Hey, Who Ordered the Snow???

It snowed a little yesterday. A little uncommon, but not unheard of for Chicago on March 27. It's weird because the previous day was partly sunny and very wam--about 60 degrees.

Anyway, even in the snow, I managed 46 minutes of roadwork, then another 30 minutes today. I haven't been to the gym this week (it's a long, boring story). Anyway, keep up the good work everyone!

Snow Training!

It's not the most conventional, but today's training consisted of 25 minutes of shoveling snow. I am hoping to get into a more regular gym routine this week. As for roadwork, with all the snow and ice on the ground (not to mention the cold air), the treadmills at GoTime Chicago are starting to look a lot more attractive.

Has anyone else noticed that Great Lakes snow smells like fish? I guess it's not really surprising, but still interesting.

Roadwork Recap

Recently, the training has been just roadwork and shadowboxing. (Yes, it's cold out there!) I know I need to get more sport-specific training in--and I will--but for now, here is the update.

• December 5: 37 minutes
• December 6: 44 minutes
• December 7: 25 minutes
• December 8: 28 minutes
• December 9: 14 minutes
• December 11: 18 minutes
• December 13: 31 minutes

Some Roadwork and Shadowboxing on Tuesday

Work has been getting nuts again. Somehow, I am going to balance all of this. 25 minutes today.

Thursday Roadwork

40 minutes today. This unusually warm weather has me motivated to stay moving outdoors. That's good, since I missed my gym session yesterday. Oh well, I just have to keep at it, day by day. Here's hoping for Friday and Saturday!

Tuesday Roadwork and Shadowboxing

1 hour and 4 minutes today. Very warm and sunny day for October 2!

Saturday Brief Workout

Just 16 minutes today. It's something. Available time on weekends can vary a lot but, as I have mentioned earlier, I am still figuring out the routine. It's just great to be developing a new routine!

Friday Brief Training

28 minutes roadwork and shadowboxing.

Thursday Training

1 hour and 10 minutes of roadwork and shadowboxing. It was cooler and less humid today, so that was a nice change.

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. :-)

Chilly Sunday Roadwork

Winter is back! I managed only 12 minutes today. It's freezing out there. I did some shadowboxing, too, but it's still cold.

Thursday Roadwork

Did 33 minutes today. Surprisingly, I am not sore from yesterday. That's a good thing.

Tuesday's Exercise

I did 34 minutes of roadwork and shadowboxing today. I notice my multiple left jabs are getting quicker. I like that. Jab...jab...jab. Nice and fast. Now, let's see if I can do it on the pads and in sparring.

Monday Roadwork and Shadowboxing in the Cold

I am really whining about this cold weather. I need to get used to it because it is going to be here for a few months. I got in 23 minutes today. I did not get to the regular Monday practice because I got stuck at work. Oh well, I'll keep trying.

Ice and Snow Roadwork and Shadowboxing, Day 2

I think it's going to be a long winter. I got out there today for 25 minutes and threw some punches. The temperature is dropping and ice and snow are everywhere. [shivering]

Ice and Snow Roadwork and Shadowboxing

Ah, today is December 1. As if on cue, we got hammered with some snow overnight. I got out there and did some roadwork and shadowboxing, but it was icy and cold. I squeaked out just 17 minutes. It was something. I need to get into a positive attitude concerning winter.

Thursday Roadwork

21 minutes today. Definitely an easy day.

Wednesday's Training

Today was a good day at training. We had a good attendance at the practice. In addition to Bernard and me, Kevin, Cory, Matt, and the Judge were there. Andrew stopped by at the end, but did not join us. Kevin and Matt sparred today. It was Matt's first time; he enjoyed it. I did not spar because I got to the workout late and I focused on trying to make up for the shorter workout by increasing the intensity of my work. I hope it helped.

I'll spar next week. Bernard has designated Wednesdays as "sparring days." Of course, we will be able to spar on Mondays, too, but Bernard asked that we tell everyone to be there at 5:45 p.m. on Wednesdays so that we can all have a set time to get some sparring practice. That sounds good to me. It will help us have a regular time to get some work with the other boxers on the team. I'll tell Tim about it tomorrow and send out an e-mail announcement to the rest of the guys.

As for the workout itself, things went pretty well. Here's the breakdown.

• 43 minutes of roadwork
• 5 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 3 rounds of pivoting drills (holding a broom handle across the shoulders and pivoting from left to right while in a boxing stance)
• 2 rounds on the heavy bag
• 2 rounds on the double-end bag
• 1 round on the uppercut bag
• 1 round of stretching

That's 14 rounds plus the roadwork. Not too bad. It was raining like a monsoon here in Chicago all day today, so fitting the roadwork in was a challenge. I am glad I did it, though.

It will be fun to have a set time each week for sparring. I need the practice and I hope the rest of the guy will like the idea.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yes, I am celebrating another birthday. Yay! That's why it was very short roadwork today: 14 minutes. Hey, at least it is something. Now, where is that cake? :-)

Monday's Workout

I had a pretty good training session today. At the practice were Bernard, Andrew, Cory, and I. I put in a fair amount of work, so I am happy with the workout. Here's the summary.

• 30 minutes of roadwork
• 12 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 4 rounds on the heavy bags
• 2 rounds of shadowboxing
• 2 rounds on the double-end bag
• 2 rounds on the uppercut bag
• 2 rounds of situps
• 2 rounds of stretching

That's a total of 26 rounds plus the roadwork. I had a good session. Now I just have to stay with it. Bernard wants all of us to spar on Wednesday, so that will make the workouts even more interesting and fun. I look forward to that.