2025-03-05, 04:20 AM - Word count: 365
In my last few entries, I wrote about my daily grind: early mornings, brutal training sessions, and captain making sure I don’t slack off. But every now and then, we get a days off. Doesn’t happen often, but when it does, this is how it goes.
First few days off, I still wake up at 3 AM because my internal clock is stuck in training mode. I’ll check the time and go back to sleep. Eventually, I wake up whenever I wake up, no alarms, no rush. First thing I do is grab breakfast while scrolling through the news. Nothing exciting, just a quiet start to the day.
Since Istanbul usually has nice weather, I’ll go out for coffee with some friends and just chill. No training, no stress, just good company and a slow morning. After that, it’s time for lunch.
Now, even on a rest day, I can’t afford to get lazy. So after lunch, I hit the gym for a light session, nothing too intense, just enough to keep the body active and stay in shape. Some mobility work, core exercises, and a bit of strength training to keep things sharp. Vinnie would probably kill me if I skipped it completely, so better safe than sorry.
Once that’s done, the rest of the day is up in the air. I either stay out and enjoy the city, or I head back home to relax. No middle ground. If I go home, then it’s full-on “me time.” And by that, I mean gaming. That’s pretty much how I’ll spend the last six hours of the day. I’ll call up Nadj and some of my other FC Istanbul teammates, and we’ll hop into some online shooters. None of us are any good since we don’t play often, but that’s not the point. Winning is optional. As the devil once said: MAYBE IT WAS YOUR TIME TO LOSE (read that in Al Pacino’s voice).
End of the day, a light dinner, and then straight to sleep. And that’s how it goes, on repeat, until the grind starts again.
First few days off, I still wake up at 3 AM because my internal clock is stuck in training mode. I’ll check the time and go back to sleep. Eventually, I wake up whenever I wake up, no alarms, no rush. First thing I do is grab breakfast while scrolling through the news. Nothing exciting, just a quiet start to the day.
Since Istanbul usually has nice weather, I’ll go out for coffee with some friends and just chill. No training, no stress, just good company and a slow morning. After that, it’s time for lunch.
Now, even on a rest day, I can’t afford to get lazy. So after lunch, I hit the gym for a light session, nothing too intense, just enough to keep the body active and stay in shape. Some mobility work, core exercises, and a bit of strength training to keep things sharp. Vinnie would probably kill me if I skipped it completely, so better safe than sorry.
Once that’s done, the rest of the day is up in the air. I either stay out and enjoy the city, or I head back home to relax. No middle ground. If I go home, then it’s full-on “me time.” And by that, I mean gaming. That’s pretty much how I’ll spend the last six hours of the day. I’ll call up Nadj and some of my other FC Istanbul teammates, and we’ll hop into some online shooters. None of us are any good since we don’t play often, but that’s not the point. Winning is optional. As the devil once said: MAYBE IT WAS YOUR TIME TO LOSE (read that in Al Pacino’s voice).
End of the day, a light dinner, and then straight to sleep. And that’s how it goes, on repeat, until the grind starts again.
