Another Cop Moment

Reached another police work milestone last week. 

Realized that I know just about everyone in my beat that I need to know.  Prostitutes, dealers, bums and vagrants.  I'd like to meet more of the local residents who live in the area, but there's a level of distrust towards cops in general.  They tend to shy away unless we are absolutely needed. 

I now know all the professors and staff on campus, too.  They all know me. 

This is a good thing.  I'm able to work with these people, the good and bad. 

It helps to be proactive. 

Not to worry...

Still working out.  Yesterday was a Kung Pao crapper day.  Last time I eat KPC from that chinese restaurant.  Day before was heavy on the legs.  Wall balls, air squats, back squats and abs.  Back is much better.  Now, just need to pick up the pace and work on my goals.  

Weight
260

Warm up:
Run 400m
Partner up - Medicine ball sit ups x 20
Run 800m
Med ball sit ups (10' apart) x 20

Skill Training:
1 min sit ups
10 sec. rest
50 sec. sit ups
20 sec. rest
40 sec. sit ups
30 sec. rest
30 sec. sit ups
40 sec. rest
20 sec. sit ups
50 sec. rest
10 sec. sit ups

WOD "Humble Pie"
5 rounds for time
100m run with 25# weight
20 overhead lunges w/ weight
20 Russian twists w/ weight
20 clapping push ups

Yeah, it was a humbling WOD today.  I promised myself I'd do five rounds, and I did.  Hit muscle failure on the pushups by round 4.  Ended up going down to my chest, raising my hands about two inches off the ground, and slamming myself back up.  Took some doing.

Tomorrow's goal is to complete the WOD and get as close to prescribed (RX'd) as possible.

Don't know what the fuss is about...

Took a break from my classic book list and read the "Fifty Shades of Grey" trilogy.  Yeah, laugh and point.  Go ahead. 

Have you stopped?  Good.

I was bored.  Needed something to read on the Kindle, and nothing was grabbing my interest at the moment.  I'm halfway through a story by Antoine Saint-Exupery, trying to muddle through MSG Paul Howe's instruction manual, and haven't even scratched the surface on Chris Kyle's autobiography.  I was in a rut.  And I needed something to occupy my mind for the last week working overnights. 

My interest was piqued while on patrol two weeks back.  I ran into a woman reading the book while patrolling the campus lots.  She was parked in a corner of one lot that doesn't draw a lot of attention.  Only reason I made contact was the fact that she was blocking a moving lane of traffic in the lot. 

Pull up beside her.  Beautiful young lady.  Wouldn't throw her out of bed if I were single.  She's not even paying attention to her surroundings.  Bad thing to do in this part of town.  I tap on her window and realize she's trying real hard to....umm, how should I phrase this....'double click her mouse button.'

She looks at me in abject horror.  Puts the book down on her lap and tries real hard to wish me away.  All the color drained from her face.  Had she parked in a stall, there'd be no problem.  Ten minutes in a moving lane of traffic...problem.  Not that big a problem.  Campus was closed for the evening anyway.  I just wanted to make sure she was alright, and get her to move the car to a safer spot. 

Well, me trying not to laugh too hard, and her embarrassment aside, she moved, and I resumed patrol.  Enjoyed the laugh.

Couple hours later, I go down south to check a satellite campus.  It is out in the sticks.  Takes five minutes to patrol when closed.  I usually catch a bum or turd trying to camp in the back.  Not too fancy, just run their identifiers and kick them to the curb. 

As I make my approach, I spy a vehicle parked at the far entrance (only have two points of entry onto the property).  Noticed the engine was running, but the sun screen was blocking the windshield.  Position the patrol vehicle, call out and pop the lights on.  Don't know what I'm facing, so I make my approach wide and unholstered. 

I peer in the passenger side to see a pretty young woman three knuckles deep into herself.  The way she moved around, you might think she was dreaming of riding the bull at Gilley's.  Before I interrupted her, I checked the interior.  No drugs, alcohol or other contraband.  Back seat clear.  (Yeah, she was that into herself.  She never saw me)  But there was a copy of "Fifty Shades" on the passenger seat. 

I tap the window and break her from her 'ministrations.'  Guys, if you've ever had to cover up cuz your mom walked in, you know how that must feel.  Didn't have the heart to give her too much static.  Just warned her that the campus was closed and she should find somewhere else to be.

So that got me thinking about the book.  I bit down and loaded it to my Buckley (what I call my Kindle).  I've read better stuff from the Penthouse Forums, to tell the truth.  As advertised, this was porn for bored housewives.  I did like the character development at first, but it didn't get much better.  Plot?  Meh.

