Wish List Wednesday… Competition and Downsizing

I am personally undergoing a period of personal transition and progress in my life. With the possibility of a major move nearing closer than I would like to admit, Im starting to both downsize my life and my house. Im finding the experience oddly liberating, to dispose or donate items that I have accumulated in 10 years of living in Tampa. While I was doing so, I stumbled across my old pair of soccer cleats and shinguards which is what prompted me to write this weeks posting about missing that edge of athletic competition. 

Downsizing to me means to pare down. To strip my life of the things I really dont need so I can maximize what I actually do. This is why these WLW postings will now only focus on 1 wish and a couple of updates.  That way I can focus on that one and avoid postings which may be too too long.

Onto this weeks wish….

I wish that I had athletic competition…..

Set up- Seeking friends

Back when I first moved to Tampa, I got lonely really fast. I was depressed beyond belief and desperate to meet people and I hadnt yet settled into my new job or area. Fortunately I came across a flyer for TBCS. Tampa Bay Club Sport, as I found out, is a locally run organization that organizes leagues of different sports and different ability levels for the purpose of fun and social interaction. Soccer leagues, tennis, kickball, flag football, volleyball and others were on the list back in those days. This was a revelation to me and I instantly signed up for the next availble season. For the next few years, I played in one league or another on and off. I loved the camaraderie of soccer followed by beers afterward or the relaxation of a good hard game of beach volleyball. In the later years I got to play soccer with my sister in a coed league which allowed us to bond in a whole level and connect socially as adults as a full time.

I used to love hitting the soccer fields for TBCS. When I first came down here, this was some of the only socialization and physical activity that I was getting

Sadly it has been a couple years since I stopped playing in these leagues. Why? While the leagues were always fun, I was never able to make it into a new social circle (always stuck on the fringe), the lengthy drive was getting to me, and I was starting to get more into capoeira. Capoeira was offering 5 nights of week of intense physical training, and close friendships. We were going out wednesday night every week for drinks following class with huge groups, and hanging out on the weekend. My physical shape was starting to improve significantly as well. The academy was alive and vibrant and I so dove headlong into it. Sports fell by the wayside. A few months later I tried to get into a game of pickup soccer with a friend from capoeira and ended up with a torn meniscus that required surgical repair. After that point, capoeira became my focus until running came on the scene.

Capoeira’s intense training and intense friendships caused me to fade away from sports. The torn meniscus in soccer didnt help either

I miss sports badly. I used to play sports all the time in high school, and I want that edge again. Success as a runner and a new found physical fitness have spurred my desire for that basic competition. Plus capoeira has been reduced to only 2 short nights a week of training availability. I spin, I run, I lift,  I run, I run, I take classes, but I would much rather fill ONE of those nights with a game of tennis, a well played soccer game, even a sandy mess of a beach volleyball game.  Get my workout in, and get my sports fix as the same time. Sadly, both the time and the money are currently lacking for this type of deal.

The Ideal Wish- Get back into sports

That I could join other sports league and have a regular soccer game. That I could have a weekly scheduled tennis set with a good friend. That I could go out and play a game of volleyball with some semi competitive people and then chill at the beach afterward. That I could take the “best of shape of my life” fitness and apply it again to sports. That I could take my new found personal confidence, built on my running, and meet friends again and make deeper connections. That I could achieve that lovely edge of competition that running has sparked in me again.

Beach volleyball can be fun, competitive and one of the best workouts you can get. The fact that it is along the beach doesnt hurt either

The Reality- Too far and too much 

For as much as I loved TBCS, the leagues were not cheap. Something like 55 to 65 bucks per season. Even though capoeira has cut back, I still have to pay for that and my gym membership. This leaves that much of an investment (plus the cost of gas to get to games which are not close) as simply too much. I toyed with the idea a couple of times, but the expense was just too great. On top of which, the strong possibility of relocating shortly would make commitment to a league somewhat senseless.

The Possibility- College competition 

Hopefully when I relocate to grad school, opportunities for this competition will arise on campus. The school I would be attending is a massive state school and there has to be available leagues for me to enjoy. I havent done the research but I am hopeful. That being said, I dont need to be drawn into anything I dont need during the beginning of my classes. I need to focus on my academics, adjusting,  and of course my running. Once I get settled there and things calm down, I plan on seeking out some competition and using my new level of running based fitness for sports.

A not so subtle hint about this fall 🙂

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Wish List Wednesday Updates

Wish- I wish I could turn a non-running friend into a running friend

Update– My friend ME who has back problems came out for me this am and put in 2 miles. I dont see him being a runner, but I think he heard the passionate way I talk about the topic and the level of workouts I put in and wanted some of that cardio. I count this as a huge success. It made this mornings interval workout feel really awesome

Wish- I wish I could like salad

Update– I dont see myself making salad anytime soon. Yesterday I used a free pass to Sweet Tomatoes and filled a plate with a bunch of their salads and greatly enjoyed myself. I dont think I would put forth the effort to produce high quality salads (and yummy soups and baked goods) like they have, but all their salads were super tasty and I didnt go home unsatisfied. So, some progress there.

Enjoy Your Run. Enjoy Your Day :0