Beards, Barbells, and Beer

Fahcough said:
Run alot and when you're about to puke, start running with 10 lb weights on your feet.

I started signing up for the earliest waves outside of national competitions. Those guys take off at 6-6:30am. Usually attempt the 8am wave. Made a mistake and did a 10:30 once. Horrible idea, I spent so much time walking behind huge groups of turtles blocking entire trails, every obstacle was bottle necked with a 20 minute wait time, and the trails were stomped down into muck. It was hard enough running that long, but stopping and completely catching breath in line only to start again was harder than just going nonstop.
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When I did the race I did the "first timers" wave which was the last one of the day, I think it started at 1:30. I heard from the staff that they'd had the same problems you mentioned with large groups bunching together. They had actually modified some obstacles to make them faster/easier to complete. Thankfully the first-timer wave was smaller so there wasn't much traffic.

Which races have you done? I did the Spartan Sprint in June 2018 and then did the Tough Mudder Half-mudder in September 2018. The obstacles in Tough Mudder are really cool but there weren't as many as in the Spartan Race, though I've heard in 2019 Tough Mudder added more obstacles. Regardless I just want to get out to some more races before I get too old and/or out of shape to race safely.
 
DrBdan said:
When I did the race I did the "first timers" wave which was the last one of the day, I think it started at 1:30. I heard from the staff that they'd had the same problems you mentioned with large groups bunching together. They had actually modified some obstacles to make them faster/easier to complete. Thankfully the first-timer wave was smaller so there wasn't much traffic.

Which races have you done? I did the Spartan Sprint in June 2018 and then did the Tough Mudder Half-mudder in September 2018. The obstacles in Tough Mudder are really cool but there weren't as many as in the Spartan Race, though I've heard in 2019 Tough Mudder added more obstacles. Regardless I just want to get out to some more races before I get too old and/or out of shape to race safely.
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Stay with it, my dad did one with me in his upper 50s. He doesn't do anything physical training, still did majority of the 5k course.
Have done multiple Warrior Dash out of St. Francisville. They actually closed it down a couple years ago when an obstacle collapsed and they had to air-med people out.
2 Play Dirty Adventure Louisiana runs. My son came in 1st place in under 12 and I placed 1st in adults. Was a good time.
1 Battle OCR 2020 that was freezing cold swimming in ponds in March.
 
Since things are opening up in Ontario again so I finally made it out to 'stick and puck' at the rink near me. It's not a game, just ice time for practicing with minimal equipment. I was looking at it before Xmas and it seemed like no one really goes which is awesome. There was one other guy there this morning so I basically got half of the ice to myself for an hour for $8. I practiced some of the basics: turning forwards and backwards both ways, hard pivots both ways, transitioning from forwards to backwards and back etc. I also used a few pucks to make some little courses to skate around and stickhandle around. Didn't feel as rusty as I expected but my legs definitely didn't have the same jump they did when I was regularly playing and squatting. Of course once I get into a game I'm sure my timing will be completely off but that will be fun anyway.

I recently discovered a group on Facebook that organizes regulars pickup hockey games near me. Some games are late enough (basically after 9pm) so I could make it after my kids are asleep so I'm going to check them out later this month. I would go sooner but I'm getting the big V snip* next Friday so I'll have to take it easy for at least week and then probably ease back into exercise after that. Maybe aim to be on the ice the first week of March.

(*vasectomy in case you didn't figure it out)
 
Had the vasectomy on Feb 11 and I'm basically healed now. First couple days my junk was a bit tender but barely any pain. The worst part was one of my balls being very bruised and that took a bit over a week to feel almost normal. If anyone is thinking of getting one and worried about it hurting to being tough to recover from, don't worry. The procedure was quick and painless and recovery has been easy.
 
Gonna have to delay the Spartan Race to later in the year. My twins' birthday falls on MOthers Day so we are having their birthday party the next weekend which is the race weekend. I think we can transfer to the Tough Mudder which might be a better option since it's pretty close to where I I live. The two Spartan Race locations are about 90 minutes drive.

