I have found that what I eat before a weekend class can really affect how I perform in that class. No later than ninety minutes before class starts, I usually will have something along the lines of a mashed up banana with some granola, some raisins, and then a smattering of skim milk or lowfat yoghurt to moisten the mixture. It is a concoction of dense carbohydrates that provides me with enough fuel to last through the two hours of training, albeit with a bit of stomach growling probably triggered by the smells of food emanating from the street below.Yesterday before class, I did not plan so well. The bananas I had purchased on Friday still had a greenish tinge, and the mere thought of having to crunch a bowl of only granola made my jaw ache. Instead, I settled upon my leftovers from lunch the prior day. Maybe it was cos I was still in a sleepy haze, but somehow I decided half an iced coffee with half of a vegetarian sandwich (portabella mushroom, spinach, tomato and a sliver of fresh mozzarella) would be perfectly fine for breakfast.
Not the most brilliant of plans. During basics, I felt wobbly and dizzy, and seemed to be sweating profusely -- even more than I usually do cos of training. I took myself out during a few of the moves and still could not cool down, and my wooziness got worse. I fell over at the end of chujiquantao. I stretched on the wood near the windows, and still felt like crap. Weird.
So we resumed basics with waibaitui, and after I got through two trips down the carpet and started feeling disoriented, I took myself out of the line, and told Shifu I needed to go get some sugar. I grabbed some money, went downstairs and bought a bottle of Coke -- not my usual Diet Coke, but regular -- and guzzled half of it down. When I got back to Temple, the class began forms practice, and I started feeling human again. I didn't feel 100%, but I felt a lot better with that added jolt of sugar in my system and was able to practice forms for a while.
I concluded that I must have burned through the few carbs in that half of a sandwich awfully quickly, and became hypoglycemic (aka had a low blood sugar level) as a result. I must remember to eat better before class, especially when it's the first meal of the day, and I probably ought to keep some kind of quick sugar fix in my bag, like some kind of packet to mix into my water and/or some hard candy or whatever. Anybody have any tips?
I got my hair cut a few weeks ago for the first time in almost ten (!) months, and as a result, I have quite a few shorter strands of hair towards the top of my scalp that are too short to bundle up in my hair elastic. So for the past few classes for which I've actually made it, I've been slightly distracted by the stray hairs constantly flopping in my face. I'd brush them back and tuck them behind my ears after each time down the carpet, only for them to dislodge themselves with each powerful kick (har har) and end up back in front of my eyes, or worse yet, in my mouth. And lemme tell you, Shaolin hair don't taste so good sometimes.
