Schedule wise, I can genuinely say I miss
college...to an extent. I miss the daily change of classes, the ability to walk
on campus and see young people mindlessly walking to class enjoying the five
minutes they have to themselves, tucked away between two white buds, before
they're forced to listened to some monotone professor rambling about facts no
one will remember until two days before the exam. But I guess that's just part
of growing up, a daily schedule, the daily grind of the same routine week to week.
I need more action than that. Although I understand my "job" isn't a
typical job, the monotony of my weeks slowly brings me a step closer to the
real world. People back home seem to think I'm over here jumping from country
to country, which may partly be my fault for constantly talking about trips I'm
planning but there's really only two time periods I'll be able to do some
exploring. With that being said, this past week was another week of the same
stuff.
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Monday lifts are finally starting to
feel normal yet I seem to experience some nervousness? before we talk into the
weight. I think it's the novelty of program because I can guarantee you that I
feel nothing but the exhaustion of a 10-year vet when we get to abs. Our
lifting instructor keeps us on our toes, varying reps and throwing in new
exercises with our traditional lifts. New challenges, new focus. She knows how
to keep us interested and motivated.
Tuesday was a double day. Slow morning
focusing on passing technique and that night we scrimmaged a local B team. This
was our second away scrimmage in a different part of Tampere. I'm looking
forward to traveling more this season and seeing different parts of Finland.
Although I assume it all looks the same, it's still a new sight than our usual
gyms and my apartment. We won our scrimmage, not surprisingly, and it was a
good opportunity for our team to work on focus and execution. Every coach,
athlete, and sports fan knows what typically happens when a team plays an
opponent with a lower level of competition: loss of focus and lowered level of
play. I thought we did a pretty good job of staying on task and sustaining a
high-level play for the most part.
Wednesday was certainly hump day.
In the morning we went underground into what looked like the Bat Cave for our
lift. Finland in general seems to have a lot of underground networks,
especially in Helsinki. I'm sure this can be attributed to past historical
events. This morning we met with our Monday lifting pro's husband, a bronze
medal Olympic lifter. Reps were slow, low weight with an emphasis on technique.
The weight room reminded me a lot of The Wood Gym [what we call it] in
Tennessee at Charlie Petrone's. No glitz, no state of the art equipment or facility,
just serious athletes looking to train unconventionally in a personalized
setting focusing exactly on what you need to achieve your goals. The lift was
good, a little tiring from the pace of the actual motions and reps. Muscle
endurance has never been my strong point soOo low weight, mid-range reps aren't
what I call ideal but I like the challenge. That evening we had our normal
practice, for some reason everyone seemed to be moving in slow motion but we
grinded through.
Thursday mornings are individual 60-90
minute cardio. Besides my trail sprints I've developed a liking to running,
it's something different within my weekly schedule. Typically I jog about 3.7
miles in a traditional workout, which is enough for my poor little knees,
especially by the time Thursday comes around. I'm working towards 9 miles per
week before the winter hits. After my morning cardio it was only right to take
a quick nap before lunch. It's weird how your body adjusts to new settings.
Ever since I've been in Finland I've been taking more naps, something I never
wanted to do in the States and actually refused to if ever given the
opportunity. I could always think of something better to do with my time but I
guess since all I have is time now that after 18 years of school I can finally
afford to nap lol. Thursday's practice is always a little tougher; we lift
before then practice for about an hour and a half. Clean, snatches, and jerks
aren't the most leg-friendly and the weight of the week started to show
throughout our drills. This impact would last the rest of the week.
Friday morning was "Body
Balance". Now, based of the name I assumed we were doing some type of
yoga. Nope. It was a water workout that immediately caused me to flash back to
one of the two water workouts at UT. At first everyone was hype to not be
running in the complex, until we jumped into the diving tank with one
waist-floatie....and never left. haha. Exhaustion isn't even the word to
explain how everyone felt after 45 minutes of treading water lol. But to my
surprise our workout was done in a shallow pool. A lot of recovery land moves accompanied
by some throwback jams of course. Friday night's practice mirror Thursday's.
Another night of rotation drills, tired legs and the opportunity to push past
mental messages telling your body to slow down. These practices will be our
foundation come December and March.
