In Conversation

Short dialogue I had with a team mate after practice today.

Him:  "Hey how are you?"
Me:  "Really tired."
(short pause)
Me: "And you?"
Him: "Dead."

Pei Pa Koa

I've been having a phlegm-y cough for the past week that has constantly bordered onto a fever.  Not fun especially when you're gasping for breath in between treacherous drills.  Couldn't take it any more and forced myself to town this weekend to grab this from the Oriental Chinese supermarket.

The funny thing was that this wasn't on the shelves--but I was pretty sure I saw it somewhere before.  I went to the cashier lady, asked, and she--casting a dubious glance around--pulled a bottle from under the counter. 

"你找 这个？"

"Ah! Yes!"

Apparently this was contraband stuff.  They weren't allowed to sell it legally because it was a medicine.  Probably explains why it was EUR12 for a bottle too.

I paid with my eyes closed.  Wincing.

Tee-ko, Cheeko Kiko

We're having a tournament now at the Academy and the bungalows is packed with new players.  Kiko, my colleague and Bungalow mate, and I are pretty busy accommodating the newcomers.  

One of the Italian coaches came up to me asking for him.  Unfortunately, he got Kiko's name wrong.

"Hallo!  Is Chee-ko around?" 

Hahahahahaha!!  Jia lat man.  I stood there laughing for a good minute!

Seven More Minutes, Seven More Days

Thought of the moment: "Play with your feet more than your hands."
Chow of the moment: Mixed berry yoghurt and multi-grain toast with butter.
Music of the moment: George Michael+Mary J. Blige's As

I pulled a groin muscle slightly during morning practice today.  I can think of three reasons how I could have avoided this.

1.  Done a more thorough warm up.  It's amazing how we take the functioning parts of our body for granted until something cocks up and we're left in a semi-state of paralysis.  And pain.

2.  Stopped when I was supposed to have stopped.  The plan was to stop after an hour in the morning, but I was so into the rhythm and enjoying practice so much, I decided to continue doing controls.  A few minutes more into the control, I felt a groin pull.

3.   Been more conscious about how my body was feeling--not just during practice, but vis-a-vis the fatigue it felt from a whole week's worth of training.  Friday was the last day, and sometimes in the midst of adrenaline rushes, we forget our bearings.  Maybe under-training is always much better than over-training (read: higher injury exposure)....

I was initially very pek-chek with the pull.  I hobbled to the physio and was grim-faced the whole way.  The good thing is that I have learnt to feel my body well enough to know when I have to stop.  I felt it during the rally--initially wasn't sure, gave it one more rally, and stopped halfway in the second.  "I can't.  I pulled something, I need to go see physio."

Another lesson learnt.  Good news is I will still be able to keep training, but just at a lighter load.  I should be back in full game by the end of a week.

Those Still, Waking Moments

Just woke up about half an hour ago.

Dreamt I got into the finals of one of the competitions here.

How pregnant, these dreams.

Intrepid, Trepidatious Thursday

After two months of single sessions in a bid to get my body accustomed to the rigors of training, I finally feel  fit enough to start double sessions.

Nothing intense.  Just up three hours from the previous two, spread over two sessions instead of one.  Today was my first double session, and I am officially poofed.  

Morning session (1 hour):
- Warm up
Mini tennis for about two minutes and then moving to the baseline for rallies down the middle.

- Drills
1.  Forehand defensive baseline down the line, forehand offensive approach cross court.  Alternate with backhand.

2.  Baseline defense, forehand cross court, backhand cross court, alternating both sides, returning always with footwork to the centre.  (In the end your feet follow a sort of "V")

3.  Baseline forehand cross court, baseline backhand cross court, run-around-forehand approach (on backhand side)

- Rallying
4.  Passing shots
5.  Volleys

Afternoon session (2 hours):
- Warm up
Mini tennis.  Didn't like my rallying partner very much--he spent more time flopping around dragging his shoes than actually bothering to hit the ball consistently.  He was from Dubai, and he must've had some egotistical, testicular chauvinistic streak about him because he kept wanting to kill every ball I sent his way.  Made it pretty difficult rallying from the baseline.

- Drills
1. Baseline forehand cross court, baseline backhand cross court, backhand approach down the line, free play for the point.

2. Approach forehand cross court, backhand volley cross court, forehand volley cross court.  Start again from the backhand side.  Objective of this exercise was footwork and correct hip swivelling.

3. Variation to exercise 2--
Approach forehand cross court, backhand volley cross court, free play volley (i.e. it can come to either your left or right).  Exercise forces you to keep on your toes and not anticipate any drill routine.

4.  Starting the drill with a backhand volley down-the-line, you quickly move to do a backhand overhead cross court smash (forces you to move quickly and turn body).  Focus of the drill is really the smash-volley routine.  Switch sides after backhand is accomplished. 
Found this drill pretty difficult--it's hard timing a good smash when the ball is coming down so fast and you're scrambling to get into the best position to hit a cross court smash.

5.  Variation of exercise 4--
After doing the overhead cross court smash, the first volley goes cross court, the second is free play.  If it goes to my forehand, I have to split-step in to hit a forehand volley, and then move back to an overhead cross court smash from the same side.  Eeerugh!

6.  Deuce court receive of second serve to my backhand, return cross court, running forehand down the line, free play.

7. Serves

8.  Tie break.

Paco, the Mexican coach I was working with, was really good.  Aside from the fresh series of drills he had us do, he watched us carefully when we played tie break and gave me a couple of tips on how I can improve my game. 

1) I direct the ball well, but I wait too much for my opponent. 
"Sarah, it's almost as if you're waiting for your opponent to go back to the centre before you hit the next shot!!"--Paco's complaint

2) I look like I'm going to shit in my pants each time I do a second serve.  i.e. I'm too tense.
He got us to listen to a short audio file on his iphone about the key to serving by Andy Roddick's coach.  In essence, it's about 1) Having a loose grip 2) Relaxing your entire body so it can get into optimal "whip" position!  One interesting point Roddick's coach made was how you can see how tense someone is through their facial expressions--particularly during second serve.  According to Paco, I looked like  "Mierda! Una mass sake!" (Translated from Spanish: "Shit! I have one more serve!")  Hahahahah.

3) I need to establish my own routine in between first and second serves.  I'm doing one after another too quickly.

All in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable day.  Now, though, I am feeling the effects of working and training at the same time--and I need to go to bed pronto.  Oh wait. I haven't even showered.... Here's to another packed day.  Good night, world!

P.S.  Apologies for the typos/grammatically incorrect syntax structures.  I'm sure there are--but I'm just too tired to re-read through.  Maybe tomorrow!

Work like a mule, perform like a thoroughbred
It went up to 34degrees this afternoon, and we played endlessly under the sweltering heat.

Three shirts, eight hundred balls and two hours later, I walked off court, crawled into the shade of my bungalow, and curled up like a prawn ready for the shelling.

The heat had spread through my muscles and seeped into my bones.  In a faraway distance, I could feel it running a cruel course to my brain.  Disorientation, a looming fever, and yes, total heat stroke intended.

Been chugging down loads of water and loads of Umeboshi plum balls.  I hear that it's going to be 32 degrees tomorrow, and 36 the day after.  Please keep me in your prayers!