Second day training at KC Muay Thai - First time Running

Still combating jet lag as it's my 2nd day in Thailand with an 18 hour time difference, and I was a bit sick from drinking tap water in the Philippines on my layover.  Warning, don't drink tap water in Asia.

I promised myself to take it easy the first two weeks while getting acclimatized and back into shape, training once a day 5 days a week.  Started the afternoon session with a 3.2km run around the block at KC Muay Thai.  I followed some of the slower runners and paced myself.  We started by walking to the end of the block and doing a light jog.  Decided to cut through the parking lot of the Big C supermarket.  I was surprised that I was able to do the entire 2 miles without stopping.  I know it doesn't sound like a long run but I'm seriously out of shape and the sun is hot and draining as hell.  I was quite proud of myself for making it through and will continue to do this warm up run before class 5x a week.  

The nice thing about the running path around the block is there aren't many cars for the majority of it until you get to the main street which is only 1/4 of the run.  You can also not cut through the parking lot, extending the run a bit, and for most people at the gym they do two laps in the mornings before it gets hot.  Making it a 5mile/8km run if you don't take any shortcuts.


Training Session:

Immediately after getting back we did 200 rhythmic knees on the heavy bags, I'm glad they mix up the cardio everyday.  Did 2 rounds of heavy bags with push ups and sit ups between rounds.  Really glad they have us do two rounds of bags instead of the normal 3 which I end up getting bored of without any real benefit of the third round.  Then we did 4 rounds of muay thai sparring with shin guards, 16oz gloves and mouth guards.  (Remember to bring your mouth guard, I had a custom one made for about $80 and it was the best investment ever.)

I started sparring one of the Thai guys.  I've learned in the past never to out show them or make them look bad in front their peers or they'll seriously destroy you.  Focused on combos and techniques.  My cardio was seriously suffering but I did okay over all.  Last two rounds was with an English guy, really different from the thai guy.  He was hitting super hard like most westerns do straight from the get go, but I'm gotten used to it and don't mind it.  He projected his kicks and didn't set them up so it was quite easy to check them.  We were pretty well matched up in terms of speed, size and strength so I'm looking forward to sparring with him again.  I'm probably a bit more experienced than him but my cardio and stamina was much worse, making it quite even.

For some reason we didn't do pad work today, maybe it was because it was Saturday and didn't have enough pad holders?  No idea.  But I was okay with it because I was so beat and I couldn't take any more either way.

Ended the session with 200 push kicks (teeps), sit ups, then group sit ups in a circle which I quite liked.  A bunch of local thai guys and one girl came to class, it's weird to see Thai beginners, it's good to know it's becoming more popular among the affluent locals though and not just for hard core thais that start when they're eight.  One of the girls in class from Canada ended the session with some Yoga which I really enjoyed and needed, wished we would have held each position a bit longer.

I barely made it through the workout, luckily today is Sunday and is rest day.  I was tempted to do pull ups but am forcing myself to take a day off.  Went to sleep dead tired at 9pm last night and woke up at 4:30am, which isn't the best but isn't too bad, hopefully the jet lag will dissipate soon.

On a side note, I am super freaking happy about my apartment.  Great airflow, bright, and comes completely furnished.  Only in Chiang Mai could  get a place like this for 4,500baht ($150US) a month including Electric, Utilities, A/C (which I don't use), and decent Wi-Fi.  Just set up my PS2 and life is good!

I'll keep ya'll updated, leave a comment.