That's right, I'm lazy sometimes.

An hour or so of ice-skating.

Call it another off-day.

Actually, I've gotten really congested and developed a sore throat. I'm up to 146lb on the family's digital scale, but who knows whether that's accurate. If so, it will be easier than I thought to reach the goal of 300lb combined weight for me and DB by College Sectionals.

Speaking of Sectionals, I'm volunteering to be the SC this year. I think I'll try to find a TD to help though, because I have other business to take care of during that tournament.

Soon I'm going to see if my thumb can withstand swimming. I'll also be forcing my sick self outside for some running in the rain, so hopefully the cold will freeze my faucet dry. Or maybe I'll just get sicker, who knows. I love the Metro East in winter.

Alumni Game Part 2

So today was the real Alumni Game, so each team came out in greater numbers and with more fire to win. The day was warmer but windier, so it was fun to see how exposed many of us were (by the wind, not by lack of clothing--it wasn't that warm). One of our alums is coming off of foot surgery and could barely jog, which is no excuse for screwing up the first pass of the game--we let off a break to begin, then somehow went up by a few before giving up most of the lead. After a while we made up the score and then finished out the game playing zone D and better O. Notable moments...I got handblocked by my favorite kid from the class of '09, I handblocked the upstart kid brother of one of the former captains, and I enjoyed the game with players old and new.

Thanksgiving!

Between 3pm feasting and our evening dessert marathon, a quick workout:

8 pushups
8x(deadlift to hang clean to shoulder press)
8 pushups
8x(hang clean to front squat to shoulder press)
8 pushups
8x(snatch to front squat to push press)
8 pushups
8 split squat each leg, 40lb
8 pushups
25 crunches, 8 leg lifts, 25 lemon squeezers, 8 leg lifts
8 pushups

All the combo exercises were done with 20lb DBs.

Alumni Pickup

7 alums and the coach showed up to play 10 or so of the current team. It was sort of close, but mostly because nobody warmed up and the alums took a very long time to stop turfing and dropping. I skied a couple times on defense, but I was dropping most of what was thrown to me. One hand in the cold is hard, especially when the disc is coming to your ankles. I had too much fun, I think I'll be serious for the post-Thanksgiving alumni game.

Cold Run

In the midst of finishing out my classes the week, I left all my underarmour in Stirling.

So, I decided to do my workout tonight in shorts and a jersey. Outside. In the cold.

It started to rain as we walked to the workout location: a 400m stretch of College Avenue.

3x400m with 1:30 rest (1:19.7, 1:13.8, 1:23.2)
5 minutes rest
3x400m with 1:30 rest (1:17.6, 1:29.7, 1:17.8)

The odd numbered sprints were uphill against the wind, evens downhill with wind.

I hate 400m repeats. But "I'm going to work so that it's a pure guts race at the end..."

Pickup

Walked to Buccleuch to stand around and watch the pickup crowd. Laughed at my inability to throw into stiff wind. Ended up playing 5v5 pickup. Dumb decision, but one consciously made after assessing the risks. I tried to keep my left hand out of the way and was mostly successful, but the disc knocked my wrist a little during a pancake and it worried me, but I think I'm okay. I made a nice move to get open deep--found myself between two defenders, mine and the last back, so I drove a step in towards the last back and then turned as he bit on the fake. The last back had his back deep and couldn't catch up, so I scored a nice long goal. Scored a couple other times, too, threw at least one, and got one real D. But I was unable to jump through a guy to catch a floating huck (I thought I could have done it, but I wasn't aggressive due to bone troubles) and missed at least two other D's and a chance to save possession because of the damn thumb. There was one point during which Dusty and I coordinated to shut down a few cutters with some mutual poaching, and I thought it was cool that we just recognized the situation and didn't have to say anything. So I'm still learning from pickup, which is cool (and not unexpected, given the guys that show up).

It felt good to play again.

