Week 2: Slave To The Routine

My second full week in Finland provided more consistency than the first, mostly because I knew what to expect. Instead of recapping every day, I'm going to provide my schedule of what a "typical" week looks like. Some days may vary due to scrimmages but they're usually during practice times.

Monday: Lifting

*5:00-6:30 This week went MUCH better than my first. I immediately saw improvements in my form and was actually pleased with my performance.

Tuesday: Long practice day

*8:00-9:30 Practice. Usually includes some light jumping

In between practice today my coach attempted to take my roommate and I to get our bank accounts set up. Apparently we have to get a Finnish social security number soOo hopefully we get cleared soon. I need my money honey!

*5:00-7:00 Jumping practice. This practice has a much higher intensity; every minute from start to finish is spent with a ball. I enjoy this practice because it works on my focus and ability to push through tired moments. The rapid, high speed of the drills during this time keeps everyone moving.

Wednesday: Split

*8:00-9:30 Lifting/cardio. This week we did a 30-minute jog and a circuit lift, complete with cleans and hanging abs of course! Prior to coming across the water I hated running if it wasn't sprints. The pounding of the pavement and the sounds of my own hard breathing always turned me off to this form of exercise that many people find enjoyment, but running with my teammates around a new city, Tampere, didn't feel as bad.

*5:30-7:00 Jumping Practice. Today's practice was pretty typical. Serving, passing, and running through rotations. Currently we're still trying to figure out who plays what position. I know I'm locked in as the starting outside, never subbing out, but there are some other positions still up for grabs. Thankfully my teammates are all of great talents and passion, playing with any of them serves as a great source of energy and drive to me.

Thursday: One Practice

*Morning off: Thursday mornings are solo 60-90 minute cardio. During my initial visit in July we did some forest running that I really enjoyed. This morning I took the opportunity to find the trail, off the beaten path, and created my own cardio routine. It's located up a set of winding stairs that rises above the city, giving exercise enthusiast a beautiful of treetops and far away lands. I've developed a liking to my routine, these mornings allow me to clear my head and discover my own drive. Prior to my workout I received my first recovery massage, JUST what I needed after a tough physical adjustment week. Going into my massage I wasn't exactly excited about running afterward but when it was completed I seriously felt like a new woman!

*4:30-7:00 Thursday evening practices start earlier so we can lift before. There's a floor ball team, yes it's a REAL competitive club sport in Finland, that has practice until 5...5:30 so we get our lift and warm-up in while they have the floor. The lift was predictable as always, cleans, upper, and abs. It's not that I'm against my coaches’ workouts; they're just very monotonous which I think can be very dangerous for a group of athletes. Doing the same lift every day, every week leaves little room for motivation but our workouts do transfer well to the court in regards to being explosive and having a strong core. My washboard abs are coming in QUITE nicely if I do say so myself.

Friday: Double Practice

*8:00-9:30 This Friday morning was slow since we had a scrimmage against another team in our league, OrPo, in the evening. Personally, the practices when we focus on our technique are my favorite. There's no time during the week to break down skills and coming from a program that focused a lot on technique and passing, I struggled initially with the lack of reps. However, the decreased amount of reps forces me to take care of every rep I do get during the week, making sure I execute them to perfection.

*5:00-7:00 Scrimmage against OrPo. Friday night was my second time not wearing orange, still weird. The scrimmage went really well! During our preseason scrimmages we play four sets, no matter how many either team as won. Fortunately we won all four sets and had moments of greatness and heart throughout our play. OrPo is a well-organized team with some dynamic hitters but I think we present more strength and athleticism. Playing here is really easy, my competitive drive takes over and I go into autopilot. I feel like I can just play. I've also adjusted to playing six-rotations and learned how to conserve energy when needed. While at UT I only played in three-rotations, it was a lot easier to play balls to the wall for three-rotations then be subbed out to rest, not the situation here. Playing in the back-row is invigorating. I'm still an offensive threat and I get to work on a part of my game that's not as developed, it keeps me in both physically and mentally active in the game. Our playing started off slow, as our assistant coach made reference to in our post-game meeting in a Bulgarian remark about "pushing" a bull into a crate before he "pushes" you back. Obviously he didn't use the word pushing and didn't say it in English but based off the reaction of my teammates I was able to get the gist of what he was saying. As I keep saying throughout my blogs and Facebook, I'm really excited for this season. Our passion alone makes it enjoyable, a feeling I lacked in my last season of collegiate ball. Every day I'm reminded that I can ENJOY playing.

