Two steps forward, one step back.

My to-do list is packed with stuff and somewhere on the list is writing a blog. There is just so much else to do but I think that it’s important that I write this blog today. I don’t only write it for you readers but also as a bit of self reflection and since I can’t say things have been going perfect I think it’s important to write this blog. Hopefully I’ll learn from it myself 😉

180 Days:
Start: 14-01-13
End: 12-07-13
Days left: 159

Poker
Goal: 500h
Pace: 58,3h
Played: 60,36h
Remaining: 439,64h

So I’m ahead by 2 hours which might look good but I’m not happy at all with how things have been going. Two weeks ago I had a proper week of poker but last weekend I already dropped the ball. I had a weekend away planned with 29 others and my idea was to go back on Sunday evening so I could play a full Monday and Tuesday. I already regretted the fact I would miss most of the TCOOP but the weekend away was planned way in advance so there was nothing to do about it. Friday after dinner I decided to play the LHE 6-max TCOOP since I didn’t want to miss that one but unfortunately the mobile reception wasn’t that great and I was timing out a lot. After the 3rd break I lost my reception completely and I was shortstacked and would receive both blinds right after the break. When I got my reception back I had only 6 blinds left and 3 hands later I busted 18 spots before the money. Playing on a mobile device is great but my advice is to only do it via WIFI or when you have a good reception to prevent frustrating moments when timing out 😉

In stead of going back on Sunday we went back Monday morning, were home Monday afternoon and when I got home my new mediaplayer (Popcorn Hour a-400) had arrived. I was a bit tired and didn’t want to play poker right away so I started playing with my new mediaplayer which resulted in no poker at all on Monday. On Tuesday basically the same happened also since I had to run a lot of errands that day. The stupid thing is that I can already predict these things to happen and I still let them happen. Somehow I’m not strong enough to do what I have to do first and I get distracted a lot by things which aren’t on my to-do list but seem more fun then playing poker or exercise.

This weekend my plan was to play poker on Saturday which didn’t happen at all due to all kind of things and yesterday I finally sat down again. I started a little later then planned but was doing fine till the moment my girlfriend came home. I was already planning to have a small break but I had the stupid idea to start watching a new TV-Series with her. We picked out House and I like the first episode so much that I wanted to watch another one. Going to bed afterwards seemed like the best plan so I only played 6 hours of poker in stead of the planned 10.

I hope by writing these things down it also becomes more clear to myself that things aren’t working out. I might be 2 hours ahead but saying this is something good would be lying to myself. The good thing is that the next coming 10 weeks I have nothing big planned during the weekends which means I could get into a rhtym for these 10 weeks and normally this is a great help. I also sort of commited myself to playing a lot since I signed up to get 300.000 VPPs by the end of the year. Now I didn’t want to make any VPP commitments this year but PokerStars runs a promotion in which you can earn money if you are on pace after the 1st and 2nd quarter. I need to get 75.000 VPPs before the 4th of April and I’m currently way behind which means I really have to grind the coming two months to get it. I doubted to change my goal to 200.000 because I’m pretty certain I’ll have 50.000 VPPs by the 4th of April but this would probably result in aiming exactly for 50.000 and nothing more. So 75.000 VPPs it is which seems very little compared to what I grinded out in previous years. However I’m playing way less tables and in stead of getting 750+ VPPs/hr nowadays I’m happy to get 350+. I’m also planning for a weekend to do nothing else then poker and I’m confident I’ll push myself to achieving my goals. Normally when doing challanges like this the start is the easiest but maybe it’s not even that bad that I started of with some hick-ups, it’s still early enough to turn things around!

Lifestyle
Alcohol: 0
Start: 104,7kg
Goal: 95kg
Pace: 103,6kg
Current: 101,3kg
Remaining: 6,3kg

So looking at the lifestyle part of the challenge things seem to be going fine. I have to say that staying away from alcohol was pretty easy so far. When we arrived in the big house last weekend everybody was drinking but I was doing fine with some cola light and water. It was also pretty easy to stay away from all the chips and candy but that changed the next day. On Saturday I started eating way to much bad food, there was just too much of it around the house. Somewhere in the back of my mind I was thinking: “I’m already not drinking, I’m not going to force myself eating healthy all weekend as well”. It wasn’t that bad but till that weekend I was losing a small bit of weight every day but when I came back I had gained a little. However at home I have no problem with my healthy lifestyle and I’m again losing a bit of weight every day. 101.3kg really looks good already, with a bit of luck I’m already <100kg by next week but for sure before my next blog! The weirdest part is probably that I’m hardly hungry while I’m eating 1500/1750 calories max every day. I’ll probably start eating a bit more as soon as I work-out more but I think so far the “lifestyle” part of the challenge is going by far the best.

Cycling
Morning exercise: Avg 3* week
1st at my own strava segment: Not yet
Scheveningen in 2h 40m: Not yet
Finish AGR 150km: Not yet
Alp d’Huez in 1,5h: Not yet
Finish Galibier: Not yet

As with poker I also skipped the spinning lessons last week mostly because of lame excuses. While being away for the weekend I skipped my morning exercises as well but since this week I’m already back on track. Friday we had our first “France” group meeting in which we are planning our trip to the Alps. I really want to outperform myself this year in cycling but for that I need to do a lot of training. Today it’s probably the first good day to cycle outside but if it’s raining taking spinning classes in the gym should be the alternative. Sunday morning I had set my alarm at 09:00 to go spinning at 10:15 and I really hated to wake up that early on Sunday. It was however my best spinning class so far so I was pretty happy that I went to the gym. Also on Saturday and today I picked up my morning exercises again and I can see that I’m improving. The plan is still to go spinning on Tuesday and Thursday the only threat to this is work. The spinning class starts at 19:00 and it’s currently really busy at work but I should be able to make it. If it’s not work there shouldn’t be any other excuses for not going!

We also planned at least one organised ride each month:
Sunday 24 February – 75km Snel – Ontwakingstocht
Sunday 24 March – 120km Omloop van Zandvoort
Saturday 30 March – 150km TBD
Saturday 13 April – 150km Amstel Gold Race
Sunday 5 May – 110km Classico Boretti
Saturday 15 June – TBD Mountain training

So there is plenty to look forward for. If we are a bit lucky with the weather this is going to be a great year! All in all things are at least already a lot better than last year. It’s two steps forward, one step back but in the end I’ll get there!