I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but JB’s been training at a mixed martial arts gym for several months now. He works with a trainer a few times a week and often comes home sporting black eyes or giant bruises from the sweaty man-on-man grappling they do on the mats, which is apparently totally heterosexual despite the fact that it often looks just like that tent scene in Brokeback Mountain.

He’s got his first official fight this weekend; a big event at his gym with lots of fighters and an actual paying audience and everything. It’s the culmination of weeks of hard training and I wish like hell I could be in the bleachers cheering him on. Unfortunately, this also happens to be the weekend of my half marathon, so while he’ll be stepping into the ring here in Seattle, I’ll be en route to New Orleans.

Talk about your crappy timing, right? It’s a bummer not only because we can’t be present at each other’s goal events—well, it wasn’t likely that JB was going to be able to be in New Orleans anyway, but I definitely would have been at his fight—but also since as the final days tick down before the weekend we can’t even really properly commiserate with each other.

JB: “Man, I’m stressed about the fight.”

Me: “Whatever. At least you don’t have to fly across the damn country to get to it.”

JB: “At least you won’t be on a stage.”

Me: “At least your fight won’t last, like, two and a half hours.”

JB: “At least you don’t have to just wait around for half the night beforehand.”

Me: “At least you don’t have to worry about a catastrophic gastrointestinal malfunction occurring at mile eight and you’ve still got 5.1 miles to go, motherfucker.”

Etc.

In all honesty I think JB’s got the harder task, if only because he has to make weight before the fight. He gets weighed on Friday morning and the scale has to read 145 or ELSE. He’s within spitting distance of that weight right now, thanks to a few weeks of extra vigilance, but these last few days are a big back of suck. No carbs, no starch, no salt, no snacks. I put him on the diet at the end of Jillian Michaels’ Making the Cut book, which features the world’s most depressing seven-day eating plan designed to cut any and all excess water weight. He’s basically allowed egg whites, plain chicken breast, and low-sodium tuna; meanwhile, I’m shoveling entire bags of salty popcorn in my fret-hole and wondering out loud through mouthfuls if I should eat spaghetti like all week to carb load or just augment my regular meals with, say, a steady influx of M&Ms.

A few years ago I don’t think either one of us would be able to believe the sorts of goals we have today. It feels amazing, really, to share these feelings—of having worked so hard, and aimed this high—with my partner and best friend. Whatever happens in that ring or on the race course this weekend, I know we have one thing in common: we are incredibly proud of one another.

Comments

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
74 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
cheap lululemon speed shorts

I was wondering if you ever considered changing the page layout of your blog? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1 or 2 images. Maybe you could space it out better?

female basketball jerseys

Heya! I realize this is somewhat off-topic but I had to ask. Does managing a well-established blog like yours take a lot of work? I am completely new to writing a blog but I do write in my diary every day. I’d like to start a blog so I can easily share my own experience and views online. Please let me know if you have any ideas or tips for new aspiring blog owners. Thankyou!

cheap iowa basketball jerseys

Hmm it seems like your site ate my first comment (it was extremely long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I had written and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I too am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still new to the whole thing. Do you have any tips for rookie blog writers? I’d really appreciate it.

ambien online
9 years ago

What Effect WIll Diazepam Or Zopiclone Have On Me?

canada goose down
9 years ago

With havin so much content and articles do you ever run into any problems of plagorism or copyright infringement? My blog has a lot of completely unique content I’ve either authored myself or outsourced but it seems a lot of it is popping it up all over the internet without my agreement. Do you know any methods to help stop content from being ripped off? I’d definitely appreciate it.

valium
9 years ago

Will a drug test show the difference between roxicodone and percocet?

herve leger sale nordstrom

I am curious to find out what blog system you happen to be working with? I’m having some minor security issues with my latest website and I would like to find something more secure. Do you have any suggestions?

valium without prescription

Insulting comments on my blog… How do I find his IP Adress?

electric cigarette
9 years ago

First of all I want to say superb blog! I had a quick question which I’d like to ask if you don’t mind. I was interested to know how you center yourself and clear your head before writing. I have had difficulty clearing my mind in getting my ideas out. I do take pleasure in writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are lost simply just trying to figure out how to begin. Any recommendations or tips? Many thanks!|

general contractors
general contractors
9 years ago

Appreciate the recommendation. Will try it out.|

Birmingham escort agency

Right here is the perfect webpage for anyone who wants to understand this topic. You know a whole lot its almost hard to argue with you (not that I personally would want to…HaHa). You definitely put a brand new spin on a subject which has been written about for a long time. Great stuff, just excellent!

Investment real estate

My developer is trying to convince me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using Movable-type on a variety of websites for about a year and am concerned about switching to another platform. I have heard fantastic things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can transfer all my wordpress posts into it? Any kind of help would be really appreciated!|

home security systems
9 years ago

Great site you have here but I was curious if you knew of any user discussion forums that cover the same topics discussed here? I’d really like to be a part of community where I can get advice from other knowledgeable people that share the same interest. If you have any recommendations, please let me know. Many thanks!|

alcohol and drug treatment

Hi there, i read your blog occasionally and i own a similar one and i was just curious if you get a lot of spam feedback? If so how do you protect against it, any plugin or anything you can suggest? I get so much lately it’s driving me insane so any assistance is very much appreciated.|

vacuum cleaner
9 years ago

Thanks for your personal marvelous posting! I definitely enjoyed reading it, you are a great author.I will make sure to bookmark your blog and will often come back in the foreseeable future. I want to encourage that you continue your great posts, have a nice holiday weekend!|

satellite internet
9 years ago

I savour, result in I found just what I used to be taking a look for. You’ve ended my 4 day lengthy hunt! God Bless you man. Have a nice day. Bye|

meth addiction recovery

Useful info. Fortunate me I found your website by chance, and I am surprised why this accident did not took place in advance! I bookmarked it.|

sat tv
8 years ago

Fantastic blog! Do you have any recommendations for aspiring writers? I’m planning to start my own site soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you recommend starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many choices out there that I’m totally confused .. Any suggestions? Appreciate it!|

dish network internet
8 years ago

Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You clearly know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence on just posting videos to your site when you could be giving us something informative to read?|

free teeth whitening
8 years ago

Yes! Finally something about %keyword1%.|

entry light
8 years ago

Great work! This is the kind of information that are supposed to be shared around the internet. Disgrace on Google for no longer positioning this submit upper! Come on over and visit my web site . Thanks =)|

apartments
8 years ago

Excellent web site. A lot of helpful information here. I am sending it to a few friends ans additionally sharing in delicious. And obviously, thanks on your effort!|

Hughesnet deals
8 years ago

Hi there i am kavin, its my first occasion to commenting anywhere, when i read this piece of writing i thought i could also create comment due to this brilliant article.|

best satellite internet

Hello! I simply would like to give you a big thumbs up for the great information you have here on this post. I’ll be returning to your blog for more soon.|