Stretch, Run

15 minute massage for lower back
45 minutes warmup, stretch
1.5mi in 11:08 on treadmill, 2 mins rest, 1.5mi in 11:24 on road

I don't know why I decided to run. Certainly not because I felt good. Ugh.

Lift, Run

8 deadlifts 45lb
8 romanian deadlifts 45lb
8 deadlifts 95lb
8 romanian deadlifts 95lb
8 deadlifts 115lb to 8 romanian deadlifts 115lb (no rest)
8 squats 95lb
20 pushups, 5 knuckle pushups, 5 downward-dog pushups
1.5mi in 10:15 on treadmill (6:15, 4:00)

It takes almost half a minute to get the treadmill up to speed, and treadmills are weird for other reasons, so I am not really happy with that time. But I kicked my ass a little to do that first mile, and just ran out of gas. I had to drop down to a slow jog for a quarter mile, and as I was slowly picking it back up I decided to cut my losses and get off the damn thing. I'll try to get on a treadmill again because I think it will help me find the rhythm I need to hit fast miles, but I don't want to just hop on and burn out like I did this time. It probably didn't help to do those deadlifts beforehand, either. Oh, and pushups are very difficult when you can't use your thumbs..and haven't done pushups for a long time...and did shoulder work the day before. Excuses!

Lift

A light lifting day to break up cold weather running.

9 pullups
8 DB upright row to shoulder press, 15lb
8 wide-grip pullups with 20lb assistance
8 DB upright row to shoulder press, 20lb
8 DB overhead squat, 10lb
8 DB overhead squat, 15lb
8 BB overhead squat, 35lb
8 BB shoulder press, 35lb
8 BB overhead squat, 45lb
8 BB shoulder press, 45lb

Then 30 minutes of throwing with DB, focusing on stepping out to full extension and throwing nearly-flat inside-outs. We were trying to figure out what our extension was, how it worked, and how we could improve it. My hamstring tendon started to feel weird, so we went back to regular throwing near the end. I scared myself at least twice after almost attempting to catch the disc left-handed. Not remotely ready for that, and I'm a little worried about lifting with it weak and not totally healed. But I'm being careful, and stopping when things hurt the hand even a little.

Run, Practice

Ran to practice.

3.1mi in 24:20 (7:51 pace)

It was cold. Very cold. I didn't push, but I didn't take it easy either. I planned to finish in 24 minutes, and I did. Not a workout, per se, but not mere recovery. Basically, trying to get my body used to running 5k in the cold. Hopefully this prep will help, even when I'm not killing myself to get my time down.

Practice was warmup then scrimmage. It was freezing. I stood on the sideline and tried to be more constructive, instead of just angry. I think I did an okay job, but things got really sloppy because of the cold.

Stupid Metro East.

Run

4.5mi in 32:40

1st 1.5mi: 11:00
2nd 1.5mi: 10:38
3rd 1.5mi: 11:02

DB ran with me for the first two laps. He probably could have pushed out a faster second lap, but instead kept my pace. I ran the third lap alone, and I didn't have much left in the tank by the time I turned the corner for the home stretch. Generally I am able to step it up for that last half mile, but no dice--instead, ab cramps. Maybe because of the workout yesterday. So I was sucking wind and forcing it back out in an attempt to ignore the cramp, but it definitely prevented me from opening up the stride as I normally would. But the good news is that I am getting closer.

Lift, Run

Jog 0.75mi warmup
30 mins semi-active stretching

With 8lb med ball: 8 squats, 8 squat+press, 16 overhead squat
Then 8/8/16 again with the 8lb med ball, but on a bosu ball
8 shoulder press each arm with 10lb sandball
2x8 DB upright row to shoulder press, 15lb
9 pullups
8 DB shoulder raise, 12lb
Wall shoulder girdle stretch
8 hanging rollups
In roman chair: 8x(knee raise, leg raise)
On incline bench: 8 situps, 8 alternating situps each side, 8 situps

Plus a few other abs exercises, like leg lifts. Immediately afterwards,

2.4mi in 18:40 (7:47 pace)

I want to smash my PB for the 5k. I have 4 weeks to prepare. I'm talking under a 6:30 pace, and down to 6:10 if I can do it. Last year I did 6:20, 6:40, 7:30 splits. 6:00, 6:20, 6:40 gets me under 19:00. Let's see what I'm made of.

