So, I’ve got kiddos. Kiddos get sick. Kiddos pass the sickness around. I get sick. This is the way of things.
I have now learned that playing pickleball while sick is…difficult.
Years ago, I learned something from Tony Horton’s P90X series. Tony Horton is my nominee for one of the corniest dudes ever. He says, “A bad workout is better than no workout.” Now, Tony says a lot of things, but this one resonated with me. I figure that getting out there any playing is better than not playing.
Now, I’m a competitive guy. It’s the way I’m wired, I want to compete. Some people don’t enjoy playing board games or card games with me because they say things like “It’s just for fun” or “Who cares if you win.” I agree it is for fun and winning is a big part of the fun. And for the record, I care if I win. I care. Me. I do.
I’ve played twice since I’ve gotten sick. And my Friday games were quite a bit tougher than my Tuesday games, which struck me as odd because I was just starting to get sick on Friday whereas I felt the worst on Sunday and Monday. I had some kind’ve upper respiratory thing, so breathing was an issue. But I started out with a singles game on Friday, which was probably dumb. I mean there is so much more cardio in singles. But there I was. Playing singles. Now, my record was pretty good against my opponent, but he is getting better and I was feeling like junk.
It was one of those sports reflect life moments because I knew it was going to take resiliency. It went into overtime, and I had to fight for every single point. I felt like garbage, and he is in way better shape than I am to begin with. But I fought on. Now, it’s friendly, less than rec league pickleball, but it was really me versus myself. And this time, I got the win. 14-12. If it matters to you, don’t make excuses, don’t let yourself off the hook. Fight for it. You can’t always control the result, but showing up and doing your best is what makes you better.
On another note, I did decent travelling and stuck to a ketogenic lifestyle. I had one meal where I threw in the towel, but I really made that choice intentionally because this is a lifestyle not just a fad diet.
My water consumption and overall hydration has really suffered recently though. I need to prioritize that. I’ve also started to carb crave. I’m not sure why. Maybe I’ve had some carb creep, or maybe it’s a function of being sick.
I’ve got lots of pickleball updates but that will need to wait until next time.
Keep Dinking.
Marshall