After the game decided to grab some groceries and had an "OH EFF" moment when I realized I left all of my credit cards in my apartment, mind you I was currently getting checked out at this time. Thankfully my apartment is very close to the supermarket so I was able to run back to my apartment and grab some mulah. The cool down that had settled into my body while grocery shopping quickly dissipated three steps into my jog/sprint to and from my apartment. Grocery shopping has always been one of my errands, don't ask me why. Probably the same reason why most mother's tell their kids they can't come when they're going to get groceries, that and the fact that when you bring kids you always spend about $100 in sugary crap they claim the NEED. Need? No, what kids needs are the essentials. All that extra crap leads to bad teeth and hyped up kids running around. I know I won't NEED that once I have kids....please excuse that random moment.

Friday night was also the first time I experience Tampere nightlife! One of my teammates knew some basketball players from Helsinki coming up for the weekend; we met them at a popular bar in Tampere called Miami. Nightlife in Finland is very similar to the U.S., Friday's aren't lively but it's a perfect opportunity to enjoy the time with your friends without being squished in a corner by a Saturday crowd. It was nice to finally make some friends! All four guys had played basketball and were originally from Africa but came to the states during their adolescent years to pursue basketball dreams. I enjoyed being surrounded by a nightlife scene, after a long week of practice and workouts it's just what I needed! Unlike many of the Finnish natives I saw stumbling across the streets or impressively sitting upright passed out, I didn't turn up like an American. Those moments are saved for my crowd of friends back in the U.S., but I did try a few Finnish signature drinks! Fisu is a mint shot. After taking it I told them it tasted like toothpaste, apparently they thought it was hilarious. I also had an adult vanilla milkshake. As soon as I smelled the licorice aroma coming from the drink I already knew what was the secret ingredient, absinthe. Now, if you know about absinthe you know all about the hallucinations people have claimed to experience after consumption, I had none of those. It was a milkshake people, not a blackout drink. Lonkero is another tasty Finnish treat. It's gin and grapefruit juice on tap, very delicious! Once I had tried some drinks and we danced a little, we noticed individuals of our group had a liiiiittle too much fun so we headed to a favorite pizzeria spot before going home. Yum.

Saturday proved I was a slave to my routine. After going to bed at 3 I woke up bright-eyed and bushy tailed at 8 am. Not being able to go back to sleep I decided to conquer my weekend cardio. Heading back to my favorite forest spot I did some sprints, footwork and push-ups. Apparently since my trip overseas I've always developed the desire to be a chef. For brunch I whipped up French toast with fresh strawberries and a mushroom, ham, onion, and spinach omelet. Not sure if it's my insanely fast metabolism I've also acquired since being in Finland or the ample amount of time at my disposal but I've being going to work in the kitchen! The rest of my Saturday was very chill. Lots of movies, icing, catching up with U.S. friends and hearing about their crazy nights. If there's one thing I miss the most it's the moments with my friends and not just the crazy moments, but the times where you can sit laughing at nothing or go for a ride with the top down blasting music. In my mind I'm still in the U.S., just in a new city where I don't know anyone. I don't think it'll hit me until the holidays but even then I can always escape to a new location where I know someone, I definitely feel lucky to have friends everywhere.

Oh snap! Tomorrow is Labor Day! Maybe I know I'm not in the U.S. after all? haha

Today is a lazy, rainy Sunday. It's my time to have some one on one time with the Lord through The Walk podcast, catch up on some reading, and mentally prepare for another week in the gym. I've started following some inspirational people on Instagram to keep me focused through the week and began compiling my favorite quotes to do something with later. As time continues I think I'll start picking up some new hobbies and/or projects but right now I think I'll stick to my R&R routine. I think nine years of busting my ass has earned me that right?

Hope everyone had a good weekend; enjoy the holiday!!