Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01019

I have to run. I have to run because I am working on earning my Black Belt in Krav Maga and there are physical requirements that have to be passed in order to pass the test. In addition to knowing and being able to perform and apply my Krav Maga curriculum I have to do a certain number of push ups and squats as well as a plank for a certain amount of time and a mile run within a specific time as well.

I went to D.B. Sports today and picked up these new Hoka sneakers. I had never heard of these before but the folks at D. B. Sports helped me pick them out. I explained that I run like a cement mixer with an unbalanced load of concrete laced with lead. I also explained that I have neuropathy in my feet. He had me take off my shoes and walk a bit so he could see how I walked. He also checked my current sneakers for wear on them. Based on that he put me in a couple of shoes including these Hoka ones. They felt really, really comfortable. So I got them.

Last night was my Black Belt evaluation. I had to go to the school and show my proficiency with the curriculum and also do the mile run and the push ups. We did not do the squats or the plank. I did my mile in 10:42. I did not run continuously. I’m just not there yet. I have several weeks to train and get to the time I need to get to which is 7:22 for 100% and 8:42 to get 80%. I need 80% to pass and that is a full 2 minutes I need to shave off my time. I can do it if I run without stopping to walk. I just have to get there. So, major training begins on Monday. In 4 weeks I have my pre-test where I will be doing these physical requirements again so I have to do a lot of running to not only get faster but to not be flat out dead when I return from the run because that is when you have to do the other things like push ups. I got 50 done last night and need 59 for 100%. I’ve been doing push ups every night for months. I took the last week or so off, though. I’ll be getting back to that as well as the squats (82 for 100%) and the plank (4:20 for 100% – 2:40 for 80%). I know I can hit 100% for both push ups and squats. It is the other two, though. That will take some work. Oh, and I have to get much better at all things Krav.