I dont have the most to update since the last time I wrote. Things here in Koh Lanta have fallen in the a pattern with training being most of my day. Between the 2-5 hours a day of training and the resulting drain on my energy, I dont have a lot left for anything else.
Training here has been easier than other places that I have been in the past. Both good and bad. I feel a lot better, I have managed to stave off shin splints so far. They have always plagued my training in the past. I think now that I am starting to know the trainers a little more my training is going to pick up a little. I have been "ïnvited" to join some of the others on a jog in the morning. While I appreciate the invite I have had trouble falling asleep and subsequently getting up in the morning. I am hoping that having others to motivate will at least help me to get up, not sure how it will go with the falling asleep.
Other than training I have been making the most of the hammock that I picked up here. It has been a great purchase and will continue to travel with me any time I am outside of a city. Not sure how useful it will be in the city, but on the beaches it has been great. The island here has trees running most of the beach and with a tiny bit of effort I have been able to stake out a couple of prime spots depending on where I want to go that can support the hammock. It would be nice if the beach had longer stretches not interrupted by streams and I could run for some real time, but I guess I shouldnt be complaining about where I am. I was able to find some nice trails that go through the inside of the islands. Not really trails but dirt roads that service what appear to be giant rubber plantations across the inside of the island. I will be exploring those a little more for my longer runs (45min+). They take a little time to get to, but provide a nice surface and good shade.
The only real issue I have been having is staying hydrated. On days that I train both sessions, I can easily consume 6-8 liters of water, maybe more in a day. Its hard to find things to drink, the monotany gets kinda boring. Other than that I cant decide whether to cut my hair. Mohawk for the fight? Grow it long for the first time since...maybe ever? These are the kind of tough decisions that fill parts of my day. That and what kind of curry do I want today? Threre are a lot of different restaurants, but the local Thai ones are so much cheaper. Its hard for me to justify spending 300 on Greek or Indian when I can spend 70 on Thai.
I am nervously looking forward to the fight I am taking onthe 23rd. I am worried that I might have showed to well during my initial assessment and will draw someone really good. I dont want a stoog. Some of the opponents I have seen the other foreigners fighting here are pretty pathetic. It has always struck me that it is really hard to find good match-ups here. The foreign fighters are training fairly hard and therefore in really good cardio shape, maybe not much ring experience, many doing their first fight, but in good shape. But also big, by Thai standards. Any Thai fighter in comparable shape has a fight record of something 267-125. All the trainers here all have over 200 fights a piece. 12 year-olds put down 30-50 fights a year. Which means the only people that are somewhat of an even match for many foreigners are guys who trained young but never really made it and now are out of the game. Their out of shape, technically they can be pretty good, but the conditioning really plays a huge factor. Or the Thai fighter is really good and then you have a real fight. The main difference I see between active Thai fighters and the foriegners is their hardness. Its hard to explain, but the more you get hit every day, you grow callus to it. Leg kicks dont hurt unless right on the nerve cluster. Going shin to shin is nothing because your shins dont have feeling left. I was getting close to that point, but 6-8 months of not really training brings the softness back. I feel my cardio is at a great level. The race training has really brought me up in that respect. But I need another couple months kicking bags and being kicked to harden up my shins, thighs and ribs.
Last nights sparring was encouraging. I scored a minor TKO with a straight kick to the solar plexus, but this morning my left thigh showed the damage. And we were wearing shin pads. I dont want to think what color my thigh will be after the match. And in order to make my flights I might have to do a couple dozen km on the bike to make it the closest bus station. Doing that the day after a match does not sound appealing.
Training here has been easier than other places that I have been in the past. Both good and bad. I feel a lot better, I have managed to stave off shin splints so far. They have always plagued my training in the past. I think now that I am starting to know the trainers a little more my training is going to pick up a little. I have been "ïnvited" to join some of the others on a jog in the morning. While I appreciate the invite I have had trouble falling asleep and subsequently getting up in the morning. I am hoping that having others to motivate will at least help me to get up, not sure how it will go with the falling asleep.
Other than training I have been making the most of the hammock that I picked up here. It has been a great purchase and will continue to travel with me any time I am outside of a city. Not sure how useful it will be in the city, but on the beaches it has been great. The island here has trees running most of the beach and with a tiny bit of effort I have been able to stake out a couple of prime spots depending on where I want to go that can support the hammock. It would be nice if the beach had longer stretches not interrupted by streams and I could run for some real time, but I guess I shouldnt be complaining about where I am. I was able to find some nice trails that go through the inside of the islands. Not really trails but dirt roads that service what appear to be giant rubber plantations across the inside of the island. I will be exploring those a little more for my longer runs (45min+). They take a little time to get to, but provide a nice surface and good shade.
The only real issue I have been having is staying hydrated. On days that I train both sessions, I can easily consume 6-8 liters of water, maybe more in a day. Its hard to find things to drink, the monotany gets kinda boring. Other than that I cant decide whether to cut my hair. Mohawk for the fight? Grow it long for the first time since...maybe ever? These are the kind of tough decisions that fill parts of my day. That and what kind of curry do I want today? Threre are a lot of different restaurants, but the local Thai ones are so much cheaper. Its hard for me to justify spending 300 on Greek or Indian when I can spend 70 on Thai.
I am nervously looking forward to the fight I am taking onthe 23rd. I am worried that I might have showed to well during my initial assessment and will draw someone really good. I dont want a stoog. Some of the opponents I have seen the other foreigners fighting here are pretty pathetic. It has always struck me that it is really hard to find good match-ups here. The foreign fighters are training fairly hard and therefore in really good cardio shape, maybe not much ring experience, many doing their first fight, but in good shape. But also big, by Thai standards. Any Thai fighter in comparable shape has a fight record of something 267-125. All the trainers here all have over 200 fights a piece. 12 year-olds put down 30-50 fights a year. Which means the only people that are somewhat of an even match for many foreigners are guys who trained young but never really made it and now are out of the game. Their out of shape, technically they can be pretty good, but the conditioning really plays a huge factor. Or the Thai fighter is really good and then you have a real fight. The main difference I see between active Thai fighters and the foriegners is their hardness. Its hard to explain, but the more you get hit every day, you grow callus to it. Leg kicks dont hurt unless right on the nerve cluster. Going shin to shin is nothing because your shins dont have feeling left. I was getting close to that point, but 6-8 months of not really training brings the softness back. I feel my cardio is at a great level. The race training has really brought me up in that respect. But I need another couple months kicking bags and being kicked to harden up my shins, thighs and ribs.
Last nights sparring was encouraging. I scored a minor TKO with a straight kick to the solar plexus, but this morning my left thigh showed the damage. And we were wearing shin pads. I dont want to think what color my thigh will be after the match. And in order to make my flights I might have to do a couple dozen km on the bike to make it the closest bus station. Doing that the day after a match does not sound appealing.
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