Jersey #9: Kentucky's Journey

Fine, I'll admit it. I've been avoiding the blog. Avoiding it at all costs, in fact. I wouldn't even visit other people's blogs because I thought it would remind me of this one...

What would I write? What could I write??? I mean, in a training sense, I didn't just fall off the horse, I killed the horse. After Memphis, I decided I needed a little breather. I was tired in training, so I took the advice of a friend, set my boots aside for a few days, and caught a jet to England. That was, well...that just was. I managed to find a few mornings to run around on a football pitch while I was there, but mostly I was hanging out with a close high school friend and checking out the countryside (FYI, Dover is way super cool). At any rate, that was that, it was probably a healthy rest, and I was hoping to come back ready to hit the gym and pitch.

School had other ideas...

Basically, school has been kicking my ass. My week would go something like this (starting with saturday because, well, i like it best)

Saturday - rugby game
Sunday - rugby game, drive home, sleep
Monday - go to class, stay up all night writing a paper
Tuesday - go to class, practice, read
Wednesday - FINALLY get to lift, class, stay up all night writing a paper
Thursday - class, practice, study for a test
Friday - class, sleep, prepare for rugby
Saturday - Rugby game
Sunday - two papers to write....etc

Anyways, I could repeat that for 3 weeks, but I think you get the picture. In fact, at this very moment, I should be in class, but the night before last I had two papers to write and didn't sleep at all, then went to class, and then went straight to practice where we ran stairs. I was able to get up this morning to lift, but it was pitiful. My numbers have gone down in everything, I haven't been eating right, and I'm SOOO tired.

However, the worst of it is over (for the moment) and I'm gonna have a bit of breathing room to try to get myself together. There has to be some way to make school and rugby work together, I just have to be very careful about how I use my time. I am a procrastinator through and through, so it's hard for me to start on a paper or any assignment until the night before it is due - in fact, I don't think I've ever written a paper ahead of time - but this time, I'm making a committment to try. I'm staying in from class today so that I can catch up on all my reading assignments, catch up on sleep, and be ready to come into the world a little refreshed tomorrow.

I have to admit, this has all been very frustrating. It's really painful to be able to literally see yourself growning weaker (I write down all my lifting stats every session). I had done so well, earlier this year - improving my 40, getting a lot stronger, improving my passing.......it was soooo much FUN! And now, well, though my conditioning is decent, everything else has just fallen off the track. But I suppose I can't give up that easily - Nationals is just a few weeks away, and I really need to commit to taking life seriously for a bit - I can manage rugby and school, I just have to get my act together and get things done ahead of time.

So this is me committing to be, well....just not to give up. There are times for committing to save the world, and there are times to commit to just staying afloat - this is one of those stay afloat moments. Once I'm there, then I'm gonna doggie paddle like hell to get back to shore and back in my old (and very sorely missed) routine.

wish me luck...