Two long, hot days of ultimate with not many subs. The D line guys were practically savage all weekend, especially Saturday. DJ left halfway into the second game, so the four of us (Lucas, Billy YoungJo, and I) played every D point after that. Occaisionally one or two others would sub in and help out, but that was basically it. On top of that, I did a bad job taking care of myself (not enough water, salt and sunblock, not enough sleep and food the day before). In one of the very last points of the fourth game, I cramped up super-hard (both hamstrings and a calf) and had to lie on the ground for 10 min before I could get up again. Thankfully the game ended and we were done for the day.
On Sunday, I took extra care to eat and drink a lot (I also ice-showered the night before), and felt way better. We were still low on numbers, but DJ returned and John G’s hamstring felt better so he played a few points. Despite playing the whole previous day, I felt less tired after Sunday than I did after Saturday. The caffeine and electrolyte pills probably helped too.
Game-wise, I guess I played well. I’m not happy about my lack of forced Ds and how tired I felt, but its hard to compare that to a normal game where I’ll have proper subs. I didn’t throw many turnovers, which is great for me, but I did make several fatigue-induced mistakes (not helping out on a few discs, getting beat upline, dropping two discs that I had my hands on, some throwaways). Then again, I played solid defense the vast majority of the time. Even in the last game, I stuck close to my guy a lot and ran a few nice switches with Billy. I guess my main problem was summoning the will to cut hard after a turn, esp late in the day. On the points where I forced myself to go hard, we usually did well and scored quickly. On the points where I was too tired, it was hard to make things happen. I gained a lot of respect for the other guys on the line (esp Billy) and their nonstop effort after turns.
I picked up a few minor injuries (a bruise under my big toe nail, some soreness in my tendons), but my tendonitis doesnt seem to be bothering me today. I hope it still feels good after US Open next week, and continues to hold throughout the season.