Thursday, Dec 19:
Flew into Denver.
Picked up my sister after she got off of work.
Friday, Dec 20:
While my sister was sleeping,
I went to the gym and did HDT-KB 10.1.2 (core) in 19:52 with a 30#KB, followed by HDT-KB 10.2.1 (core) in 47:35. It was my first time signing up for Heavy Drop Training's KB program. It was some good stuff! I hadn't realized how many different variations of pretty unique KB exercises there were!
We went to the nice rooftop lounge area in her condo complex for some tea...
and then we hiked at Boulder, making it to the Royal Arch this time, after an abandoned attempt last time in summer 2023 when the rocks were wet.
It was actually more slick this year because of some patches of ice. We made it, though!
My mom didn't come all the way to the top. There were some pretty steep parts on the back portion of the trail.
When we reached the arch, one group happened to be leaving, and we got alone time up there for quite a while before a flood of other groups all came in at once. We had arrived just at the right time! My sister said that in the summer, this trail is soooo crowded.
We reconnected with my mom and made our way back...
We covered about 4 miles in about 4 hours.
Saturday, Dec 21:
More delicious decaf...
And more gym, with my parents popping in for some gym time, too, which was fun to see...
I did 18A "Lower Prep BW" in 19:52, then I ran 4 miles at zone 2 on the treadmill on a 2* incline nose breathing, in 53:09 (13:17/mi). I had to stop after that for a bathroom break, but I came back to do another 4 miles in zone 2 (pushing into zone 3) in 54:15 (13:34/mi) in GORUCK Ballistic Trainers. The shoes felt great, even though they're not made for running specifically. It does help that treadmills are a forgiving surface.
In the evening, we took the free mall bus deep into downtown and watched a drone holiday show. The show featured many landmarks in Denver, which was fun. It was a good show.
We hopped back on the bus to go to the Christmas Market. It's fun to hand out under the light tree and watch the show that is accompanied by music.
I also got to see the souvenirs and crafts portion of the market this time. I didn't know it existed the last time I came. Last time, I had only seen a handful of German food vendors with long lines, so this was more fun.
Sunday, Dec 22:
One unintended great thing about PATHFINDER Ruck Training is that it gives me extra incentives to read books, since it's worth challenge credit. Now was a great time to finally get to "With Winning in Mind" by Lanny Bassham, since it's about how you can train by visualizing and improving mental self-talk. This is perfect while on vacation and away from my guns. I had lots of great takeaways from the book.
- Importance of "pro" words in communication, since it's spoken words that will stick (don't waste time talking about what *not* to do, especially on the clock)
- Tunnel vision and auditory exclusion are easy to fall into during the stage, when I'm so [rightfully, in some ways] focused on executing the process. There's a strong possibility that the process is taking 100% of my subconscious and conscious mind. If someone has something important to tell me, they may need to do something more drastic to get my attention.
- Have patience as I make my shot. Let me focus on executing my process and doing what I can do. It may take more time with a lighter gun, but I'm working on making the perfect shot that will hit.
- The goal (which should be process-focused, not outcome-focused and related to rankings) should be pistol hits. Take all the time in teh world to make all the hits. Any rifle points are bonuses after that.
- Having less gear is a strength. There's less decision fatigue, less to think about and deal with, less to physically carry and be slowed down and fatigued by. We know our handful of tools and can use them well. The others will be fumbling with gear that they don't know as well and will waste time trying to switch among all kinds of choices.
- Competitive advantages that we have: sleeping better, recovering better, staying warm and fresh. This will allow us to perform better during rucks and shooting.
- The book reinforces what I've discovered this year about the value of visualization before the first stage of the match, to get rid of first stage jitters, since the first time will be in my mind, and I'll be fully in the zone when I actually run the first stage.
We went to a big Goodwill store. I got a mini weight plate to help me meet weight for a GBF 14ers event. I also got Quiddler, which is pretty fun.
At the gym, I did HDT-KB 10.1.1 (arms) in 24:00, followed by Glute and Pec PT v1 in 24:50.
Monday, Dec 23:
We covered 3 miles in about 2 hours.
Later, I did Day 10 - Uplift | MOVE & Day 30 - Pause | BREATH Yoga with Adriene.
Tuesday, Dec 24:
In the morning, I did HDT-KB 10.2.2 (legs) in 38:28, which was mostly BW and good for stabilizer muscles, though too much for my left knee, in retrospect. Afterwards, I did HDT-KB 10.3.CP "Santa's Baby", a 25 min BW AMRAP with 9 rounds and 2 reps, including a minute of helping my mom take a video of her on the rower.
Play time with my mom...
and with my sister's BF's cat "Daisy", who I call "Biscuit"...
Biscuit isn't really a people person, but she was cool with me snuggling with her.
Wednesday, Dec 25:
Christmas morning!
And then a trip into the Dungeons of the condos, to retrieve a Hedwig stuffed animal that had been stashed away in storage.
My sister and I watched a Harry Potter movie each night over a projector, and we wanted to have Hedwig with us.
Thursday, Dec 26:
At around lunchtime, I did a mini treadmill interval workout on a 2 degree incline. I started with a 7mph warmup for 1 mile, then 2x [0.5 mi @ 8.5mph, 0.25 mi @ 7mph], 1x 0.25 mi @ 8.5mph, 0.25 mi @ 7mph]. I had to stop after that because cardio was my limiter. The GORUCK Ballistic Trainers worked well again. I covered 3 miles in 23:43 (7:54/mi average).
Afterwards, I did HDT-KB 10.2.3 (ARMS) in 50:45.
I had already wanted to have 6 Warmies to sleep in the bed with me. I happened to come across one on sale at Whole Foods after Christmas.
After having such a good cuddling experience with Biscuit, I couldn't resist!
My mom liked him, too.
I named him "Triscuit", since he's that color, and it rhymes with "Biscuit".
Friday, Dec 27:
My sister has books in her bathroom. I found one that I had been wanting to look into, so I took the opportunity to read that. "How to Win Friends and Influence People" was written by Dale Carnegie. I had always pictured him as a Machiavellian rich guy, but he actually seems like a genuine dude with some good advice.
In addition to finishing the book, I also did Yoga for Text Neck & Dedicate - Day 15 - Reveal Yoga with Adriene.
In the morning, I did HDT-KB 10.3.3 (core) in 54:16.
In the afternoon, my dad, sister, and I went to Mount Falcon Park to do a little hiking. My mom was catching something, so she stayed behind.
It was a neat little park with some ruins. It would be a good place to run in the summer, because it wasn't super technical.
We spotted an albino deer from far away.
We covered 4 miles in about 2.5 hours.
We also saw a fun sign.
My sister and I worked on a puzzle over the holidays, but it wasn't an easy one, and we didn't finish by the time I left, and my sister gave up on it after I left.
I went home early in the morning the next day. As fun as Denver was, I was also eager to get back to Mammoth prep!
