Friday Roadwork

Did 1 hour and 8 minutes out there. It was much cooler outdoors today. At times, I even felt a cool breeze. Keep at it!

Getting Back to the Gym

If all goes well, I'll be back at the gym tomorrow morning. I've spent a lot of time developing a plan for 2012 and have spent the last few days implementing some of the plan's first tasks for my law firm. It will be great to get back into a regular training routine.

As for the law practice, I have a renewed enthusiasm to generate new business this year and explore a variety of opportunities. I also watched some very good MCLE programs during the past week. (That June deadline is getting closer.) I think the recent spring-like weather is helping to boost the energy and focus, too!

Autumnal Renewal

It's the middle of October, and a time of renewal for me. I'm working on a number of projects, including marketing efforts, and staying focused on my work. Indeed, I'm renewing my commitment to making my law firm and my writing career successful. I have no lack of dedication, but the situation is frustrating because it is taking very long to generate new opportunities and cultivate them to the point where they develop some sweet fruit that can nourish me, both metaphorically and literally.

I'm not complaining; indeed, I consider myself blessed. I am taking a dream I developed over 16 years ago and I'm making it reality. That dream is to be self-employed, running my own law firm and earning a significant portion of my income from my writing. The flexibility and range of opportunities are unmatched and suit my personality very well.

I am a little disappointed that I am behind schedule on several things, including:

• my marketing efforts (with the law firm marketing consultants I have hired);
• completion of my minimum continuing legal education (MCLE) requirements, which are now overdue;
• pursuit of several additional writing and blogging opportunities that seem like they'd be great for me;
• completion of my currently quarterly update to my book, Internet Law, and writing the update that must immediately follow it; and
• of course, my boxing training.

I know things will soon get back to a more manageable routine and something that seems like order emerging from the chaos. It won't take long to get there, and I'm determined to enjoy the experiences I have along the way.

Spring is Here; Staying Positive; A Sprinkling of Shakespeare; Two Online Friends Have Upcoming Bouts

Image via Wikipedia

I am back to blogging, I think. It's been a weird several weeks. Indeed, it has been kind of a weird year so far.I've been enduring one of those on-and-off training periods. I don't like it, but I know it's impermanent and things will improve soon. My training continues, albeit somewhat erratically. Again, that will improve.

My mother has been hospitalized during the last two weeks and that doesn't help things. Happily, she is doing better and, hopefully, will be able to go home soon. I don't like hospitals. (Who does?) It's hard seeing beloved family members being so ill. I'm glad Mom is recovering and feeling more well now.

I'll have more to say soon. For now, much of what I have to say is too whiny to write here. To keep from indulging self-pity, I'll express my mental state using the first four lines of William Shakespeare's Sonnet No. 29:

"When in disgrace with Fortune and men's eyes,

I all alone beweep my outcast state,

And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,

And look upon myself and curse my fate..."

That's all I'll quote because I'm starting to annoy myself by even copying this much. 

Must. Stay. Positive.

Although my own training (to say nothing of any competitive opportunities) is moving along sluggishly, two of my friends are preparing for bouts that are coming up very soon.

Nerd of Steel will get in the ring this week.

Paul Hodges has his bout in just 20 days.

Please visit their blogs and encourage them in their upcoming matches. Both of them have been training hard and seem ready to go. Oh, and if you don't mind, tell them I sent you. :-)

Nobody Here But My Roadwork and Me

Ever have one of those weeks in training that did not go as you had planned it? It's such a week for me.

I didn't get to "fight club" on Sunday because fierce sinus congestion and headache made me immobile until around 10 am. I really missed seeing the guys, sparring, and doing all the practice drills, but after not sleeping well, I wasn't exactly eager to get punched in the face!

My plans to get to the gym later in the week have been foiled by work and helping my parents with some improvements at their home. Thus, training this week has just been roadwork. Here's the breakdown for the early part of the week:

Sunday:  1 hour and 5 minutes
Tuesday:  52 minutes
Wednesday:  31 minutes

It's less than optimal, but I am in this for the long haul, so when I keep that in mind, it seems alright.

Alive and Well, Writing and Boxing

I haven't blogged much because I've been under some pressing work deadlines. Nevertheless, training continues; I'm hoping to get some good sparring on Sunday. I'll have more to report in a day or two, as well as some links to some interesting content I have found online. Stay strong and positive!

I'm Still Here and Punching

Work has been nuts (do I say that often enough?).  We didn't have our usual Sunday workout this week, so training is all on our own until next Sunday.  Thats fine since I'm a little behind on a major writing deadline and need the flexibility of the time to get back on schedule.

I'm supposed to get together with some of the boys later this week to have dinner at one of the guys' offices (which I am told is huge) and then attend some of the Chicago Golden Gloves finals.  I am looking forward to that.  Otherwise, regular training continues, albeit at a somewhat more "flexible" schedule.  Nevertheless, it's going well overall so I have no complaints.

Pre-Christmas Workout

Today's training was decent.  I made it a priority to train in the morning and, although making the time for the workout took some extra organization and focus than usual, I'm very glad I did it.  I've decided to renew my commitment to fitness and boxing training throughout the holidays so that I can continue it uninterrupted into 2009.

Here's today's recap.

• 35 minutes of roadwork
• 4 rounds of shadowboxing
• 3 rounds on heavy bag
• 3 rounds of stretching
• 1 round on uppercut bag
• 1 round on double-end bag

That makes 12 rounds in the gym plus the roadwork.  I'm varying the workouts a bit to keep them interesting.  The important thing is consistency.

The gym was pretty quiet today.  There were just 3 other members, but I got to meet another member I didn't know before, so that was good.

The gym will be closed tomorrow, but I expect to be back in action there on Friday.

