Sunday, May 24th, 2009
Today I didn’t get any exercise in. This is the worst I’ve felt with this cold. I got some walking in but unfortunately, not stairs, no jogging, and no weights. I have been pushing myself pretty hard and figure a day to rest is alright. As long as it doesn’t continue for more than 48 hours I’ll be fine. Hopefully I’ll feel better tomorrow.
Saturday, May 23rd, 2009
Training:
30 min stairs
8 min abs
20 min jog
upper body weight program
Today, after still having a sore throat, I wanted to give up after 20 mins. I figured I would be getting A workout in at least. When 20 mins came up I was halfway done a great song. I figured I would finish that song off and then stop. After that song was done, one of my all time Frank Sinatra tracks came on. That got me jogging until 25 minutes. Once I made it to what I did the day before, I figured why not keep improving and go for a full 30 minute program. I finished after putting on some more Sinatra at about 32 minutes. I felt great having done about 12 minutes more that what I thought I was going to do.
When I got home I figured that was it for my workout. I used the same mindset with the stairs though and started doing my 8 min ab workout. Once that was done, I decided to just go right into my weight routine. It worked beautifully and I finished off the day having done my proper routine. I’m sweating out this sickness.
The great thing about doing this too is that I don’t feel sick. I just have a sore throat and cough. I’m already feeling better and I know that soon I will start looking better.
Music during workout:
Gangstar
Frank Sinatra
Cancer Bats
Friday, May 22, 2009
Training:
Stretching
25 min. stairs
8 Min Abs
Music While Training:
Jimmy Eat World and Gaslight Anthem (jogging)
Kings of Leon (Stairs)
Consumption:
1 bowl rice crispies
mmmmm cranberry juice. Lots of cranberry juice
2 pitas and hummus
1 veggie dog
1 fruit smoothie with protein powder
bowl of strawberries
I started working on stretching today. I’m can’t believe how unflexible I am! I can’t even touch my ankles. I’m a few inches away!!! If I keep putting that off though, It’s never going to get better. I’ve been thinking about that a lot actually while doing my stair training. I think about how I need to be more impulsive if that’s the right word. Basically when I think about things too long, they take forever. It’s not that I’m talking myself out of doing something, it’s just that I keep thinking, “I’ve gotta mail those letters”. If I added up all the time I thought about mailing things, and invested that time into actually mailing them, it would be done by now! I’ve gotta stop thinking and start doing.
I guess I have been doing that though with my exercise program. It’s coming. Even though I can’t see results yet, I know they are coming and I’m feeling better. The other great thing is that I feel better knowing that I’m going for it.
I’m just about to hit the feathers and want to snack because I’m used to it. I know I don’t need it but I’m hungry (or at least I feel hungry) but having had a veggie dog not that long ago, I know my body has all the nutrients it needs. NEEDS not WANTS. I found when I started my first juice diet, at first I felt hungry and then I would just give it a bit of time, and then wouldn’t be that hungry after. I think I just have to get used to doing that again.
What i REALLY should be doing, and am going to do now that I’m thinking about it, is drink a big glass of water. My dad, who is in WAY better shape than I am and knows a lot about physical fitness as he is in GREAT physical (and mental shape for that matter. His dad jokes are second to NONE!) anyway, I digress, he trains with professional athletes and talks a lot about proper nutrition and diets. He has learned that before each meal, you should drink a large glass of water. This helps to fill your stomach. Also, when you feel hungry and am in a situation like I’m in now, hungry for the sake of being hungry, to just drink a full glass of water. Water is great for many reasons. It keeps you hydrated, is great for your skin, fuels the body and has actually been proven to make you smarter. (your brain runs on electrons and since water conducts electricity, people who consume a lot of water are smarter. Don’t ask me to name my source but I’m sure if you look for it, the study is out there). So bottoms up!
On a positive note, I heard from one of my skydiving coaches and we MAY have a lead on a new drop zone for the stunt. I’m not going to give anything away and am not trying to get my hopes up, but if this works out, we should be good for our July target! I’m sure I will go to bed tonight, dream of skydiving, as I seem to do every night.
