2014 Year in Review. And It Begins for 2015.

Some few big days in a year where the status quo kinda won the overall title.

Some of what was noteworthy is what didn't happen this year. Didn't do the Lighthouse Century, or Blues Fest, Village Fest, Volkslauf, or Brian Setzer. Did make the Christian Youth Film Fest, played guitar at Ft. Tejon, got over to Carpinteria for a quick trip, Catalina in July (thanks to Nena footing the bill) and a few Disneyland trips on the annual passes, most notably one in December with the Bennetts for JJ's 2nd.
Spring saw a big day for me when TeeDub invited me to his mostly-family-only 50th birthday get-together. In fact, I was the only non-family member there. That resonated with me in an important way. I really felt that I had a friend that day. It was a cold winter and early spring for me; a lonely stretch. With so many people in his life, and he'd pick me as the one friend to choose? Yeah.
Spent Tuesday nights at Todd's too all summer with energetic and delightful collegians with the School of Discipleship. Really a highlight for my year. Such a great group, with interaction that doesn't really happen with adults in small groups. Great to be a part, to teach a little, and simply feel inspired by others who are mining deep into the Lord's mountain.
Had a great few days with CC at the Forks of the Kern, where we faced down the echoes of a sasquatch. We tried for a Half Dome lottery slot, but got rejected.
My 50th was filthy. Just the kind of day, and event, I needed. Not the level of nitpicking perfectionistic detail that I'd have brought to the planning a couple of decades ago, and that says something good, I think. Still, all the needful things were there: challenge, sweat, the right people, and minutes packed from bed-to-bed hustling from one event to the other.
Haley and I did the Brewery Art Walk in October. What a great day that was.
In December, I received an email from myself using Futureme.org. A year ago, I wrote:

Are you alive now? Because there are a lot of days, a lot of moments, when I think it's not really worth it. God's far away right now, and silent, and church is the same. I'm a misfit. A stranger in my own life. I wonder why I was created.

I need to be around to feed, clothe, provide shelter for my wife and children. I know that Konrad wants and needs me. If that's my only role that's a reason to keep taking one step forward at a time. ... How to earn their respect ... I just want to insulate myself from rejection.

...I have delusions of wanting to create some kind of supergym - just how different than any existing gym is a function of reality and economics vs. creativity and personal preference.

I want to do something significant before I clock out. I want to be involved with some like-minded people. I want to be in community with some Christians who aren't fucking hypocrites or Americanized to the point of worldliness ... if they'd have me, since I'm such a chameleon myself.

I'm mostly retreated into the iron game right now. It's the only thing I think I'm doing that consumes my creativity and challenges me.

I want something more. I hope you've found it. If not, I don't have any advice for you.

That last part was answered with School of Discipleship over the summer. There's still something out there for me in the Christian community, but it's not going to be in merely attending somewhere in the Americanized consumer-small c-christianity model. Still a lot of question marks in my life. Think I would have solved all the riddles by now.

2015? An arbitrary marker, this first of a new year calendar line-crossing. Still, here we are, re-viewing everything with an eye to intentionality.

A sound mind led by a sound spirit in a sound body. Be all three.

I'm claiming this as my slogan for the year. I'll keep my spirit sound by worshipping and digging deeper on the guitar this year, working through a chapter a day/formulating a message a week, and daily prayer time/wasted time.

I'm setting my mind to focus on intentional relationship building with those few, to intentional creation (ie, One Way Entry plans, secondary level plans / mobile app flowchart / Presenter song sets / Backyard gym completion), and filling in some gaps in my learning

Sound body: I'm not breaking down the year based on exercises. I'm basically going to make sure I make a sweeping focus on these three: 531/CFFB, Bag Work/Agility work, Stretching and Floor work. Which is to say, maximal strength/movement/flexibility.

Wasn't ready to leave CFFB, since I was enjoying it and challenged by it, but it's time to change things up for a cycle after 14 weeks. I hope to steep myself in CFFB this year - but need to cycle off for a period. 
Back to 531. Numbers have been pared way down since the last Spring percentages. MaXmas didn't get finished (sick, tired) and the numbers weren't encouraging, and, I'm simply being realistic about my expectations regarding the poundages. If everything goes better than anticipated and I'm moving weight, I'll adjust after a month. But we're doing two months through the 8-day split.

 Assessment:
I got bigger doing CFFB - these measurements aren't fresh outta the cycle (after two weeks of MaXmas and sickness/off), but they still speak volumes about gaining unexpected size with more weight/lower reps. Oh, and creatine. 
I would have sworn that an HT cycle would have done this - when it didn't, and hasn't. 

2013 Year in Review, 2014 Year in Advance

If I did anything with intent this year, I focused on gaining some maximal strength. Regaining. In some areas, carving some new neural pathways with unfamiliar movements. Made some gains. Let’s compare some numbers.
 

12.12 … (pulling these from December’s C week 531+ day)

Squat – 1x 315#, 3 bad ones @ 315# in Jan

Press – 2x 150#, 1x 190# in Jan (5x 135 in Nov)

Clean – Squat Clean 8x 125# during work sets in Nov, 5x 135 in Oct

Dead – 2x 270#, 7x 255# in Jan

Bench – 4x 280#, missed at 315# in Jan

12.13 – from the MaXmas attempts

Squat – 1x315# High Bar

Press – 1x 195#

Power Clean – 1x 185#

Dead – 1x 325#

Bench – 2x 325#

Front Squat – 2x 255#

2k Row – 8:05

Pull Ups – 13

So, I showed progress almost completely across the board. Deadlift really wanted improvement, and got it, although I know it is still an abject weakness. I subbed high bar squatting for low bar, and the numbers there are nearly up to what I was low-bar back squatting – without beating me up.Training got hampered a bit by what I thought/hoped was a strained abdominal but which is a hernia. Which, I'm not doing much about, and sure didn't get sliced open to fix.