ARJI 08

Rain, turf fields, coaching Rutgers B, fraternizing with CHS A, encouraging WHRHS, and trying to be on my own time at least half the time. I really wanted to play with the B team when they were up against zone D in crazy wind. I resisted, but made bad jokes about how they should take injury subs for me on the goal line. Good thing nobody did.

It rained hard during that Showcase Game. I really wish I could have played. But to be honest, I would have been a little psyched out--the game was very fast, mistakes were very visible, everybody was athletic and skilled, and you could tell. It wasn't like the club season, where I had a team to back me up and pick me up. But it was fun as hell to watch. I had to root for my club teammates, but I was very impressed with the high schoolers. They're going to add some serious talent to college teams next year.

Practice

Shortened practice due to some high school girls' soccer game on our turf field. I sat out again, watching from the sideline and wishing I could play. Damn.

But the captains/officers got the schedule worked out for the winter and spring season, which is exciting. Tuesday morning speed/quickness workout (sprinting, change of direction, etc). Tuesday night endurance run (likely 3-6 miles on the loop I usually do for my long runs). Thursday night circuit workout with Satan (aka Coach). Saturday noon pickup at Buccleuch. Sunday afternoon outdoor practice. Which means Monday and Wednesday are my climbing days, Friday my swimming/recovery day, Saturday and Sunday my lifting days. Can't wait.

Stretch

Woke up this morning with a pain in my back that prevented me from turning my head down or as far to the side as I should be able to. So instead of lifting, I stretched for 30 minutes at the gym, trying to work out the kink.

Run, Practice

2mi in 15:14

Practice was very frustrating. Unable to play, I watched bad decisions and bad cuts and not enough effort from too many people. I probably yelled too much.

Oneonta Invite

Went up to Oneonta, NY with 6 players from the B team, plus DJ and alumnus PH.

Game 1 vs SUNY Binghamton started out well with us going up by at least 2 breaks. Then they started to play zone and we weren't practiced enough to work it up every time. Really, though, we kept it close and I think the only reason we weren't able to put it in the bag was our lack of depth on defense. We just didn't have as many athletic bodies or experienced players as we needed, and Binghamton had a few sweet handlers from Stuyvesant HS that worked the disc well enough to eventually find open guys with blade shots. They didn't have a very organized dump offense, but they looked to attack upfield in a way that our guys were unfamiliar with, so we got caught with our pants down from time to time. Game ended 10-13, not bad but I wanted it and thought we could have had it with one or two more A players.

Game 2 vs Lyndon State...a very, very young team that didn't really know what was going on. The just sort of let us take over, so we took half 8-0 (accidentally played an extra point before half) and won 13-1.

Game 3 vs Cooperstown, a mixed highschool pickup team. A hurricane descended on Oneonta, and both teams played huck-and-hope because the weather was the only real defense. I was deep-deep, and knocked down enough garbage to give us the chances on O, and we had enough patience to work it up that we scored without too much trouble. Our opponents were able to come down with a few big hammers and hucks, but I sent a few of my own shots deep in what we decided was our new "Gameplan: huck to DJ." It worked, everybody forgot what the score was, mutually agreed on pretending it was 8-4 us (skipped halftime) and we won 13-6.

The meaningless crossover round was cancelled due to torrential rain, so we all went back to our hotel and showered before eating at a down-home kitschy family-style place with a great Saturday pork loin special, ate way too much food and then took a nap. Watched some TV, ate some delicious pizza, watched more TV, some guys went to the tournament party, heard loud sex noises from the room above, eventually fell asleep.

