this ends tonight

here it is.

went to the gym today. very easy abbreviated session with low weights. just to get the muscles working a little and keep the blood flowing.

tonight is the night before i leave.

tomorrow night, this time, in bed, ready to go.

thursday morning, it's going down. everything i have done has prepared me and i am ready to meet all challenges head on. it is going to be fucking awesome and i am going to be unstoppable and i am ready.

so ready.

let's go ironside.

two more years and you'll be done with school and i'll be making history like i do

hopped on my bicycle and went for a bit of a ride. was nice. going to take it easy from now on out. worked up a good sweat and got loose and felt happy.

brisk and gorgeous.

ankle swelling is starting to really go down and mobility is coming back. turning however is still very difficult. i am going to start doing some thera band exercises today or tomorrow.

and it feels like tonight

went to the gym yesterday. warmed up on exercise bike. ankle was in a brace and felt ok, but still can't walk without a noticeable limp.

weights were as follows

overhead db incline 5
3x8 @ 40

hamstring machine
3x8 each leg @ 25 (very easy, just to keep legs working)

lat. pulldown
3x8 @ 130

ab machine
3x20
2x15 each side

db fly on ball
1x8 @ 20
2x8 @ 25

db swing
3x10 @ 25

side dip thing
3x10 each side w/45 plate

back extension
2x10 no weight

crunch on ball
2x30

man taco on bench
2x20

bench
1x1 @ 155
1x6 @ 135
1x5 @ 135

chest touch thingy
3x20 (alternating arms) @ 30

tried and couldn't do single leg rdl

full stretch

felt ok and ankle wasn't too bad. iced it at home, but didn't really spend as much time off of it as i wanted (food shopping) went to bed very early.

ankle will be great, strong, and no problem next week.

walking on broken glass

first day of recovery. kept it wrapped overnight and iced it for 20 minutes in the morning. had a field trip that had me walking more than i would have liked, but it's ok. been popping ib's every 4 hours and was able to ice this afternoon. keeping it wrapped and with a sleeve under the wrap. worried about the tightness on the inside part of the ankle, right where my foot bends. going to keep icing tonight and work to keep it elevated as well. no lateral movement yet, letting things start to heal up.

i will be strong and unstoppable at nationals.

what goes around comes around

thursday was a bit of an easier day. would have liked to do plyos and really pretty mad at myself when i didn't do them, but for some reason i didn't think about it when i was in the gym. damnit.

friday, went and threw around and took it easy again.

saturday practice i still didn't have much pop to my step. feel like that was ok, but would have liked to be faster.

today. fuck. sprained my ankle about 2 hours into practice. rolled it real good and very frustrated. this blog will be dedicated to simply recovering over the next week and a half.

i will be strong and ready for nationals. let's get healthy.

you wear nothing but you wear it so well

did the track workout.

2x100
3x60
2x(3x20)

2x100
3x40
2x(3x15)

2x60
3x40
4x20

got out of open house at school at 7:15. home around 8. rode my bike to the track and got there around 8:45. did the workout, stretched. then biked up to a dive bar in town. some redneck was talking about f-ing his mother. after hearing parts of a conversation about sharks, some dumb blond girl interjects saying "i am surprised to hear that those sharks attacked people. Sharks don't usually attack people, just seals and um...surfers." nice one.

rode home. a bit chilly, but quickly warmed up in my apt.

we live for the fight 'cause that's all that we got

a few minutes of reflection on regionals weekend.

this past month has been a very hectic time for me in basically all parts of my life. ultimate has taken a huge amount of my time, between all the weekend practices, the workouts during the weeks, tournaments, and the time spent thinking about it. my personal life has been turned upside down and left me questioning a lot of things as well. school started back up and presents the same daily grind type part of my life.

training has been a very important part of my life for two years in january. in january of 2007 i set a goal of making a nationals team. i kept track of every workout i did on a big calendar i had made. in june, all of that training was put to a test. i didn't reach one of my goals for that year when i got cut by boston. at that moment, i did something i had never done before. faced failure in a head-on collision at about 200 mph, no seatbelt. instead of calling it quits, i rededicated myself and began training harder, this time to prove to myself what kind of worker and player i could become.

at sectionals and regionals, i played very well, and did so a few times against the team that i was "not good enough" for. this felt good, but i was not satisfied. in the offseason, i decided on a new way of training and hit the gym to lift weights, supplement with some climbing, and some plyo stuff. in hindsight, i went to hard with the cardio too early and will take that into account this offseason. during last offseason, i kept in mind that day i got cut and it motivated me very well. during tryouts, again, i thought i was going to get cut. it is so hard to perform at my highest level when i am worried that every step i take might be my last.

i made the team. after the boston invite, i made the team. i didn't know what to feel. part of my goal had been met, but it wasn't nearly as satisfying as i thought it would be. i was already ready to redefine my goals and i didn't want to rest.

as the summer wore on, the training continued and practices and tournaments came and went. good results came. my playing time was actually a lot more than expected. excitement.

then some personal stuff hit. it was going to be very weird to not share these experiences with someone who had seen firsthand what i had been putting myself through for nearly two years.

sectionals was a blast. we really became a team that weekend.

practice in between regionals was tough physically for me. i had ramped up my training and my body was sure as hell feeling it and i was feeling slow.

regionals. noone scored more than 8 points. wow.

game 1 was against colt .45. no problems in this game. we took care of business.
game 2 was against double dragon. again, took care of business.
game 3 was against sons of liberty. i love these guys and wish them all the best of luck. again, business was taken care of.
game 4. my first ever game-to-go at the club level. i came out absolutely fired up. i wanted this so badly. everything i had done up to this point made me ready for this game. each night during the week i had spent time meditating, preparing myself mentally for this game. it paid off. i scored two goals, threw two goals, and my man touched the disc only 2 or 3 times.

