So it's been a while since I last posted! Whoa, two months or so!

I had to switch to running night shifts over Christmas, and as such I couldn't train or go to the gym. I started going to the gym on Christmas Eve, and boy did it feel great! The gym then closed for a while because of the holiday period, so had more off time. Had my first training session last Wednesday, and again, it was amazing! Being off for so long made the sessions all the sweeter.

What I found over the forced rest period, is that I've come back with renewed envigour. And it seems like I've actually gotten a bit better. Taking time off allowed my muscles and psyche to recover a bit, which I think I needed but refused to do. I think it also helped that my night shift was a very physical 8-11 hours a night. I was doing sprints and jumping (don't ask) to improve my cardio. This way I would still be somewhat training (it certainly helped with the stress!).

Since the start of the year I've been changing a lot of things in my personal life, and it seems to have helped me realise how much I want to train and make something of it. I mean, I knew before, but now I know even more! I'm hoping to really ramp it up this year.

It definitely helps that last year I was given a trophy for female fighter of the year 2012, haha. I'm very torn between being so honoured it hurts, and it being almost partly undeserved. See, last year when I started, there was only one other female fighter. She came across from one of our masters' karate class and is a black belt. The other female fighter came across from kickboxing, a blue belt. She started about six months after I did (obviously a much better level than I), but didn't really push herself much and her dad ended up not letting her train anymore sure to certain reasons.

The karate girl only trained a few times, and since the blue belt had to stop going, it almost felt like I was getting the award because I was the only female left who would fight. Having said that, the masters did say I got it because I went up against higher belts all the time, both in and out of competitions, so it shows my vigour. I like that word. Although, even if it is a pity trophy, I was told several times before I received it that I should get the fighter of 2013 because I can definitely beat the current holder if I try hard, haha. I'll try for both male AND female! ...Perhaps.

I think that's enough for catching up, I have some things to talk about from my training yesterday!