on hiatus!

yowza!

I can't believe it's been 5(!) months since I've posted on this blog.

I still love jiu-jitsu.   November and December I attended class sporadically.   In December - my gym closed.  I was so  bummed.

My favorite instructor started teaching at another gym and February and March were a little more consistent but I feel like I haven't made much progress.

NOW - the Breck Epic (6 days of suffering in the high country) is LOOMING!!!   I am full on deep into endurance training.   Riding my ass off - race season is starting so it's race - rest, race - rest and repeat.

Thanks to everyone for the nice comments on this blog.

I know the effort the Breck Epic will require of me(i'm terrified!) - but since I'm turning 50 this year I had to go big.... everything else is on hold until after August.

 In the meantime i'll be reading all the bjj blogs and pine for it. ;)

But I'll be back!

wish me luck!

big day!

My son, Ricky turned 30(!) today!  He has grown up to be a fine young man - pursuing his passion as a graphic designer in NYC.  He is a kind, hard working, honorable, and responsible young man - as a mother - I couldn't ask for more.

happy birthday to my little baby!   

ugh...life is getting in the way!

Things have been busy.  

I just spent 2 weeks in Tucson, AZ visiting my sister (so no bjj).   We did do a 4 day - 300 mile bike ride all over Southern AZ.   

Then I tackled the a big climb.  Mt. Lemmon.  My ride was ~50miles round trip and it included a 20 mile climb with over 5500ft elevation gain.   Let me tell  you that climb is not for the faint-of-heart.   It was tougher than Independence Pass in Aspen.  3 SOLID hours of relentless climbing.

Then I was home for 2 days but unexpectedly had to go to Kansas with my boyfriend for 3 days. 

Life is messing with my hobbies!


I hired a coach for my next year mtn bike goals so I'm officially training for my BIG mtn bike race next year - The Breck Epic.   Luckily my coach has included bjj as part of my off-season training plan.  But between being out of town, my 3x a week at the ATC, and having to ride my bike 8 - 20 hours per week, working and living LIFE  I haven't been able to fit it in all this month.  Super bummed...hope to hit it hard in December. 

I'm really missing bjj!!!

a different kind of "workout"

I had my 3rd session this week - i want to record my thoughts so I can see/remember my initial impressions as i continue onward.

(this may sound silly ) so far jiu jitsu seems have some similarities to motorcycle road racing. Let me tell you - I sure loved racing my moto but it didn't give me everything I needed so i gave it up and switched to mtn biking.

I'm thinking the accessibility to jiu jitsu and the fact the sessions are never more than 2 hours (2 hours is short workout in my book) and i'm not totally fried after a session it will be a nice addition to my mtn biking. I do think my cardio endurance(aerobic & anaerobic) will help me with jiu jitsu. I'm keeping my fingers crossed my body can take both sports at the same time.


both moto road racing and jiu jitsu require

• a calm mind in the face of danger
• quick reaction times
• split second timing
  
• the ability to quell the panic
  
• the ability to instantly relax parts of your body while tensing other parts
  
• trusting muscle memory
• anticipating what is coming up next
  
• quick mental ability to analyze a situation and ACT appropriately
• lots of isometric strength
• the ability to not panic when things get up-close and personal ("trading paint" as they say in the moto world)
  

why i gave up motos

The thing I wasn't getting from motos was the anaerobic and aerobic cardio that I so love.

Whenever I mtn bike race - I'll know I get a HEAVY dose of suffering and if at some point I'm not a drooling, snarling, have my eyes wanting to roll back into my head - then I'm not racing hard enough. If my throat isn't raw and sore(due to gasping for air) after racing for 3 hours - then I wasn't racing hard enough.

Besides the beautiful, sweet, singletrack available in Colorado - I love the suffering. The pain of a climb, the exhilaration to a fast, scary downhill.

I hope there's some kind of suffering involved in jiu jitsu...i guess i'll find out.

life's an adventure, eh?

it all began when I saw the show "Ultimate Gracie" on Spike TV. It peaked my interest, i investigated, i signed up for a "free" class and i'm hooked.

and of course (and i don't why) i've fallen in love with *another* male dominated sport. so in typical "cynthia fashion" I'm 100% in and will embrace it with everything I have.

in case you're wondering previous/current sports/activities: motorcycle road racing, ice speedskating, semi-pro pool player, mountain biking and now jiu-jitsu.

And as with learning anything new - you have to be prepared to swallow your pride, feel like a spaz, and look like a idiot. I'm ready - so let's go!