Saturday, February 1, 2014

Chicago's Approaching!

Chicago is fast approaching, and I am counting down the days until my fight! I've been keeping up with my ridiculously early morning training sessions and I've surprised myself by rewiring my body clock so that I'm actually well-rested and awake in the morning. Well, as awake as you can be at 5 am.

The training isn't the difficult part for me; the diet is the difficult part. Maybe not so much difficult as unpleasant. I've even cut out my sweet-tooth satisfier and savior: coffee creamer! Just the thought of the cookie sundae flavored creamer mixed with a steaming cup of coffee makes my taste-buds cry. Fortunately, the deprivation of all foods pleasurable has been working and my weight is exactly where it needs to be.

This week, I had my first meeting for the Fighters Source League. Travel arrangements have been made, and I finally feel like this is real. I'm flying out on a Thursday, weighing in the next day, fighting Saturday, and flying back Sunday. The fight will be held in a civic center with space for thousands of people and I will be fighting on the same card as Jeff Monson, a very well-known UFC veteran. Although I still don't know my opponent, I'm trying to just focus on what I need to do to be a better fighter.

It was announced at the meeting that there will be no shin pads worn at any of the fights. Getting kicked in the shin hurts, as does kicking someone with your shin- who would have imagined? To help condition my shins for the upcoming beating, my trainer has me kick a thick rope wrapped around the base of a pole. The concept is that my shins develop calcium deposits and eventually the nerves become numb. Until that happens, my shins feel exactly like one would expect...they hurt! At first, I felt tough kicking the rope. Now, I just feel the pain.

Grappling is a new passion of mine. At first, grappling just frustrated me. Every day, I spend at least an hour drilling submissions and submission escapes. There are few things in life more satisfying than getting someone 40 pounds heavier than you to tap out. It requires a lot of thinking and pushes every muscle in your body to the limit. It also leaves you with plenty of bruises, and I am excited to announce that I got my first black eye. It really is just a baby bruise under my eye and I'm not entirely sure when I got it, but I wear it proudly.

February 15th can't come soon enough!


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