Braindump, mostly re: goaltending; plus a little Cal

I'm getting excited about a weekend full of delicious, nasty hockey. You know it's gonna be nasty, right? I-10 rivals, a San Antonio team with nothing to lose, an Aeros team with everything to lose.

Plus, my first Aeros away game. And possibly some Beaver Nuggets. FTW.

---------------

I've been thinking a lot about Sunday still. I've over feeling sorry for myself and am ready to go again. No game on Sunday due to Easter, but I'm going to stick and puck on Monday with one of my novice teammates.

I was telling Coach Stalin (who is now cast-free and ready to go get her skating legs back next weekend!) about it and I heard myself say, "I'm terrified." But I realized as I was saying it, no I'm not terrified. I'm just anxious; maybe a little nervous, but mostly I'm just ready to go. Ready to do better. Ready to prove myself to myself again.

I've also been thinking about why I've been letting so many in lately, what is freezing me up, making me so fucking crazy out there. I think part of it is that I know my D is purposly playing "soft" so that a) the red team gets more shots on goal and b) I see more rubber.

But knowing this, I'm spending ridiculous amounts of mental power analyzing them. "Are they getting this or are they gonna let me deal with it?" "What are they doing?" "Don't play HIM soft! For shit's sake!" Instead of just being ready for the puck, no matter what's going on in front of me. Trying to figure out my defense AND the offensive play coming my way. That's waaaaaay too much noise to have in my head during a game. Any wonder I haven't been able to process all that in time to react.

So anyway, hopefully this bit of awareness will help me shut those thoughts down and just do whatever I have to to keep the puck out of the net.

---------------------

Been meaning to talk about my off-ice workouts a bit since I'm ramping that up lately. Not that anybody but me cares. It's just good to talk this stuff out sometimes.

Anyway, I took Monday and Tuesday off. Monday because I always take Monday off. Tuesday because I was lazy and still pouting. At least I'm honest, right?

But yesterday I did both my yoga flexibility video and the shorter of my new Pilates DVDs to get some extra core work. It's not as intensive as I'd like, but I was also talking to Coach S last night about how to recreate some of the tougher core challenges I face in goal, so I may supplement on my own.

The worst one for me is when I'm flat out on the ice, belly down, and then having to get upright on my knees again. I find that strains my abdominals and upper quads and is more difficult for me than I'd like. So, we've worked out something I'm going to try this evening after I do my Stretch-a-flex and Pilates videos.

I do find that I'm getting more flexible all the time but I'm still not close to what I would call "flexible" by goalie standards. I've gotta keep working on strengthening my groin muscles, while also keeping them limber. I need to put a routine together specifically for that. Maybe do that in lieu of Pilates after my main workout every other day.

That's the thing with training for this... I am so behind the curve in nearly every way coming from an endurance sport previously, it's a little overwhelming figuring out what to work on each day without feeling guilty for neglecting something else. I need to work on aerobic conditioning (usually a 3 mile run/walk around Memorial Park or spinning), flexibility, core strength, upper body strength, explosiveness (plyometrics), balance, hand/eye coordination... That doesn't even include the up-and-downs, the skating and footwork drills, stick handling, or the actual tending of goal.

How do I fit all that in, in meangingful amounts, without making it a career? I honestly don't know and I've been trying for a year to figure it out. So, I'm just doing the best I can. And speaking of which, it's getting to be that time.

------------------

Just one more thing: Speaking of the best, here's the Wild's Hit Leader tribute video for Cal. Awesome.