Candidate Journals

Been working a ton of hours so have missed a few classes but I’m getting all of my other requirements done at home between meetings. Hopefully the rest of the week slows down now that the bank is live in production. 

Started working Saturday morning after the black belt pre-test and didn’t stop until 8pm last night. Slept six hours and got up at 3:30 to start again. Missed poomsae class and any requirements yesterday so have to catch up this week. And somehow sleep. 

Woke up at 5:30 for the pretest, which went well although I fumbled on my poomsae. Master Evins said Sa, but I heard Sam.  I tried to start over and then got too close to Will and just totally lost it. All I could do was laugh at that point. I know my poomsaes so I’m not worried. Got an hour nap in and now I’m pulling an all nighter for a bank merger. Even when you’re bone tired, just keep moving forward. 

I’m excited for the pretest so I can get my benchmarks and crush them at the end of the cycle. I’m especially looking forward to getting my pull-ups back. Good luck everyone 

 I try to get all of my physical requirements done early morning before work, but it’s difficult to stay focused for work afterwards. The heat is draining my energy. I feel great working out but an hour later at my desk I’m dragging ass. That’s the hardest part of the cycle… showing up for the non-TKD, life requirements. 

Went to BB class this morning. Great class. I was feeling a little queasy and my muscles were cramping from being dehydrated but I powered through. I stopped and bought some electrolytes on the way home and felt fine the rest of the day. I missed the poomsae seminar because I had to go to Indian Hill. 

Good news is family arrived home today; bad news is I was stomach sick all afternoon. I did not finish requirements or make it to BB class. I have the alarm set for the morning. Hopefully I’m feeling refreshed in the morning 

I’m finishing up some of the exercises now before I go to bed. I wasnt able to finish everything during the day because of work. This’ll teach me not to hit the snooze button! 

Was getting ready to knock off work around 5pm when I got pulled into a client issue and ended up working until almost 8pm. Frustrating. Other than that, pretty good day. 

I haven't had any issues getting my requirements done even though work has been busy and I've got some house projects I'm wrapping up. However, once the family arrives home on Friday, it's going to become more hectic. The family knows what to expect with me being on the cycle, but there is still going to be a lot more demand for my time. Especially with school starting soon and end-of-summer events. I know there will be days where I'm bone tired and I won't feel like putting in the work. For me, the trick is to get as much done as possible first thing in the morning. If I put anything off to later in the day, it becomes four times as hard.  

Arrived home from California last night and got back on my normal routine this morning. Did my physical requirements in the am and then went to Poomsae class. The rest of the day was spent cleaning my house before the family returns from Peru on Friday. 

Went to the opening ceremonies at the tournament tonight. It was amazing to see all of the competitors grouped by state and country. After we paraded around, and listened to a few speeches, we watched the South Korean demo team perform. Great night. Tomorrow we fly home. 

Arrived in California today for the Hanmadang competition. We’ve got a good group of King Tigers here. Today was registration and tomorrow starts the competition. Wish we could post pictures here!

Went to Poomsae class this morning and got all my requirements in this afternoon in between chores around the house. My milage so far has been power walking with a 20lb ruck. I've been power rucking pretty consistently for the past month to try and work through shin splints and get my calves fired up.  I also did some planning and started on an essay so that I'm not scrambling towards the end of the cycle. I'm excited to be competing in California this coming week - I signed up for Poomsae and Power Breaking. 

I’m excited to start a new cycle  I’m looking forward to the challenges and shared accomplishments. Best of luck to everyone!