Waste of money, to be sure.  It did kill several hours of overnight work, though. 

I hate her!

Talking 'bout a bitch named "Jackie".

Weight
256.5
I'm ahead of the weight loss curve.  Didn't think it would drop this fast.

Warmup
Run 800 meters
PVC "Cindy"
AMRAP 5 minutes
5 Overhead Squats
10 pushups
25 Thrusters

Skill
3x5 Bench Press
increase weight by 3-5 pounds each set. 
I maintained at 165, but could have jumped higher.

WOD
Jackie - Benchmark WOD
For Time
1000m row
50 Thrusters @ 45# (men/women rx)
30 Pull ups
I finished somewhere in the land of 18 minutes.  The best of the class was a teenage Christian Grey knocking out a 7 minute flat rx'd time.  Mine would have been faster, but I had to go pee right before I did pull ups.

I'm coming off a strained back from the deadlifts a couple weeks back.  Add to that, I've been working night shift since last week.  Doesn't give me a whole heckuva lot of time to workout.  Same for Swede.  She's hating my schedule, too, because it messes with hers.  I've got one more night shift this week.  Maybe I can get back into the swing of things on Wednesday.

Break On Through

Weight
258.5

Workout
None

Fighting an allergy/cold thing in my head.  It has kept me down the past couple of days.  Work isn't helping much, either.  Goofy scheduling with one guy out on medical.  Hope to pick back up full time next week. 

Got a couple of funny ha-ha's to share.  I'll get them up here when I wake up again.

I'll Sleep...

When I'm damned good and ready!

Weight
262

WOD
None

Work
4th of July Night Shift (12 hours)

Gotta love me some overtime.  Especially when it falls on a holiday, and my day off, and I'm called in to work five hours after getting off said holiday OT shift. 

Yeah, sleep is for suckers.

I did manage five solid hours rack time.  Woke up just after noon.  Felt pretty good, too.  Even felt strong last night around Bar-30.  That time from 0230-0430 is a hard one for any soul on the night shift.  The plan is to hole up during this time.  That way we avoid drunks and potential problems we are not staffed to handle.  Only 5 people on shift covering 600 square miles of territory and numerous campuses.  Yeah, we don't get into much sh** off campus. 

I was working Southwest Patrol.  Headed over to the main campus in the area only to find a maintenance alarm was going off next to the office.  While not loud, it was annoying.  Annoying enough that I gave up the air conditioned comfort of that building to hide out in the other police office next door, with only a small box fan to cool me and the cockroaches. 

About the time I was contemplating my navel through my eyelids, I decided to do a graveyard shift WOD.  If anyone ever plays back the video from the security cameras, there'll be a lot of WTF's floating around.

WOD
4 rounds
20 air squats
20 lunges
20 push ups

It got the blood flowing and kept me from venturing out to the local Whataburger for a caffeine fix.

Speaking of which.  I could've reached through the drive-thru window (hey! back off, it was my cheat day) and throttled that spatula jockey.  Place my order, roll up to the window and wait.  He gets my order up and hands it through the window.  Looks around for his manager and says, "Here, on the house."  Well, that's fantastic.  I always love free food.  But I'm a cop in uniform.  I pay my way, and don't take any form of gratuity without making effort to offer compensation.  I'm sorry, taking advantage cuz I'm in the uniform is not how I roll.  Besides, there are rules in place regarding officers taking gratuities from the public (yeah, yeah, I know there are 'unwritten rules' about cops getting free food wherever you go.  I don't roll that way, so stow it!).

Said burger-wrangler keeps flapping his gums at me as I try to hand over my exact change.  Yes, exact change.  I used to eat at Whataburger so often, I know to the penny what a Whata-sized A-1 Thick n' Hearty meal with Diet Coke costs.  He quips, "No charge.  Some day, you might pull me over and we can call it even!"  Thoughts of ASP baton therapy clouded my head right there.  I rolled my eyes at him.  He tries to pass it off as a joke, but the words were spoken.  Can't call backsies. 

I put my money in the window and told him I didn't appreciate the comment.  He still tried to wave me off.  I told him point blank that I am a paying customer like anyone else.  I don't mind the discount from time to time.  That's their store policy.  Anytime I get comped, I will offer to pay.  If you don't accept, then take my money and put it towards the next person's order.  That simple.  The only other time that happened was at a restaurant where my partner and I had to make an arrest.  Manager comped the meal.  We offered to pay.  Instead, the waitress got a nice tip for the cost of the meal and 15% extra.  It was only fair. 

Some people just don't get it.

