Day 7: Two Old Men Together

Weight: 97.6 kg (+00.3) Up,down,up,down,up. I feel like a two floor elevator.

Fat percentage: 27.3 (+00.2) See weight comment.

Exercise Summary:

Jump Rope: 500. Complete. Was I ever surprised to see this as the only exercise for day seven. Despite my trouble jumping rope the last few days, I thought: Oh well, Bring it on. I headed for the park at 6:30 A.M. and got started. I screwed up every two jumps until I got to around forty-five. My rope came apart once because I stepped on it. The idea of giving up entered my head, but, thankfully, I didn’t listen. I sighed and decided I didn’t care if I screwed up every two jumps all the way to five hundred. I was going to finish this. As I struggled my way towards the first hundred mark, I was seen by a junior high school student who probably thought I was out of my mind—I could see it in her eye.

After the student left, I was alone for a while until an old man sat down on a bench nearby. He lit up a smoke and smiled at me. He asked me how many jumps I had to do after I had just messed up again. “Five-hundred” I said. He was amused. I didn’t make a face at him. I just got back to my jumping. Then, after watching me for a while, smiling when I messed up (I just smiled back), he got up and left. I was somewhere around 450 when the old man suddenly came back and offered me a sports-drink from a nearby vending machine. I thanked him and right after this kind thoughtful act, I found my groove. I made the last fifty or so jumps with no problem. Then, I jumped once more as daytime fireworks filled the sky with their sound. They were being launched from a nearby shrine. I asked the old man what he thought the fireworks were for since it wasn’t a national holiday today. He said he had no idea. I offered that maybe the shrine was celebrating the fact it was Sunday. Yay Sunday! Bang! Bang! He laughed. I smiled, but not at my own joke. I smiled because part of me, as silly as it sounds, thought the fireworks were the powers that be congratulating me on completing my five hundred jumps and not giving up. If that isn’t a reason for a few quick fireworks, I don’t know what is. Heh. Of course, the fireworks were to celebrate the start of an Omikoshi festival, but I still think what I think.

I sat down next to the old man and popped open the sports drink, while he sat beside me and smoked. We talked as best we could, him with his near non-existent English and me with my limited Japanese. I found out he was 80 years old and lived nearby. I told him as best I could about the PCP and what I was trying to do. I also told him about my trip to Patrick’s yoga studio. The old man had a really good laugh when I told him I was thirty-four, but Patrick’s scale said I had the body of a fifty-two year old. We sat and talked a while longer, two old men together, and then he put his hand on my shoulder, wished me luck. I asked him what he was going to do today. He said, "Nothing, just rest." Then, he left. I sat there and watched him go, and I hoped I would see him again. I slowly finished my drink, looked up at the sky, said a quick thanks, asked for the strength to get through the rest of these ninety days, and headed for home.

Oh, and my rope is not too short. I know that now. My arms are just all over the place and my calves stiff. Patrick knew this all along. After all, he cut my rope. I just had to find the form. Will I mess up tomorrow? Probably. But, I’ve been in the skipping zone. I’ve felt it. It a place where your arms barely move and your skipping rope moves under you like you and it are one. I will find the zone again and, in time, I will come and go from it as I please.

As for my ‘last’ meal before our upcoming controlled diet on Monday, nothing special. I just had a caramel cookie with my 6” avocado-veggie sub at lunch. I usually have two cookies, so one was half. For dinner: broccoli with diced bacon, rice, kim-chee, a few small potatoes, and a small piece of pork.

I really enjoyed the cookie.

Love to all!

More tomorrow,

Sean