Ultimate Lotus

Higher quality play.

Ran a couple of errands before ultimate today, mostly because I figured I wouldn't really be inclined to run them afterward.  Went to the field and warmed up with some free form, mostly in the style of the swimming mini, with a few extras thrown in.  Kind of a mix of swimming and stamina, I guess.  Had a pretty decent turnout today, probably around 22 at the max.  Good play as well... both teams were playing hard at the beginning, much more so than is usual for Dearborn.  It was nice to see, actually... one of the most competitive games we've had here in a long time.  The wind did pick up somewhat during the evening, which was a bit annoying... it was really nice earlier in the day.  Might be leading the cold front coming in for the next couple of days.  I actually think my training this weekend is already helping me... both yesterday and today I felt like I could go a bit harder for longer... hopefully further training will really increase that, and let me go full out for a few points at a time, and then recover with a point or two of rest.  That's the goal, more or less.  Cooled off with some more free form.  I was considering going to the tryouts for the new mixed team tomorrow, but I don't think that I'm going to.  The weather is supposed to be fairly cool and wet, plus windy.  While I'd likely do well... I just really don't care that much, so I probably won't bother going.  Anyway, that's all for tonight.  Will probably take it relatively easy tomorrow if I don't go, most likely just yoga abs or something, or maybe pilates abs if I'm really inspired.

Unexpectedly pleasant.

Warmed up for today with running and swimming, as usual.  It was a surprisingly nice day, actually... it seemed like it would be fairly cool, but it was moderately humid, and there was really no wind to speak of, so it seemed relatively warm.  I was going to wear my long sleeved shirt again, but ended up changing after warming up, because I realized it was going to be too hot.  Despite the splendid day, we only had 5s... not sure where everyone was today.  I guess a few people couldn't make it for whatever reason, and maybe people were scared off by the forecast, because it wasn't the most encouraging.  Still had some good play... I was actually feeling pretty good today, moving around more than usual, making some plays.  Maybe my conditioning work is already starting to pay off a little.  It was an awesome day for throwing... so nice to be able to throw without wind for a change.  A little wind makes things a bit more interesting, but the conditions the last few weeks have been kind of ridiculous.  Cooled off with a bit of light free form, probably not quite as much as I should have.  Anyway, that's it for tonight... planning on playing again tomorrow, it's supposed to be nice again, so hopefully we'll have good turnout.  Until then...

The return of the dreaded hill sprint.

Continued to show motivation once more today, going with the running mini before and after a set of hill sprints.  I would have liked to have done more, but the one set was killing me by the end, and so I decided to just chill and live with the one set.  It's always a little amazing how quickly those add up... the first two or three are pretty easy, and then it starts to hurt fast.  I suppose that's a good thing, it means that I'm probably improving my conditioning already... it would just to be nice to be in somewhat better condition already, but I suppose I haven't earned it yet.  At least I'm starting to work toward it now.  I did do a half mile jog afterward, so at least I didn't completely wimp out, just mostly.  Ultimate tomorrow, unless we get stormed out... should be decent temperature otherwise.  Until then...

Starting to train.

I was hoping to get in some type of running today, either a 2 mile run or some hill sprints, but ended up getting some housework projects that have been lingering done instead, so I can't complain.  Really, it was an excellent trade.  However, I did remember that starting to get some jump roping in as part of my cross training was an idea that I had been waiting for it to get warm to implement, and since it finally got warm again this week, this seemed like a good time to get started on it.  Just went with 10m tonight... it was a lot more tiring on the calves than I was expecting.  Actually, it was fairly tiring in general, which is really the point... to help increase endurance, and also hopefully increase my vertical, but I'm less concerned about that.  I think this will be good for me, and I'm going to try and start incorporating it into my workout routine regularly.  After that, just went with the stamina workout... thought about going for something more challenging, but I really didn't know how much the jump roping had taken out of me, and I didn't want to push the matter tonight.  There will be plenty of time for that later.  Decent workout... my side felt a little more tender tonight, but not nearly as much as it has been after the balance ball workouts.  Now I'm going to have to see if the pilates abs workout has the same effect... if not, I'm going to have to just man up and make that my go-to abs workout.  As painful as that sounds.  That's it for tonight... I'd like to get a run in tomorrow, unless my legs are toast from the jump rope tonight, which they may be, although they probably shouldn't be.  Either way, I'll definitely try and get something in.  Until then...

Signs of motivation.

Actually ran a few errands today, and also did a workout.  There's a slight possibility that I'm actually starting to get motivated again.  Just in time to lose it when we go on vacation in a few weeks, but that's usual.  Anyway, just went with the yoga abs workout tonight.  I'm actually quite interested in seeing how this is going to affect my side... this is about the only time recently that I've done this one without having done balance ball a few days prior, and I think that the balance ball workout is the one that's really been doing the damage.  So we'll see how I feel tomorrow.  The workout itself went decently, I was fairly pleased with my focus and everything.  I've been thinking I need to get more serious with my workouts again... of course, since I also have to avoid reinjuring things, that's a bit trickier than I'd like.  Hoping to do some training this weekend... since I was originally planning on playing in a tourney this weekend, I really feel like I should at least improve my conditioning somewhat, since I'm not playing.  That's it for tonight... ideally, will do a run or some sprint drills tomorrow.  Until then...

Warm, finally.

