Today was a beautiful day in East Tennessee. Maybe a little warm, but still beautiful.
After church I decided that I was going to spend at least part of the day outside, doing something. What it was did not much matter to me; I needed some fresh air and could definitely use the exercise. Looking around online, I discovered that the guys I used to play disc with at ETSU had formed a club team and were playing today around three o'clock. So I decided to join them.
This afternoon did two things for me. One, it renewed my love of the sport of ultimate. I don't know what it is about chasing a disc around that gets to me, but I admit that it does, and I will gladly chase it to the ends of the earth if that is what is required. And I do really love this game. I haven't played an actual game of ultimate in months, but after 5 minutes I was back in.
The problem came in the sixth minute, and persisted for the next sixty-five minutes. I am horribly out of shape. Not just a little rough around the edges, but very, very bad. I almost could not believe how bad it was. So not only were my skills rusty and my timing off, but I had no speed or energy to speak of.
Somehow, despite my performance, people seemed genuinely glad to have me out, and I'll start showing up at practices. Hopefully this swift kick in the rear will help me to get back into shape, as will playing disc instead of just trying to run around. I don't really know what the difference is, but for me it separates a laborious task from something I enjoy.
P.S. If you don't believe or understand just how much I love this sport, scroll back to some of my earliest posts. References to ultimate and posts dedicated thereto are scattered throughout.
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