to do one curl then I'll use up every last ounce of energy and the result today is that I can't straighten my arms fully without feeling like I'm tearing my bicep muscles hahaha.....

Came across this website today hosted by the PETA Organization (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)
http://www.peta.org/feat/sexyveg05/index.asp?c=965gfy
They want you to vote for who you think is the World's Most Sexiest Vegetarian! There's a list there....in my opinion that would be Joaquin Phoenix for male and for female....I dunno....there's too many to choose...but anyway, they have an offer there for a free Vegetarian Starter Kit which I ordered. Yes, I've been a vegetarian for over 10 years now but I wanted to see if I could learn anything interesting....Also, found a list of notable athletes who are vegetarians....this just proves that performance is not an issue when not being on a meat based diet:
Carl Lewis, “Olympian of the Century,” Olympic medalist in track
Ruth Heidrich, Ironman triathlete, age-group record holder
Martina Navratilova, tennis champion
Desmond Howard, Heisman trophy winner
Stan Price, world-record holder in bench press
Bill Walton, NBA Hall of Famer
Phoebe Mills, Olympic medal-winning gymnast
Billie Jean King, tennis champion
Bill Manetti, powerlifting champion
Bill Pearl, four-time Mr. Universe and bodybuilder
Al Oerter, discus thrower and winner of four Olympic gold medals
Keith Holmes, WBC World Middleweight Champion
Robert Parish, one of the NBA’s “50 Greatest Players”
Jack LaLanne, fitness legend and media star
Edwin Moses, two-time Olympic Gold medalist in hurdles

Salsa Twins

Didn't go to Martial Arts tonight....I know terrible.....but I did go to Salsa at Atlantis! We went an hour earlier than usual...got there around 10 pm and stayed til it finished around 1:30am...my feet were tortured....everyone thinks Sachi and I are sisters or twins.....it's quite amusing....asked DJ Cachete what a couple of songs were so I could download them....I have a good compilation going......I'm really loving this music...makes you feel so alive...

Work Out

Today I finally went to the gym and decided to jog to the gym instead of driving there...afterall it's only a 5 minute drive! Did 20 mins of the eliptical trainer then did weights for the rest of time and ended with stretches. Worked out for about 1 hr. and 15 mins. Weighed myself after the work out and I was 133 lbs. This was ofcourse after drinking tons of water. Instead of jogging striaght home, I decided to jog around the block. Felt really good.

One thing that really annoys me when I go to the gym is how people work out like they couldn't care less and are not even working up a sweat. The weights they use are so light and its not like they are doing many reps. for toning purposes....I don't see a point to their workouts. Their muscles are not being worked whatsoever so what's the point?! There's so many people like this at the gym ugh! Ok whatever...it's their life...

Swimming

Today I went swimming with my brother and my two cousins who are here from Peru. I still haven't had a chance to buy a swimsuit so I had to go in my bikini. My stomach is completely flat so I didn't care! I did quite a lot of laps. At first I could barely do one length without being tired but by the end of the swim, I was able to do 4 laps....ofcourse I felt like I was about to drown by the end but I felt I had to push myself because I haven't had enough training. Fooled around in the water a bit too ofcourse....did some handstands, tried to hold my breath at the bottom of the pool but I started to panic and nearly inhaled water....I was trying to get more comfortable with it but I still have trouble with staying down for a long time. I'm worried that one day I'll need this skill....like for example if my car flys off a bridge and I'll need time to undo my seatbelt and find a way out of my car. Total time in the water 1-1/2 hours. Felt awesome!

Fat Percentage

Went to my auntie Alicia's house for dinner tonight. I always look forward to weighing myself on their scale because it also calculates your body fat percentage. Today I weighed 128 lbs. and my fat percentage was 19%. On June 4th which was the last time I weighed myself, I was 133 lbs. and had a 23% fat percentage so I was happy to have dropped by 4%. However, my brother comes along and he weighs around 158 lbs. and is ONLY 6% fat damnit! Last time he was 14%! That is less than half that he decreased his by.
Anyway, I found this chart on a website to see what we should be at.........that means that I can get rid of another 7% of fat still.

