A little recap of the past month, mostly rugby-related

Since I've been away from the blog so long, I figure a recap is in order. Last I wrote, I was on my way to San Diego to play in my first rugby tournament in two years. It was an absolute blast and I realized how much I've missed the sport during my time off. I also realized how horribly out of shape I really am and how much I totally suck. The most frustrating thing is knowing that I used to be good and fit and strong, and those last two things are preventing me from being the first thing.

Prior to that tournament and the beginning of the season, my goal was to start on the D1 side on April 2nd against one of the best rugby teams in the nation. But the more I played and practiced, the more I realized that that's not a possibility and my priorities have since changed. The only way I could be good again is if I became faster, stronger, and fitter, and obviously that wasn't going to happen overnight.

So my new priorities for this season are to get fit and strong for rugby, and in the process, shed all this weight. I can't possibly be fast and carry over 200 pounds on my 5'4" frame. At my peak rugby awesomeness, I weighed 165-ish (I don't remember exactly) and even then I had weight to lose.

One of the awesome things about this rugby team is that it's got lots of support from the town we play in, with regards to money for travel and trainers for injuries and such. But they also have a training staff that gives us workouts depending on the stage of our season. For example, winter was very lifting-heavy and the spring is more agility and speed-based. I'm not sure what the summer will bring, but I'm excited to use that time to get stronger and ready for our competitive fall season.

And about my weight-loss, eh? I'm not sure where I stand. I think I haven't gained or lost any weight since I last blogged, which is a good thing. I've started riding my bike at least a couple times a week and running about as much. Between rugby practice and school and work, I don't know where to fit in the extra lifting, plyometrics, and interval training that's been added to the bi-weekly rugby practices. I've started cooking again instead of eating out as much, which is always great for the gut and the wallet.

However, I haven't been to swimming in over 3 weeks. I've tried going to other workout times since 6 am is a bit early for me, but I didn't like them nearly as much as the Tuesday/Thursday ones I'd been attending. I think a lot of the dislike for other sessions had to do with my attitude towards being slow (entirely my fault for not maintaining my fitness) so that may've factored into it, but I also miss having my weekly routine and the accountability of a set session. I'm going to start going again tomorrow, I think. It has to begin somewhere.

So that's that!

Lastly, here's a photo from a game a couple of weeks ago. I'm #3 on the right.