Far from the summit, but enjoying the ride

True to form, I’m continuing to update this irregularly and train even more erratically. That’s not to say I haven’t been in the gym a lot, I just have yet to find that certain groove, that brutal comfort zone of discipline and exertion that I need to be “bout-ready.” But I'm getting there.

Speaking of bouts, I’ve been eyeing a November 1 event for my "return." Yes, that’s not even two weeks away, and yes tonight I sparred for the first time in over two months, but I’m itching for a bout and feel like I’m physically prepared to get back in the ring. Besides, it’s only an exhibition (albeit one that usually draws a huge crowd) and it’ll be a good test of whether or not my experience coupled with my (still-in-the process-of-being-rebuilt) physical prowess is enough to get by on. Then again, my cardio is far from where I’d like it to be…

But I guess that’s the point. I know I’m not back to my peak, but I know I’m (well) on my way. And I’m antsy for a good scrum. So, end of the day, what’s with the second-guessing? It’s disconcerting knowing I’m not peaking yet, but maybe I’ll surprise myself. That, and a swift kick in the ass (or right cross to the chin) might be good for me – keep the fire fueled and help knock some of the ring rust off.

More than my (unfounded?) self-doubts, the main reason that I’m not locked up for the 1^st is because the gym owner never asked me if I’m available, per his usual process of signing his fighters up. I shot him an email this morning and he acknowledged it when I saw him tonight, so we’ll see if something falls into place. By the way, I don’t acknowledge him as my trainer anymore – he’s got to get in the ring and, um train me to earn that title. Petty? Absolutely not – dude ain’t training me anymore.

Some bullets about what else is going on:

- My grandma passed away last week, so I had an unexpected and unfortunate trip to KC this weekend. She was 85 and had a long, happy life, so it truly was a celebration of life and good visit home, bbut for the purpose of training it was yet another unfortunate interruption. RIP Grandma.

- But back in Boston, it’s definitely working out swimmingly walking from work to the gym. Not only does it save me a round-trip commute, but it alleviates any anxiety during the day that I’ll have to skip my workout due to a late night in the office. If anything, it helps to intentionally stay at the office a bit later every night – I’ve got that much work but always know that everything will still synch up and fall into place over the course of the night. Last week I even started brown-bagging lunch and a light, pre-workout dinner, a practice I plan on continuing for the forseeable future.

- One of my sparring partners has not only begun working at the gym, but has decided to focus more on MMA. While this has yet to (and shouldn’t ever) cut into our sparring, it’s turned him into a bit of my trainer by default. He’s far more of a defensive fighter than I am and knows his stuff, so I’m optimistic that his new roles will help me a lot. Additionally, his MMA gym has recruited my old (and best) trainer to be the boxing coach there. I’ll have to see how scheduling and logistics work out, but I’m definitely excited to see how this develops and how I can incorporate some additional resources into my training.

- As mentioned in the first big paragraph, I sparred for the first time in well over a month tonight. (Hell, it’s probably been closer to two months.) I moved around with a hard-hitting brawler who never stops coming forward. And by never I mean, never ever quits stepping forward and throwing bombs. I’ve sparred with him before and usually get the better of him, outhustling and outthinking him to the point that I’m "counterboxing" rather than just counterpunching - sticking, moving, landing at will and then stepping back/out before he can even let his hands go. The 1^st round was a similar story, but by the middle of the 2^nd round I was slowing down and starting to get pinned against the ropes, avoiding and blocking many of his punches but getting all the more tired absorbing so many blows - counterpunching rather than “counterboxing.” (This kid is a solid competitive fighter, but, well, I can literally box circles around him when I’m in peak shape. Or not getting worn down.) I maintained my pace and output in round 3 but felt myself leaning too much, getting caught by a couple (stupid) big shots and just being a little too gassed to box effectively. But that was to be expected. A couple onlookers complemented both of us on our skillful aggression, so I didn’t feel quite as disheartened about being so gassed after three. Besides, an amateur bout’s only three rounds, so what’s the big deal, eh? Aside from constantly striving to be better, that is…

So all in all it was a great first sparring session back, the perfect measuring stick – a talented opponent pushing the pace for the entire fight, keeping me thinking and moving, boxing smart and truly seeing where I am. Which seems like a fantastic place given my recent hiatus.

I’ve got a long way to go and need to really keep buckling down – a little more attention to diet and roadwork immediately come to mind – but I’m enjoying the ride and eager to keep scaling the mountainous distractions, trials and tribulations of training.