Sweet dreams
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009
Training:
20 min jog
10 min. stairs
full upper body weights
Consumption:
1 bag spinach with garlic
1 fruit smoothie with protein powder
1 pineapple, pear and apple juice
Thursday, May 21st, 2009
Training:
20 min. jog
20 min. stairs
8 min. abs
full upper body weights
4 hours walking
Music during workout:
Radiohead - In Rainbows (Stairs)
JayZ - Reasonable Doubt (Weights)
Gaslight Anthem - The 59′ Sound (Jog)
Consumption:
Apple, pear, pineapple juice
1 veggie dog
1 order of hunan tofu on rice
1 protein shake
Bad Day for consumption, I’ve gotta change that for tomorrow!
These beautiful, clear blue sky days are really making me want to go skydiving! It’s great motivation.
Wednesday, May 20th
Training:
20 min jog
15 min. stairs
Half upper body weights
Music During Training:
Hatebread - Satisfaction is the death of D (Jog)
Radiohead - In Rainbows (Stairs)
Justis -Just Is (weights)
Brutal Kink in the neck. Took it easy
Beautiful day… I’m getting back in it!
March 29th, 2009
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIS!
Whoa it’s been FOREVER since i’ve updated this. My apologies! I’ve been busy resting, touring, catching up with friends and working on my new presentation.
I had some much needed lazy time but I’m feeling SUPER inspired now to really get crackin’ on everything.
With regards to the stunt, I’m still looking for a willing Drop Zone to facilitate everything. I’m also hoping to find some sponsorship to facilitate the financial aspect of making this all happen as my account is empty from the first training that I did.
It’s been over a month since I’ve jumped out of a plane and it’s KILLING me! I miss the sport SO much.
I’m also currently working to get my lazy self back in shape. I’ve been
February 20th, 2009
After completing a few fun jumps, I took to the skies to attempt the card trick a few more times.
The first attempt, we lost our camera man. We should have had him in a wing suit to show his fall rate. Luckily this time, we had a camera on Lindsay, the volunteer. Her footage turned out great but I still wanted another view.
Our second attempt, we had Matt in a wing suit and hired on a great friend and professional aerial cinematographer and tandem instructor, Nick. He also happens to be Lindsay’s boyfriend so it worked out great! Our exit was great, and the trick went great. The only downfall was Lindsay let go of the cards! I took about half of the deck in the face and the cards hit SO hard I thought my visor was going to smash. Had I not been wearing a full face helmet, I’m sure my face would be un recognizable. When I caught the card, it was on it’s side and it REALLY hurt my hand. It’s a day later and I still have a big red mark on my hand from where the card hit. The footage looked great on this run though despite losing Matt again.
The third attempt of the day was the sunset load and we had to do it on the sky van. My body position wasn’t great on this one but the trick still worked. Lindsay’s footage looked good but Nick’s wasn’t great due to my body position. This was the fastest attempt with an average speed of 127mph. I’m going to submit it to Guinness as soon as I’m home. Right now I’m going to call it an unofficial record.
I’m still in search of a drop zone and am about to board a plane for Vegas to meet with some people there about it. I’m going to keep you posted!
February 19th, 2009
I came to Southern California expecting to face and conquer one of my fears. One key part of my planning that I forgot to factor in was having other people conquer their fears at the same time. It was this unplanned factor that looks like it’s going to topple my stunt… for now anyway.
After weeks of back and forth, reaching top people, finding out there are more people above those top people, I finally ran into the decision makers. The real decision makers at the end of the day. The lawyers. It seems they aren’t willing to work to overcome their fear of being sued. I understand. I’ve been training at a world class facility. So big in fact that they have two schools successfully operating out of the one airport. They are probably one of the only drop zones in the world to have a jet. That’s right, an actual jet for when it gets REALLY busy. And overall, just a really big and great Drop Zone. Basically, too much to lose.