Last week did stick and puck on Thursday and then jumped into a pick-up game on Sunday night. They were short skaters so we only had a couple subs. I knew I would be tired but goddamn not having two full lines was a rough way to get back on the ice. I wasn't terrible but definitely sloppier than usual. It also doesn't help that no one really played positions in the game so it took some getting used to the chaos of that type of game.

This morning I did stick and puck again and spent a lot of time practicing my left leg crossovers. I've never been great at them and the time off has just made them worse. At stick and puck it's easy to just practice dekes and take lots of shots so I'm trying to pick a few skating skills to work on and be more deliberate with making it actual practice. I'm not sure if I'll play pick-up again this weekend. So far there is only one game on Saturday night which is probably too early since the twins tend to go to bed later on the weekend. We'll see.
 
Holy shit I was super sick last week for about 4 days and my weight dropped from around 205 down to 197. Now that I'm healthy I'm back up to 200 but goddamn was diarrhea an unpleasantly fast way to drop some weight.

The weather this week is supposed to be unseasonably warm so I'll probably take my bike out on Thursday. It was about this time last year that I started running (until I got covid in April) so it feels like the right time to start doing cardio again. Gotta start lifting again too because my wife actually commented that I'm looking skinny (which isn't good at 200 lb, yikes)
 
Weight seems to have stabilized at 200-201 lb. I played hockey last night and have the conditioning for about 20-30 of a decent pace before my legs die. I guess it's not surprising that my legs died before my general cardio did. Scored a few goals at least lol.

Today is going to be a beautiful day so I'm going to go for a bike ride shortly. It's St. Patrick's Day but I'm old and have little kids so the extent of celebration is my kids wearing cute outfits and having green cupcakes with dinner. #dadlife
 
Bike ride from my last post went fine. Took it easy and didn't go too far. Unfortunately that was just a tease of nice weather so I haven't been back out since then. Played hockey a few times and my hands are starting to feel a bit better. My legs still don't have a lot of jump but my conditioning is actually alright and I find as the game progresses and other guys get tired and slow down and I can still maintain my okay pace. This makes sense since I've done a lot of walking, jogging, and cycling over the past few years but not much strength training.
 
Went to stick and puck this morning (only need helmet, gloves and stick, not full equipment and it's not a game just practice). Spent most of the time working on my crossovers. Did some basic skating drills and then practiced picking the puck up off the boards facing away from the net, doing a few crossovers into the middle of the ice and taking a shot. If I rated my crossovers my right foot is 8/10 while my left foot is 5/10. Which is unfortunate because it means I'm really slow coming off the boards on my forehand because I shoot left. But that's the point of practice right?

Finished up by doing intervals up and down the ice. Did 20 seconds on, 60 seconds rest. My legs only lasted about 15-18 seconds going hard.

The town changed the skating schedule so now there is stick and puck at 9am on Wed and Fri which makes it easier for me to make it out. Previously it was Thursday at 10am but I have a team meeting at 10:30 so that was awkward This way I can skate with time to get home and have a shower before starting work at 10:30.

On another note, my girls are on the waitlist for Tuesdays at their daycare so hopefully sometime in the next few months they'll start going 4 days/week so I'll have another day that I can get out to jog, bike, or skate.
 
Did a quick bike ride yesterday to pick up my son's report card from his gymnastics gym. Only about 20 minutes but was good to get the blood flowing.
 
Weather has been shit lately so I've only been out on the bike once since my last post. Played hockey a few more times but over the past 2 weeks the games have been too early so this morning I went to stick'n'puck. Practiced general crossovers, crossovers off the boards, and a simple deke on the rush. Finished with 8 minutes of intervals.

I'm hoping I can actually play this Sunday so hopefully the organizer books the ice a bit later. Weather is supposed to be nice tomorrow so I'll get out for a bike ride in the morning probably.
 
I guess now that weather is getting warmer less people are booking ice for hockey so the group I play with has been getting earlier ice times so again I won't be playing this week. I did get out for a bike ride on Friday so that was good. Did chins at the park by my house at the end and my lats were sore all weekend.

I have to drive into Toronto on Wed and Fri morning this week so I'll make sure to get out for a bike ride on Thursday at least. Maybe go for a walk in the city on Wed/Fri if I have time.
 