Striking a balance

The past week+ of training has been nothing short of fantastic, thanks largely in part to quickly striking a work/play balance outside of the office. While this may sound like it's just increased self-discipline now that I'm healthy and training again (which it is), the fact that it's a work/play balance and not a work/life balance is a significant new development occurring largely because of the better logistics and culture of my new job. It's refreshing having to tell co-workers "sorry, can't make happy hour tonight, walking over to the gym," instead of calling and canceling on one of my training partners because I've got to stay late to rack up the billable hours and have it get too late (and me in too bad of a mood) to screw around with the commute out to the gym at 8:30 p.m.

Bitter? No. Just loving the new job and the newfound ability to synch up the different facets of my life - namely training consistently.

Some quick bullets regarding how the past week played out:

- Past 7 days of training synopsis:
Sunday: Upper body circuit, abs, 3-mile run
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 9-round bag circuit (3 heavy, 3 hook, 3 double-end), 3-rounds focus mitts, abs
Wednesday: Upper body circuit, abs, 3-mile run
Thursday: Rest (unplanned - flu)
Friday: Rest (unplanned - flu)
Saturday: Plyometrics, 12-round bag circuit, abs (bundled up to sweat out the flu - kinda worked)
Sunday: Crazy cardio and leg circuits with Antonio, 3-rounds focus mitts

I definitely want to start detailing my workouts (better than above) on a daily basis. I feel like typing out my workouts would help me see any possible holes in my routines and just make everything more efficient and consistent, although I'm confident that will happen on its own as my training gains some momentum. I guess putting it all out here will help keep me honest, but then again there's no lying or faking it in the ring, so...

- Being sick sucks. 'Nuff said.

- Looking to start sparring this coming weekend. That way I'll have 3 weeks of training behind me, have a comfortable cardio base and (hopefully) have some ring rust off before putting the headgear on. Speaking of which, Tommy (reminder: one of the best 140 lb boxers in the country) introduced me to a couple people he thinks would be good for me to spar with. I was glad to have my phone book expand, but couldn't help but laugh when he told his sparring buddy "Yeah, Jonathan's a good fighter. Great to spar with - real durable."

Yeah, that's right. I'm durable. I can fight the nation's best, he can hit me (essentially at will) and I'll keep right on coming. Durability - the stuff of champions, baby.

- Stayed in Saturday (after a great workout) to watch the Mizzou game (and by game I mean 52-10 ownage of Nebraska) and Boxing After Dark, which featured bouts with two fighters who are always entertaining (Yuriorkis Gamboa and Alfredo Angulo) and Sergio Martinez, a fighter I'd never seen fight before but whom I was completely impressed by. If you're reading this and aren't keeping an eye on these fighters, well, start. But then again, before long you'll be able to see shades of all three in me: Gamboa's otherworldly athleticism, Angulo's straight-punching aggression, and Martinez's blazing hand-speed and pin-point precision. That, and James Toney's love for food...

Home or Homesick? Neither - just hungry

"In the journey to be better or best, do not forget the simple joy of being."

So just this week things have "really" started moving along, work and boxing alike. In addition to maintaining my aggressive cross-training regimen and transitioning into my new job (going GREAT, thank you) I've also begun easing back into the gym. And yes, I've been going to that gym - the boxing gym - the one with the elevated ring, the bags, the musky aroma, the constant thump-thumps and electric ping-ping-pings from the bell.

Finally back and finally rolling, thanks largely to my improved health and the fact that, from work, it's a shorter walk to the gym than the bus home. I've been itching to get back in the gym for weeks and couldn't possibly get this ball rolling any sooner. However, after a couple days of solid workouts, my training campaign was (per usual lately) interrupted by a 5-day trip to Kansas City for my best friend's wedding.

And wowee what a trip it was.

But at the same time, I feel like it kind of triggered a mid- mid-life crisis. Nothing big, so much as a little nostalgia.

And a lot of introspection.

I've lived in Boston for 5 happy years but I still consider KC home. And of course, home is where the heart is. As such, when you go home, see your family and closest friends, hit your town and have (hands-down) the best long weekend of your life, you can't help but be sad it's over.

And by "it" I mean more than just the wedding weekend.

Since last weekend my memories > emotions > thoughts have traversed every corner of my meandering 23-year life. And this isn't one of those cliche, Hollywood-esque "what's it all mean? what's it all for?!" self-examinations. Everybody wants to win at something, everybody wants to belong, everybody wants to be happy, everybody grows up, gets older, reality and your fat genes set in yadda yadda yadda. I know.

But this is different.

