This was a wild ride. Last aug. When i showed up for my first practice i had no idea what i was getting into. I had never played a contact sport, and i had not played on an orginized sports team since high school...
Flash forward to one of the most brutal weekends of my life. I played just over 2.5 hours of rugby. A normal game is 80 minutes long and everyone knows this, so they pace each 40 minute half. Tournament play is 40 or 50 minutes and so the pace is just faster.
Tournaments also seem to bring out the competitive spirit more, the hits this weekend were huge. The breakdowns were insanity and then you add to that playing in lighting and thunder on sat afternoon and you have the recipie for danger. I have learned so much about my body this past year it amazes me. I know every week point that i need to work on. I know my knees need work the most, followed by my ankles. I know where i am strong too, i know my upper body strength is solid, particularly through the chest.
I also have bones i am not sure i knew about. Many of them are making their presence known through creaks, pops or general pains after this weekends punishment.
So if i average 4 miles per game plus warmup runs i am starting to think that the ultra i want to run this summer is a much more obtainable goal than i thought. I mean for fucks sake at least i wont have to run into a 265lb forward while at full tilt in an ultra.