Return to the Land of WOD

Weight
263#

Warmup
2 rounds
Row 250m
20 air squats

Skills
Overhead Squats with PVC pipe

WOD
60 double under buy-in
or
120 singles

21-15-9 of
Overhead Lunges 65#
Kettlebell Swings 25#
Bar Burpees (do a burpee, jump over weight bar, do another)

Finished in 20:40.  Three minutes slower than Swede. 

I need to increase my kettle bell weight this month.  The 25# was too light for this WOD. 

Back still feels twitchy.  Don't know exactly what the cause is (guessing slipped disc).  I'll go again and work on Friday.  Pulling night shift duty at work tomorrow, and have to pull a double on Thursday.  Gonna suck waking up for that shift.

Doing better on my eating habits.  Still slip with the occasional extra soda, but not decreasing in usage either.  Making smarter choices daily is getting easier.  Not quite the strict caveman eater, but I don't overdo the foods on the no-no list.  A good reference for Paleo recipes is here.  Don't be shy, try making one.  Can't go wrong with a diet that encourages you to eat BACON!

Getting Ahead of Myself

Weight
260#

Warm Up
None

Skills Training
None

WOD
None

Just weighed in this AM.  Found I am at 260lbs.  That's great!  I'm five pounds ahead of my goal.  The goal is to drop five pounds every month until December.  This will put me closer to 230lbs. by Christmas. 

It should be no problem to adjust the weight loss goals down for every pound I put myself ahead.  Wait!  Did that come out right?  Whatever.  Moving on. 

This is an easy goal.  I did not want to make a 7, 9, or 10 pound monthly goal.  I figured five was a nice easy number to shoot for.  You gotta take into account the hours I work, meal time and what I consume.  In the long run, I would not be surprised if I hit closer to 210 by end of year.  The diet should help. 

Sticking to Paleo is a full conscious effort.  I have to resist urges and sudden cravings for processed foods, snacks and sodas.  I'm down to one McD's soda a day, but still fall into the easy trap of swinging through the drive thru lane for a refill. 

Today, I went into a grocery store to get breakfast.  McD's was across the street.  Grabbed a mixed fruit container and a healthy snack for later.  The healthy snack had sugar in it, but it beat the processed, drive thru alternative.  I even saved money.  I know that those snacks will keep a few days.  Just something handy to keep in the vehicle for fighting urges.

Focus

Crossfit has helped me gain a little more peace and harmony in my life.  I guess it comes from the large amount of stress and chaos the workout entails.  It's a ball's out effort against a timer.  There's a sort of martial zen to the whole process.  I tend not to think of anything at all except the weight on the bar, or how many rounds I've completed.  I work on perfecting my form, or getting another double under, or an unassisted pull up.  I get done with the WOD and I'm all used up.  Nothing left. 

My demeanor has changed.  I'm more relaxed.  Charged with energy and higher self-esteem.  Right now, I'm so new to Crossfit that I soak up all there is to know about it.  I'm full of questions, thirsting for knowledge. 

Crossfit has made me rethink my goals for the year.  I pay more attention to them and have been working towards them eagerly this past month.  Not just the physical, but work goals, personal and family, too.

Here's what I want by December:

• Lose weight.  I'm 265# today.  The goal is to lose a minimum of 5 pounds every month until December.  I should be at or below 235# by Christmas.  This will be achieved through diet and exercise.  We all know the exercise.  Starting next month, I plan to ramp that up with my coach's help.  I'm trying the Paleo diet now.  Meat, veggies, fruit.  No dairy, grains or processed food.  I don't know if I can be a strict Paleo eater.  There will be a small bit of processed foods, and some dairy.  Hey!  I'm Italian.  Gotta have some pasta and pizza from time to time.  This also means cutting out drive thru (which I have been very good at this month) and sodas.  I'm down to one large soda a day.  Should be eliminated by August.  
• Develop Skills.  Crossfit has a lot of different skills to learn.  I'm familiar with all of them, but a master of none.  I can get the occasional double under with a jump rope.  I can even kip a pull up without using a band.  Rope climb is gonna take a little more practice, but I'll get there.  First thing's first!  I will master double unders.  Next is pullups.  Those are two skills most used in the box.  
• Increase max weights on Oly lifts.  This will come with time obviously.  I know my benchmarks.  Ideally, I want body weight on ALL lifts by December.  My goal is higher.  I want 300+ lbs. on squats, deadlift (already there!), and bench press.  I will continue steady progress on all others.  
• Police Work.  I will have completed all online training for my TCLEOSE Intermediate Certification.  That leaves all class work and time in service left.  I will also take advantage of all in-service training offered.  
• Financial.  Reduce my debt to zero (less mortgage).  Build a savings 'rainy day' fund.  Discipline myself to avoid unnecessary spending and waste.  Use extra jobs to build up financial reserves.   

