Brief Update

Not a whole lot to report right now. I had a good week last week with two really good sessions with Glen, then roadwork on most of the rest of the days.

There was no "fight club" today because Glen was not available, so we're on our own for training until next Sunday. That's fine: I need a break to do some mental training and visualization, so I can absorb everything I've been practicing during the last few weeks. I'd like to get in one workout this week that is dedicated to footwork. Some of the combinations I'm working on are good, but they're only going to work if they are built on a foundation of solid footwork.

Meanwhile, I keep working on the basics such as practicing my left jab hundreds of times. I figure I can never practice the basics too much. Hopefully, next week will be a bit more normal for training and I'll be able to get some good sparring. Until then, it's practice, practice, practice, and more practice.

Sunday's Training

Image via Wikipedia

Wow, there hasn't been much blogging here recently. Training has been continuing, but I have been less than consistent in writing about it or blogging about anything. Nevertheless, I want to write a little more frequently, and I still want to talk about some additional topics here. For now, here's Sunday's training update.


I trained with Jim and Jeff and Glen on Sunday morning. As always, Glen kept things interesting with a variety of sparring drills that focused on attack and defense and counterpunching. When I was first learning to box, I remember hearing something about the jab being about 60% of the punches a boxer will generally throw during a round. While I've never counted how many of my punches were jabs, I have noticed that I do throw a lot of them and that seems consistent with what I see other boxers do. Thus, the jab is an important punch to master, so we spend a lot of time drilling it. When we win, we're most likely to win on points, so it's essential to have a quick, solid, and accurate jab that can score a lot and create openings for other punches such as a straight right or left hook off the jab.

The other drills included the straight right, the old one-two punch, blocking the opponent's combination and answering back immediately with a combination, and limited sparring with one or two punches to practice them.

It went well. After the drills and limited sparring, I sat out the regular sparring because my left ankle was bothering me. If I take a break and ice it, I generally don't have any big trouble with it. That's a good preventive strategy for the ankle, but I was unhappy because I was fired-up for sparring and looking forward to the chance to practice some new footwork and combinations I've been working on. Thus, it was a disappointment. My ankle sprain, suffered during a shirts-and-skins pickup basketball game at Bahías de Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico in the summer of 1991, came back to haunt me again.

In any event, I finished the workout strong, with the usual abs and "30s" routine. There's always room for improvement, and I intend to keep improving.

I capped today's training with 38 minutes of roadwork. (It's getting cold out there!)

Tuesday Training with Glen

In addition to miscellaneous roadwork this week, I had another excellent one-on-one session with Glen on Tuesday. It was a tough workout: he pushed me hard and also helped me polish my technique in a few areas. We're working a lot on angles and throwing combinations, especially from a position where I can hit my opponent and he can't hit me back. It's sweet stuff.

I didn't get to the Sunday workout this week, but I am hoping to be back to that this coming weekend. Hopefully, as it gets colder outside, more of the guys will show up more regularly.

This Week's Training

The highlight's of this week's training turned out to be two one-on-one sessions with Glen. The first was on Sunday morning, because I was the only boxer who was there for "fight club." The second was on Tuesday afternoon, a planned individual session to polish my skills. They both went well. We spent time on my footwork--which I always enjoy practicing--and on perfecting my attack when I have an opponent on the ropes. It's going well and I am making progress. I expect to have more to report after Sunday's session. I hope more guys will be there.

General Update on Various Things

My blogging here has been sparse for a few reasons, mostly related to work. I am working on the quarterly update to my Internet law book, and I am a bit behind schedule with that, so I have given the writing and editing a higher priority than blogging. Training continues, although there is nothing out of the ordinary to report. Moreover, we did not have our Sunday "fight club" this week because Glen, our coach, was volunteering for the Chicago Marathon. The Sunday morning workouts will resume next week.

Lawyer-boxer-blogger-tweeter!

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Lance Godard at 22 Tweets, an innovative use of the Twitter micro-blogging service that publishes “[r]eal-time Twitter interviews with practicing lawyers who tweet.” It was a great experience; we had an enjoyable talk about some of my professional and personal interests. Here is a link to the interview.

Thanks, Lance and 22 Tweets, for your interest; it was great to talk with you and it's good to get to know you, too.

Sunday's "Fight Club"

Had a good session on Sunday with Glen, Jeff, and Eric. It was good to see Eric back in action after a few weeks.  We did a lot of drills and I got two good rounds of sparring in--one with Jeff and one with Eric.

