Outdoor Practice

My friend wore ski goggles to make fun of the fact that we had practice outside and there's snow on the ground!

This week we had our first outdoor practice since the fall season. Up until this point, we have been training indoors at the Basin Recreation Field House. Our time there has been helpful, but space is limited and the season is approaching so we need to start practicing where there is more space. Lucky for us, one of the fields at Quinn's Junction is cleared every winter for our use. Practicing outside in February is almost as crazy as it sounds. It's usually below freezing and you find your muscles sufficiently frozen by the time practice is over. As you probably know, running outside when it's cold sucks. I don't think there is any other way to put it. Breathing becomes nearly impossible, your nose won't stop running, and your muscles are about ten times harder to move. In short, running is the last thing you want to be doing.

I had been dreading outdoor practices for about two weeks because of the experiences I had last year with them. When the day finally came and we were forced to play outside, I was pleasantly surprised that it was almost forty degrees! It was still cold, but it was sunny and much warmer than I anticipated so I was happy. However there are a few things that I completely forgot about since last year and I will need to prepare my bag accordingly. It completely slipped my mind that tissues, gloves, and hats are essential for practicing in February weather. I learned my lesson and I am going to keep those things in my bag from now on. Luckily it was a warmish day, so it wasn't a bad day to forget these things on.

Although our first practice was warm, I have convinced myself that we just got lucky and we won't be seeing warm weather for a while. Future practices are bound to be much colder, but I am excited for the upcoming season and I know that enduring the cold will be worth it!