Tennis Fever!

I'm afraid I'm coming down with "tennis fever" and it's affecting my running. Last Friday I played 3 sets of tennis with a 4.0 level player, whom I have been close to or even beaten a couple times in the past. However, this was my first match of the season, and I lost handily, 6-1, 6-2. We even played a 3rd consolation set, which I lost 6-3. I was tired and sore the rest of the weekend. Saturday I didn't run, as I did some heavy yard work in the heat, and was then too tired. I ran Sunday, and my usual easy 4 miler that often is around 8:20/mile was 8:50 per mile! Then I ran Monday, but played tennis with my daughter Tuesday, was too busy last night, have a bible study tonight, and then have another tennis match scheduled for tomorrow night!

I think the problem is that tennis works different leg muscles, as much of the motion is side to side. This seems to hamper my running a bit, not to mention that every time I play tennis is a day or night that don't run (not enough time or energy for both in one day).

The good news is that I really enjoy tennis, get a good workout, sweat a lot, it's more fun than plain running. It sort of combines the endurance and speed of running with a real sport. Although my tennis skills are not always equal to my opponents, I can often come close to them or at least give them a hard match due to my running ability. I often get comments like "you've really got a set of wheels!"

So, what I'm trying to say is that you may see several tennis updates throughout the playing season, with running and racing possibly taking a back seat until September.

I'll try to get a couple photos of me trying to play tennis! I am improving, however, and I'm finally working on a legitmate second serve, which is intended to be a kick serve.

Mark