A Loss, and a New Phase of Workouts

Well, last night's 3.0 match broke my winning streak.  We played the team that usually ends up winning the league, and true to form, they crushed us.  Joan and I played #1 doubles against a woman (and partner) that I've played several times and haven't beaten yet.  Our match last night was so close, though.  The winning score was 6-3, 2-6, 1-0.  Our opponents had really good net play and overheads, so we started lobbing them in the second set, which was very successful.  Joan did a good job at the net guarding against short shots and hitting a number of great reflex volleys. 

We were all set up to win the match tie-breaker, we thought.  However, we got down in the tie-breaker 4-9 and it looked bad.  We didn't let it get to us, though, and Joan served to win the next two points.  Then we won and won until we tied it up 9-9.  Unfortunately, we lost the next two points to lose the tie-breaker and the match.  Fortunately, they were good points and not some dumb errors.  We had a great time, since it was a really challenging match.  Despite the loss, I felt like I played pretty well overall.  I really need to work on the pace of my groundstrokes - in particular having more confidence to really hit them and remember to follow through.

My morning workouts have moved into a new phase.  For the next three weeks, they are focusing on strength, balance, and stability.  My workout this morning was P90X+ Kenpo Cardio+, which is one of my all-time favorite workouts.  It blasts a lot of calories without seeming like a huge sweat-fest.  The kicking also fits in with my current balance and stability emphasis.  I burned 286 calories according to my BodyMedia device.

My left knee started tweaking a bit during the workout.  It didn't really hurt so much as feel off.  I think my IT band is really tight.  Not unexpected with all the tennis and running I've been doing lately.  I did squeeze in a few minutes of foam rolling on it after the workout, but didn't have time for much.  I may try to do some later if it's still bugging me.  Sometimes it just works itself out.

Looking forward to my Monday night doubles at TCCP tonight.  It's so low-pressure compared to a match that I can have more fun with it.