Isn't it strange the way the effect of exercise waits about 24 hours before it hits you? I played my first full set of tennis in about 10 years yesterday, and I was pretty happy with how it went. Sure, I lost 1-6, but the score at one point was 0-5 so by the end I was feeling a little more confident. I'd won a game against someone who's better than I did even back when I played regularly, and I'd gotten through it more or less unscathed* - I wasn't out of breath, my legs felt strong, and I felt like I could have played another hour straight away.

Fast forward to today. My lungs are so raw that I've actually called in sick from work, and my arse is so sore that I can barely walk. I can only imagine how useless I'd feel if I HAD played that second set. I guess my only options now are to commit to more regular games in the faith that my fitness will improve each time, or will I need to be mindful of what I would have to do the day AFTER a game?

Ah well, I guess I'll never be a fitness guru, but I wish it wasn't so damn hard to get up and competently play these sports that I love so much to watch. My next project will have to be finding a group of similarly crap individuals to practise Aussie-Rules Football with, but in the meantime I'll persist with tennis.

* At one point, my opponent returned a fault serve with a reasonably hard hit, but it was one of those moments where my senses seemed to heighten, and I realised that I could manage a fairly spectacular full-stretch catch. Spectacular it was: I was so focused on catching the ball (which I did) that I didn't pay any attention to keeping my feet. I fell and dropped the ball, which bounced and landed on top of my head. Impressive, but not really the look I was aiming for... :/