Glen pushed us really hard this week.  It was a great workout.  I am liking these Sunday morning sessions; they're a great way to start the week.

I also did one hour of roadwork.  It was good training.  Hopefully, we'll have a few more guys at the workout next Sunday.

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.

Busy Week

Not a lot to report. Sunday's workout with the guys was really good, including lots of drills and two good rounds of sparring. My footwork was a little sluggish, so I spent some more time with my friend the jump rope this week. Along with that, did I some roadwork and some visualization exercises and some mental rehearsal (aka visualization). Work has been busy, so I haven't blogged as much as I like. Oh well, I will get caught up.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Sunday: One-on-one Training

Image via Wikipedia

Sunday's workout ended up being a one-on-one training session with Glen. The rest of the "fight club" guys were not present, so I had the opportunity to train for an hour with Glen. It was a tough workout and Glen really pushed me. I'm grateful, but I was plenty tired at the end of the hour.

For most of the workout, Glen held the punch mitts for me and kept me busy throwing combinations, working on my speed, power, and balance. We worked a lot on counterpunching and answering back with hard, fast combinations. For example, if my opponent throws a left hook-straight right combo at me, I block the hook and right, and immediately follow up with my own straight right, left hook, and second straight right. I have to perfect the timing--an important element of any effective punch combination--but I look forward to practicing this a lot more and trying it out in sparring.

One of the great things about boxing is I get instant feedback about how well something works. If I get hit, then I know I need to practice a technique or movement a lot more, really focusing on the perfecting the basic elements of it. By contrast, if I land every punch of a combination and my opponent doesn't score on me, I can work on fine-tuning the move and making it smoother and faster.

As usual, we finished up with abs and the "thirties." It was a good, tough workout, and Glen is an awesome coach. As I've mentioned, I've known Glen for over 12 years. He and I met when he was coaching my opponent in the corner for a bout I had at that time. I am sure glad he's on my side now.

I appreciated the intensity of the workout. Of course, I’m hoping the rest of the guys will be there next week. I also did 68 minutes of roadwork.

If I Drink More Coffee, Does That Mean I Will Win More?

This interesting article mentions improved athletic performance resulting from consuming coffee. I had three tough rounds of sparring with Jeff on Sunday morning. Maybe I should be sipping coffee in my corner between rounds instead of water? Hmm.

Hat tip to fellow lawyer, Aaron, at Iced Coffee and a Bagel.

Instant replay? In boxing? Are they nuts?

Image via Wikipedia

Wow. According to the CBC News, the International Boxing Federation has said it is open to the idea of using instant replay for boxing matches to debate referees’ decisions.

I don’t like this idea. Boxing judging, scoring, and refereeing are subject to enough controversy as things stand; I don’t think the sport would benefit by the kind of second-guessing that instant replay and review would encourage.

Football season is approaching; regular NFL games start on September 10. (For all you pre-season fans, those games begin this coming Sunday, August 9, as the Buffalo Bills square off against the Tennessee Titans at Fawcett Stadium, in Canton, Ohio.) I mention football because I’m not wild about the use of instant replay in NFL games. I’m even less enthusiastic about the specter of any role it might play in boxing matches.

I might be missing something. What do you guys think? Do you see any value of using instant replay to review the ref’s calls? If so, do you really think it would fix things, or make them worse?

Lawyer-boxer Joey Gilbert Forms Firm with Partners in Reno, NV

When I first started this blog, I knew there were other lawyer-boxers out there; I just didn't appreciate how many of us there are. A few minutes ago, I saw this article about Joey Gilbert, a super-middleweight boxer and lawyer who has founded a law firm with two partners in Reno, Nevada. Here's a link to the firm's Web site.

Congratulations, Mr. Gilbert, on the start of your new firm. May it bring a lot of success for you, your partners, and your clients.

A recap of the other lawyer-boxers I've featured on this blog is available here.

Replying to "The Generation M Manifesto"

This one's not about boxing, but it's high time I expand the scope (and increase the content) of this blog a bit. I'll have more to say about that later.

On his blog, Edge Economy, Umair Haque has posted "The Generation M Manifesto." It's an interesting collection of ideas about "reform" and the "new economy," though, to be fair, Haque does not use those exact words. The "Manifesto" tells us how the latest enlightened and techno-savvy generation is going to use its idealism and ethical values to save us from the mess in which we find ourselves today--a mess created by the "Old People Who Run the World."