It seems they aren’t willing to overcome their fear of being sued in the unlikely event that something goes wrong. It’s not my skills manipulating the handcuffs as I have proven those. Although I’m new to the sport of skydiving, I don’t think it’s fully the fact that I’m “inexperienced” as they have given me national permission to pull at a low altitude, do water jumps, and even jump at night. I didn’t think it would come down to me suing anyone as my first day on the drop zone was spent filling out pages and pages of documents stating that I wouldn’t sue, but apparently I was wrong. I guess sometimes when you’re trying to reach your goals, there are always going to be people standing in your way. I’m glad these lawyers and decision makers didn’t even meet me face to face. Honestly! They would have known they were actually inspiring me.
They did something they really shouldn’t have. They told me “No”. Maybe they were trying to ensure my success! So far, every time a situation like this has come up and someone told me “No”, I’ve gone on to accomplish and exceed my goals. My first stunt, Escape To Cloud Nine, was cancelled two days before the stunt was supposed to happen. They weren’t the only balloon company out there. This time, I’m given one day notice (on the third time rescheduling this effin thing!) but again, there are other drop zones out there. Drop zones that don’t fear a non existant legal team.
When I heard my favourite two letter word this morning, I could feel my heart sink. Here I was, far from home, broke, exhausted and bleeding. (It was only a little cut on my knuckle and I don’t even know how I got it but I was actually bleeding. Go with it, it adds to the drama of it all). I was one day away from my scheduled stunt, and three days away from my scheduled flight home. Part of me wanted to give up, pack it all in and go home. That thought lasted about a half a second and then I realized there are still lots of things I can do. First and foremost, find another drop zone. Done that’s a given. But there is always more you can do.
Why not go for another world record while I’m here? I have had the thought in my head all along and decided today would be the perfect day. Sure it sucked finding out I couldn’t do what I came here to do, but there is always a turn around. I could turn the day around by doing the “World’s fastest moving card trick” (or at least that’s what I think it will be!) I got Hannah to film it and one of my packing coaches to come along for the jump as my volunteer.
While we were rehearsing, I had a whole load of skydivers telling me that it wasn’t going to happen. They laughed at my idea! The two people that went along with it were the only ones I needed. Hannah and Carmen I knew I could count on. After all, one I trusted with my life when it came to packing my chute, the other I trusted with my life for the stunt! Again though, tell me “No” and I’m gonna do it. Even if it is just to prove you wrong!
“There is NO way you can hold a pack of cards with 120mph winds.”
“and you expect someone to pick a card and find it? HA!”
My roommate made a GREAT half prediction on this though. He thought I was only going to be able to hold onto one card, the three of clubs! Ha ha ha ha, laugh it up!
The idea of the trick was this. I wanted to jump out with a volunteer (not just ANY volunteer, a skydiving volunteer!) have them select a card, return it into the deck, grab the deck, throw it and I’d hopefully catch one and only one card, the selected card. Simple enough right? Well again, factor in 120mph free fall speeds, cold temperatures, a definite end time to the trick (the ground) and flying with three people! Oh, and I don’t usually need to constantly check my altimeter when I’m doing car tricks on the ground.
Reaching altitude takes a while. I’ve seen people reading books and then tucking them into their jumpsuits, listening to ipods, even talking on cell phones! Today I was able to entertain them with some card magic on their way up to help pass the time. It was a riot! My hands were freezing and it was hard to manipulate the cards but I was able to manage just fine. As we approached 12 500 feet though, I needed to get ready and try not laughing at the ridiculous nature of this trick! We get into position and GO!
After a terrible exit (my fault!) we leveled off. Now it was time to prove everyone wrong. Years of performing for drunks at parties has given me a firm death grip on the cards. Handy for keeping cards out of the prying hands of drunks and apparently doing card magic at 12 000 feet. The card fan worked! My volunteer picked a card and in typical TV fashion, showed it to the camera. Naturally the magician turns his back as to not see the selection so I did just that. I usually wait for an audible cue that the volunteer is ready for me to turn but that would have been pointless. I turned back, had the volunteer put the card back into the deck and passed it off to her. She released the cards into the screaming winds and WAM! The three of clubs? WTF! I guess my roommate was right after all! Unfortunately, I caught the card at about 5000 feet and I didn’t have enough time to get a close up on camera of it.
