Pre-Game

5 min warm up
Stretch
3x 12 straight arm twists
3x 12 single leg floor bridges (each leg)
3x 12 inverted rows
2x 60 sec. planks
2x 10 supermans
3x 12 quadruped (each side)
2x 10 single leg tuck jumps
5 min cool down
Stretch

It's well before dawn on Friday morning, the day before a bout here in Kansas City. The air is cold enough for me to see my breath, unseasonably so for this time of year. While admittedly I despise the cold this morning I am embracing it. The damp air shrouds me in memories like a warm blanket. I am leaving my apartment headed for a run to clear my head. Though I haven't truly set foot on the pitch in more days than I can count, the routine remains. I jog up a long steady grade and right into the heart of the city. I pass many buildings, most with their lights still out because my city still sleeps. After a mile or so I pass the venue for tomorrow nights bout, the same way I would if I were still the athlete preparing to step into the arena. Today I am not and the venue is peaceful, as if it has no idea the madness that some of my favorite women on skates will unleash within it's walls tomorrow night. The funny part is that this does nothing to calm my nerves. All I have to do is show up, help some women stretch, tape, and prepare to do battle with each other but nonetheless I feel the pregame butterflies beginning to flutter already. I can't explain how strange an experience this is knowing that my role will be minimal, and honestly I don't care who wins. I am looking for performance, for warriors to don skates like goddesses with bloodthirst in their eyes and deliver their best blows when the whistle sounds. As I make my way back home for scrambled eggs and a stack of pancakes, as though I need to be prepared for a hard fought competition myself, my mind wanders over how I see each jam unfolding. This is simply another ghost of a pregame habit that still haunts the recesses of my mind when any competition is at stake. I am excited for these women and for the crowd that will get to share their pursuit in sport at it's purest. I need to move on with my day now but let me say if I haven't said it before, ladies I am proud of you; the way you play and the things that you stand for by doing so. Best of luck to all!

J