Warmed up tonight with the running and swimming minis.  As rather expected, my hamstrings were fairly sore today from the flexibility workout last night, but I didn't let that bother me too much.  Wasn't too sure what kind of numbers we were going to get, but in the end we were able to play 6s for a little bit, 5s for a while, and then 4s for the last game.  I have to admit that I think the heat wore us all down a little bit... not that it was super hot or anything, but we're not used to it.  Also, at least for me, I haven't recovered from my cold, and I think that the cold meds were messing me up a bit.  I was just... off on my throws.  Not all of them, of course, but way more than normal.  Ah well.  Ended up tossing for a while afterward, since the game broke up somewhat early, and then did some free form to stretch.  I was pretty tired by the end, much more so than usual, although that might be the head cold.  Anyway, that's it for tonight.  Going to try and keep the workouts going, and will try to get at least some training in this weekend... since I was originally planning on playing a tournament, that doesn't seem like too much to ask.  So until (hopefully) tomorrow...

Breaking the trend.

Came down with a bit of a cold overnight... probably related to my adventures in the cold rain on Monday.  Add in a bit of soreness, and it's rather surprising that I managed to convince myself to do a workout tonight.  Ended up going with the flexibility workout, which even surprised me a bit.  I was thinking that I was just going to do stamina, but ended up changing my mind at the last minute.  Hopefully this finally signals a return to motivation, but it'll require several more workouts before I really believe that.  Anyway, workout was decent, I'll probably have some soreness in my hamstrings tomorrow, I usually do after this one.  Not overly optimistic about turnout tomorrow anyway, a bunch of the regulars seemed uncertain if they were going to be there.  But if it's as warm as it should be, I'll be much more inclined to do some actual training even so, which is good... I need to get on that.  My stamina really could use some work.  That's it for tonight... ultimate tomorrow, and we'll see what happens after that.  Until then...

Under expectations.

Went with the running and swimming minis before ultimate today, as per usual.  Somewhat surprisingly, I really wasn't very sore from yesterday at all... not quite sure why, maybe the level of activity was within the limits for non-soreness.  Not that I'm complaining.  The weather didn't turn out to be quite as nice as predicted... it was supposed to be around 70F, but never really got above 60F.  It also drizzled for a little while in the middle of playing, when there wasn't supposed to be rain.  At least the wind was fairly minimal, certainly better than any of the past three or four Tuesdays.  Had a hard time getting into the game today... I was playing well enough, but just wasn't all that motivated.  Not sure why... maybe just fatigue, I didn't get much sleep last night.  Had another layout on O today, but missed the catch.  Missed a number of catches that I should have had, although none in the "easy" category... but stuff that I got my hand on, and didn't snag.  My hands were a little cold, that may have been the problem there.  Cooled off with my normal free form... was starting to feel a little sore by the end, but not too bad.  My side is still not fully recovered from whatever the problem is, but I'd like to get a workout in tomorrow... we'll see if I'm actually motivated enough, though.  Perhaps not abs, because of that issue, but maybe a stretching workout of some sort, even if it's just stamina.  Until next time...

Cold and rainy.

I had an errand to run before ultimate today, so I did that first and then headed to the field.  It was raining somewhat heavily at times on my way there, but a good number of people said they were going to come out today, so I wasn't too concerned about turnout.  Actually, that's the main reason I was going... otherwise, I may have done the sensible thing and stayed home.  The rain had slowed to a light drizzle by the time I got to the field, so it wasn't too bad, except for the fact that I don't like playing in rain.  Or cold.  Not that it was overly cold, a little over 50F, but that's still much cooler than I actually enjoy.  I did a little bit of yoga before we started, but actually played a point or two and then did a more complete free form set... that way my legs were somewhat warm.  The first game was actually fine, didn't have much trouble throwing the disc, had a layout catch and a layout D.  Things started going downhill after that... the cold part of the equation really started kicking in, and my hands became kind of numb.  Throwing was still better than normal in the rain, but it was still just a bit off.  Did have another nice layout score, though.  The nice thing about tonight was that it was great for layouts, and at least it wasn't windy... although I likely wouldn't have come if it had been.  Third game was just kind of miserable... not sure why I stayed, to be honest.  Should have just left after the second.  Did a little bit of stretching afterward, but very minimal... I just wanted to go home, dry off, and warm up.  I'll probably pay a bit for the lack of cooldown stretching tomorrow, but oh well.  That's it for tonight... tomorrow is supposed to be pretty decent weather, looking forward to it.

Traitorous weather.

Warmed up for ultimate today with the running and swimming minis again.  The weather rather betrayed us today... it was supposed to be fairly warm and not very windy as of two days ago... instead it was fairly cool and nearly as windy as Tuesday, although not quite as bad.  A couple of our regulars didn't make it today, not sure why, and we almost didn't have enough for even a small game.  Started out playing a little bit of hot box, as we only had 7, but then one left.  Fortunately two more people came and we were able to play 4s.  Displeasingly, the wind decided to pick up after we started playing, so it really was nearly as bad as Tuesday for most of the time that we played, although still not quite as heavy.  But it made moving the disc upfield really hard, as we didn't have enough handlers to really go around, and of course there were fewer people to throw to.  But, at least we got to run around, and it wasn't a bad time, just a bit frustrating, especially for those of us that played in pretty much the same conditions on Tuesday.  Cooled off with my usual free form routine... it was probably a little abbreviated, actually, but I wasn't anxious to stay out in the cold any longer.  Rumor has it the forecast for next week is better, so hopefully that will be the case and I can stop wearing long sleeves and earmuffs to play all the time.  My back/side is still acting funny, I can't figure out exactly what the problem is, and certainly haven't figured out how to stretch it, if it's even a problem of stretching.  So I might take tomorrow off, depending on how it feels, but will try and do something on Saturday regardless.  Until next time...