Burpee school report

Day 70 in the book. That's ten weeks in and as good a time as any to check in. My last check-in was eight weeks ago. That in academics is approximately a term, so let's have a loom at the report card. 

Not altogether surprisingly, there is the customary "must try harder" and "could do better". But what else?

Well, it's hard to say really. At risk of sounding arrogant and blasé (I have been accused of both before, and recently), it has been a little bit of something and nothing. That sounds appalling, let me rephrase. Remember, I did the #100dayburpeechallenge before, and relatively recently at that. So while my belly still jiggles, my lungs burn and my breath rasps, it is all with half an eye in the facts that

a) I know this is doable, and

b) this will get a lot worse.

Actually that thought has cast an ugly shadow a couple of times. Something along the lines of "December will really suck!" It has been despatched. Sent away with thought "Probably. But there's nothing that you can do about that now, so why worry?"

Curse my level-headedness.

However, like the first time out somewhere in the mid-range there is a void which sucks the drive out of you, like the taxman on an honest person's income. The numbers are not that difficult, really. The time commitment, tiny (especially as I don't warm up- bad lad!).

Early on I explained the burpees to Sheldon (of http://goaliesareweird.blogspot.com fame) as almost mapping the ages of man:-

The early burpees are a joy but somewhat awkward as you grow into them. The teens and twenties are about banging them out quickly so you can get online and tell your mates about them. The 40s and 50s? Well they're where you start to find all sorts of competing factors getting in the way and you find yourself asking:

"What's this all about?", and

"How the hell did it come to this anyway?"

I'm not sure what that means is waiting around the corner!

I have had two carry-overs so far. Both Fridays into Saturdays. Nights where I was so tired that I just fell asleep mid-task. Of course, while the slipping out of consciousness may have been a surprise, the tiredness wasn't and I should have prioritised them sooner. Hang on, that sounds familiar.

It is quite interesting for me to read my logs for the last challenge (as you may have guessed, I don't re-read this stuff). Somewhere, not far off this stage last time, I started mucking about a bit. Going off-piste and trying to fudge myself as the challenge up in the name of keeping it lively! I have also come across a journal entry which said "Not really interested. But some days it's not about what you want to do but about what you have to do."

So, while I may not have noticed the similarities, I truly am repeating myself! Mind you, last time out I did not do burpees on my sister's birthday (which anniversary, incidentally, she shares with Royal Huddleston Burpee himself) as as a result, Bananaman did not get to make an appearance last time [like my sister, Bananaman was a legend born in the 80s! I've often been accused of dragging her into my insanity, this time I wanted to offer a doff of the cap for her support...and to wear a costume!]

A warm June evening is not an especially good time to be doing burpees in a padded suit though!

Equally, last time I didn't wheel out a lame reference to the 80s titillating film of the same name to mark the 9 and a half weeks point. Blindfold burpees? I can be such a knob sometimes!

On the flip side, knee pain has made a comeback, like last time. And, just like the last time, unless I'm doing them after another session, I am generally performing them in isolation and without a warm-up. I am also, still, generally neglecting my mobility and and flexibility work. So, like nutrition and sleep, I know what to do, it's just time to do it. This will become increasingly important as the #burpeeyear progresses. [Incidentally, for the record, my knees feel significantly better after a heavy squat session. There is little statistically significant, sound evidence to tie knee damage and squatting. Indeed, the mobility work I do as part of a session compliments the full range of motion, and strengthening of the adjoining tissues and structures at their extremes of their range of movement]

The Facebook, while private, is bigger than last time. It represents a spider's web of connections spanning the globe. Many I know well, some I have met a couple of times, many I know only by burpee association! Some are more vocal than others, but every one of them is crucial to me in this endeavour.

As before, their involvement, their encouragement, their travails and their   successes help keep me on the path. And, even though I may have never met them, their journey's end sparks a little sadness in me. Odd. Mind you, when some, like Amy, stay on beyond their initially projected 30 days, that has felt a little more joyful than I might have believed!

So, while there didn't seem to be much to say about what I have been up to, I have prattled for a while. In short, thank you all for taking this trip with me, whether in feed or in ensuring the tweets and blog entries. I hope you stick with it, or drop in for shorter challenges along the way. I'll keep showing, well, perhaps not the way, but I will keep showing you a way!

But most of all remember that being awesome takes practice. Keep being awesome, just don't start taking yourself too seriously along the way!

Cheers!

BM