I'll chart this progress, too.  Hopefully, my three readers will appreciate this work and use the opportunity to find more peace and harmony in their lives.

2 Steps Forward...

One Step BACK...

Ow.

Must've torqued my back on Monday's lifting exercises.  Not feeling the love today.  Had a DNF (did not finish) on the WOD today. 

Knew something was wrong when we worked on the GHD machine.  I'll take it easy tomorrow and try again on Friday.  Hopefully there'll be some improvement by then.

Weight
265

Warm Up
400m run
4 rounds of
15 wall ball
15 abmat sit ups

Skill
GHD machine
Ab extensions and back extensions
This is where I started feeling the pain. 

Weight Training
Squat Cleans
1 rep max at 95#
Could've gone 115, but opted to protect the back today.

WOD
.357 Magnum
AMRAP 12min
3 Squat Cleans (95/65) *I did at 75#, Swede did hers at 65#
5 Front Squats
7 Lateral Burpees
Run 50m

I could only finish 2 rounds before I had to stop.  The back just wasn't feeling right.  I'll keep working on core strength.  That's about the only thing I can do to protect the back.  

MONSTER!!

Had a monster workout yesterday.  Six month benchmark WOD.  Backsquats, Strict Press and Deadlift.

Weight
265#

Warm up
400m run

WOD
1 rep max of
Backsquat 265#
Strict Press 126#
Deadlift 305#

I showed improvement over the past month in each lift.  After a hiatus of over one year, I managed to match and exceed each lift.  I didn't think it was possible.  I was going for as much weight as possible, but never thought I could go so high.

The deadlift was the most impressive.  Last year, working with a friend, I maxed the deadlift at 315#.  I didn't catch how much weight was on the bar until the instructor called time.  He double checked the weight and told me the good news.  Due to time, he wouldn't let me try for a PR.  I could've nailed it.

This is the kind of results I like to see.  Just never thought to see them so fast.

Slept in today.  Don't know what came over me.  Just one of those things.  Got my wife and daughter out the door.  Sat down to watch the morning news.  Next thing I know, it is 10am.  Oh well.

Sucks!

Being broke sucks.  That is all.

WOD 062212

MORNING WEIGH-IN
266#

WARM UP
Run 1/2 mile
30m bear crawl
30m crab walk
Run 1/2 mile

SKILL TRAINING
Double Unders (8 completed)
-need to work on height and rythm

TIMED EVENT
2 minutes AMRAP situps
50 completed - goal is to get to 100 in 2 minutes

WOD 1
10 minute AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible)
10 kettlebell swings @ 25#
20 slamball @ 20#
30 double unders/singles

2.2 reps completed

WOD 2
10 minute AMRAP
10 goblet squats (squat holding 25# kettlebell)
20 plyo pushups (one hand on ground/other on slamball)
30 double unders/singles

3.2 reps completed

COOL DOWN
50 superman
50 abmat situps

I should mention that my vest and uniform are fitting a little looser today.  Always a good feeling to know you may need a tailor in the near future.  More energy overall.  Not minding the heat while wearing duty gear.   Getting there.

WOD Killer!

So, I've jumped into the Kool-Aid pool and joined a Crossfit 'box' (box = gym).  I don't see why I didn't do this after leaving the SEAL PT program a couple years ago.  Oh, yeah, I thought it was too hard.  Puss...

Anyway, I've made strides in the four weeks I've been working out.  Dropped a couple more pounds, gained muscle mass (slowly but surely), and increased alertness and stamina.  Don't need that extra soda pop on shift anymore. 

For those that don't drink from the Kool-Aid fountain, Crossfit is a hardcore workout program that incorporates Olympic lifting, cardio, plyometrics, running and body weight exercises.  You work against a clock for most workouts.  Others are against weights, or even team events.  It is all built around your own ability and strength.  Take for example, I can't do pull-ups for sh**.  Can't do ring dips real well because one arm is 1/8th inch shorter than the other.  I can bench and squat like a mo-fo, though.  I'm getting closer to the weights I was working at last year.  My running and run stamina have improved dramatically.  Makes sense when I work foot patrol most weeks. 

Even though I am not the world's greatest Crossfit athlete, I have been in two competitions.  The Maltz Challenge (a LEO based challenge), and the Memorial Day Murph (named in honor of USN LT M. MURPH - KIA A-STAN).

