Every once in a while, you get a flash of insight into something.  Today, that flash was into what a strange thing the Club Championships are.  It was odd to think of the tournament as a four day thing, like it's some sort of cricket match.  Then to think about the conditioning required to perform at that level for that long.  Then to think about how far that is from my whole experience to this point. The three-day tournament was a strange enough event, the four-day is even stranger.  I'm not sure I'd have the mental toughness.  I'm not sure I wouldn't either.  It's just not something I can even guess at.  Does playing College Championships prepare you for Club Championships?  I guess I'll ask Dan Heijman next time PoNY rolls in, yeah?  Okay, that may have been a joke, but the more I think about it, the more it's a possibility.  Josh provides me with possible access to the ISiders and the majority of them (all of them?) have played college championships at one point or another.

Edits: I'll try to keep my thoughts on the series as it unfolds simple and brief.

First and foremost- Ironside/Revolver in the final 90% certain.  Revolver wins unless they pull the same dumb shit they've pulled with line-calling for more than a year, hence...ISide Club Champions, call it 75% sure.

Secondly- PoNY is proving they belong at the big show.  No doubt.  Their victory over Goat will be the first of a run that puts them just on the cusp of quarters.  Deciding factor?  Don't know, other than some help from the other teams and a good pool on Friday.  PoNY's coming on strong and people should watch out.  I'd be interested to see what happens in their game against Ironside.  Last game of the day, a practically guaranteed loss but now I think they have a taste of blood they didn't have at their last meeting (Regionals).  Do PoNY come out fired or do they sub for tomorrow?  Wish I could be there for so many reasons.

Third- Pool C is looking more interesting than Pool D.  I was wrong.

motivation problems lingering.  They come and they go.  Right now, though, I'm incredibly antsy to get to Pittsburgh and play ultimate with Yuk.  Hope Jesse's down...

On the plus side- I've gained 4 pounds, more or less.  Gaining any weight for me is a pretty big deal.  I never put on weight.  I've been topped out at 150 for a long time and I'm up to 154 wearing just boxers.  I'll take it!

Success Story: After months of getting amped to play ultimate from reading other people's blogs, getting amped to play ultimate by reading my _own_ blog.  I'll call that a win for me.

Gym this morning for Legs and Shoulders.  Despite a new routine, still felt bored and lackluster the whole time.  Seriously flagging motivation.  Gotta keep my eyes on the prize.

I browbeat myself into going to the gym last night, it was both humorous and worth it.

The backstory is that I had a training session yesterday morning but my trainer either slept in or had to go fire an employee in Waltham depending on whom you ask.  Either way, I showed up around 8, got on a treadmill waiting, got sick of waiting and did a light workout before leaving without running a complete circuit and went to work.  After work, I got in a very brief self-argument about whether to return to the gym which ended shortly with me going "you're going.  I don't care what your responses are.  You're going."  I stuck to it and was very pleased I did.  I ended up getting in a short workout with Ken that was actually really tough and good for me.  I mentioned Deadlifts and he got me doing them for the first time in a while.  It was really really good.  Also did some one-leg squats and this weird back squat/deadlift mix that's still gonna take some getting used to.  After that, ran 3/4 mile at 9.5 mph before my body gave out on me, then walking to get my wind and running another 1/8 mile.  It was incredibly rough running and I wanted to go home afterward, so naturally I went to do abs.  After abs, I was all jumpy so I worked some footfalls and turnover speed in some accelerators/striders.  After that, I was all beat and headed home, happy and sore.  Looking forward to another training session tonight...

The deeper into the off-season I get (and fall club ending means I have very little ultimate on my horizons), the harder motivation gets.  I dread the coming winter.  On the other hand, if I treat it as a challenge- as a chance to see how strong my will is, I'm much more likely to buckle down.  The real trick will be the cardio, keeping my ass on a treadmill, keeping my resolve to make sure I do such things.  Maybe I'll be doing stairs or something.  The stairwell at my office is promising, as long as I can get in on weekends.  We will see.

Nimble is making overtures to do some work.  I'll almost certainly take him up on it at least once.  He's a good guy and we've both got a lot to gain and nothing to lose.

On a totally different note, I've gotten increasingly afraid of injury, at least while I'm off the field.  I remember distinctly talking with Katie when she came back from England with her torn ACL and she talked about how discouraging getting injured after working her ass off to get in such good shape was.  I've started worrying about what I would do if I got seriously injured, like an ACL tear or a shoulder cuff tear or something similarly severe.  Would I have the resolve to get back on the horse?  I don't have any clue, but I hope beyond hope that I'll never have to find out...

Last fall club game tonight.

Goal: Layout D.
2nd Goal: Layout grab.

Having put up a number of defensive bids over the weekend, I'm in the mood to actually connect on one tonight. No idea who we're playing, but from now until 9:15, they're chumps.

ETA: Missed it by inches.  Less.  Dammit.

Quote of the Day:

I hit the gym for back and biceps with my trainer.  I had a bicep pain a few weeks ago that flared up again.  When I mentioned it to him, he queried:

"What kind of pain?  Vaginitis?"

I'll admit I laughed.  Which was not good given that I was in the middle of my lifts...

Clambake was a great time.  I picked up with a team that was composed of about half One Trick Pony/Flight School and half pickups.  We had a sizable roster on paper, though it ended up not feeling that large, especially as we started losing players to injury.

Man, I'm getting so psyched for Clambake.  It's gonna be so much fun.  Also, if I play the way I played at Fall League on Tuesday, I'll be kicking ass and taking names.  EXCITED

...now I just need Toad to bring me back my ankle brace...

Some notices from today:

Regionals: Inspiring.  Ironside always puts on an excellent show and PoNY went balls out to beat Goat, then Bodhi to take the other bid to Nats.  Saw Heijman play and Zip came to support his sister (I think), so there were three Callahan winners on the field today, which is pretty baller.

Speaking of Baller...

Ballo: disappointing.  After hyping themselves, they again fail to place for Nats.  Partly this is due to the dissolution of Colt and gutting of MissCONNduct to form District 5, but still.

Speaking of disappointing...

Disappointing: minor bicep tear in my right arm.  Can't throw painless flicks of any distance.  Hopefully this'll turn into some Rookie of the Year thing and when it heals, I'll have a 90 yard upwinder.

Finally, according to some 12-year olds who passed while I was working my throws...

Frisbee: gay.  I learned something today.

Had my first moment of wavering commitment just now.  Just a sort of malaise about hitting the gym today.  I was up at 6:30, I'm training at 4, my back still hurts; I just sorta had a moment of whining.  Luckily I recognized it for what it was.  I'm back to looking forward to the gym.