I spent the biking months with a single favorite ride/run brick – out and back to Brighthouse hill at the Riverwalk park, where I’d do hill repeats. Always an awesome hour and a half.

Starting off the year with this 531 set up, note that I’ve added a vert pull day and a cleaning day for better balance. To offset the extra work, the BBB sets are only 4 instead of 5, and one of those 4 is included on the warm-way-up to the 531 sets:

And here’s the year calendar. Note there are five 531 cycles, with the addition of 6 focal benchmark metcons and one oxidative training day/week:

This year, the movements I’ll be focusing on:

Some notable moments from the year:

Right after New Year’s, I used 3 weeks of a month-long membership at Crossfit Bako. I was exceedingly excited to join, and almost immediately exceedingly disillusioned. I had an epiphany early on in that short tenure, when I bested my Helen time by two minutes –based solely on the strength work I’d been doing on my own prior to joining the box. I realized that I didn’t need some swim coach dictating my workout planning for me, or to pay to play with a community composed mostly of Gen-Y kids who wouldn’t look me in the eye leave alone say hello. 

Continued a lot of traditions this year. On L’s bookgroup nights, the kids and I would hit China Palace and the dollar movie – big whoop, but I always looked forward to it, and I hope the kids remember it as something we did together, even if cheesy. Took part in the Valentine’s day Father-Daughter dance, but only as participants this year. Paraded in Westchester on July 4^th. I caught up to the fam for a few days of their week in Catalina with the Rabideaus. L and I went back in the fall for the Jazz Trax weekend with them and had a great couples-only time. Didn’t ride the Lighthouse century (was at Josh’s wedding, which is just as well, since, except for Dew, the people we would travel with never did the ride with me anyway), or run the Volkslauf (kept the day open for Haley’s Birthday, but she was able to spend it with the grandmas at the Getty). Caught the Brian Setzer Christmas Extravaganza at the Fox on Dec 23^rd. 

Did brew a few really great beers this year: Oatmeal Super Bowl Blackout Stout, White House Pale Ale, the 115^th Dream Hopbursted Double Imperial Brown Ale – which got nicknamed the Deuce Juice – a Honey Oatmeal Brown Ale. Got away from drinking anything made from malteds in the second half of the year as I was feeling both depressed and rotund. Maybe I’ll get a mead cookin’ to get away from the gluten, just as soon as I trim down a bit. Right now, want to force my body into a bit of a better power-to-weight profile.

In March, did the Heavy Athletics portion of the Scottish Games, and received a nice t-shirt, a mangled knee and hand, and a rude awakening regarding my ability to apply strength in motion. H and I toured Venice Beach on our way to see the Hives at the House of Blues - that was awesome.

In August took a day run up Vernal falls with the two girls – this was a true highlight of the year for me. The time we carved out for a backpacking trip got kaboshed by a fire in the Sequoias. Had a birthday dinner with the DSS crew at Eureka! where I discovered both the bourbon sampler and rye whiskey. This new relationship really did massage the breakup with beer.

September, went to Chicago for the safety show with Gardner and Kris in the Palmer House. Good, tiring time. November, took a special trip to Disneyland to catch the opening of the Catching Fire Hunger Games movie for CC. 

The last two months of the year I began an experiment with Intermittent Fasting, eating only after the noon workout through early dinner – body weight remained semi-stable (lost 5 lbs) while the electro BF readings stayed the same, but the body measurements improved, and nearly all maxes improved (see above). Part of the beer equation was to eat my lean BW in carb grams/day (205+), while seeking to keep carb grams under 100, and make up the rest of approximately 2500/cal/day in fats. Didn’t really hit these marks religiously, but saw recomposition progress as well as strength gains. I’ll be continuing IF into 2014, and hopefully losing about 8” around the waist (appearance) and getting down to 11% BF (athleticism).

Darkened a lot of church doorways this year, and visited Todd’s house church once, just shopping around and wondering if a lightning bolt of desire would hit me when I visited that special one. Nope. Stayed away from 1^st Pres all year except for dropping H off at some of the girl’s studies and attending once when Mark Toone was in town and for a funeral. Ironic twist: looks like we’ll be giving the place another try in 2014, as CC wants to go to her group and H feels like her group is home. In 2013 I didn’t miss phony baloney Christianity at all.

After that meeting with Mark, had an email correspondence as he’s let me view under the hood while he and his staffers construct/review/polish the weekly sermons. Love that guy and wish I could sit among his congregants on Sundays.

Experienced a lot of loneliness in 2013. Guess from the outside, people would blame me, saying I isolated myself. From within, I remember trying to focus more on the people within my household, those who I know will return the investment of my time, and repudiate those who are takers. That put me on the outside a bit as I tried to farm some new ground with new people.

Right at year's end, I read Jon Acuff's Quitter and began to wonder what dream I should be chasing. Without them, the people perish, you know.