Saturday off = gym time

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I definitely did. So much to be thankful for, including having a 4 day weekend after coming back from vacation! hehe I should always plan my trips this way :)
Since I was not working this Saturday I made sure to plan a trip to the gym. However, since it's been just that long since I went to a Saturday class, I, of course, forgot at what time the boxing class was. I just remembered it was early! lol So I showed up at 9:15, thinking class was at 9:30 and the gym is all dark, not a soul in sight! lol Thankfully it was open to find out class is at 10:30. Yet another reminder that I really need to get back into training because it's really getting out of hand here, I don't even remember the basic class schedule?!? smh...
It worked out great: I went for a 4.5 mile run, got to stretch, chat it up with my peps AND I was on time for class! wow being early really has its perks hehehe
I finally used the last class in my 10 class pack that I purchased way back when. So now I'll get a 5 class pack and see how quickly I can use it up to determine if I can go back to getting the monthly membership. yes yes!! monthly membership! it is NOT too much to ask. It's going onto my Christmas list fo' sho'! ;)

Not admiting defeat yet...

Work has definitely had the best of me for the past what? year and a half pretty much? Sounds about right.
If this were a regular fight the ref would have most def called it and not been impressed by the few miserable attempts to stay in the fight. Referring to the rare and sporadic times I managed to make it to the gym to keep my hope of having muay thai alive in my life. Let me very clear here regarding how little I have been able to train recently:
I bought a 10 class package on May 12th.
I still have one class left today.
Pathetic. I have taken 9 classes in SIX MONTHS!! how so very very sad. smh... Breathe in, breathe out, let it go. ommmhhhhhhh
Well this ain't no regular fight, it's the ultimate fight prior to the UFC's and it's rules and regulations so it's far from over baby :)

Since worked has been legitimaly whooping my behind, I managed to take off for a week so I can press the RESET button and come back to a different phase, a phase and space where I have balance in my life. I am happy to say I ran twice last week AND went to the gym on Friday. Got a great workout in and saw all my peeps. It was the school fights at The Wat on Friday with lots of people getting their first go into the ring, like my girl Althea who is pure wisdom, resilience and inspiration. Also saw Chris Tran from Weapons 9 who brought in a few fighters. Chris organizes awesome fights in NJ and of course he asked me if I was training again. I wasn't able to tell him yes this time but wait for me Chris, I will be soon enough!

So off I went and landed in heaven:

Blogging in good company.

I will relax, recharge, get centered, feel at peace with nature and come back ready for the next and better phase.

Time to run, gotta get ready for my 2nd surf lesson!!

What is Muay Thai?

More specifically, what is Muay Thai at The Wat? Watc and find out the hype is all about! :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?a=&feature=youtu.be&v=h_GcWcfzIkU&app=desktop

Oh. And yours truly at 1:57 happily and successfully double jumping :)

Not there yet...

Made it to the gym today. Yes! YESSS!!
Ran the bridges before I trained, Brooklyn Bridge into Brooklyn back accross the Manhattan Bridge. I've ran that route SO many many many times. But such a long time ago, it felt like distant memory though it used to be routine. There's nothing like running and seeing the NYC skyline, just never gets old. Definitely more scenic than my runs in Harlem though both get the job done and the latter route has the benefit of having ZERO tourists getting in my way... ahh NYC tourists... Love that you guys are here but you're slowing me down man! lol I've been here too long.

While I was training I got to see the kids who started training at The Wat. Little itsy bitsy munchkins with itsby bitsy munchkin gloves hitting pads with a jab cross, right kick and learning how to block... So cute! Impossibly cute really. I wish I could have started at that age! If I hadn't been so darn prissy. I asked my parents a couple of years ago how come they hadn't signed me up for martial arts when I was a kid, my brother did judo so why didn't I do it too?! My dad just burst out laughing... Roared actually lol.
He said: "You? haha. You didn't want anyone to touch you! You were always scared to get hurt and when we asked you if you wanted to try judo, you made a face and said no." He mimicked me saying no in a very prissy way... since when do they listen to what I said anyway? But that time they listened, great... I did not recall this conversation btw, but was I surprised? uhm no. lol had to laugh about it myself.