I don't work for the largest department.  We don't see a lot of action on a daily basis.  In fact, I haven't written a report or caught a case in three weeks.  That doesn't mean I won't go toe-to-toe with some turd trying to break into a car or classroom.  We still on-view activity off campus and have to act.  Crossfit helps me be prepared for when the fecal matter connects with the oscillating air dispersal unit.

I treat every workout like it is the fight of my life.  I don't quit. 

I'm gonna start using the blog on a more regular basis to track my workouts and diet habits.  I have a goal of December to drop approximately 40lbs.  This is weight I've been carrying for a while.  My ideal weight is somewhere in the 220lb. range.  On top of that, I plan on breaking the 350# barrier on backsquat, benchpress and deadlift exercises.  It can be done.  I was deadlifting 315# this time last year.  My other goals are to complete a RX'd (prescribed weight) WOD (Workout Of the Day), unassisted pullups/ringdips, and jump rope double unders.

If you're interested, check the Crossfit link in the paragraph above.  Below is a taste of what I've done this week alone.  Mind you, it ain't the world's greatest, but everyone starts somewhere.  Watch as the weights increase and my times diminish.

Monday:

Warm up
Run 400m
10 pushups
10 air squats
10 tuck jumps
10 broad jumps
10 burpees

Skill Training
Virtual "Fran" Workout for time.  "Fran" is the name of a 'benchmark' WOD to see where a person stacks up against the rest of the group.  It helps to chart progression in Crossfit.

Time Completed: 4:09

WOD
Benchmark "Fran"
21-15-9 reps for time of
thrusters @ 45# scaled
pull-ups w/ blue band

Time: 8:30

Tuesday:

Warm up
3 rounds of double unders/singles at 1 minute each
PVC Mobility Stretching

Skill Training
Power Clean
5 sets x 3 reps each @ 135#

WOD
5 rounds for time
10 hanging power clean @ 85#
12 ring dips (black band)
14 toes-to-bar

Time Completed: 18:50

Wednesday

Warm up
1 mile run for time @ 12:21
20 air squats/lunges/slam ball @ 20#

Skill Training
Hand Stand Push Ups

WOD
5 rounds for time of
30m walking lunges
10 pushups
30m walking lunges

30m burpee broadjump
10 air squats
30m burpee broadjump

30m goblet lunges (lunge while carrying 20# kettlebell)
10 goblet squats
30m goblet lunges

Time capped at 26min

Time Complete
3 rounds at 24:45

Today

Warm up
500m row
20 air squats with 5-10 second hold at bottom

Skill Training
1 rep max front squat at 195# (couldn't quite get 215#)

WOD
16 minutes of Luv!
4 rounds
minute 1 - 5 front squats & bar jumps
minute 2 - rest
minute 3 - 5 front squats & max push ups
minute 4 - rest

Time complete
16 minutes - score by lowest number of bar jumps and push ups completed (15 + 9 = 24points)

We shall see what tomorrow brings. 

Time to cook my caveman dinner!

Lessons

There's a lesson to be learned when a person starts their LEO career.  It happens right after that first hands on fight with a suspect. 

That lesson is realizing you have a healthy amount of fear while on the job, but it doesn't prevent you from stepping right in and handling business.

It happened for me on Thursday.  I'm not worried about doing this job.  I know I can.

I'm the reason why...

Met two little three year old boys while out on foot patrol today. They were all 'gee-whiz' about a real live police officer talking with them. I went through the usual show and tell with the stuff on my duty rig with them. Had an exchange that went something like this:

Boy #1: "You catch bad guys, mister?"

Me: "Yes, I do."

Boy #2: "You shoot the monsters?"

Me: "That's right. I'm a real live Monster Hunter. They hide under the bed 'cuz they're afraid of me."


Now, I wonder if I can get an off-duty badge made with Larry Correia's MHI logo on it? That would be cool.

Not in the Brochure...

One of those things not in the brochure, but you are made aware of, when I went 5.0 is the variety of sights, sounds and smells. Those three things make up my day in any number of variations.

Let's focus on the smells for a minute. Did you know that marijuana, much like napalm, sticks to just about everything? Yes, it does. Even kids who smoke it.

Caught a case last week involving two kids holding. I won't get into details. Case is still pending. But I will tell you that the smell was awful. It does not go away during an eight hour shift.

And the Coolness Just Keeps a'Coming!

If you haven't paid any attention to the online April Fool's hijinks, then you missed this.

Gotta love Capitalism at work. When this ad went viral on teh webz, demand shot through the roof. Now, 5.11 is going to offer this in a limited run. I plan on being the first kid on my block with one.