Travel Day 9 / Workout Day 6

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Welcome to Monday morning. Last night the latest neighbors on the 19th floor were really noisy, making a solid night sleep difficult. Finally, around midnight, I think I fell asleep for the night. My internal alarm woke may just before my alarm at 5:00. I wanted to have a little extra time this morning for a good stretch. I did find the early breakfast much more enjoyable without the tremendous crowd. After packing for the day ahead, I feel pretty good today. So far, no blisters or any bruises really after one week of training. That’s a good start for this week. I hope I’m not repeating myself too much, but I am still surprised every morning at how much more comfortable it is compared to my last trip or two. It seems mostly i travel here in the fall, and the temperature and humidity are through the roof. I’d be drenched in sweat just walking to the BTS and gym. As I arrived at the gym this morning, it was warmer as the sun was driving right in on the benches. This weeks running plan is to continually increase the laps. After keeping the same number of laps all last week, just to get acclimated, that means this morning I’ll be starting with 8. We’ll see how high I go. I don’t want to use all my energy running and have nothing for the pads. I can run anywhere, although it seems I’m running easier here than at home for some reason. The run started slow, but eased into a good pace by the end of the second lap. Another nice day with no clouds this morning. Right around lap 6 or maybe 7, my mind drifted and I forgot exactly which lap I was on. I‘m afraid I have done 9 this morning. Either way, the run was no problem. 15 minutes of jump rope was next while the later risers started filtering into the gym. There were a good number again this morning. As I was finishing up, Santi came over and gave me a bag of drink. I’d seen the boxers get this on maybe my first trip. I think it’s a soy milk that has some extra protein. It was very hot so it was definitely made to have later.

I started next with a round of shadow boxing and then a couple rounds on the bag, waiting my turn for padwork. This morning, it was still 4 rounds. As I expected, the wick was turned up just a bit more. The first round started slowly but quickly increased the intensity. My power felt really good this morning through that entire round. The second round felt just as good, and I noticed my power seemed better to me. My teeps weren’t sliding off Fahlaep’s belly pad, but I was hitting solid and pushing him away. There were some sets of 10 kicks tossed into both of those rounds, just because they are soooooo much fun. And then my favorite round… started with 10 left kicks, 10 right kicks, 10 punches, 10 teeps left and right, and 10 knees. Somewhere in this mess, I think we did 20 left and right kicks. Everything just kinda blurs in that round, and I just keep throwing whatever is next up. Always a good burnout round to set up for the next one. Mostly hands and elbows, but there are a few low sweeps, catching kicks and counter kicking that hadn’t been worked earlier. Once Round 4 was done it was time for a small break for water, and then back to the heavy bag. I’m getting more comfortable with the teeps on the bag now. They had seemed weak and poorly coordinated, but now I’m moving the bag, not it moving me. Also today, the kicks felt more powerful also. Always nice to hear that deep thud on the bag rather than a tiny slap. I’m not even sure how many rounds I did on the bag, but when I looked at the clock it was close to 9:45, and most people were still there. That was enough for me this morning, so I packed up and headed out. Got back to the hotel, unpacked, showered and then took an unintentional 1 hour nap. Had a nice Thai iced tea downstairs while I typed, and now just enough time to go pack for the afternoon!

Afternoon sessions started by heading to the BTS, and when I got to the top of the platform, I ran into the Aussie Steve and his son. Turns out they are staying at the hotel just down the street, above the German beer garden. What are the chances of running into them, and we are training at the same gym and staying in the same area. They just have a couple more days to go before heading home. We chatted on the way to the gym, and then all started off on a run. His son ran with me for 4 laps and was telling me he likes running with a side cramp because it’s harder and makes him push through it, because running is so easy for him. Oh, to be 9 years old again…. And then he sped off into the distance. I plodded along and completed my 8, and again forgot my count, so maybe 9 laps. Once again, people kept slowly streaming in while I was running. Another jam packed day here! So busy I had to wait to find a spot for my 15 minutes of jump rope. Lots of bag work today because of the number of people. There was a guy there today who had to be 6’6” at least. He was having to punch down to hit the heavy bags. You can see in the photo how he towered over his sparring partner. The pad rounds were similar drills as before. Worked through the 4 rounds as before, but the afternoon heat is earning me an ice rub down between rounds. It was so cold on my head that after the last round, I got brain freeze from the outside! Finished the day off with a couple more rounds of bag work, to cool down. By the time I was finished, and looked at the clock it was already 5:45, and almost everyone was still there. I need to either get their earlier, or watch the clock better. Those extra 15 minutes of workout really add up and make the evening routine longer. Or maybe I’m just slowing down a step or two at night. A little behind with the entries. Dinner sandwich last night was very good, but dripping with sauce, which meant there wasn’t much useful typing. Plus, eating was outside, and eventhough cool, it was still warmer than I enjoyed. By the time I got back to the room, and prepped for the morning, I fell stone cold asleep at 9:00. If there were any doors banging, random children stampedes outside the door, or marching band drills outside my room, I would not have heard a thing.

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Photos

Afternoon crowd
Another standing room only crowd at the gym.

Mismatched
Picture isn’t great but you get the idea. This guy can just about reach across the ring with his leg. The young Aussie boy training told him his beard makes him look like a Greek god.

Afternoon group photo
These group pictures are GREAT! Seems like every day and every session has a few of the same people, but so many new ones coming in. I hear them say they’ve recommended by someone they know. Eminent Air has the best trainers!