I don't mean to be snarky about this "Manifesto." Indeed, I agree with the values underpinning the statement. I posted a comment on the blog, but it hasn't been approved yet. Here it is.

Umair,

Thanks for posting this thought-provoking manifesto. There is much that I like about it. There is also much that I don't like. Initially, calling it a "manifesto" is problematic for reasons that, I think, are self-evident.

More seriously, many of the ideas you espouse in the Manifesto are not really "new," and certainly do not originate with "Generation M." On the contrary, they are the aspirations of humanity, including most, if not all, humans alive today. Casting the Manifesto as an answer to a supposed intergenerational conflict appears to misunderstand the division that has prompted you to write this statement of aspirations. It's not a matter of "old" vs. "young" or even "old" vs. "new." What you are seeking is human progress, not a division based on age.

That progress does not depend on age or upon a new "generation" (presumably a wiser and more enlightened one) as you use that term. Instead, it depends on people working together. Let us unite, rather than divide, our potential allies in this work. Note my use of “us” and “our” here; it’s intentional. I consider myself part of the “M” generation that you describe. For the record, I’m 45 years young. People like my parents are also part of the “M” generation, but if you use a demographic term to describe what is really a social movement, then we might leave them out. If you do that, you’ll alienate a lot of talented people who have contributed much to the world—people, including many of those you deride—whose work has, at least in part, made it possible for you to be blogging your ideas here.

I recommend you add another “M” to your list: mindfulness. Mindfulness has its roots in ancient teachings, and is increasingly used in areas such as psychology, psychotherapy, medicine and healthcare, law, and even economics and business. Without this important “M” (or call it “consciousness,” if you prefer), we are likely to commit the same mistakes as those “old people” in your salutation, and probably even worse mistakes as technology advances and exacerbates the impact of our mistakes. (Eckhart Tolle discusses this last phenomenon, what he calls “technology in the service of madness,” in his best-selling book, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose.)

Finally, please lose the “Dear old people” in your salutation. It’s unnecessarily—and probably unwittingly and unintentionally—offensive and sets a negative tone right from the start.

Overall, I like the Manifesto. You have collected several important ideas that deserve attention, individually, as well as holistically. I’d like to see more discussion of these themes in a context that does not depend on conflict between “generations.” After all, like it or not, we really are all in this together.

Thanks again.

Walking the Walk

Today's roadwork was walking 2 hours at the beach, 90 minutes of it in the surf. I punctuated it with some shadowboxing every 10 minutes or so. Good stuff, and such great weather!

Nerdcore Boxing Returns!

After more than a year away from blogging, he's back! Woohoo! Welcome back, big guy! It's great to see you blogging again. I'm as eager as ever to read your site. I'm glad to learn things are going well and you're back to training.

To the rest of my readers, I encourage you to read his blog. As you can see from his past blog entries, he publishes a lot of useful content and logs his experiences, which seem fairly similar to my own adventures in the sweet science.

Hat tip to Marc at My Boxing Blog, who keeps punching as the Australian winter sets in.

A Training Update

On Sunday, I attended the workout at GoTime. I got in four rounds of sparring. It went pretty well. I'm thinking of ways to get some of the guys from my former club to join us; that would be fun and would provide a greater variety of training partners.

Here's the roadwork recap for this week.

Sunday: 1 hour and 10 minutes
Monday: 47 minutes
Wednesday: 1 hour and 1 minute
Thursday: 34 minutes

Not terrible, but not ideal. I'm planning to get some gym time Friday morning, and do some cycling before this week is over.

Monday's Roadwork

Today's training was a long walk along the beach on Lake Michigan: 2 hours and 4 minutes.  I kept up a pretty good pace and it was great to walk on the sand in the early evening sunlight.  The cold water splashing on my feet was invigorating.  Ah, great stuff!

Back to Blogging: Coming Out Swinging at Sunday's Training

Wow.  I must have blinked.  It has been over a month since I posted here.  I knew I had been busy, but not that busy.  I'd like to say I have been so busy with training that I haven't had time to blog, but that isn't exactly true.  I've been occupied with other things: work and family stuff, mostly.  I trained well last week, but I haven't written about here, so I am not going to risk further delays by trying to catch up now.  Anyway, enough with the excuses.

I had a really good session at the gym today.  Just Glen, our coach, and Eric were there, so I got tons of focused attention--and, of course, that means tons of nonstop working hard with very few breaks in the action.  Indeed, those few breaks were very short, too, so it was a great workout.