Starting the Year with a Renewed Commitment to Fitness and Training

November 28 was my birthday. I've enjoyed, for the most part, a long Thanksgiving and birthday weekend.

Since I view each birthday as the beginning of a new year for me, one way I celebrate birthdays is to plan a set of goals for the coming year. Another part of my celebration is to renew my commitment to the things in my life that are important to me. One of those things is my boxing training.

To kick off the new year, I did the following workout today:

Bike ride: 2 hours 20 minutes
Roadwork: 15 minutes

It was an intense bike ride, but an enjoyable one. I rode through sleet, driving wind, and spray and flowing water that covered the bike trail as I rode alongside a very choppy Lake Michigan. I am considering biking to and from my gym, once I develop enough endurance to do that in a reasonable amount of time.

I am happy that I have done the most important part of renewing my commitment to fitness and training: I have begun doing it in the new year.

Wednesday's Roadwork

1 hour and 30 minutes today.  Yeah, I know it's not sport-specific training, but it's what I can do now as I enter the last week of preparing for my move.  I am trying to keep at least a general level of fitness going, since it's hard to make the time to get to the gym.

My schedule won't always be this crazy--at least I hope it won't!  I look forward to getting back in a regular gym routine after I get into my new place next week.

Friday's Morning Training

Friday's training was brief, but I resisted the temptation to skip it entirely. I went to my parents' closing on their new condo later in the day, so the morning was pretty hectic, but I'm glad I got to the gym. The recap is brief:

• one hour of roadwork (I did this later in the day)
• 6 rounds of shadowboxing
• 1 round of stretching

I also talked briefly with Chad and asked him about learning some grappling and ground-fighting techniques. I will still always be a boxer first, but I'd like to expand my skills and learn some things that are outside my ken. He suggested that I talk with Robbie, so I'll do that this week and see what I can arrange.

Brief Update

Not much to report here, but I figured it's better to write something than to stay silent.  Last week, I went to the gym, and over the last 6 days, I've done about 3.5 hours of roadwork, so that's not too bad.

Life has been nuts lately.  (What else is new, right?)  My mother has been hospitalized since Sunday.  She's doing better and should be able to go home soon.  I'm planning for my move and helping my parents to plan for theirs and get the paperwork done for their new condo and so forth.  Additionally, I'm running my law practice and hustling to get some new clients, as well as finish my various writing projects.

In other words, life continues to be challenging.  I'm hoping to get to the gym tomorrow.

Showing Up

It's not about the number of hours spent in training. It's not about the exact number of rounds logged. It's about commitment and staying in the game, about showing up for training.

Life's sorta, kinda insane right now with my law practice getting busier (yay!) and my upcoming move. As such, it's easy to find excuses not to train. Today was one of those days. I felt an intense wave of what Steven Pressfield would call "resistance." (Pressfield elaborates on resistance in his book, The War of Art: Break through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles--a very good read, by the way.)

What can I say? I went to the mat with resistance and managed to get to the gym for a short workout. It really was brief:

• 14 minutes of roadwork
• 5 rounds of shadowboxing
• 2 rounds of stretching

That's it. Of course, it's not about the amount of training time I can post here; it's about showing up to do the training.

Monday's Workout

Ever have one of those days when work consumes more time than you thought it would and you come close to talking yourself out of going to the gym? Today was such a day. As I was scrambling to finish various projects and get on my way, I began to think, "Maybe I'll just take today off and go in early tomorrow morning." Doing that was tempting, but I am glad I got to GoTime this evening.

Here's a recap of the workout.

• 35 minutes of roadwork
• 3 rounds of shadowboxing
• 3 rounds on heavy bag
• 2 rounds of stretching
• 7 rounds on double-end bag

I spent a lot of time on the double-end bag to work on my speed and timing. I'm trying to improve some combinations with it. I love that bag--it's like a close friend--because, as frustrating as it is to use, it always teaches me a lot.

I'll write more about my routines with the double-end bag soon. I'm trying to make the practice as interesting as possible so that I'll stay with it.

Another Monday

Just 52 minutes of roadwork today. Even better news is that I received my replacement debit card and, unlike the previous replacement card I had, I was able to activate this card and use it. Now I can renew my gym membership (which used the old debit card that got stolen).

Automatic, recurring payments are great--as long as they work. Having my debit card stolen has been a very educational experience about how even simple personal finances and banking can become complicated in this electronic age when various accounts can be linked to one another.

It will be difficult to enjoy the same convenience without the complexity and the interrelationships among my PayPal account, debit card, and bank accounts. Nevertheless, I am developing some backup strategies to make things a lot easier in the event this situation happens again. I hope it wont, of course, but I plan to be prepared for it anyway.

Staying Positive in the Winter

Training has been sporadic for the last week or so. A combination of snow, work, and a lot of sinus congestion and sinus headache has slowed things down a bit. Nevertheless, I am remaining optimistic. I'm doing some mental training (affirmations and visualization) and working to maintain an optimistic attitude. Very soon, I'll be back to training at full speed. I hope you're all doing well!

Sunday Training

Quick roadwork and gym training yesterday. Here's the recap.

• 15 minutes roadwork (very cold out there!)
• 3 rounds shadowboxing
• 3 rounds on the heavy bag

It was a brief workout because I got a late start and wanted to get home to watch the San Diego Chargers vs. New England Patriots and the New York Giants vs. Green Bay Packers.

I'm getting quicker on my repeated jabs (double, triple, quadruple...), and in hooking off my left jab. Now I just need to perfect it in sparring. That will happen, too. I'm enjoying training.

Saturday Update

Did 34 minutes of roadwork and shadowboxing on Thursday, and 31 minutes today. The humidity was a challenge. Both days, I wanted to quit after 20 minutes because I was working hard, but I managed to do another 10 minutes and add a little more to it. :-)