As the story has it, one day I headed to the opposite side of the globe – the Flipside. I arrived in Korea February 16th, 2005 and thought I’d do a year, then leave. I was wrong. I stayed, launched my first company, Flipside Fitness, and then opened Korea's largest boxing club, Hulk's Boxing (now called Hulk's Club).

After 11.5yrs in Korea, I then picked up one day and returned to Toronto, Canada. But then I left again.

Now I live in the Philippines where I am the CEO and head coach of Empowered Clubhouse, the Philippines' first and only boxing clubhouse exclusively just for women. I also am the founder of the Lil' Sistas Project, CEO and designer of Slay Gear and Baa Baa Black Sheep .Ph.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Running for the Boys... Sunday, September 28

I'm fighting for a fight I may or may not get. A fight that will mean I'll have to drop everything and leave the country for. A fight that I'll have to pay all my personal travelling expenses, food and hotel for plus possibly times two because I'll be bringing in a sub corner coach and am the one asking for the fight as supposed to being asked into it.

In a little over two weeks I may or may not get the fight that my Busan boxing buddy is trying to arrange for me.  It's rather nerve-racking too because in addition to having to closely watch my weight, I now have to up my training more than the intense level I already felt I was training at. 

I weighed in at 54.4kgs before running and then upon returning home, showering and then jumping on the scale again, I weighed 53.0kgs.  I lost 1.4kgs of water weight, nice but I was honestly aiming closer to 2kgs.  This week's goal is to keep my weight under 53kgs, and focusing on getting more cut.  This means, with the exception of some milk in my morning coffee, I'll be eliminating bread and diary from my eating until after my anticipated fight date.  Daily naps will surely be a thing-to-do everyday as will training.  There will be no more days off training until I get this fight and come back with a win.

The pressure is definitely on.

My cross country coach back in high school used to tell me that I "only needed on person -- you" and by that she meant only you had to believe in you.  I'm always joking with Snickers, telling him I have three people -- me, myself and I.  He'll ask me what I did while he was out and I'll tell him I went running with friends, with me, myself, and I.  Me, myself and I are a pretty strong combo but it's pretty awesome to know that I don't just have them that believe in me.  I also have two champion male boxers who are in constant contact with me, pushing me and pulling me through the hard training and helping me out with a two year plan we've devised.  

Every time I go running, I run as if I'm running on behalf of someone.  Sometimes it's in memory of my mother, all those brutally early morning runs I made to her hospital bed across town when I was back in Canada visiting. Other times it's on behalf of all my friends and family back in Canada, my desire to make them proud, while other times it's to prove someone wrong, like a particular in-law who thinks girls shouldn't box or others who think I should just give up, as if being fit and active is a trend for the younger generation.  Today I ran a little over 19kms and I ran on behalf of Snickers and my Busan buddy, for all their daily chats and behind-the-scenes prep work they're doing to help me get ready for this fight.  Tonight's run was all about making them proud of me and nothing more.

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