I hate being sick :(

Training has been at a stand still for the past week.  I got pretty sick last week and couldn't train in fear of getting my teammates sick too.  I ended up leaving work early on Friday and sleeping for the following 14 hours.  I had a fever and felt awful.  I dragged myself out of bed for my Mom's birthday party on Saturday.  It was fun, we went bowling :-)  but it was hard.  I was so tired after that, I went home, got back in bed and didn't get out again until yesterday morning  for work.  (Thank goodness it was a holiday and we opened at 8am instead of 5am!) 

I am finally starting to feel okay enough to start working out again.  I think I may just do some cardio today, maybe the stairs for 30 minutes and then sit in the sauna to loosen up all the gunk in my lungs.  I hate not being able to train.  I have so many goals for this year, but if I keep getting injured or sick they are going to be hard to fulfill.  I need to start dieting again - Valentine's Day and then getting sick has caused me to eat a lot of junk.  Dieting is just so hard.  Especially when everyone around you is NOT dieting and eating anything they want.  What am I supposed to do when everyone is going out to Chipotle for lunch!?  I can do it, I just need to get back into the swing of things.  Once you get past those first two weeks it gets easy, it becomes a habit.


I hate not being active.  I am feeling fat and lazy and I can't stand it!!!!!!  I NEED BJJ BACK!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Abu Dhabi Pro Trials 2011

Over the weekend I competed in the Abu Dhabi Pro Trials in Jersey City, NJ, USA.

I left the gym Friday afternoon with my coach to head up to NJ for the weigh-ins.  The drive was long but we finally made it.  I weighted in and then we were off to our hotel.  Our hotel wasn't too bad.  I was a little upset that I had to pay an extra $15 for parking, but other than that it was good.  I got a good 9-10 hours of sleep and then it was time to head to the tournament!

It was raining (yuck!) and with all the snow they have gotten up north, parking was nearly impossible.  There wasn't a parking lot; all street parking...with meters!  Finally after driving around for about 15-20 minutes we found a spot about 2 blocks away.  We parked and headed to the venue.  The tournament started on time and actually ran pretty efficiently.  It started with female purple/brown/black belts and male brown/black belts, followed by male purple, then female white/blue and male white/blue.

After hours of watching and waiting it was finally my turn to go!  My first match was against a girl from Brazilian Top Team Canada.  She pulled guard, I passed to half, I tried to take her back but got swept landing in my guard where I ended up submitting her by cross collar choke.  The match was only 2:30 minutes, giving me plenty of recovery time before the next round.  My next match was against another girl from Brazilian Top Team Canada.  She also pulled guard, I passed and dominated positionally.  I tried for submissions but she defended pretty well.  Final score was 13-0, although I think they didn't give me points for a few things.  My last match wasn't as great as the first two :(  I got taken down, but landed in my guard.  The girl passed to half, tried for the mount but I recovered half guard, and with 30 seconds left she ended up tapping me with a straight arm lock. 

Overall I took second place in the women's white/blue +63kg division.  Not bad, but I don't like to settle for less than first.  I definitely need to work on a few things, specially my judo and my open guard.  I have a lot to work on these next few weeks.  I won't be making the same mistakes in the next tournament.

Great rolls last night :-)

Class was great last night.  We drilled for an hour and 15 minutes, followed by 15 minutes of guard rotations, and 30 minutes of sparring.  I really tried to step it up last night, and I'm pretty sure it showed to all my teammates too.

One of my weaknesses is that in class I tend to accept things during rolling that would be unacceptable during competition...getting swept, mounted, or letting someone take my back.  Last night I put my head in tournament mode.  I refused to accept anything; if I did get put in a bad position I escaped.  I was heavy from the top and aggressive from my back.  I rolled hard right down to the last second of every round.  With 13 seconds left in one round I shot a triangle and almost put my teammate to sleep.  My gi was soaked completely through; it was awesome.

Thanks to everyone that rolled with me last night, and previous nights, helping me to get ready for the tournament this weekend.  I will make you all proud!



P.S.  I started dieting again - trying to get to 147 for Pan Ams and Worlds - I am down 3lbs :-D

Abu Dhabi Pro Trials this weekend!

 

It's almost here and I can't wait!!! Just 2 more days until we leave for New Jersey, and 3 days until the competition!