when we scored the final goal, i didn't know what to do. i wanted to just lie and the ground and relish this moment, forever. but i couldn't and also didn't want to. yes, we made nationals, but this team has the opportunity to do so much more. i couldn't let myself be satisfied with just a nationals berth.

finals against goat. smoked them. we win the region. again, i want to relish this moment, soak it up. but i can't. we have sprints to run, 200 pushups to do.

next, i have friends i need to cheer on.

and new goals to set. a national championship is a reality.

this whole experience thus far has been amazing, but it is also hard. as i have reached one goal, i have never before been so ready to set new goals. i haven't had time to truly be happy for what i have done and i don't know how i feel about that. it may sound selfish, but i just have not handled situations in this fashion before. i can't wait for nationals. it is going to be awesome. but, in the weeks following nationals, i am going to take some serious time to be proud of myself. yes, soon enough i will be back to training my nuts off. i am still not even close to as good as i am going to be. in the long run though, i think i need to assess where i am in order to get better and also to help myself appreciate these past two years.

we are the (regional) champions, my friend

pretty f-in pumped about how the weekend went. tore through the region and made a statement while still not even playing our best ultimate yet. 5 points pony? 8 points v.goat? could have held each of those teams to a few less points.

personally, physically felt really good. would have liked to have another shot on defense on one throw they put up to my guy that i tripped when trying to chase down. would have liked to have a few throws back. each one i am happy with the decision, just pretty bad execution. need to be a little more sure.

next couple weekends are going to go by quickly. make the most out of practice and push ourselves to be awesome.

going to nationals baby!

will elaborate more later.

and at night time my eyes lit up, so astounding

went to practice, ran around, stretched a little. legs feel good.

schedule is finally up. i am so f-in jacked up and ready to go. of course, i am a little bit nervous. i don't want to keep thinking about it, because then the scenarios just keep getting played out in my head over and over again, but i can't help but think about it. who we are playing, how the game is going to go, who's next, what happens if we win, what happens if we lose? so many questions that i just want answered and i just want saturday morning to be here. now.

i am ready. physically, never been better. mentally, in a good place and will be in a great place by saturday.

take time each night to visualize this weekend. also, keep taking time to process what you are thinking and then let it go.

and then come saturday, don't think, just react.

damn, i am ready. we are ready. let's dominate.

one, two, buckle my shoe

got home from work yesterday and hopped on my bike and went for a little ride. only about 8 miles, but it felt good and was gorgeous out.

today, practice with zoodisc and some stretching.

each night this week i am taking some time to mentally prepare for this weekend. going over situations we have gone through in practice, but also simply preparing my mind to be at ease and ready to take things, process, and dismiss them.

i am incredibly excited about regionals. knowing that i feel confident and good nervous and that i have 26 other guys that are also at this place is a pretty awesome feeling. stay positive and take your opportunities when you get them.

also, remember, you are still training to peak at the end of october, not this weekend. now is not the time to let up.

stretch.

do it with passion, energy, and fire.

the good life

saturday practice was a tough one. the o was really clicking and made it very difficult to stop them and when we finally got a turn, we almost always immediately turned it over. windy as well. overall a rough day.

sunday was a little better, with some better focus as well. the d played a little more consistent and was able to put some in the endzone. d won the practice ending scrimmage, which was a good win.

kickball and drinks followed.

let's go baby.

schedule for the week.
monday - easy run to loosen up and stay warm. stretch. situps and a few pushups
tuesday- practice with zoo. stretch and situps
wednesday- 1.6 and some practice time with zoo. stretch
thursday- practice and get some throwing in.
friday- rest. stretch
saturday and sunday- own.

i can guide a missile by satellite

was going to lift, like i said, but decided on bike ride. good decision.

went out pine street and then crossed over to leverett road and then amherst road to depot, cross 63 to bull hill and then did sunderland loop back to b-wine.

about 14 miles.

went kind of hard at times, but really tried to stay even with even leg movement and take in everything around me.

great ride.

honky tonk bodonka-donk

thursday did a quick warmup and then played at zoo practice. mostly handled in the zone and played wing or point in the 1-3.

today, i was going to go lift, but i really want to get outside and ride, i so i am going to do that instead.

few notes on body stuff.

really want to still have a quicker first few steps. something that is definitely slowing me down. i am anticipating and dictating fairly well, but i would be making more plays if i was able to get to the spot where i know i need to be a step sooner.

overall, feel ok with the exception of my back. it still feels pretty f-ed up, but i hope that it will just go away with the stretching i am doing.

one month and the season will be over. now is not the time to decide that the past year has not been worth it.

work.

butterfly crosswinds

hopped the fence at the turf field at umass because i didn't do this until like 7:30 and the turf is kind of lit.

did a modified sprint workout to work on quick starts and quick feet.

jog
active
12x20 yards

setup 3 cones and simulated covering someone making an outcut to an incut.
back pedal 2-3 steps, turn and sprint about 7-9 yards, turnaround and sprint 30
12 sprints (6 backhand, 6 flick)

setup 3 cones to simulate incut to outcut. sprint 8-10 yards in, turn and go deep and sprint 40 yards. look over shoulder to think about finding disc
10 sprints (5 bh, 5 fl)

6x60
5x70

cooldown with some pushups thrown in
stretch

now that she's back in the atmosphere

monday took some time off instead of going for a ride.

tuesday; warmup jog, active warmup, plyos
laundry jump 3x15
3 sets of 30 yards of the following;
frog jumps
single leg bounds
double leg bounds
powerskips

2x10 alternating lunge jumps
3x10 rim jumps

played at zoodisc practice for about 45 minutes.