I got to spar a lot with Eric today.  He and I work well together, and it was good, tough work.  In each round, we started at a moderate pace, but were really going at it when Glen called time to end the round.  Great stuff.  Thanks, Eric!

Slow Progress

Not a lot to report. Work has been keeping me busy and I'm behind schedule posting some content I have for this site (including the first guest posting). I'll get that up soon. Back to the gym today!

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.

Busy Week at Work

It has been a hectic work week. I guess that's a good thing--or will be, if all of these leads turn into paying clients.

I'll be back to more regular blogging soon. For now, a brief update. I had some good sparring on Sunday and decent training during the week. I spent the evening with some guys from the "fight club" by having dinner at the Terragusto Cafe. The food was quite good, but there was really too much served (I don't even remember how many courses there were--it was insane) and the price was a lot higher than I had expected--about a week's grocery bill for me. It's a good thing I don't eat like that regularly; if I did, I'd have to train 6 hours a day just to keep the extra weight off.

After dinner, we headed to St. Andrews gym to watch some of the preliminary bouts at the Chicago Golden Gloves tournament. A good time was seemingly had by all and it was fun to have a guys' night out with the new friends I'm training with on Sundays. It was also a nice break in the action of a really busy work week.

Sparring Improvement

Work has been nuts this week, but I'm still managing to fit in some training.  Sunday's "fight club" went well.  We had a smaller group than previous weeks, so we had the chance to do more rounds of drills.

I sparred 3 good rounds with Eric (not the Eric I have been sparring with during past weeks, let's call this one "Eric 2").  It was a tough sparring session.  He pushed hard and so did I.  We have similar styles--more aggressive, moving forward, and pressuring the opponent.

It was a good workout.  I got to practice some defense and I got my jab working well: two or three jabs in a row.  I'm polishing my footwork and moving better.  Let's see how it goes next Sunday.

Update on Sunday's "Fight Club"

As I mentioned last week, I've attended the boxing group at my gym the last two Sundays. It's fun. It's all midlife guys who have about the same level of boxing experience. It has been informally called "fight club." The coach is Glen Freedman, the head boxing coach at East Bank Club. I first met Glen several years ago when I boxed in a charitable fund-raising event for the DuPage County Bar Association called the "Bar Bouts." Glen was in my opponent's corner, and we stayed in contact after that. It's good to see him at GoTime for an hour or two each week.

The workout was a pretty standard boxing training session. Here's how it goes.

During the first part, we do a warm-up and then practice several rounds on all the bags (heavy, speed, double-end, uppercut), jump rope, and do shadowboxing. I almost always do some easy stretching after I break a sweat; I want to remain flexible and avoid injuries. This first part is the least structured; there are about 12 guys training in the gym at these practices, so having some time to get into the routine on our own is helpful.

While all the individual work is happening, Glen calls each of us into the ring to work one round on the punch mitts with him. We get just one round of this, because of the number of guys present, but if a smaller group showed up on any particular day, I think Glen might do more rounds with that. I felt a lot better this week working with Glen. Since the time is limited, there's an added sense of urgency to stay focused and mentally present during the round, in order to squeeze the most benefit out of it.

My round went well. My "finisher" right, which had been a bit sluggish last week, flowed easily as I threw the combination: left jab-straight right-left hook-right cross. It was good to have some power on that last punch without sacrificing speed or accuracy on the first three.

The next part is contact sparring drills. Because we're practicing punches, we wear headgear and mouthpieces and 16 oz. gloves. We start by working on the basics, such as left jab (so far, there are no southpaws in the group), one-two, and so on. As round follows round, we work at more complex combinations, defense, adjusting stance and balance as needed, and counterpunching. This is very helpful to me because it is realistic and lets us practice the fundamentals a lot. (I don't think any athlete can ever spend too much time practicing the basics of his sport.) It's safe and fun, but the guys punch about as hard as they do in sparring, so using defense is an important part of the practice.

Next, we have sparring. The drills and sparring are at a fast pace and Glen keeps everyone moving. There's a lot of rotation, so everyone gets some experience practicing with all the other boxers. I like the quicker pace and it allows us to practice with more of the other boxers. For example, this Sunday, I sparred four rounds with three different guys and had the benefit of practicing with their different styles. What worked well with Mark didn't work so well with Eric, and my two rounds with Brian had plenty of challenges.

