gym: 09/29/08

finally had enough time where I didn't have to completely rush it, but I would still have liked to build up on the front squats

circuit:
overhead squats 6 @ 95, 115, 115
incline bench one armed db 6 @ 50
reverse lunges defecit 8 @ 25
bent over db row 8 @ 40
platform shuffles* 20 @ 35
pull ups 8@0, 6@25,25
*hard to explain, easy to do. get one of those 6 inch platforms and turn it lengthwise. start with your right foot on the platform, try to explode off your left foot and land with your left foot on the platform. (that's one) Quickly explode off your right foot, which is now on the ground and keep going till you get to 20. The 35 lbs is in the form of a plate you are holding above your head.

A1: front squats right into 3 squat hops
6 @ 145
6 @ 185
4 @ 205

A2: bar roll outs
8
8

Sectionals: Week of 09/28/08

7 games and we gave up about 15 points:
15-1
-1
-3
-5
-2
-3
-2

this week:
mon: gym
tue: massage/NU practice
wed: track
thur: sled and agility
fri: throw
sat: practice
sun: practice

light plyo: 09/25/08

I needed to get to the red sox game so I did an active and some light change in direction.

track: 09/24/08

2 laps with accelerators on the straightaways.

3x200m run these relay style. You should have approx. 60 seconds of rest in between each 200m.

5 minutes rest.

2x200m. 90 seconds.

4 minutes.

4x100m. Walkback.

4x60m. Walkback

This was short so I tried to run it hard. On the relay we weren't timing the splits, but I bet it went about 30, 30, 29. I had to bust ass to catch Dan P on the last one. On the next set of 2's I went out pretty hard and held off everyone and was satisfied with hanging behind Jeff and right in front of McCarthy. Maybe 29. The next time it was just me and Jeff, or at least that is what it felt like. He took a big lead around the turn and at one point I thought I was catching him, but he shrugged me off and maintained for a substantial win. Definitely 29. 100's on the grass by myself, but there were lots of holes from shot puts and such to avoid so I came back to the track for the 60's. I was ahead almost every time off the start, but Dave H and Jeff would catch me in the last 20. My ankle is still hampering full speed.

tossin': 09/23/08

Did almost a full active while I waited for a group of teens to clear out of the park. It was 10:00 so I was a little nervous about them attacking me, well maybe making fun of me and then attacking me, but they eventually faded into the night. I spent some time with one disc really concentrating on making every huck count.

gym: 09/22/08

I think the schedule that I posted yesterday will set me up with a nice little routine for the next couple weeks. Monday's will be my gym day. Ideally I would get out of work by 4:30 and be doing a modified active by 4:45. Of course it never works like that and I was getting into my active at 5:05. Those 20 minutes make a huge difference when I have to be out by 5:4o for a meeting at 6:00.

active

circuit, no rest between exercises, 2 minutes between sets, 3 sets:
8 jump squats, clusters of 2, @ 95
10 push!ups feet elevated
8 DB bulgarian splits @ 50
8 pull ups
8 one legged squats

heavy/dynamic: deadlift
4-6 reps of deads and then right into explosive jumps from deadlift position with no weights
6 @ 135
6 @ 185
3 @ 235

practice: week of 09/21/08

Well into September and it feels good to be playing ultimate. We had two perfect days of weather this weekend and we can only hope it stays this beautiful for this weekend sectionals and next weekends regionals. I really look forward to every opportunity to play ultimate these days. Whether that be sectionals, regionals or nationals.

I have moved away from analyzing what I have been doing well and what I need to work on mostly cause I got a little self conscious about who was reading this thing. I've been a little banged up recently, well for about a month and a half, with what has been diagnosed as tendinits in my ankle. I gave up all exercise for two different two week periods and although the rest did me well, I am stiff very uncomfortable at times. I will continue with my streghthening excercises over the next few weeks and hope it doesn't limit me come regionals.

This week:
mon: gym (explosive then heavy)
tue: an active and throwing
wed: track
thur: spaq
fri: an active and throwing

All over the place

I haven't been doing a good job here. I promise to pick it up for the last month and a half.

gym: 09/03/08

Got under the bench for the 1st time in a while to push myself and see how weak I have gotten.

A flat bench
(2) 6 @ 185
(1) 6 @ 195
(1) 6 @ 205

B1 pull ups:
4 @ 25
4 @ 20
6 @ 20

B2 1 armed shoulder press:
(3) 6 @ 45

C1: prone pullup
(3) 8

C2: push! ups
(3) 10

D1: prone trap raises
(3) 10 @ 15

D2: physio ball front planks
(3) @ 45 secs

3 weeks later: Recap

I am gonna try to recap my last three weeks quickly and I promise to get back into the blog as I gear up for the series.