So here's the update: week 3: ran a measly single time and did not make it to the gym at all. boo.
Week 4: Ran 3 times and hit the gym once. getting closer and closer.

If you've made it this far to the end of the post, I'll ask for a favor. I am hoping to get 250 votes for my office, Open Bright Pediatric Dentistry, to be considered for a grant by Chase to help in the opening of our new location in Harlem. We are almost there! 95 votes to go, please take a second to help us get there. Many thanks!!
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Does everything really happen for a reason?!

So last week Monday was a beautiful late summer day, I didn't make it to the gym so I decided to go for a run after work. It was a good run, at a good pace, by the water at dusk, people were out, I'm feeling good, happy that I turned a negative (not making it to the gym) into a positive (out for an evening run). So here I am on cloud nine and... BOOM! actually it was really like this: trip BOOM!
That's right, for no good reason, being the klutz that I am, I tripped over nothing and fell on my face. Well on my hands and knees. And literraly less than a quarter mile from finishing my run. grrrrr... People rush over, I brush it off, keep on running. No biggie.

and voila:

ouchie

yeah so... what's the moral of the story here? Don't go for a run after a long workday? Walk, don't run? Don't be such a klutz?
Well I say no to all three counts and to the latter is just because man I can't help it! I am klutz... lol

Week #2 and 3 summary:
Ran twice each week. Gym zero. Work wins again. Doing what I can one week at a time. It will get better, it just has to :)

Weekly Update #1

Here's my progress so far:

Runs: 2 so far. The first miserable in the pounding heat, the other much more enjoyable under light rain. Plus when I run tomorrow that'll be 3 for the week. So on track.
Gym Workouts: 1. BUT! I will pointout that I went to a MORNING class so really that's like double the effort and should count as one and a half! lol
Positives: The quality of my last run was WAY better than any of my recent runs. I can actually call it a run as opposed to a lame jog.
Negatives: Told Phil I was definitely making it to clinch class on Tuesday but didn't make it at all. boo. Work so gets in the way man...

Summary: Off to a decent start :)

Blog? I have one of those? for real?!?

Hey y'all.
So this week is the week that I have said "enough is enough!". Enough hiding behind my work, enough ignoring what I have to do, what I know I must accomplish and feeling down about not actually doing it. Cause if I don't get to it right right now, surely I will die!
At least mentally and emotionally it would be the end of my half a** motivation. So it's kick it into full gear now or keep stalling indefinitely...
So enough I said! I'll live my life like I drive: full speed! :)

I am bizack. Ran three times this week. Even got a 5 mile jog in, for the first time in who remembers how long, this morning. Was it fun? Umm... not quite. Today was so hot it hardly feels like the first day of September and I'll blame the heat for the heaviness in my legs, in my arms and the cramp I got half way through in my abdomen. Felt good a little/not so little while after it was all over hehe
So here's the plan: Wake up earlier, get at least 3 runs in each week, be more productive at work so that I relieve myself of feeling guilty for going to the gym at the very least twice a week. Feasible? Very much so, yes yes!

Reading a book called "Getting Things Done" by David Allen which is helping with the organizational part of being more productive at work, i.e. the first step to freeing myself from unnecessary mental burdens.
If you dont' hear from me soon then I didn't yell "enough is enough!" loudly or convincingly enough lol
Talk to y'all soon! Promise, cause I mean it this time!!!! L.

How long can you hold plank position?

