Hearing Things

Though I had fully intended to attend each training session faithfully, (twice a day, six days a week, for the four weeks we have committed here), I was forced to take a day off on Tuesday of our second week. I knew I should have stayed away from that slimy incline bench. But I didn’t. Surrounded by impossibly toned six pack abs everywhere I turned, it had called to me. Unfortunately, what it didn’t say was ‘Take it easy Nicole, don’t overdo it’. If it had said that, I probably wouldn’t have lost valuable training time due to a pulled abdominal muscle.

By the following Tuesday I had also lost a toenail, the ability to turn my head to the left, several layers of skin from the bottom of my toes and feet, maybe a couple of pounds of sweat, the ability to run without a distinct limp, a small amount of dignity having been persuaded to participate in greased pig grappling, and the will to get out of bed.

Troy advised me to listen to my body and acknowledging the fact that it was screaming at me, I decided to give in and take a break. I have traded my remaining two weeks of group training in for one week of one-on-one sessions next week. This week I am concentrating on trying to heal my twisted joints, stretch my tight tendons, and relax my pulled muscles by attending the odd yoga class, receiving Thai massages, reading an embarrassing amount of chick-lit on the beach, and going for runs on flat terrain only. All in preparation to be in fine form to kick some butt next week! I prefer not to think of my need for a body break as wimping out but rather as a consequence of over-enthusiasm! It makes me feel better.

Troy, on the other hand, has decided not to heed his own advice and is clearly ignoring his body’s cries for help. He, instead, has committed much time to alternating an ice pack between his knee and his ankle and slathering his extremities with tiger balm. I suspect he will soon need earplugs to drown out the screams from his body. This morning I think even I heard little shrieks from his knee as he eased himself ever so gently out of bed and I swear I heard his ankle yelp as he wrapped it up in ice yet again this afternoon. However, with only three days of valuable preparation time left until fight night, I know that any reminders from me to listen to his body will fall on deaf ears. Instead, I am comforted by the words of the trainer this morning reminding me that regardless of the condition of his body, it is the size of his heart that will prove most valuable in the ring.

This is good news as, true to form, the only thing I can hear louder than the cries of Troy’s aching body, is the sound of his heart pounding with excitement, determination, desire, and sheer will. And so, I am not worried.