11-19-17 (Sunday) HY: Tennis + TCF.

11-19-17 (Sunday) HY: Tennis + TCF.

First of all, quick report about last week.  As you can see, I only had three workouts last week. Sunday tennis, Monday Pickle-Ball, and Wednesday tennis.  The big reason for that is because Monday night, I was feeling extra tired all over and it carried on through to Tuesday.  My throat was scratchy and I felt a little warm.  So, I decided to take Tuesday off.  I felt better on Wednesday so I tried going to tennis.  But after tennis, the cold had taken its toll on me and I had a full blown cold, complete with scratchy throat, aches, pains, runny nose, and exhaustion.  So I took the rest of the week off.  I felt really good on Saturday, so I decided that I was good for Tennis today. 

Today, there weren't many people from the beginning.  Just about 12 people on 2 courts.  And 3 were beginners with one coach, also a member.  So there were 8 of us on 1 and a half courts so they got two kinds of drills running, Volley stroke on the half court and then Serve and return on the full court.  Then we would rotate.  No rest at all for almost 90 minutes.  Finally with the drill switch we got our first breather.  I still didn't feel comfortable.  I just can't seem to find a good contact point.  One thing did feel better though.  The past couple week, I have felt that my strings were getting loose and with heavy spin, sure enough, they were.  So last night, I installed a full complement of string lock in my strings to bring back some tension.  I instantly felt the difference.  I was able to feel a good vibe with good strokes so I was satisfied.  Now, I just need to get used to playing in the cold.

Yes, it was cold.  Not as cold as Wednesday, but cold enough to force me to play the whole session with my jacket on.  There was one time I was quite warm from the drills that I removed my jacket, but when the drill was shifted and we gathered balls, I got cold again.  After that, the jacket stayed on till the end. 

My strokes were a little better as well as my serves, but I just couldn't get the groove.  I was too unstable and erratic in my play.  Again, I think it is just me not used to playing in the cold.  But I need to get used to that because I'm planning to play in a tournament in January.  It is a single tournament, the same tournament that my son played in last year.  I didn't want to play then, but when I saw the people playing, I figured I'd give it a try next year.  I never expected that I'd be in a tennis club though, so I'm getting in tons more practice than I ever thought I would.  So, this is good for me to get this junk out of my system now so I can peak by January.

As usual, I was able to do my Flow when I got home.

In the end, After a good 4 hours of tennis, I burned a nice 2493kcals.  I'm sure it would have been over 3000 if it was in summer.  I'm still feeling good as I type this, so I think I'm through the cold.  I'm ready for Pickle-Ball tomorrow.