I miss Kansas City. I miss my boys (and girls - especially a few bridesmaids, hardy har) and family and dog and baseball team and food and the smells and the seasons and everything back home. I wonder whether going to Mizzou would have been better for me than BC (in the sense of life leaning more towards weekends like the last, of course) or what course of life decisions would have been best for my boxing career or on and on and yadda yadda yadda.

But then I wonder if, no matter what I did up to this point in life, I'd be as happy with my job, apartment, friends, hobbies, lifestyle, my everything that I've got going for me in Boston. Because I'm happy here.

At least I think am.

I feel like I am...

What should make someone happy? What makes me happy? What makes/should make/would make/could have made me happiest? Am I happiest? Will I ever know? And even if I did, then what?

I'd keep on...keepin' on, I guess. What else is there to do? What else would I need to know?

Well I'm (obviously) not there yet. But I know how I've felt this week, in the ring and just thinking about it. I know I'm hungrier than ever. I know what I want to accomplish and I know how I'm going to do it.

I'm going to train. I'm going to fight. And I'm going to win.

Because I know boxing makes me happy.

And because I know that there's nothing that's stopping me.

New (slow-moving) beginning...

So, unfortunately (always great to start a piece with "unfortunately," huh?) there's nothing new to report on the boxing front. My thumb is still creaky - better, but still a bit creaky - and I haven't put my gloves on in almost 6 weeks now. However, I'm still cross-training actively (not even going to bother posting my schedule and routines, just trust that I'm aggressively hitting the gym and road 5x/week) and am ready to hit the ground running once I get back in the gym. Which will now be sooner rather than later because...

I just changed jobs.

And I couldn't be happier.

I have a new found appreciation for athletes who battle off-the-field issues in the middle of a season. While I'm (obviously) currently only an amateur boxer and more working professional than pugilist (*sigh*) I never would have guessed how tiring and time-consuming job-hunting is. The "project" and "obligations" I mentioned in previous posts was a reference to me spending every hour not at work looking for, well, other places to work. I have a newfound understanding and respect for any athlete going through an ugly divorce, a family illness, or whatever storyline the Herald or ESPN feeds you, let alone the other aspiring, full-time desk-jockey/part-time athletes.

And not only am I getting settled at a great company, but my office is just a 15-minute walk from my gym. So no more setbacks or excuses.

The distractions are behind me. Work, while new, seems to be in order. Thumb is healing. Logistics are in my favor. I'm hungry, I'm in-shape and good lawdy am I restless.

Hopefully this is the last - no, this is the last - post illustrating my "out-of-gym" shenanigans. Not only will I have the time to update this more often, but I'll be able to actually, well, update it with progress and new developments.

Eat-sleep-work-BOX.

These past two months have crawled by, but now, it's truly a new beginning.

Shortest Post to Date

It's been too long since I wrote in here and I don't have much of anything to report, so I went ahead and named this the "shortest post" in advance.

Slowly but surely my achy thumb is feeling better. I've been cross training actively - lots of body weight exercises, plyometrics and running 4-6x/week - but I've made sure to shut everything down at the first sign of pain. My first trainer always told me that the most important thing you can do when training is "listen to your body." I think he kind of used that as an excuse for skipping a tough workout, but I've adopted it as a mantra as I turn the intensity back up.

I actually wouldn't even call my thumb painful at this point - it's more like a dull but frequent soreness. So that's promising I guess. I'm going to try a bag workout tomorrow and see if it still throbs on contact. It will be my first true boxing activity in more than a month. My fingers are crossed that it's pain-free.

Looking at the situation in as positive of light as possible, I think this injury came at a relatively good time. It always stinks having setbacks and injuries, but I have a major project in my life right now (will reveal it at the appropriate time - hopefully soon) that would have thrown off my schedule anyway. All of my setbacks and other "life" obligations decided to strike at once and so I guess I'm "fortunate" they piled up while I was injured. At the same time, it's unfortunate that they're happening at all. But I guess that's what determination is for.

As I revamp my training I'm going to revamp my posting. Promise. My recent "big boxing push" is still very young and has already encountered a number of obstacles, roadblocks and nuisances, but I have reason to believe that my feet (and thumb) are back under me and that there are good times in the squared circle right around the corner.

Thumbs Down

Haven't written because I haven't been training.

My thumb is officially an issue. Tested it sparring a couple weeks ago, bumped it (didn't jam it, just made contact parrying a punch) and felt another electric pain in the base of my thumb. Could put some weight on it, but it was unbelievably sensitive to the touch to the point that I decided to just shut it down. Have cross trained a little since then, but not nearly as consistently as I'd like (need) to. Too broke and busy to get an MRI or X-Ray. A doctor would probably just tell me to shut it down and throw a splint on it anyway, so I saved myself the doctor's bill and took those steps myself. Time and relative rest does seem to be helping it heal, but the fact that it still has pain "flares" after 2 weeks (more than a month since it was initially injured) is troubling. Whatever.

