For years, it has been my goal to run three miles at a six-minute mile pace. Today I achieved that goal, running three miles in eighteen minutes flat. This I was able to do after doing 20 dead-hang pullups and 100 crunches in under 2:00.
There is a sign outside my gym that says: "Don't be disappointed by the results you didn't get with the work you didn't do." I have done the work. Today, I am in the best physical shape of my life. The real training, though, starts now. As of today, I can compete. To win, I must remember the mantra: "The other guy is working harder than you." This is not a sport, like track and field, where you measure yourself against your own previous achievements or progress. The only measure of success in boxing is you beating him. Now, I must focus on becoming indefatigable. Aside from improving my cardiovascular fitness and making weight comfortably, I have identified other key weaknesses - core strength, balance, flexibility, lower body strength - that I must address before I can win in the ring in July. I have come a long way, but the time to self-congratulate is not yet arrived. For now we work.
UPDATE: Today, for the first time, I lost count of the number of rounds worked on the mitts. Coach Cornelius keeps tricking me, saying we are on the last round but then telling me, "One more round, one more round." After three or four rounds of this I give in and forget about hoping for a rest and just dig deep and follow instructions. Coach Ray made a great couple of observations, saying that I need to follow up the left hook to the body with a left to the head or a right cross, and that I need to tighten up my guard after throwing left hooks upstairs.
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