Training block for 2022 season starts with a virus

Monday 1st November. 5.54am. Let the clock tick to the appointed hour. 6.02am must have blinked. Today is the first day of my winter training block, can’t wait to get started.

I can already feel a renewed purpose even at this early hour. There’s a pleasing snap, a directness in how I shave and get dressed. And how I move from bathroom to kitchen to study. Even to the way I am hitting the laptop keys a bit firmer, a bit faster. Bring on the day.

Being physically active and having a purpose for that activity, sounds strange to say but I think I am learning consciously what I have known unconsciously for sometime. It is at the core of what makes me, me and makes me feel good about everything, to be able to take everything in my stride. Physical activity is central to who I am. It allows me to do everything. At the moment it is enabling me to play tennis. It could in the future be something else, not golf, maybe mountain biking? Who knows, for now it is tennis.

Jurgen Klopp the Liverpool manager was quoted as saying something like “it is not for us to look back and say we achieved this, but to think and work at what we still want to achieve” I like that.

If I think I will play tennis forever, then I have forever to achieve. If I say I will play tennis for one more year and then see what I should do next, then there is an urgency, not a day to waste.

Some years ago when training for an off road endurance race called “The Grizzly” on the Dorset coast described  as 20 miles or so off road through rivers, bogs, coastal paths and a long shingle beaches. Training for the mid March event started in November. You knew you had to build up week by week over many weeks to run well at the Grizzly. I did the race three times. On the third and final time I went down with a bad cold in early January which knocked me out for about 10 days. I never really recovered and although I completed the course I was in tears with the pain from cramp in my calves at the finish. I staggered from the finish to the nearby nightclub being used as a changing base. You could pay a fiver and join the queue for an instant massage to relieve the pain, which was very welcome. If I recall correctly, I was also a little late in starting my training that year, and therefore did not have the training base to cope with the winter cold. Therein lies the lesson of no shortcuts.

One more year, no shortcuts, that’s were I am headed.

Tuesday 2nd

Steady run and stretch. Still getting used to the pain of stretching again. Bought yoga block to help with stretching.

Neighbour said good to see you running, used to run myself. Still possible I say. Not so comes the reply knee problem and doctor said it was not necessary anyway.

Not necessary anyway ? – in what sense? Physically, morally, mentally or spiritually?

Wednesday 3rd

Rest

Thursday 4th

Feels like I have  a cold coming on.

Friday 5th

Cornwall over 60s 4 vs 1 Somerset

Lost my singles after a very busy morning, of work, but pleasing for the team to get a well deserved win. A beautiful sunny November day, perfect for playing tennis.

Saturday 6th

Indoors hit. Still finding new possibilities with the racket. It seems the looser I play the more possibilities I am finding. Today I was deliberately hitting through the ball on second serve and on occasion got great contact with good levels of side spin. Was also throwing the ball up well and getting a better drop of the racket behind my head. Feels like another little step forwards.

Sunday 7th

Outdoors hit. Beautiful calm morning.

Week in summary;

On court 10.5 hours

Weights 0 hrs

Stretching 30 mins

Run 26 mins

Weight: DNL (Dare not look!)

A little bit of low level stiffness after Fri/Sat and Sun time on court

Monday 8th

Men’s squad. Served two consecutive aces and very nearly a third. Two is highly unusual, three would have been unheard of.

Hit one of those miracle shots today. Chased  a ball wide on the forehand side mid court area and managed to scramble it back quite well. The ball came back again into the ad service box and running almost parallel to the net, managed to reach out and I don’t know what the word is really, guide is probably a good description, a backhand into the air creating a lob over the incoming player and landing in the back of my opponents ad court for  a winner. A very special shot in my estimation. I was buzzing. Even woke up next morning thinking about how good the shot was. The thing was that it was total instinct. That is how I dream of playing every shot.

Tuesday 9th

Long working day today. First day of my 100 bounces initiative, to turn my hobby into an obsession. A little in the mould of Olympic runner Ron Hill who ran every day for 19,032 consecutive days. The intention is to pick up a racket every day to increase familiarity with racket and ball, little by little, day by day. I know there are still things to learn from the racket, so this is my way of achieving a closer contact even on days when I am not on court.

Wednesday 10th

Day two of 100 bounces and nearly forget about it already! The after writing this I did forget about it. New habits are so darn hard to remember!

Thursday 11th

Adam Peaty is on breakfast TV talking about, what it takes to be a champion. He talks powerfully about owning the arena and knowing that he works harder than everyone else are two points that I recall. I just read the first few pages – not something I will be reading – it follows the path of so many hero books. How can I relate to that?

Regular two hours of doubles tennis this evening. I am playing ok, serving pretty well. Though I notice on these evenings that I rarely feel totally warmed up and performance starts to tail off in the latter part of the second hour.

Friday 12th

100 bounces habit. Was just getting undressed to go to bed when I remembered. That is how I found myself just before midnight standing in the utility room, half undressed, doing the 100 bounces. Habits have to start somewhere.

Saturday 13th

Winning a competition is for the most part a very rare thing. Today I get the chance to try and win something I have won before, but not for about 5 years I think. It’s the Truro LTC over 40s men’s tournament. The forecast is for an overcast day with light breeze. Perfect. The format is fast 4 and 9 players are turning out to try and win it.

No that did not happen. Just did not turn up with any purpose in my head. Organising is so distracting. It should not be, but the evidence is otherwise.

Sunday 14th

The cold is still following me around. Not too debilitating, just a bit throaty and a bit of a headache. Still nothing more exotic than a cold. 100 bounces completed.

Week in summary;

On court 5.5 hours (down 5 hours from last week)

Weights 0 hrs

Stretching 30 mins

Run 0 mins

Weight: SDNL (Still Dare not look!)

100 bounces x 3

Two weeks into training block and its more like training blob.

A small look forward into week 3 of the training block and on Monday afternoon the cold wraps its arms around me and dumps me on the sofa. There is little resistance. Not good.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *