Yesterday was my second football practice as a rookie on the DC Divas professional football team! With some tired legs from my workouts at Reebok the day before, I made sure to take some time yesterday morning to eat a good breakfast, to drink lots of water, and to stretch, stretch, stretch! Putting on some cute workout clothes also never hurt anyone!
I think there’s a connection between feeling great in what you’re wearing and having a great workout, hands down. For yesterday’s practice I wore a pair of black capri tights, my Runner’s World 10K t-shirt, and my new pair of Reebok sweat pants. Although I found these in the men’s section of the Reebok store, I just couldn’t say no. I loved how they matched my RealFlex Fusion TR shoes in grey and vitamin c.
Our practice today was fantastic! We started off with a warm up, high knees, skip jumps, backwards run, shuffles, and sprints.
We then moved into our conditioning practice. Today we had 4 different stations, focusing on power squat jumps, ladder drills, jump rope drills, and various footwork drills. The drills were high intensity and required a lot of mental focus as well as physical ability. For instance on the jump ropes we had to jump with both feet and then onto one foot and then back to two. It takes a lot to jump non-stop while switching between both feet and single foot jumps.
After finishing the station workout, we went outside and ran a 3/4 mile for time. I ran the 3/4 mile in 6:38, which I was very pleased with.
I felt great at the end of the workout and was actually less sore than I was in the morning. Sometimes a workout is just what I need to get the soreness out. Resting can magnify my muscle soreness, so it’s better to just get back out there and to warm up my muscles.
I also loved how great my feet felt after our workout. The fact that I was able to workout on a turf field for 40 minutes and then transition onto pavement for a run without changing shoes was huge. These shoes are quite different than what I’ve worn before but I fall in love with them more and more each time I wear them.
After conditioning practice we headed into our Football 101 class.
Today we focused on the basics on football, going through the various positions on the field. Here are some highlights for those of you that want to learn a little more about the game.
It’s really neat learning more about football and the technical side of it all. Football is the ultimate team sport. Every player impacts the game.
After practice I headed to the mall for a little shopping and then made it back home for some rest, relaxation, and housekeeping.
Prior to practice I also put together Neal’s and my dinner for last night. It’s not really a chili but more of a crockpot stew if you will.
Beef and Sausage Stew
Ingredients
1 pound beef stew meat
1 package (4 links) of chicken andouille sausage, sliced (though I’d recommend it diced)
2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, add whole can
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
1 TBSP diced garlic
1 TBSP cumin
2 TBSP chili powder
1 tsp salt
2 cups beef broth
Instructions
You ready for this… throw all of the ingredients into a large crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours. Yep! It’s that easy.
Here are some more detailed instructions though… You’ll place the beef, sliced chicken sausage, kidney beans, diced tomatoes, diced onion, and all seasoning in the crockpot. Since it will be cooking for 8 hours, you do not need to brown the meat first. It will break down and cook through over the 8 hours. Stir it all together and then add the beef broth. Give it one last stir and then put the lid on the crockpot. Next plug the crockpot in and set it on low for 8 hours.
I served the stew over a piece of cornbread (3PP a serving) in a bowl.
The stew serves 8 people and is 7PP a serving (1 1/4 cups). This glorious bowl was 10PP!! My kind of dinner.
Neal and I enjoyed dinner while watching the Kansas State vs Baylor game. Although I’ve watched football my entire life, I’m watching football through a whole new lense these days. The offensive line is just about all I watch.
Just a few more weeks until training camp, the first time I’ll practice with the whole team. There’s lots of conditioning and weight lifting to do between now and then, but I am absolutely loving being a women’s football player and a DC Diva!