You have no idea how irritated I get when I nudge it on something and have napalm shoot through the nerves in my hand. Fuming just thinking (and writing) about it. Which is silly. But I'm that frustrated and that restless to get back in the ring. Anyway...

This blog was founded largely to document how my profession would mesh with my boxing conquests. Well, right now, there's no meshing. It's been straight, pure conflict. And while I still love what I do in the office, well, I love what I do in the ring a bit more. Is that so wrong?

Work is throwing pretty long hours my way and it has become a chore to find the hours to even get to the gym during operating hours, let alone have the energy to drive myself to complete a full, satisfying workout. Perhaps it's a blessing in disguise - helping me avoid weight and contact and allowing (whatever the hell's wrong with) my thumb to heal. Or perhaps it's a royal pain.

Definitely feeling the latter.

Yesterday I canceled my August 15th fight. Haven't been training, definitely won't be "fully" training this week either, and I refuse to rush myself into a bout knowing beforehand that I'm incredibly unprepared. And hurt.

I mean, obvious decision, right? I don't know why I keep tying so hard to convince myself that it's the right decision.

Oh wait, I know why - because I don't want to.

But I need to. Need to heal. Need to train. Need to clear my frustrations, get on a better, more consistent schedule with a trainer, discipline myself now so I'm disciplined when I'm preparing.

Need to get back in there.

Quick hits

Training has taken a detour (but still moving forward, mind you) for a variety of reasons, but I'm definitely about to regain some momentum. Some quick bullets:

- I've suffered a number of boxing-related injuries before, but whatever the hell I did to my thumb a couple of weeks ago definitely qualifies as the first of my revamped amateur campaign. After finishing a "typical" aggressive Sunday sparring session (did well and felt even better) I took my 20-ouncers off and found my left thumb throbbing. Howling. I didn't remember jamming it awkwardly while sparring, but clearly, well, I did something nasty to it. It swelled up and could hardly hold any weight for a couple of days, and now almost three weeks later it's still sensitive to the touch. I've been reluctant to hit anything firmer than a focus mitt from fear of re-aggravating it, but I'm definitely near the point of considering myself cleared to resume my full training regiment (namely sparring) and all the while am incredibly anxious that this will be nagging for awhile.

And no, I didn't get it checked out by a doctor. It's a thumb. Small joint, lots of nerves and tiny bones. Whether it was a break, a chip, a crack, or (the likely culprit) a sprain, there's nothing a doctor can do besides splint it and tell me to not use it. Which I did on my own. Kthanksbye.

- While my thumb woes effected my workout routine and efficiency, it did not alter my training schedule. I've been doing more plyometrics and cardio circuits and have used bag gloves for most of my workout to keep my fist uber-tight and ensure that my punches are landing on my knuckles accurately, far far away from my poor, aching thumb. I've had a healthy dose of weights and roadwork as well, which is an aspect of my training that I want to keep consistent. In all, I don't think I've lost much physically the past couple of weeks. Definitely not peaking, but certainly not declining, either.

- Between nursing my thumb, long hours at the agency, and indulging in the pleasures (read: vices) of summer I'm quite proud of myself for how well I've maintained my training regimen in the face of so many scheduling land mines. Company summer outing? Wake up at 5:30 a.m. and run. Four-day 4th of July weekend on Cape Cod? Train the 3 days immediately before and after the vacation so I utilize both the rest during the break as well as the"freshness" immediately after. Hooray self-discipline!

- Looking forward to watching Wladimir Klitschko fight Saturday afternoon. I've been a big Klitschko fan for a long time in spite of him becoming a frustratingly inconsistent fighter the past couple of years. I'm not a big fan of heavyweight bouts anyway (especially when junior welterweight - super middleweight are as stacked as they've been in recent memory) but I've just always enjoyed rooting for Klitschko, the athletic specimen with a PhD, and really the only heavyweight who stands out as a true talent worthy of being called "champ." I hope he dispatches Tony Thompson quickly and convincingly to, well, convince the world that he's on a level far-and-away higher than the other "contenders" in the weak division.

It looks like it will be mid-August before the next opportunity for a bout rolls around, which should be the perfect timing for me to be healthy and in top-shape again. In the meanwhile, I'm looking forward to picking up the pace and tackling the work I have in front of me.