Boy it's been a while. Just been so busy lately plus my entire family has been sick a few times. I've played hockey only a couple times in June and only got out for one bike ride. Went for a few walks the last few times I was in Toronto. Yesterday morning I did a very light dumbbell workout and then played hockey at night. It was an extra long 90 minute game so I'm resting today. Weather is supposed to be nice so I will go for bike ride tomorrow.

Next week is the last week of school so my son will be home more. He is going to a number of summer camps so those weeks I'll be sure to get out for bike rides otherwise most of my cardio will be running around with him or hockey at night.

Blah boring update
 
I'm guessing indoor rinks is a common thing in your area? Don't tell me there's still ice
 
lol ya indoor rinks are common pretty much everywhere in Canada. It's a weird feeling walking out of a cool ice rink into hot, humid summer weather.

On that note, in July so far I've played hockey a few teams, done a couple bike rides, and lifted weights a few times. Hard to be consistent with kids around but actually being a bit more consistent compared to June.
 
After being sick at the end of July I've been more consistently active in August. My wife has started going to bed in an attempt to start feeling better and curb her junk food cravings (she was pre-diabetic prior to kids and after our twins is now fully type-2 diabetic). That has given me some time in the evenings to do weights. On rest days I'm doing some corrective exercise for anterior pelvic tilt as mine has gotten worse in the last couple years since I used to do stuff in the gym but obviously haven't been in an actual gym since Feb 2020.

So yeah did a few bike rides recently and a bunch of dumbbell workouts. According to my tracker app I was active 7 times in JUly and so far 7 times in the first half of August.

I haven't played hockey because times for pick-up games are too early but also my skates are on their last legs and I need to get new ones. Thankfully I remembered that work offers wellness credits for this sorta thing and I haven't used any for 2 year so I have over $500 available which is more than enough for a decent pair of skates. I also realized the credits can be used for races and sporting events so it could pay for the Tough Mudder. My friend and I haven't committed because we are both a bit out of shape but if I can run the race for free I'd just say fuck it and do it anyway. It's in mid-September so I have another month to work the rust off. I wasn't sure I wanted to spend $150 on a race and feel like shit but for free, might as well!
 
Continued being active in August. Was able to get in a few more games of hockey and fairly regular lifting. Last night I figured out how to safely do weighted push-ups with a dumbbell in a backpack. Basically wrapped the DB in a big towel and jammed it in the bag. Only used 10 lb but will now work back up to 5 sets of 12. Weight is flirting with 200 lb so hopefully by the end of September I'll be under 200 regularly again.

Decided not to do the TOugh Mudder because my friend was being flaky and my wife wanted to do a family thing that day.

Oh I bought a single 75 lb dumbbell (paid for by work!) so I can do heavier rows now. Did 50x13 last night and will now be able to alternate heavy low rep workouts with the higher rep ones.
 
Bought myself new skates yesterday. My 20+ year old ones are falling apart so it was time. I took a shot off the skate holder in August and it broke a small chunk of the baseplate off (where the skate holder connects to the boot). Plus a lof of the protective plastic is gone from the sides and the anlke/achilles protector has large rips. So ya, bought a new pair of Bauer Supremes yesterday and tried them out this morning. They are super comfortable and noticeably lighter. I've heard horror stories of people getting new skates and having massive blisters, finding them super uncomfortable, hard to get used to etc. but I found them an easy adjustment. They are stiffer than my old ones but after about 10 minutes I didn't even think about it. Practiced my crossovers and a number of lateral movement drills.

Also I've used my new dumbbell a few times. Did 5 sets of 75x4 on Monday morning (plus weighted push-ups) which felt good. Its nice getting that feeling you get from a heavy weight for lower reps rather than the high rep sets of 50.
 
Its been a while since I logged anything. Lifting was inconsistent in October and then non-existent in November as my wife and I started getting an early jump on Christmas stuff (baking, decorating etc). Hockey is also busier since summer sports are all wrapped up so I only played twice in November and then again last week. Lifted last Sunday and again this Sunday but need better consistency. I have to go into the office Wed/Thurs now which means I can't fit in a quick lifting session on those mornings.

Happy Holidays folks.
 
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