Stupid Left Foot

Things are quiet on the beer front, but I did have a chance to throw together a small tasting dinner with Luke at his place. We did a Mardi-Gras theme dinner with 4 courses. Since it was just us and our wives, we took some bigger chances to experiment with new techniques and pairings before we decide to another dinner for a broader audience. It went down like this:

Gumbo Consomé
2010 Blufeld Riesling - Mosel, Germany

Gulf Trio (Boudin Ball, Crawfish Boil, Raw Oyster)
Katana Junmai Ginjo Sake - Shizuoka, Japan
Boulevard Brewery Two Jokers Belgian Wit - Kansas City, MO

Blackened Redfish
Lemon Lassi (Indian Yogurt Drink)

King Cupcake & Beignet
Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout - Petaluma, CA

The Riesling was probably the best pairing of the night, but I almost think that's cheating; Riesling pairs with almost anything. The Katana saké went really well with the oyster (again, no surprise) but it sucked out loud with the boudin ball. The Belgian wit worked with the boudin ball and nothing else. The lassi did what I intended it to - cut the spice and added acid - but the texture and mouthfeel was too much for an entrée. The Cappucino Stout was a good enough beer on its own, and the concept was right, but cold drinks suck with those desserts.

Oh well. Gotta try everything, even if its not perfect. At least Luke got to show off his high-powered vent hood while blackening the fish.

Training has been going well, and my first Highland Games of the season is this weekend in Fort Worth. I am lifting 3 times a week and throwing 2 times, so I have been pretty beat. I am adjusting though.

Today was pretty crazy:

Speed/Power 1.2

Warm Up:
5 min treadmill
LOTS of foam rolling
a little static stretch and band work but had no patience

Push Press
45x3
95x3x2
135x3x8

I was doing funny things with my head today.

Deadlift
225x3x2
295x3x10

Chins
10x3

DB Rows
130x10x2 - Grip gave out before I could finish, time to strap up.

THEN

I went and threw with a guy named Spencer Tyler. He was the #4 amateur Highland Games thrower in North America last year. So yeah, I had to show him the ropes.

Stones - 5 stands, 5 reverse, 5 or 6 fulls. No great distance breakthroughs, but a lot of new stuff to process. Staying on my left forever out of the back.
HWFD - Only 5 or so 2-spins. Spencer found an issue with my cast that I need to work on now.
16# Hammer - 4 or 5 tosses. Still basically a n00b on this one.

I'm tired.

But I have been pooping so well!

Interesting week, athletically speaking. I took last week easy in the weight room since it was my de-load week. I also decided at the last minute to register for a fencing tournament that was taking place on Sunday. I only had enough time to get my gear out of storage, make sure it was working and try on my fancy pants. No practice at all. I really just wanted to scratch my competitive itch since I hadn't done anything to test myself physically since last November.

It was a pretty fun tournament, I only saw one person that knew me from back in the old days, and a 10-year old girl told me I was "hot." Also, I made it to the finals, but lost and took 2nd place.

This week was the first "speed" phase for me in Matt Vincent's program. It's always a challenge for me shifting gears from strength work to moving lighter weights as fast as possible. I think having throwing to tie it all together helps it make more sense though. Today looked like this:

Warm Up

5 min treadmill

Foam Roll

Static Stretch

Yoga Complex

Push Press

45x5

95x3

125x3x10

Bar speed actually got better as I progressed into the later sets.

Deadlift

135x3

275x3x11

I felt like I was flying through these, but I imagine they looked pretty slow.

Lat Pulldown

3 sets of 10

Barbell Row

135x10x3

Throwing is up to 2 or 3 times a week and there is still a lot of ugly to work out. I recently discovered that another excellent highland games thrower named Spencer Tyler lives just down the road from me. We are planning to throw together this weekend. If I don't eventually get good at this sport, it will be 100% due to me just not trying hard enough.