Game 4 vs SUNY Oneonta was our quarters matchup because they switched the bracket around to play us. In the first half we lost DJ to injury and one of the B dudes had to go home early, so we were down to 7 against a team with more collective experience and more tall athletic dudes than we had. The wind picked up, too, giving me and PH some trouble, while drops and such from the B dudes made up the rest of our turnovers. I got some D's, PH got at least one, and we tried to make a comeback with wall defense but we didn't have enough to get it done. Lost 4-15.

Game 5 vs Manhattanville, which also had some players from Ramapo, started out with a lot of SOTG but almost no effort or focus from our side. They went up and we caught up, they played zone D and went up again, we started playing wall and caught up, and it became a battle at the cap. They were up 8-10 when the horn blew, we scored, 9-10 game to 12. We scored, they scored, we scored, universe point, we pull and we score so we win. I'm skipping over the details because it was mostly me getting a deep D, us working it up until we sent something deep and a new kid came down with it. I got kickblocked once but I got plenty of D's and assists to make up for it.

We bagged, but so did our final opponents so we tied for 5th. Seeded 6th, so we "upset" and came out with a winning record, so not bad all around. I dropped the disc maybe twice because of my cast, failed to lay out several times (because of my cast?) and missed a couple D's (definitely because of my cast), threw the disc away a couple times but got a lot of real D's (almost all on hucks) and threw a bunch of completed hucks and scores. Not great, and I certainly didn't work very hard--it was more like high school, where I handled and played every point but didn't get too tired because the competition wasn't great and I didn't play tight man D but rarely. I think I sat for fewer than 3 points all weekend.

Practice

I got to coach a new kid on his throws, and he improved a lot very quickly. I love that. I think I am good at coaching a person learning how to throw. As long as they want to get better, at least. I enjoy helping, too.

I also got to play! Zone offense, in sneakers. But on the turf field, so it wasn't a big problem. I really enjoy zone offense, too, so it was a fun practice for me. Break throws felt good, damn good. I don't think I ever got D'ed, and only "dropped" one throw, because it was thrown behind me to my left side and my cast hand can't catch by itself. My thumb took a light hit that made me conscious of how I need to be careful, but it didn't really hurt. I broke free deep and got hucked to, caught that pancake. Can't wait for this weekend.

Go go go go go time. I get to have FUN this weekend!

Lift

3 right-hand pullups at -70lb, 4 at -80lb
6 right-hand pullups at -80lb
8 good-mornings at 45lb
3x8 BB overhead squats at 35lb
8 DB snatch 45lb, right hand only
3x15 hanging leg-raise
15 lemon squeezers, 15 double-crunches

I was tapped out for this workout. Probably because I only got 3.5 hours of sleep last night after kicking my ass in two workouts. I need to stretch and rest up for this weekend.

Run, Practice

3.3mi in 26:40 (8:05 pace)
30min rest (I voted, it took 30 minutes exactly)
2.6mi in 20:30 (7:53 pace)

I just watched and coached for most of practice, until the workout at the end:

50 body-weight squats
30 star jumps
30 burpees

No rest. My form was not great for the star jumps, but I was able to do the burpees with my right hand and just the fingertips of my left. My fingers hurt afterwards, but it was worth it. Most people did squat-thrust-jumps instead of burpees, though, so I was the second-to-last person to finish. I got cheered on, which doesn't usually happen...nice.

Lift

Squats: 8 at 45, 3x10 at 95lb
3x10 calf jumps
DB shoulder press (right hand only): 10 at 20, 10 at 25, 10 at 30lb
Fly machine: 8 at 70, 2x8 at 80lb
15 calf raises with 45lb BB
15 calf raises with 45lb BB, toes on raised surface
15 calf raises with 45lb BB held overhead, toes raised

Squatting felt good. The shoulder presses were hard, and the fly machine much harder because of it. I don't know if holding the bar overhead does anything for calf raises, but I tried it anyway. Can't wait to get my cast off, so I can do overhead squats again.