Table 1. Body Fat Guidelines from American Council on Exercise

Classification........Women (% Fat)......Men (% Fat)
Essential Fat.........10-12 percent.........2-4 percent
Athletes..............14-20 percent.........6-13 percent
Fitness................21-24 percent........14-17 percent
Acceptable............25-31 percent........18-25 percent

After I weighed myself I ate some really good food...BBQ Maple Glazed Salmon and for dessert a raspberry pie with whip cream that Uncle Carlos brought all the way from Washington. He went down there especially for this pie and bought 11 of them!!....He gave us one pie to take home.....can't wait to have another piece!!!

Sore Thighs

Oooh today my thighs are soooo sore! I was so tempted to take an ice bath! You're supposed to do it soon after the workout though so I think it might have been too late. I stuck some medicated pads on my thighs and when I had the laptop on them...it felt good.

Something super wicked.....got this link thanks to Aaron.....the craziest knock-outs you'll ever see by Mike Tyson:

http://gorillamask.net/miketyson.shtml

Killer Shoes

Today in class we worked mainly on sweeps! Also did some drills to prepare us for when we need to break boards for our curriculum. We will need to break 3 consecutive boards with a sweep, then a roundhouse, then a 360 roundhouse. Basically practiced this all class.....my thighs felt like jello afterwards.

Afterwards, went to Atlantis for Salsa...2nd wk. of breaking in my new dancing shoes. It was worse today...got blisters everwhere including the bottom of my foot!! Also, my thighs were sore from the sweeps so the dancing was somewhat painful!!

It works!!

I'm convinced that the ice bath works wonders....I'm sore today but nowhere as sore as I should be!!

Ice Bath

Every year I really look forward to the training camp because it's the only time I get to train all day long intensively. It would be cool to stay at the Shaolin Temple and just train all day but this is as close to it as I can get for now.

After coming home from camp, I had my mind set on drawing an ICE BATH for myself. I read about Pro athletes doing this and I also saw the fighters do it in the Ultimate Fighter show. They needed to reduce their soreness so that they would be able to perform soon afterwards. I knew that this would be a good as time as ever to test this out. The coldness is supposed to chase the lactic acid build up in your muscles which causes the soreness after working out. I ran the tap at its coldest and added a bag of ice to it. Decided I would do some more sit-ups, push ups and kicks to warm up again. I immediately jumped in the tub 'coz I was scared I would chicken out if I thought about it too long. Screamed so loud when I got into it...it is quite a shocking feeling...my brother ran to my door and asked me if I was okay. I got in all the way so that my shoulders were completely under...I was breathing hard and it was so cold I felt I couldn't think straight....I wasn't sure if I was breathing hard from the pre-bath excercise or if it was from being so cold....so I felt like I was panicking!....I had to get out after maybe only 20-30 secs. Your feet and hands start to hurt. After coming out and warming up again, I decided to go back in. This time I was able to last longer. Afterwards my body felt pretty good. I felt like my blood was circulating all over....I think I'd do it again actually!

Black Belt Intensive Training Camp

Met at TMD at 9 am and we all headed to the camp in Surrey...13 of us total. This year instead of driving 7 hours away, it was at a Catholic Retreat that rents out their facilities for Yoga or whatever else. They have living quarters, showers, conference rooms, cafeteria etc. After getting settled in, we started training at around 10 ish....we kicked it off with our 50's....(5o front kicks, 50 side kicks, 50 roundhouses each leg; 50 punching push ups; 50 double punching situps). We started both days with 50's and ended both days on 50's. First day we trained until about 11 at night. Then by the time we all took showers etc....we didn't sleep til after 1am.
Then next day woke up at 7 am and ate breakfast at 8am....started training again at 10am. We finished training a little after 9 pm.

Also, this year instead of covering many different topics, we got really in depth with trapping....traps with parry's, with elbows...all based on Wing Chun (sticky hand). We carried over the concept to sticks and padded swords. We did some sparring with the padded swords. Used the sticks in many different ways to tie up opponents arms' and take them down. The highlight was when Grandmaster taught us for an hour on techniques with knives and sticks. I love working with knives....we only get to do this at camp! We finished off the wkend with sparring....knife on sword, knife against empty hand, sword against empty hand, stick on sword, etc.....every possible combination. It was crazy!