Mid Week Training: Hill Repeats #1

Please forgive the influx of posts you're about to receive. Now that I have pictures, I can get caught up!

Now our mid weeks have gone from conditioning to hill training. What is hill training, you may ask?

In short, it's a mild form of torture.

There's a hill just down from Brookside Club House that runs parallel to the Rose Bowl loop. TNT members call it the Hard Knock Hill.

I can say I was extremely nervous. There had been talk about aqua jogging being done instead since I was still battling my shin splints, but I found myself at the bottom of the hill staring up and up and up.

We were supposed to run up and then walk down. Gaily, Janet, and I got to walk because we're injured turtles. But don't think it was an easy walk. We moved at a good pace.

The first two times were decent. The hill couldn't really compare to the area I live in and the massive, steep hills I've dragged my butt up before.

The third one, however, started to ache in earnest. I'm pretty sure my calves were revolting against the incline.

Nevertheless, we made it through all five, even if we were the last ones to be done.

Next week is six!

Mid Week Practice: Conditioning #4

Last week of conditioning! Woo hoo!

Not really, because I actually enjoyed all of the exercises we learned. I always felt like it loosened and stretched everything out. Hill training is coming next and just the name sounds scary.

Scott was our head coach tonight. And only one of my teammates and I showed up. It was a very low key evening of conditioning.

(I can't resist the dwarves and I'm not going to apologize.)

We did one rep of most of the exercises. The three of us were having trouble keeping count and we had the ever constant threat of stray soccer balls coming toward us. It was a good night, if a little short.

Now on to hill training. (Yikes!)

Mid-Week Practice: Conditioning #3

So this week, there were actually more participants, and not just me. Which was a relief. However, Coach Pete decided we needed to do some variations on the exercises we'd previously done. Now, any time you do a new exercise, it's guaranteed that you will be sore, at least a little bit. Just because you're not used to it. As we were lunging and prancing (okay not really prancing, but it's a funny mental image) across the football field, Coach Gaily looked at me and said, "We're going to be sore tomorrow!"

Unfortunately, variations didn't excuse us from planking. Planks are the worst exercise ever invented. Seriously. And it wasn't made better by the fact that Coach Pete told us there would be cookies later.

But, of course, there were no cookies to be had.

Rude.

Mid-Week Practice: Conditioning #2

For the second night of conditioning, we got to do two reps of all the leg lifts, bridges, planks, lunges and all of that fun stuff.

I was a little intimidated since I was the only "participant" who showed up. Everyone else was either a coach or a mentor. But luckily - I've said it before and I'll say it again - the TNT staff are the most welcoming and supportive and fun people I've met. It usually takes me ages to be as comfortable with a group of people as I am with them. So, needless to say, it didn't feel at all uncomfortable once we started going.

We did two laps around the track as a warm up (yes, my shins ached a tiny bit while I tried to overcompensate my strides to match Scott's and Gaily's) and then it was down to the exercises.

Some stretches came easier than the last week. Some even felt good after all the running. The duck walk in particular is lovely for the shins.

But some...

I will curse planks and bridged leg lifts until the day I die.

Mid-Week Practice: Conditioning #1

Tuesdays are much better than Saturdays.

For now.

For the month of February, our Tuesday night practices consist of conditioning. What is this "conditioning," you ask? Let me give you an idea: