Training Log –The Green Devil Rears His Head

Monday: 5 km run, Abs and Push-Ups

Tuesday: 5 km run, Abs and Push-Ups, Workout at St. Catharines Amateur Boxing Club

Wednesday: DAY OFF

Thursday: Workout at St. Catharines Amateur Boxing Club

Friday: DAY OFF

Saturday: “MUSHIN” with Wayne, Workout at St. Catharines Amateur Boxing Club

Sunday: DAY OFF

On Saturday, the Green Devil finally reared his head. He appeared on my left shoulder (a la Bugs Bunny in Looney Tunes) and encouraged me to take down the total fuckwit standing in front of me. The reason being was that said fuckwit marched up to me as I walked into the Boxing Club to inform me that there wasn’t a boxercise class scheduled. Normally, a comment like this would rub me the wrong way, but I would be able to forgive the messenger and his ignorance. However, yesterday, it wielded enough power to bring out what Wayne has wanted to see in me – pure aggression. This man’s air of condescension and his ignorant assumption that I wasn’t there, like the rest of the boxers, to get a weekend workout under my belt, ignited the Green Devil.

There must have been a flash of something that moved across my eyes, let’s call it the “look”, as he stepped away from me before I could even react, verbally that is, to his pronouncement. Thankfully, the voice of calm and reason (in the shape of an Angel of course) came from my right shoulder and encouraged me to not go ape shit all over this man’s pompous Bjorn-Borg-headband head.

I simply and respectfully replied, “I don’t do the boxercise classes” and went about my business. And let me tell you, my business was a killer workout. Unfortunately, it was one that was fuelled by indignation.

Over the course of the hour and a half that I trained, not only did this man not redeem himself, he managed to climb to the very top of my “shit” list. In addition to counting out his bench press reps at volume that dwarfed the sound of the music that boomed throughout the club, he felt it necessary to blow his nose via the “farmer blow” method. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s when you press your finger against one nostril and blow as hard as you can in order to empty the contents of the other. Even if I weren’t tired and a bit queasy from the intense nature of my training, this act would have me gagging. For fun, I asked Hannah to video tape re-enacting my reaction.

A day later, thanks to the thinking I had to do to capture this on the blog, I’m finally over it. The Green Devil is tucked away. Don’t worry, he’ll make his appearance at the appropriate time and place – in the ring. This experience is now properly reframed as a learning moment and what I’ve learned is this:

I’ve come to think of myself as a boxer and I’ve been treated as one by everyone else at the Club.  The comment of one person has no power over me, nor should it.