I figure that, since it’s a month away now, I should go ahead and officially let the proverbial cat out of its bag. My half-secret July 12th goings-on that I’ve eluded to lately is going to be my first MMA fight.

As an 0-0 person fighting someone who is 2-4 (Toni Tallman), our photos didn’t make the poster… especially since the other female fight on the night’s card includes a former Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader who has been in the MMA world for a lot longer than “threw my first punch back in the 2013 cyclocross season.”

How do I think it’s gonna go? Well, what I lack in experience, I make up for in natural born athleticism, extreme aerobic fitness, and killer instinct. So, I think it’s going to be a good matchup. I’m definitely not nervous yet, though I do often lay in bed at night rehearsing all the possible scenarios that could unfold in 9 potential minutes of fighting.

My “training camp” of sorts has been starting up since I came home from Kansas. I was back in the gym that Tuesday (more in an attempt to reset and get back into “normal” life than anything else), but that whole week was somewhat slow because I prioritized recovery over anything else. Now that the gravel is out of my legs, and I’ve got my head on a little straighter, everything has been going full-swing. I feel like a learning sponge- every day a little stronger, faster, and more confident than the previous.