7-31-17 (Monday) HY: Tennis + Unlock Your Hip Flexors + Foam Rolling.

7-31-17 (Monday) HY: Tennis + Unlock Your Hip Flexors + Foam Rolling.

TENNIS DAY!!!

Today is the last Monday Tennis Day until next April.  The reason why is because in the first semester, I teach at another of my school's campuses and there is a staff member who plays tennis on Thursdays.  A few years ago he offered to play with me on Monday's for about an hour.  So, for a couple of years, we were just drilling and playing some sets.  Just the two of us after my classes and after his work.  But this year, he invited some of the Thursday members to come so we could play doubles.  So from this April, it was like a sub-club day.  I can only attend one Thursday a month because of my work schedule, so I was very thankful for the Monday Tennis Day.  I was finally able to talk to the members and get to know them a little better.  So my tennis days will be severely limited from now on.

So today was an important day because I also wanted to practice for the up coming tournament.  My strokes have always been above average.  My serve was also above average, but the weakest part of my game was the metal part.  I would fold under pressure.  I lacked game experience.  So putting myself into game situations, feeling the pressure of being down is something I needed to overcome and get used to.  I think I have improved a lot over the past few months.  I've played a lot of matches and I accomplished something I really wanted to accomplish.  That is to not lay off my second serve.  I need to gain confidence in my serve so I can play my game.  If I lay off my second serve, I'm basically telling myself that I can't hit a good second serve.  Today, I went for it.  Of course, that doesn't mean I hit my second serve like my first serve.  I go for my first serve with a flat serve.  But I put a lot of spin on my second serve.  But my head speed is close to the same.  In the first set today, ZERO DOUBLE FAULTS!!!  Our opponents never got more than two points off of my serve.  Plus, I won both service games.  In the second set, I started off with a double fault, and then a few points later, another one.  I got taken to Deuce, but I ended up winning that game.  In the next game, I started off with two double faults, but I buckled down and hit some amazing serves to take the game.  In the final service game, I was just ON.  No double faults and hit all solid ground strokes and volleys.  The only point lost was an error by my partner, who admittedly was not playing his best.  As for the game count, We won the first set 6-3.  The second set, I had a different partner, and we lost 5-6.  We had opportunities to win other games, but those are the breaks.  One game we had the Deuce Game Point and I had an easy overhead that I just netted.  I was just livid, but in a fun way.  The biggest issue for tonight was the temperature in the gym.  The thermometer read 101 degrees.  It was an oven in there.  We opened the windows and it went down to 97, but then it started to rain really hard.  The temp went down to 94.  But then the rain started coming into the gym so we had to close the windows.  Just before closing the windows there was a lovely cool breeze.  Then the windows were shut.  The consequences was felt almost immediate.  The temps went back up to almost 100 again, but settled at 98 degrees.  The sweat was flowing down my legs like a waterfalls.  By the end of the night, my shoes were just soaked.  But I felt good about my game.  I was planning to go to the club on Thursday night, but I was told that they had to move the night to Wednesday.  So I can't play because of another class.  I was bummed.  I'm going to see if I can shift my schedule so I can get just one more day in of doubles tennis before the tournament.  There is another issue I had to deal with.  Once we started to play,  about halfway through the session, I felt the weird sensation in my legs that my muscles were getting ready to cramp up.  It was just an odd feeling.  I sort of had to pull back a bit because I was a little nervous about cramping up.  So, when I got home.  I stretched and foam rolled as a protective measure.  I'm not sure if it was my weak legs, or the heat affecting my muscles, or what.  But my legs were feeling really rubbery right after.  Today was a long session because I got to the gym early and got to do some drills and practice beforehand.  In total, over three hours.  I'm BUSHED!!!

In the end, I TORCHED 1850+kcals.  What a day!  Good-Bye Monday Tennis Day! Until next year.