Saturday...SCRIMMAGE DAY! It was
weird waking up on a Saturday to play but it felt oh so right. Our scrimmage
was yet another team in our league, Liiga Eura. A few girls from my team had
played for them last year but the team has since been gutted with the exception
of two girls. The games started off slow but eventually picked up probably do
due the fact that everyone was exhausted and wanted it to be over so we could
finally rest lol. Bad mentality but whatever works for the win. Nothing too
special in the scrimmage, another outside dependent team. Every scrimmage I
feel more and more comfortable on the court, feel like I'm able to be me on the
floor. I'm not a captain, which is fiiine with me due to the language barrier,
but our team is very open to what everyone has to say and contribute...talk
about a change of environment. Playing 6-rotations from a physical standpoint
is still something I'm getting use to but I've adapted the mind over matter
mentality. Go hard every play and the result will be well worth the physical
wear. After our scrimmage it was a team day! Our captain planned an afternoon
of team fun, which we all assumed required comfy normal clothes, buuuuut we
were under the wrong impression. Once we arrived at our mystery team fun we
came to find out we were doing Zumba. Now, I have ALWAYS wanted to do Zumba but
not in my Keds, regular bra and non-active leggings. Needless to say everyone was
a sweaty mess after an hour of dancing to Finnish reggae and rap but it was so
much fun! For some reason I switched into professional dancer mode and felt
like I was rehearsing for the JT tour haha. After Zumba our next location was a
lake house to relax and enjoy the sauna and lake but not without stopping at
the grocery store and picking up some driiiiinnkkks. Of course I didn't know
what to get but my teammates willingly pointed me in the right direction of
their favorite ciders and long drinks. This whole not being an NCAA slave
certainly has its benefits, drinks on the club! The cabin was great, the first
opportunity everyone got to hang out since pre-season started. We shared our
love for food, played Uno, enjoyed conversation in the sauna and got ready for
the night of course! I've come to the conclusion whenever I move into my big
kid home: (1) I HAVE to be living on the lake or near water and (2) I will be
building a Finnish sauna, they're just sooooo much better than the one's we
have in America. Growing up in Cleveland, Ohio I never really experienced lake
life, but after going to school in Tennessee and now living in a country that
has hundreds of lakes, it's become a part of me.
That night was the first time we went out as a
team. All black, sneakers and leather jackets kind of night. We first went to a
bar where I was fed Finland's signature shots: Minittu, 8 ball and Fisu's.
They're smaller than American shots but taste better and are definitely
stronger. I've had multiple conversations with my teammates and new friends
about drinking with Finnish people. Something I’ve been advised American's
shouldn't attempt. Finnish people drink, they DO this...forreal...beyond
college. Needless to say I didn't attempt to find out the truth of this statement
for myself. After the bar we headed to an underground club, Club 10, that was
having throwback R&B and hip hop night. RIGHT down my alley! Nothing beats
a night with your teammates, dancing to good music and witnessing a DANCE
BATTLE followed up by some Finnish pizza. Definitely the best Saturday night
I've had since I've been here. I look forward to more!
Yesterday, Sunday, was just that: Sunday.
I did absolutely nothing and loved every moment of it. I planned some meals,
downloaded movies and caught up with friends. Although I don't do anything
during the week Sunday is really the day I do NOTHING. I think the highlight of
my day was hanging my laundry outside, haha. Yeah, for those who don't know
driers aren't very common in Europe so clothes are dried via lines outside or a
drying rack. Crazy? Perhaps but at least there's no worry about
shrinking.
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This week wraps up preseason in a way. We have a
three-day tournament against other teams in our league this weekend in Salo. It
will good measure of where our team is right now before season starts October
12. I can't believe season is only 26 days away! Time is already moving
fast...cray. Just have to take advantage of each day!
Until next time... <3
NEED A GOOD BOOK TO READ? Since I
have so much time over here I've gotten back on my reading game. I've decided
to re-read all the books I half-assed through high school and college to make
it through the class and the exam. You know, all the classics that were kind of
good but you put off until the night before discussion or the night before the
exam to actually read. Currently I'm reading Gold in the Water: The True
Story of Ordinary Men and their Extraordinary Dream of Olympic Glory by
P. H. Mullen. It's a GREAT read that follows the journey of 4 or 5, can't
remember right now, swimmers, and their coaches in the pursuit of qualifying
for the 2000 Olympics. Dynamic characters, real life instances of failure and
doubt turned into a source of self-discovery and motivation. A read that makes
you evaluate your life goals (despite the fact that they're aspiring to reach a
goal only few can realistically dream about, the internal struggle each
character faces is relatable to all readers), what's keeping you from achieving
them and inspires you to never give up. I was supposed to read this book for a
grad class buuuut life happens, don't tell lol. I'm glad I finally have time to
check it out!
Below is my favorite of the many quotes I've taken
from this book. After reading, ask yourself are you a participant or merely
watching from the sidelines? Take the leap to enjoy life.
"Life is truly sweeter to those who live it. The
world belongs, and will always belong, to the people who participate. Those who
stand on the outside, who never risk, who never fail, cannot know, or will they
ever, understand the beauty of each breath of life. So don't feel sorry for
those who fail, feel sorry for the majority that never participates. They'll
just never understand, let alone feel, all that life can be and should
be." -Dick Jochums
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