Travel Day 19 / Training Day 15. Last Day.

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Amazing. It’s the last day, and I can’t believe the time has past so quickly. The previous trips have been for 2 weeks of training. After the last couple, I noticed how I improved as the second week ended, and wished I had a third to see if the gains continued. When this trip was booked, it seemed like I was going to be gone for an eternity. I’m glad it was for this long but wish I had taken a few more afternoons off to do some sightseeing. It was good to stay focused on the training though, because there just isn’t anything like it back in Savannah.

The morning started as usual with a quick stretch, and out the door quickly. It was a beautiful sunrise today. Got to the gym right on time and found a couple of new Americans there on the benches. They asked a lot of questions because they had been there since 6:30am. I think they read the website wrong, because it says there is an evening class at 6:30. They were from eastern PA and the guy was recovering from some kind of accident and has balance and some hearing problems. They were looking for some training that would help his coordination and general recovery. Eventhough the language barrier was difficult to overcome, Santanfaa worked him through some rounds, easing him into how to step, and how to throw punches, kicks, and blocks. He did a great job. I was out doing my 8 laps during some of this, and because it was the last day and I was feeling really god, I did 2 sprints even further down the alley and back. I did my 15 minutes of jumprope and was glad when it was over. It was just one of those mornings where I kept tripping over the rope for some reason. It seems the reason is that I wasn’t spinning the rope fast enough, because when I did, all the jumping problems disappeared. I was third in line for the pads this morning, so I spent some significant time on the heavy bag. Some of those worn out leather areas can really leave a nice brush burn of you don’t hit solidly. A good teaching tool… 100 teeps and knees each and the ring was freed up. The huge guy, another Aussie, in the first picture was second in, and he was getting worked hard by Fahlaep. My turn came and we went through the same rounds, and finished the first and second with the speeds kicks. I was feeling it this morning and had a bit more power and balance for the kicks. I hadn't mentioned it before, but Fahlaep has made a habit of having a small, ice cold bucket of water that I get dowsed with in between rounds. It does help on the cooldown, but I think he’s enjoying pouring the water on me just a bit too much. We finished the 4 rounds by about 9:20 and after a cooldown, hit the sit-ups and weights for a final time. As I was doing the final cooldown and packing up, the Aussie was asking me a bunch of questions about the gym, Muay Thai, etc. He’s going to be in Thailand for 6 months. He’s working stocks or some kind of finance that allows him working remote. One month in Bangkok, then off to the south and the beaches, and training at gyms there. That’s some kind of job. Finally left the gym about 10:15, picked up my rice and omelette, iced green tea and rode the nice cool BTS back to the hotel. A quick lunch, and shower left just enough time to run over to Terminal 21 for more shopping. I’m hoping to be finished now.

Just enough time to rest for a few minutes before gearing up for the last workout of the trip. I made sure to have all the gifts for the gym packed, including a bottle of Jameson whiskey for the next fight victory dinner. The afternoon was even better than the morning. I did my 6 running laps, and a quick 10 minutes of jump rope. There were few people here this afternoon, so I got right into the ring with no warm up except a little stretching. It was unexpected, and so fast forgot to setup my camera. Too bad because this was a good one to record. I think it was my best round of the trip. I could feel the extra power and less exhaustion than other rounds, although I did miss a few punch callouts, but all in all I felt great. The rounds 1 and 2 winded with 20 right, and left knees respectively, with as much power as possible. Round 3 ended with left speed kicks and I finished 50 kicks without stopping, although the last 4 or 5 were a bit wobbly. Round 4 speed kicks also hit 50, but just barely. In all of the rounds, there were sets of 10 teeps on both sides. Punch combinations ( punch hook punch, were run through, and hand blocks followed by counter punches. I noticed a few more bruises today than the other days. I’ve also noticed that my thighs are more sore than usual. pretty sure that’s because of the knees and the pads colliding at a higher force today. It was a bit tough getting off the chair and starting to walk. I’ll probably have to do much more walking around on the planes tomorrow so I don’t get stuck in the seated position.

Dinner at a new place tonight, The Hemingway. It’s near the hotel and just across from the Starbucks (which I’ve only visited once). I’ll confess though that I’ve had an iced green tea or iced Thai tea everyday. It’s a little more expensive, but for the last dinner here it was a good experience. Now it’s time to start stuffing everything into the suitcases and see how it’s all going to fit. Maybe I’ll have a summary once I get home if I have anything else that comes to me while flying eastward very soon. Another amazing trip coming rapidly to a close!

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Photos

Another HUGE guy
This guy is almost as tall as the one earlier, but much more muscular, as you can see. He’s just working back from a sprained wrist, so he is really enjoying the workouts here.

Fahlaep and I
After the last session for the day and trip, the goodbye pictures were needed. He’s a great trainer and works me hard all the time, but knows when to give breaks as needed.

Guess what I found on my phone….
To get the picture with Fahlaep, I asked Santafaa/ “Jack” to take the picture. About 10 minutes later, the first thing I see after I start looking through them is this one. He even marked it as a favorite for me!

Trading shirts
After the workout, some gifts were shared with the guys. I swapped the home gym shirt here for a Santafaa shirt in the next picture.

New shirt
Here’s my new shirt. I’m sure wearing that around in the good old USA will draw more than a few looks. It’s probably just going to be a great workout shirt, and a good reminder of this trip.