Obsidian Potency 3.0
The Ultimates
posted Monday, 17 October 2005
This weekend, I made some watershed discoveries. One is that a Michigan alum just moved in with the girls upstairs. She seemed pretty nice, but I get the feeling she isn't going to last long living with two undergrads and their neglected dog.
The other is that I used Craigslist's activities section to find a couple that moved here a few months ago and wanted to start an ultimate frisbee group. Since I basically have one friend out here, I've been trying to find stuff to get involved in, so I went.
I feel like whenever you go and do a fast-paced field team sport after years of just swimming and biking, you go through 4 stages:
1. Adrenaline: Initially, you're just fired up to be out there. You want to impress in the sense that you want to prove you've got skills. You're running your routes at top speed. You're getting back on defense. You're hustling for the frisbee out of bounds. This goes for 5-10 minutes.
2. The Wall: Suddenly, you realize just how out of shape you are. You question your own sanity, and wonder what gave you the nerve to think you could do what you're doing. You feel stunned that you seemed to have aged so fast.
3. Second Wind: You get over the wall. That was the hardest part. You realize that your team is depending on you, and you don't want to let them down. You start to block out the pain, and you get back in the game.
4. Holding On: You're tired, you're thirsty, you're taking every little break you can sneak in. But your body has totally accepted what you're putting it through. It hurts, but you plow on anyway. You just ignore it. You know it'll be over soon, and your movements are based entirely on instinct and guts. You stumble for no reason, and routine plays beocme harder. But you keep going until the final whistle.
Anyway, the cool thing is that the 8 people who showed up all had moved to Miami within the past 6 months. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to make some friends. If not, I at least know I have something to do early Sunday evenings that wuill whip me into shape. Needless to say, I feel sore today. But it actually feels good to be sore all over -- my body hasn't felt this worked in over a year.
The other is that I used Craigslist's activities section to find a couple that moved here a few months ago and wanted to start an ultimate frisbee group. Since I basically have one friend out here, I've been trying to find stuff to get involved in, so I went.
I feel like whenever you go and do a fast-paced field team sport after years of just swimming and biking, you go through 4 stages:
1. Adrenaline: Initially, you're just fired up to be out there. You want to impress in the sense that you want to prove you've got skills. You're running your routes at top speed. You're getting back on defense. You're hustling for the frisbee out of bounds. This goes for 5-10 minutes.
2. The Wall: Suddenly, you realize just how out of shape you are. You question your own sanity, and wonder what gave you the nerve to think you could do what you're doing. You feel stunned that you seemed to have aged so fast.
3. Second Wind: You get over the wall. That was the hardest part. You realize that your team is depending on you, and you don't want to let them down. You start to block out the pain, and you get back in the game.
4. Holding On: You're tired, you're thirsty, you're taking every little break you can sneak in. But your body has totally accepted what you're putting it through. It hurts, but you plow on anyway. You just ignore it. You know it'll be over soon, and your movements are based entirely on instinct and guts. You stumble for no reason, and routine plays beocme harder. But you keep going until the final whistle.
Anyway, the cool thing is that the 8 people who showed up all had moved to Miami within the past 6 months. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to make some friends. If not, I at least know I have something to do early Sunday evenings that wuill whip me into shape. Needless to say, I feel sore today. But it actually feels good to be sore all over -- my body hasn't felt this worked in over a year.
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