A needed break

I took a self imposed break last night from squash. It's unusual for me to pass up the chance to play, but I felt spent. I was physically and mentally tired of squash. The last few weeks I have seen myself play my best squash ever. Monday night's practice was the pinnacle of success for me. I dove like a pro to return some nasty kills and boasted back balls that were dying in the back corners. The best part was in how early I saw the ball. I wasn't always in control of the rallies. More often than not I was defending but exceptionally well for my standards. The extraordinary turn was in how I controlled my focus during the changes in momentum in the rallies. 3.0 players often make errors when a rally starts to extend. I managed to maintain my composure during a long rally where I had to switch from defending to attacking. In fact I was the one extending the rallies by returning a lot of balls under pressure. I also managed to maintain focus between points which is the time when I often make errors in returns and serves.

I have to attribute my better than average performance to physical improvements. My weight dropped below 155 from over 160. I have since gained 2 to 3 pounds back, but I feel the relief on my knees from the shed pounds. The lack of pain means I feel unfettered to run and lunge. My recovery to the T is better with 2 big quick steps, I bend much lower to the ball, and I get back in position faster.

I'm still hampered by poor endurance and stamina, the qualities Richard calls conditioning. I see that I fatigue faster than nearly everyone I play in practice. My errors come in torrents when I reach various stages of fatigue. I think here too I've made some conscious changes in the past couple of weeks. First I'm recognizing when fatigue sets in. It nearly always come after the first really long rally. That's the moment when I feel a shortness of breath. To combat this I remember what Niki said to take slow and deep breaths. Raising your arms over your head opens up the lungs and taking a walk to the back wall to wipe your hand on it can provide a few seconds of recovery also. The other common stage of fatigue comes after playing a number of extensive points especially when the score approaches double digits or starting a new game after finishing an intensive game. That's when I enter this very low energy state called the possum. The telltale sign is slow and shallow breathing followed by late reaction and failure to see and track the ball. I was keenly aware of this lately and tried the technique of taking some quick vigorous breaths to jump start the heart rate. I'm happy with the results so far. It seems to work and brings my focus and energy back temporarily. Once I get going again and into a rally. The stamina returns.

I'm in a good place of my game right now. I want to maintain this weight. If I could also strengthen the quads and hamstrings I know my game would improve even more or at the very least consolidate my gains so far. I don't see that I'll have time to add cardio training to improve my conditioning, but the new breathing techniques are really good for maximizing the conditioning I do have. The break yesterday is giving me the rest I need to keep the intensity up when I return next week. I will have to monitor when I need to take these breaks again so I can maintain this good rhythm I'm establishing.