Hart House Circuit: Journey to Silver

Levels:

Intro I

Intro II

Bronze - Current Level (Cutoff Time, 28:00)

Silver

Gold

Platinum

Bronze Times:

34:22, Tue Mar 1 2011, 4:30pm

31:20, Sat Mar 5 2011, 7:45am

29:35, Sat Mar 12 2011, 10:00am

27:45, Sat Mar 26 2011, 8:15am

27:34, Sun Apr 3 2011, 7:45am

Bang:

33:40, Sat Mar 5 2011, 7:45am

32:00, Sat Mar 12 2011, 10:00am

30:58, Sun Apr 3 2011, 7:45am

Kelvin:

32:45, Sat Mar 5 2011, 7:45am

30:35, Sat Mar 12 2011, 10:00am

27:50, Sat Mar 26 2011, 8:15am

27:42, Fri Apr 1 2011, 11am

27:15, Sun Apr 3 2011, 7:45am

Log:

=== Sun Apr 3, 2011, 5pm ===

This morning was incredibly refreshing! We moved our Circuit to today because I was volunteering yesterday with the Harry Rosen Run-Off, which was superfuN!

Kelvin and I officially beat Bronze, and Bang has made tremendous progress, with his incredibly explosions of power. His deadly attack comes at the second set :)

Anyways, we all worked incredibly hard today and were very tired. After, we went home, took a James Bond shower, did devotions together, had a solid breakfast, then went to service at TCBC (Toronto Chinese Baptist Church)

During the service, we were all surprisingly more awake and aware than usual. It felt great! I remember the choir singing this song that reminded me of what Jesus did for us on the cross. The vision of the Cross is an image of intensity and brings to mind what Jesus did for me and what He endured. My efforts in the Hart House Circuit pale in comparison to the staying power Jesus Christ displayed on the Cross.

=== Sat Mar 26, 2011, 4pm ===

What a day! We beat bronze! The word going through my mind was "tenacity". It was definitely tough, but we have to beat it at least twice just to make sure it wasn't a fluke!

=== Sat Mar 12, 2011, 1pm ===

I woke up this morning sick. Stressed with the the growing amount of work and diminishing supply of time, I was definitely not looking forward to this morning's Hart House Circuit. I was greeted by the friendly faces of Kelvin and Bang. Off we went, marching to our doom, my negative energy rubbing off on them by the time we arrived at Hart House.

When we got inside, they were not looking forward to it, but I was looking forward to it. I was sporting my new Team In Training jersey for the Rome Marathon (next week!). And while I was feeling sick, had a splitting headache, and had difficulty breathing (though I brought my puffer), I thought about who I was running for in Rome. Surprisingly, that changed everything.

As we left the change rooms, all three of us were ready to do some damage to the Hart House track. After some light stretches, I started the circuit at a fairly fast pace, to which Kelvin and Bang followed suit. The newfound energy we had was quickly lost as the reality of a poor nutrition and other [insert excuses] stuff hit us. Nevertheless, we fought on.

The second set, I started a bit ahead of Bang (around a lap ahead ...) so I thought I would run with him. But no! He went off with a Bang! I couldn't catch him, with the distance between us increasing with each stride.

The last set, and throughout the entire workout, Kelvin was right behind me, giving me no opportunity for rest. When it came for chin-ups, he just cranked out the 9 chin-ups without hesitation, with an appearance of a struggle on the last rep to make us mortals feel better.

After the Circuit, we were all fairly spent. Bang's energy in the second set caught up to him as he fought to walk. Mansauce was flowing through Kelvin as he felt a surprising combination of exhaustion and vitality. And as for me, I'm glad I went, now sitting in front of my computer with a laser focus I wouldn't have had without this morning's solid workout.

We concluded our time together, and started our Saturday, with a breakfast / brunch at Carine's at the Grange. A solid breakfast to start out a solid day. As a closing note, I quickly learned after the workout that salsa containers do not recycle well as protein shaker bottle!

=== Tue Mar 1 2011, 7:00pm ===

Today was the first day doing the Hart House Circuit in a while. I was tempted to quit after the first set, telling myself 1 set was a decent first try. I kept contemplating this during my second set, and by that time, I decided to just finish it. I finished feeling a mix of feeling good and not being able to move. I was almost at the "about-to-puke" state. While I like talking about working hard, lately I've been slack. In the process of my renewal, I realized that my fitness is mine. I'm not fit because others are less fit (or vice versa). I need to compete against myself, and allow my friends to inspire me to be better, but never to be sluggish or to settle with anything less than my best. Many of you are aware that I'm training for the Rome Marathon, which is coming up soon (March 20th). For those who read my previous post, you'll know that I've been suffering from an ailing back and have been looking at alternative ways to build my fitness and minimize injury. I find circuit training quite effective and plan to do it again on Thursday. In the meantime, I'll focus on today: eating healthy so far, will rest early tonight (Men's breakfast tomorrow), and will rest (and enrich) my mind during tonight's orchestra practice.