My ankle started hurting at practice August 9th, but I didn't worry to much and chalked it up to the grind of the last six months or so. Sunday practice rolled around and it hurt much worse than before. I taped it and got out there and after hobbling through some drills the pain started to leave and I was able to play through it. It looks like I was able to get in the gym on Monday as well, but I know I skipped the track workout that week. I was hoping I would be ok for Chesapeake after taking the week off.

Saturday morning and I am taped up and ready to go. My ankle felt like it did on Sunday the weekend before. It wasn't serious pain, it was more of a strength thing. I couldn't push off my toes when I needed to sprint. I tried to keep it to myself and just play through. I played a very blah day and was very frustrated as I saw all my work between Boston Invite and Chesapeake starting to unwind due to whatever injury this was. Sunday was the same and although my ankle was a little better in the semi's and finals, I didn't play that well. I felt like I lost a great opportunity to step up and play my best.

On Sunday night I flew from DCA to Chicago where I had a conference for work. My ankle had me hobbling at this point. No swelling, just weak and painful. I assumed it was a stress fracture or something long term that wasn't going to get worse, I just needed to rest it. I was in Chicago proper for the first time and all I wanted to do was walk around, but I could merely stagger around painfully. Sunday night I ended up walking about 2 miles as I was sent on a bit of a wild goose chase trying to get from the E stop to my hotel with all my shit on my back and a busted ankle. That adventure was followed the next day by a lot more walking as I tried to make my way to a Sport's Authority that didn't exist. Of course the E breaks down for like 20 minutes as I try to make it back to midway on Wednesday night and I have to hobble/jog/run to try and catch my plane, which I miss. It wasn't until I got back on Thursday morning that I could really rest it.

I attended, but didn't participate in practice that weekend, the 23rd and 24th, but did go to the gym that Saturday. I went to the Dr's and they diagnosed it as tendinitis, gave me some Naproxen, and told me to stay off it and schedule an appointment with ortho, which is on September 10th.

I stayed off it all week leading up to Santa Cruz, but developed this itchy pain on the top of my bad foot. Friday morning when I woke up it was angry and red and lumpy. Sweet. I went to the Chelsea MGH, or Crazytown, USA, and waited for 2 hours for the attending to tell me it was infected and I should take some stuff and put warm towels on it. Zoom to Burger King for 3 whopper juniors, zoom home to say bye to Alexis who is leaving for NJ for the weekend, zoom to Walgreens for the drugs and whatever they have for food for the weekend, zoom back home to get my stuff, grab a cab and zoom to the airport only to be confronted by a long snaking jet blue line due to their computer systems being down. Seeing that my flight was in 30 minutes they whisk me to the front, where they are writing out tickets long hand. Zoomed through security and had enough time to call my mom and give out some brownies, left over from our mural inauguration the night before, to the 30 other Boston ultimate players on the plane. 6 hours later we were in Santa Cruz.

Most of us woke up around 6 am on Saturday, buoyed by the time difference. Continental breakfast didn't start till 6:45 unfortunately. We made it to the fields in plenty of time, but the trainer hadn't shown up yet. I waited while the team started warmups. When she came she sterilized my infection which had come to a small head. I popped it like a small zit and then she cleaned it and put a band aid on it before wrapping my arthritic ankle. The infection area felt numb and tingly, which is still does, and weird with the tape pulling on it, but I was good to go. My ankle felt fine during warmups, worse by about the third game, but it bottomed out there and bottom wasn't as bad as the previous weeks.

We did allright. The loss to Pony makes regionals all that more interesting. Maybe it will light that fire that we were void of against them till it was way to late. We beat Sockeye last year around this time. We also lost to Bravo on double game last year in August. Regardless of the results those teams are a step above us. We need to be taking steps two at a time if we want to catch em while not forgetting about the other teams that are stride for stride with us right now.

We got back at 5:30 am on Monday morning. I walked from the Chelsea shuttle to my apartment (1.25 miles) had a bowl of cereal and then a bowl of soup (earliest in the morning Ive ever eaten soup?) and went to bed for a couple hours. I went to the gym that day which I am proud of. I'll write that workout later. No track this week, but no practice this weekend, so I will probably get out on the track this weekend or at least out to the chelsea turf fields for some work.

Gym: 09/01/08

Off the plane at 5:30 am, some sleep, hit some golf balls, went to the gym. I decided to go heavy this week to mix things up cause I will have a decent amount of time to recover.

squats:
(2) 6 @ 225
(1) 6 @ 235
(1) 6 @ 245

rack pulls:
(2) 4 @ 225
(1) 4 @ 245

side lunges:
(3) 14

bowler squats
(3) 8