You better believe I was able to open my chute, do a proper canopy control check and fly down with that sucker in my hand. If I could fan a pack of cards during terminal velocity, I could do that. I got to Hannah laughing and laughing and laughing. Apparently she was laughing the whole time! When I showed her I still had the card she thought it was a riot. I THINK I’m the first person to do that!
When we checked the footage, we determined that the exit wasn’t great, I should have straightened my legs a bit more during flight and we should have given Carmen a weight belt so that she’d fly a bit faster with me. We now knew it was possible so why not try it again with the necessary changes. We went over the changes and rehearsed again.
Take two:
Smoother exit. Not perfect, but it was a lot more stable. The card selection was a lot faster this time too. Everything seemed to be a lot smoother and faster. She returns the card, takes the deck, lets them go and WAM! I did it again! I noticed we had about four more seconds before we had to track away so I started flying towards Hannah with the camera. Closer, closer, closer AHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I dropped the effin card! We had to pull anyway and it was the sunset load so it would have been tough to see. MAN we were close though!
Nonetheless, two successful attempts at a trick I was told I couldn’t do. I’m planning to spend my whole day tomorrow searching for a new drop zone between filming that trick until its perfect.
My day started with a big fat ‘NO’ and ended with a big fat smile on my face! I jumped my own rig today (it was my first time on a 190 chute but it felt great!) I got to jump out of the skyvan again today, and I got to have fun doing card tricks on the way up AND the way down from a flight. I’m going to have to do the research but I also think I was able to do the “World’s Fastest Moving Card Trick”.
Jumps today: 5
Total Jumps: 63
February 18th, 2009
Today I started jumping on a smaller canopy. My goal was to get down to a 190 by the end of the day. Although the smaller canopy flies a lot faster, you soon find out that speed is your friend. The faster you’re going, the more responsive the parachute is going to be when you flare (put the breaks on at landing). I jumped six times today and landed standing each and every time. I was ready to hop down to a 190 (the size canopy I just bought) by the fourth jump but unfortunately, my chute was being worked on, and all of the 190 rentals were out. I know it will be ready first thing in the morning and I can’t wait to try flying it.
I started the jumps with three solos working on stable and unstable exits while holding my waist. All the jumps felt great! It was a little freaky at first as my chute took longer than normal to open but I was going into it expecting it.
My second jump had a minor line twist but again, I was trained to fix the problem. Also, I realized on the ground that one of the reasons I had that happen, was because I was opening with the wind and not facing it. This, especially on a windy day, causes you to spin a bit twisting your lines.
Right before my fourth jump, I was asked if I wanted to work with another new skydiver on a two way. I decided it would be a great opportunity to work on some of my new belly skills learned with Hannah the night before in the wind tunnel.
Our first jump was good not great. We had a really stable exit and it felt great. While we were flying, it was hard for me to match his speed. We were able to do a few points (formations in the air) before we had to track away and pull. I also got caught in his burble (the air bubble right above him with dead air). This causes you to collide in the air. I think it caught both of us by surprise but we were able to keep flying.
Our second two way was a lot of fun and much better. We did an exit known as a “Horny Gorilla” Essentially you lock legs and grab arms and flip out of the plane. I had flipped by myself several times but flipping with someone else was really fun. We REALLY flipped fast! Once we were stable out flight was a lot better. This time instead of me matching his speeds and heights, I had him meet me half way. (So when he was flying lower then me, he would slow down and I would speed up) The first time it was me doing all the work. This allowed us to make more points.
I finished off the day with a solo fun jump. This was the sunset load and as the plane reached altitude the other divers all started to whistle and holler! The pilot was taking us up an extra thousand feet which everyone was excited for. It was a beautiful sunset load to begin with but we all appreciated the extra free fall time. Going up on that jump was a guy doing his 25th check out dive. (this is the jump that gets you you’re a license and allows you to jump with other divers). It was excited to see him go for it and I remember exactly what he was feeling having been there just a few weeks earlier.
The long walk home gave me time to think about the day and get excited about finally jumping my own rig tomorrow. I will be there as soon as it opens, ready to jump as much as I can.
Jumps today: 6
Total Jumps: 58
