The Hills are Alive...

...with the sound of panting.

The hill I mentioned previously, Regional Drive, has been used in the past by the high school track team for grueling sprint workouts. It is extremely steep, straight, and, from a painted white arrow at the bottom to the painted white line at the top, measures exactly 200m. It is rather too steep, but we use it nonetheless for off-season conditioning in ultimate. My workout today was:

Stride 100m up, sprint last 100m, jog down.
Upon reaching bottom, immediately sprint 100m up, stride last 100m, jog down.
Upon reaching bottom, immediately stride 100m up, sprint last 100m, jog down.
Upon reaching bottom, immediately sprint 100m up, stride last 100m, jog down.
Rest, two minutes.
Stride 100m up, sprint last 100m, jog down.
Upon reaching bottom, immediately sprint 100m up, stride last 100m, jog down.
Upon reaching bottom, immediately sprint 100m up, stride last 100m, jog down.
Upon reaching bottom, immediately stride 100m up, sprint last 100m, walk down.
Rest, two minutes.
Jog 3mi back home, whereupon I immediately drink copious volumes of water.

I skipped my 3mi run yesterday, and played pickup with the old teammates. It wasn't anything special--I threw some decent hucks, but played no defense whatsoever (partially because I guarded, every point, our best deep). I am also trying to work off the Cold Stone excess from two nights ago--never do a running workout, skip the after-workout meal, and replace it later with a big bowl off ice cream. My body went into some crazy hibernation-state, storing calories like there was a winter ahead, rather than a blistering, humid, 95º summer.

on Moving On:

Having graduated from high school, finished my last season of juniors Ultimate with a 3rd place finish in the State Championships, colored the rest of the season with strong performances in various tournaments, and led my team to a 22-11-2 record, I now feel a little lost.

I fell in love with Ultimate immediately in the fall of my freshman year. It is my passion. Throughout high school, though, I had a team, and I had a place on that team. I knew the story we had, and cared deeply about the team. Now, I'm captaining a summer league team, and there's no story. I'm leading college kids, guys that are better than I, and for no real reason other than I stepped up before the season started and asked to captain. I don't quite feel like I belong, especially because my performance hasn't fallen into place yet.

So I'm ready to be a freshman again. I need a captain, somebody to take me under their wing. Also, it's time to stop talking about making better decisions on the field, playing chilly, and playing better defense; it's time to do it.

It's time to get back to the game I love.

Oops

I did the 3mi run again today. I then paced out the distance in the car, and I will now be able to take lap times for each mile that I run. The total run is actually 3.1mi, and today I completed it in 22:38, which is 7:32 pace. The first mile is the absolute hardest: 0.2 down a steep grade, 0.1 flat ground, and then 0.7 up a crazy hill. It took 7:46 for that leg. The rest of the run is up and down hills of varying difficulty, except the last 0.2mi is back up the ridiculously steep grade that I jog down at the start of the run. Taking out the first mile and the last 0.2 uphill, I ran two miles at 7:09(.5) pace, which is not bad at all. Running up the hill at the end is freakin' hard, by the way (I should find the rise in altitude and figure out how steep it is).

Afterwards, I was supposed to do plyometrics (oops), but instead I went and cheered on my dear in her swim meet. I think I finally figured out what's wrong with my ultimate, so I'll post more on that tomorrow.

Run and Throw

Did the 3mi loop today in 23 minutes exactly. Ran with music, but I'm not sure yet if that helps or hurts.

Had a summer league game as well, which was pretty unexceptional. I had a couple d's, but I also got d'd and my hucks were all too low and short (one was still caught for a goal). We were outmatched in height and speed, and the other team was more cohesive by far. Our players, at times, didn't know what the force was, or what play we called on the line; we still have to grow together as a team. I am half regretting the choice to be captain, and I am really looking forward to being a freshman again.

After the game, I sprinted 3 cross-field down-and-backs. I completed the first with good speed, feeling fast, but the second and third were slower and more difficult. I know that I have to concentrate on distance and endurance right now, but it was nice to throw a couple sprints to mix things up. My program will last ten weeks, and I can't wait until the second half, where I concentrate more on sprinting, agility, and throwing (the first five weeks are endurance and strength training).

Initiation

Today, I start training for College Ultimate.

Keep coming back for updates on my progress and my thoughts about Ultimate. I may post from time to time about skills, drills, and strategy. Enjoy!

Workout (6.26.06): 2mi run
first lap (1:55), second lap (1:45), third lap (1:40), fourth lap (1:35)
fifth lap (1:35, sixth lap (1:40), seventh lap (1:40), eigth lap (1:32)
first mile (6:55), second mile (6:27)
Body weights:
5 pullups, 40 pushups (some wide or with clap), and an ab circuit.

I noticed that it was much harder to throw (esp forehand) afterwards, but this may be attributable to the rain.