I spent two days at Saddlebrook, Fl for a day tennis camp.  Each day included a three hour drill in the morning and a two hour drill in the afternoon.   For someone who has spent the last three plus months shivering in the frozen tundra of the north, I was eagerly anticipating some Florida sunshine.

When I signed up that this camp I recognized it would pose a challenge for me physically.   In the winter, I  play an average of 1-3 hours a WEEK; which was poor preparation for the rigors of this camp.  While I had ramped up my off-court workouts for a few weeks, I knew it was going to be a challenge.

Day 1: I slathered sunscreen on my pasty white limbs and ventured out to the warm-up court.  I was surprised and impressed by the sheer number of camp participants – there were at least 40 tennis ‘campers’ participating 10 minute pre-drill stretches.  Checking out the group: there were more men than women, and everyone else seemed to be under 40 and very fit.  *Gulp*

They broke up the big group into groups of 3-5; with each group assigned to a pro and a court.  As promised, it was an impressively low ratio of players to pros — assuring we would each get to hit a lot of balls, and get a lot of tips/instruction.  Cool – this is what I came for!

As it turned out the first morning was my most intense drill with 2 other women;  Sara — a really hard hitter; and Sabrina–a young French woman.  Sabrina and I had an interesting conversation which ended with a mild disagreement regarding the location of the Movie “Bridges over Madison County”.  (She felt it must have been made in my hometown of Madison, WI).   Sabrina would say charming things such as;  “Please not to try to hit me in the head’ or “please to move over’.

Many times the pros would have us play mini-games against each other.  The pros often lost track of the scores, which is understandable as they are really focused on giving us tips to improve our strokes.  I  resisted the temptation to correct the scores that they call out, because winning or losing these practice games is completely beside the point of why we are here.  Of course several other campers felt it was important that the scores be CORRECT, with a sense of injustice if they were robbed of a point.  I’m sure that drives the pros absolutely batty.  If I was consulted I would always say the score was four to four.  (*whatever*)

Both days were hot — even to the Florida natives.  After hour 4  I got dizzy and flushed, and sat out for about 10 minutes with some Gatorade.  I was less worried about maintaining my stoic facade than I was about surviving to play on day 2.

By the end of Day 1, I was wiped out and had some minor leg cramps.  I spent the evening re-hydrating and going to bed really early.   Day 2 I felt pretty good and ended up with a slightly slower paced group (probably not a coincidence).  I think our pro (a blond lefty from Czechoslovakia) was pregnant–but I learned a long time ago not to ask if you aren’t already sure.  We had a great day and we each picked up some great suggestions to improve our game.

My Fitbit went crazy — I won all sorts of phony fitbit online awards during the two days:  Marathon badge, sneakers award, didn’t faint and have to go to the ER award, etc.   It will be quite awhile before my Fitbit can record that same level of activity again in a two-day stretch.

On to vacation phase 2:   A visit with Cheryl.  Stay tuned.