Marathon Roll

1/12 - Downtown

All of the affiliate schools did a 2hr marathon roll today. Five minute rounds with 20 seconds of rest between. I wasn't sure how I would do, but figured I'd make it and be pretty tired. I wasn't wrong. Everyone paced themselves well, though of course some matches were more intense than others. I think there were about 8 or 10 of us that went the entire time with a couple of drop-ins midway through.

I was concerned about injury, especially toward the end as technique starting going off the cliff, but fortunately I think the worst of it was cramping and black eyes (both happened to me). There was one instance in which I felt like I was in danger of being injured when a guy transitioned to a kimura quite a bit faster than was necessary, but he let it go immediately so no harm done. I hydrated well the day before and was drinking gatorade throughout, but I don't think any amount of fluids could have prepared my body for that onslaught of activity. My gi was soaked completely through. Really wish I would have done a before-and-after weight.

I think this was good for camaraderie, at least in the manner of shared suffering and survival. It's also a good benchmark of endurance, making 30min of rolling seem like child's play. This should help in both the short term (classes) and long-term (competition).

The remainder of the day I just wanted to curl up into a ball but I had commitments so had to keep moving. Was soooo tired and had a headache for most of the rest of the day. Drank water like it was going out of style and finally started to feel better late at night.

It was a unique experience...will be interesting to see if it's something that they incorporate more often.