Ever tried holding plank for a few minutes? yes? Then you know how at one point, your whole body starts to shake. You know how your abs start to burn. Then you know how at one point, you're tempted to let your belly sag or instead you resort to sticking your but up to give your muscles a semi rest. That whole proess may kick in after 30 seconds or maybe a minute a two depending on your level of conditioning.
Well, can you believe that a 16 year old girl held plank so long that she broke the world record? She held plank not for half an hour, not even an hour, but for 1 hour and twenty minutes!! Amazing. Check her out:

http://gabiury.com/pt-br/video

Short trip to Boston

So I'm Boston for a few days to attend a meeting and I, surprise surprise, went for a run. Score :)
Man. The good folks in Boston run FAST. Well in my eyes anyway... but then again I jog. I say I go for a run but you should know that means a jog. I was not made to run, I do it but not like the real runners do it lol
As it became very apparent yesterday as the Bostonians whizzed by me, time and time again. It was great though, nice weather, scenic downtown views by the Charles River.
The best part of the trip though is visiting my cousin and his family. My little cousin gave me this:

I found my motivation! I so want to keep punching!! Wish I was punching something/someone right now!
Reality is that I haven't been to the gym in over a month. Work kept me at work. Boo.
Going to the gym on Monday night for sure fo' sho' #missTheWat #missmyWatfamily

Who ran this week?

Tens of thousands of people ran the Boston Marathon this past Monday

#BostonStrong

People who run marathons really impress me. How do you get up one morning and say "I feel like running 26 miles! I'm going to do a marathon!" It impresses me cause I am NOT one of those people lol. Well so far anyway. And when I drive somewhere for 26 miles, I think "that's how far I'd have to run to complete a marathon?!?!" and there's just no way... I am just not one of those people.
But then tens of thousands of people run a marathon and there are marathons happening all around the world all the time. I bet a few of the marathoners did not see themselves as "one of those people" at one point in their lives. I bet they started running just a few miles a couple of times a week. And struggled doing it too. Until one day they started to believe that they could do it. Until someone encouraged them to do their first 10K race. Until they saw themselves at the start line of their first marathon. And eventually crossed the finish line.

Be Boston Strong. One small step at a time.
I ran a couple of miles on Sunday, a couple of miles Tuesday and I'll run tomorrow. #smallstepscount

Passed :)

After Phil wanting me to take this test for at least 2 years, after him being disappointed that I kept putting it off time after time, he finally found a tricky sneaky way to guilt me into doing it without appearing to guilt me into anything... in true Phil Nurse manner. So after all of that, it is done. I am officially no longer a beginner! haha...

My prized yellow armband.
Now if I can get belt this year, whatever the color, white, yellow, green, black... that would make this year complete!

What in the World have I been up to for so long?!?

Sneak Peak:

That's right folks!! I have been working on my double jumping. That was me doing double jumps last Monday for 30 WHOLE seconds. First time ever that I jumped that long!! woop woop!!!
Uhmmmm... wait a minute. When did I start working on my double jumps? I went through my old posts, it was almost EXACTLY a year ago! It took me a YEAR to double jump for 30 seconds?! yeah good job, great job indeed lol
Sure I haven't been training intensely for the past year but still man! haha I'm still happy I can do it though.

The motivation behind this drastic improvement is that on March 19th I was taking part in the school test at The Wat in order to obtain my yellow armband. Comparable to moving up a belt in other martial arts.
So I've been training for the past 2 months with my traning partner Nikki to sharpen my skills and improve my knowledge of Muay Thai to show Kru Phil Nurse that I should get my yellow armband. This is actually long overdue considering that this is my 5th year doing Muay Thai and that I'm a fighter with a total of 10 fights. Yes I've been avoiding it, was not looking forward to ANOTHER test in my life but I'm glad I finally did it.

