Well, that flew by. I’m getting a little nervous thinking that the fight really will be here before I know it… Will I be ready?
It was the tale of two halves. The first 2 weeks I crushed it… Had so much excitement and enthusiasm! The fundraising got off to a scorching start with almost 10K in 5 days! Then reality started to set back in. This was going to be a long journey… An absolute test of my patience and trusting in the process.
After the hot start my training was interrupted by back to back weeks that had travel back to the west coast. Once for a wedding and the other for a volleyball tournament (that I haven’t missed since 1995). As much fun as these two events were, I found myself stressing about missing training. When I came back from Seattle the first time, I felt lethargic. My sleep was off, my energy wasn’t right, my attitude wasn’t great and I started to get frustrated with the training- and myself.
As I looked around Mendez Gym, I saw so many people that just look so much better than me- More fluid, more loose, better footwork, better movement, etc. And here I am still working on jab, jab, cross, hook. I wonder why I’m not learning new stuff? The fight is just around the corner and we’ve got a lot of ground to cover. My attitude was a little poor. Add in work, meetings, my boss (and friend) crashing at my place and I all of a sudden felt like I was just fitting boxing in wherever I could. My rhythm was really off… And then I left again. And came back the same way… a bit tired, a little under the weather (lots of time spent on airplanes), just out of my flow.
And then something clicked. This notion of ‘Flow’. I realized that I’d been sacrificing another area of my life- my daily meditation practice. When I’m firing on all cylinders- eating healthy, drinking less, working out more, stretching, meditating- everything in life benefits as a result. I’d been doing most of these things still, but in a disjointed effort (much like my boxing)- I was seriously out of sync.
And so even though my first day back after my vball tournament I was still pretty tired- I forced myself to get back on schedule. Finding harmony between work and boxing, between resting and training, between external and internal happiness- and just like that things started to come back together.
Another thing that helped was that I began sparring. Not the full sparring that I’ll be doing as I move on, but controlled sparring against another guy at the gym. His name is Ugo, he’s 26, about 6’3 and 220, and an exceptional athlete. Rules of the sparring were simple, I’d try to hit him, and he’d try to play defense (not really fair to him- but it’s what we both were told to work on). We did this for a few days, gradually increasing the number of punches he’d throw my way. It was very helpful just moving around the ring, getting coaching from Harry, trying to find my way in/ working on footwork and angles. Then Ugo would drill me in the stomach and remind me that yes, I needed to be ready for shots to be headed my way as well…
It was a much better week and a positive way to round out my first month of training.
And so month #2 begins. I feel stronger. I feel faster. I feel like my endurance is up and my weight is finally holding now that I’ve changed my diet (and increased my calories)… But, I have a long, long way to go in a short amount of time. Nov 15 will be here before I know it… and I intend to be ready.
Much love and bliss,
B
Here’s a few shots from the sparring (without giving too much away 😉 )- Thanks Ugo!
KO'ing Cancer 