Throwing, Series Prep

I've been throwing every day. Stepping out, crisp catches, and mixing it up:

Throwing blades to myself to practice hard catches
Throwing off pivot-foot only (forehand and backhand)
Throwing while falling into a lunge (release before foot touches ground)
Letting the disc pass by me before catching it (trailing edge catches)
Turning my back to the disc for a few moments after the thrower releases, then spinning around and finding it in the air before catching it, and then quickly throwing (simulating a surprise reception and quick disc movement)

I love that last little variation. I've had trouble in the past tracking discs or catching things that are thrown over my shoulder/head, dropping discs when I didn't expect to be thrown to, that sort of thing. After looking at some of that fre-flo-do stuff, I realized it might be beneficial to develop some muscle memory outside of the standard step-throw and catching from a standstill. Even a couple years ago, I would try to attack the disc while throwing around, especially as I tried to become more consistent at catching hard passes. But losing sight of the disc, finding it again and then attacking it feels useful--and it's fun! I would make sure to try to get off an accurate quick-release after each catch, too, and I especially worked on hammers here. I wanted to make sure I am able to pick a target and hit it quickly, regardless of how far away or how the wind is blowing. I feel like if you're always standing still, hitting stationary targets, of course it's going to look like you can throw hammers. But being able to do it in a game, from motion, while finding a target whose specific position you were not aware of until you caught the disc and looked up? More difficult, and good to practice.

More things to add to the throwing drills are self-macking (to practice bobbled catches) and razors/blades. I still feel like I need to toughen up my hands and not be afraid of the damn disc, even for an instant.

As for my knee, the doctor diagnosed a mild case of patellar tendonitis. I did a pistol squat for him when he asked me to squat and tell him if there was any pain...he was impressed by the "strength and balance" and said he had never seen anybody do that before. That sort of makes me worry about his credibility and knowledge of sports medicine. Disregarding that, he said that I was okay to play, though I probably should rest, and if I decided to play through any pain (he understood what Sectionals means) then I can take some Advil, because the risk-benefit ratio was in my favor. Weird things have been going on with the knee since I saw him, so I'm still icing, etc. I intend to play at 100% on Saturday.

I went swimming on Sunday, and today did a short workout in the gym--stretching, 10 dead-hang wide-grip pullups, 2 muscle-ups with 30lb assistance, and two complex reps with the 45lb bar (2 deadlifts, hang clean, 2 presses, squat, snatch, overhead squat, 2 presses). Practice tonight, some rehab exercises, stretching, and preparation for the weekend.