The day of the test I successfully completed 30 seconds of double jumps.
Phil then asked me to do 45 seconds. I took a deep breath and started jumping.
I was feeling good and had a good rhythm.
I felt confident about getting to the 45 seconds without missing.
Started breathing heavily at 35 seconds.
A few seconds later I caught my toes with the rope... AAAARRGGGhhhhhh...
So close. Phil later told me I messed up at 43 seconds. Can you belive that? 2 seconds short.
Oh well, that was still the longest I have ever been able to do.
I'm aiming to do a minute, which is what I should be able to do as a fighter.
Just give me another year or so :)

Nikki and I after the test

All the students who were testing with Phil and Kamuti

Pads Class last night

So it took some deep soul searching yesterday evening for me to make it to the gym. I really really tried to find an excuse not to go. But I left work on time, I had gym clothes in the trunk of my car and enough gas in the tank to make it to Tribeca. So off I went...
I usually take clinch class on Friday nights but with no rash guard with me, intermediate pads class it was.
When it's been a while since taking pads class, I get a little nervous about just jumping in there again, I have to admit. The conditioning part of those classes sometimes are hard to handle and sometimes the instructor just feels like wearing out your body and your spirit... just because.
So I worry when it's been a while...
We were an uneven number so I paired up with Vince, "the little bulldog" and Alex. Both fighters and both train pretty hard. I'm thinking "great. why did I do that again?" cause they're gonna make me look bad!! Vince just doesn't stop, he just knows forward, forward, forward and HARDER! geez he's great, great despite the fact that he hasn't been training cause he's in college now... When I grow up, I hope I'll be like Vince one day, even if for one day that would be an accomplishment. Really.
Well I should not have worried, cause working with them made my day. We had a great workout, they pushed me to work harder and I pushed right back. It was exactly what I needed: flip the switch ON! Cause it's in there, I guess I just need to stop acting like it's not still there, like I don't know where the switch is or don't remember how to work it...
Putting myself in the right environment (the gym), surrounded with the right people (fighters who just like to hit stuff hard) and it's a wrap.
I want some more of that please!
Coming right up y'all :)

March Issue of Fitness Magazine

Woop Woop! I love Muay Thai! Fitness Magazine now loves Muay Thai haha :)

Resolutions in action

Today is February 8th 2014 and this week is the first week that I made it to the gym twice AND got 2 morning runs in. A small step in the right direction of my New Year's resolution to get back into training as would be expected of a fighter. A small step but a step nonetheless. I feel great about it!
I think the most important factor which has allowed me to make that happen is that I decided to stop judging myself when I didn't make it happen. I would be hard on myself and feel bad for not waking up early enough and all the other reasons why I did not train. This negativity would just stay with me and actually keep me from doing things differently. Negative brooding or moping maybe is a better word.
Well I'm done with that. I am being positive and I celebrate the small steps and what I am able to get done. Now positivity surrounds me and I am more productive and feeling so much better.
Did I lose you with my pseudo-philosophizing? lol
Like my good friend Hsini says "Don't think. Just do!". Check!

Interesting convo with Phil Yesterday

Phil: "Oh. Susan is going to talk to you about something."
(Susan is a pro boxer and one of the main trainers at The Wat)
Me: "Yeah?"
Phil: "There may be a fight for you. Sometime in April."
Me: - I give him an intense are-you-out-of-your-mind look, mixed with a hyper-raised eyebrow.
Phil: "It's in April! There's still plenty of much time."
Me: "yeah. so much time... sure. I can barely make it through a beginner's class at this point"
Phil: - Laughs. "Ok ok... up to you but just so you know. It's an all female card".

Great. As if I wouldn't love to be part of an all female card. As if I wouldn't love to get into the ring again, and to get to it soon! I would absolutely love that, I dream of that, routinely!
However, I know how far I am from being in the shape I should be in to even be able to consider it happening. I also know the commitment it takes to get to that point... don't know that I can handle that along with my workload at this point.
Very frustrating but April just ain't gonna happen, maybe for the summer though...

Loving my scale

3 weeks of eating salad as one of my meals = losing 5 pounds = my pants fit again = no longer worrying about busting my pants open!
feel much better already though work has still been keeping me from my beloved gym. Going tomorrow for sure!!
All is well that ends well. Right... THAT's how the saying goes lol