(Mental note: I need to move more when sparring with Brian. I could easily see him and me standing toe to toe and trading huge bombs. There is definitely a time and place for that, but I'm trying to avoid developing bad habits, or, as the case may be with my willingness to get into a slugfest, to avoid sliding back into old bad habits.) The pace and power were perfect, too; no one is trying to take anyone's head off, but the guys do push each other and encourage one another to improve. There's a camaraderie--even a team spirit--in this intense, most individual of sports. For example, Eric commented that my jab was working a lot better this week, so it was good to see some of that ring rust falling off.

After sparring, we do some abs work. It's a straightforward routine, but beneficial, and you can work at your own pace in an encouraging environment. The medicine ball gets to play a part, and I always feel especially alive when I get that lactic acid burn as I push myself to do yet one more crunch.

Finally, we finish strong with "30s"--three rounds of punching the heavy bag as hard and as fast as we can for 30 seconds, while a partner holds the bag. Then we switch with our partner and he punches for 30 seconds while we hold the bag. That goes on until all the guys have done their three speed rounds. Final stretching and cool down is on our own.

Visiting Some Boxing Blogs in the 'Hood

There are lots of blogs online; who can keep up with them all?  Even with my best efforts and (what I think is) my skillful use of my RSS reader/aggregator, I know I can't read everything I want.  Nevertheless, here are a few posts by my fellow boxer-bloggers that I've enjoyed, and I hope you will like them, too.

First, the tenacious Marc reports that he is back in training "again...again."  Way to go, Marc!  Keep up the fine work.

Next, the author of Toe to Toe (sorry, I don't know his name and couldn't find it on the blog) has a bout coming up on March 20, 2009.  Please join me in wishing him much success.

Last, Jonathan Moreland continues his process of Earning a Nickname and recounts the highlights of his recent bout.  Congratulations, Jonathan, and good show of sportsmanship in the match.

I'll have an update about my own training soon, maybe even later today.

Back to Blogging; Busy Weekend; Training Hard and Enjoying It

February was quite a month. I've been away from the blog, mostly because I have been busy with work. It's an interesting challenge to balance all of these activities, but I am definitely learning a lot from it. Although I haven't posted any training updates, my training continues and is going fairly well. It could always be going better, of course, but I'm a perfectionist, so my attitude is permanently oriented toward improvement.

Here's a recap of what has been going on lately, in work, life, and boxing.

• In my defiant approach to the economic recession, I have been hustling to get some new clients. I have two new prospects and one to contact tomorrow. I am not being naive, but if the basic laws of chemistry and physics still apply, matter and energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Thus, in the aggregate, there is no less matter or energy in the universe today than there was a year or two ago, so we haven't truly "lost" anything. The matter and energy may have changed into different forms, but they still exist. As a practical matter, this means that the opportunities are still available, but we will have to be more persistent and imaginative as we look for them.
  

• Life continues to send its nonstop series of ups and downs. I'm enjoying my new neighborhood--and am confident I'll enjoy it even more once spring arrives with some consistently warmer weather.
  

• I helped my good buddy Mark move his home over the weekend. He's in the same building, but has moved to an apartment two floors above his former unit. I'm thrilled for him. He's still relatively new to Chicago, so I am glad he's getting settled comfortably in his new place. Mark is one hell of a great guy and a really good friend. Unfortunately, he recently lost his cat, Fritz, so it's a difficult time for him.
  

• Training got an added boost on Sunday. It was my first time attending the Sunday "fight club" (also known as "Small Group Boxing") at my gym. I was there in a group of about 12 guys and Glen, the trainer, who runs the 2 pm Sunday gathering. It was a great time and I look forward to attending the practices regularly. In addition to the shadowboxing, work on the bags, abs training, punching-and-defense drills, and work on the punch mitts with Glen, I got in some good sparring, too. (Thanks to Jim and Eric for pushing me hard and making me work!) It was a blast. Since all of the boxers are midlife guys--basically late 30s to late 50s in age--the group might offer some good business networking opportunities, too, as well as the chance to make some new friends. After all, some of my closest friends are guys I have punched in the face. I'm hoping my buddy Mark will attend some Sundays.
  

That's the update for now. I'm planning to get more content on this blog, including links to various articles I've found interesting. For now, thanks for reading, and stay strong!

Simple Training Update

Not a lot to report, but I have been keeping up with roadwork and am planning to get to the gym tomorrow morning. 

