"If I look like I'm going to cry or giving you a death stare...ignore it."- Week 13

This week has had its up and downs both in and out of the gym. My workouts at the gym have all kind of jumbled together into one and I can't quite remember which days are which...all I know is that there was a lot of sparring. For the most part, I felt great! I would come out of the ring and think about how I was able to defend most of the punches, well... enough for me to still have confidence. I definitely got punched numerous times by numerous different people, but I survived! I don't think I'm very good at hiding my emotions with my facial expressions and I got the sense that anyone that talked or looked at me knew at some points that I was raging mad and so frustrated. It's almost like I take getting punched, personally, which is actually comical when I admit that out loud. In the rotation of each opponent coming at me, you have to be able to quickly adjust to how that person is going to fight against you.. their stance will be different, their punches will be harder and their pace will be slower. I get irritated when some people stand in front of me and can just kill me. It's like everything I've ever learned has just flown out the window and I'm standing there as a completely open target. Having to stand there and defend punches without throwing any back is all about what is happening inside your head. It really is crazy how MENTAL this sport is. You need to focus on your opponent and only your opponent. This sport has also made me feel mental at times.

So- to my Kingsway family, if I look like I'm going to cry or am giving you a death stare when you're whaling punches at me- ignore it! And if I tell you that I didn't like you so much that night (sorry Mark & Peter), it really means that I just don't like that you were able to punch me in every possible spot on my body and I wasn't able to defend anything. I really actually love you guys! :)

The FTEC team was also given the task this week to SHOP. Me? Shop? Umm ok!!

We needed to get a gown that we will wear at the gala before our fight, but we need it for the official Fight to End Cancer photo shoot on March 1st AND there were stipulations. Erica and I needed to get a dark red dress (we were sent a colour swatch) and we need it by February 24th. This doesn't seem like a super difficult task but it was actually hard, even for me, a professional shopper!

I had the day off on Friday so my Mum and I scooted over to Buffalo to shop. I found the PERFECT dress, the first one I tried on and I instantly bought it. With my cell reception in the states, it was hard to send Jenn a picture of the dress before I bought it to get her approval. When she finally saw the picture she said the red colour was TOO light. NOOOOOO. I was so sad. So, I agreed to continue to shop. I asked my girlfriend, Jessica to meet me in Burlington to help me look on Saturday and we were having NO luck. We finally popped into a little boutique store and TA-DA! SUCCESS! It was approved by Jenn, and I LOVE it! Thanks to my Mum for taking the other dress back to Buffalo for me- you're the BEST EVER- LOVE YOU!

Through all the physical and mental training, it's nice to have something different to look forward to! I don't know about the rest of the FTEC team, but I can't wait for this photo shoot! We even get our hair and makeup done. We get to be models for the day! Yay!

Everything seems to be coming together... training has definitely ramped up- or I have just told myself it needs to, so I'm working that extra bit harder and running that extra few kilometres. My nutrition has been pretty good for the most part, I am freeing my life from anything negative or what I feel is a waste of time and I am focused. I know why I'm doing this and I was reminded of this reason in the worst possible way. I found out that the lady I spoke about in one of my earlier blog posts, my old soccer coach, died. Heaven gained another angel yesterday and she was taken from us too soon. I know she is at peace now. My heart feels heavy and I'll carry it with me to the gym this week. She didn't lose any fight to cancer, she died of this terrible disease. 

We need to continue to fight for those that can't. If you are able to donate to my fight, you can do so by clicking here.

Love you all.