Mid-week Training Update

Sunday, January 24

1 hour of roadwork

Monday, January 25

45 minutes of roadwork

Tuesday, January 27

A good gym workout. Here's the report.

• 53 minutes roadwork
  
• 5 rounds on the heavy bag
• 4 rounds on the uppercut bag
• 4 rounds on the speed bag
• 3 rounds on the double-end bag
• 4 rounds of shadowboxing
• 5 rounds of stretching

It was a good workout: 25 rounds plus the roadwork. I kept the pace strong, too. I talked with Ray, my gym's head boxing coach, and hope to be working again with him soon. He also said he can arrange more sparring for me. That's great because more sparring practice is what I really need to improve at this point.

Wednesday, January 28

45 minutes of roadwork

Thursday, January 29

40 minutes of roadwork

Good Interview with Rich Franklin

No, this isn't morphing into an MMA blog. I'm just posting about MMA because I am finding some interesting stuff about the sport.

Here's a good interview with the UFC's Rich Franklin. Franklin is an interesting guy. Before he dedicated his career to full-time pro fighting, he was a high school math teacher.

That career change has gotten me thinking. A couple of years ago, a local friend changed jobs, going from being a patent lawyer to being a high school math teacher. I wonder if my buddy will become a cage fighter next?

Minimal Training Today

As it turns out, I did very little training today. I managed to squeeze in 15 minutes of roadwork. It was cold out there--about five degrees below zero. Even so, it was the time pressures of a hectic work day, rather than the cold air, that limited the amount of time I had. This evening, I did some shadowboxing at home. I don't have a great deal of space, but the shadowboxing was more to be able to say I had done something.

Gary Wimsett's Interview with L. Jon Wertheim

At SportsAgentBlog, my friend and fellow lawyer, Gary Wimsett, Jr., has published a great interview with L. Jon Wertheim.  Wertheim is the author of Blood in the Cage: Mixed Martial Arts, Pat Miletich, and the Furious Rise of the UFC.  I enjoyed reading the interview and now I'm eager to read the book.  In my spare time, of course.

Again, while I don't focus on MMA here, I am definitely interested in the sport.  I also intend to learn some of the basics of ground fighting and grappling.  That will help me improve my overall skills as a fighter and allow me to do some cross-training.

Good job, Gary.  I look forward to reading Mr. Wertheim's book and to more of your writing on SportsAgentBlog.  I hope your training is going well.  If you can fight as well as you write, I feel sorry for your opponents!

Freezing in Chicago

Roadwork yesterday was 35 minutes in some serious cold. I had an appointment that ran too long this morning and have a meeting this evening, so I won't get to the gym today. If I can squeeze it in, I'll get some roadwork in this icy weather. If not, I'll get back to gym training tomorrow morning. The evening is already reserved for a few buddies coming over to watch hockey and have a beer or two.

It's cold outside, but invigorating. The key, I think, is to keep moving. Once I get a warm hat that covers more of my handsome mug, I'll be riding my bike along the lakefront trail again, assuming, of course, that there isn't a lot of ice. I don't mind an intense ride in the cold, but sliding on ice that's often invisible--and possibly falling down hard after sliding--or becoming a human popsicle (aka frostbite sufferer) don't appeal to me. I thoroughly enjoy a good, tough challenge, but I'm not that desperate for fun!

Hey You...Wanna Follow this Blog?

Now you can.  I've set up the "Followers" gadget so you, too, can follow this site through Blogger. It's easy to do.

In the right-hand column of this blog, scroll down the page until you come to the area preceded by the "Followers" heading.  It's between the section marked "Subscribe to Lawyer-boxer's Blog" and the picture of the boxer yakking on his cell phone and his annoyed-looking opponent.

Click on the text that says "Follow this blog" and follow the instructions.

You'll need a Blogger account to follow my blog; if you don't already have one, the instructions will tell you how to set one up.

That's it: so easy, even yours truly can do it.  Thanks in advance.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Have just been doing some roadwork out in the snow.   Had hoped to take a break from work today and go for a bike ride, but it was too difficult to get away.  Here's the recap for Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday, January 10:  34 minutes
Sunday, January 11:  37 minutes

Back from the Holidays

Happy new year 2009, everyone.  I'm back and regular blogging resumes now.  I didn't "go" anywhere, but with the holidays, two syncopated work weeks, some unpleasant family issues (I'll leave out the details), and I didn't get to blog.  I have kept up training, so more info about that will be here soon.  Thanks for visiting.