Week 3 - Andrew Lamont's Diary

Bring on the rain! I awoke early Monday morning to the sound of and absolute downpour outside. I stuck my head out the door for a moment to notice what appeared to be a wall of water coming down off the awning. It was quite intense and for the rest of the day the weather would clear for a moment or two and blue sky would peak through only to be shut out again by the next massive deluge. Later in the afternoon I was a bit bored after being cooped up all day so I went out for a run in the rain, unfortunately I came across some loose footing and rolled my ankle over quite painfully. My ankle has been a problem in the past and for a second I saw my whole footy opportunity go down the drain, however, I was still able to walk on it and I hobbled home and iced it and kept off of it the rest of the day. I was worried I would not be able to practice the next day but I bought a sturdy ankle brace and when I got to practice and jogged on it felt good so I was run and kick with the team. It is still sore every day but it feels strong and using my brace I am not having any troubles.

The practices have been getting more intense lately as out first preseason game is less then 3 weeks away. After the Thursday session I was absolutely wiped but I was happy because on Friday there was a welcoming BBQ for international students where they would have tickets for a pre-season game between the Sydney Swans and Collingwood at North Sydney Oval. I got to the BBQ early to ensure I got my hands on a ticket. I was successful and stayed around at the SAMbar and shared some beers with the new students from all over the world. Macquarie truly is an international university and besides the huge groups of American and Asian students studying here, I met people form all over. India, Norway, Turkey, Finland, Tanzania and Mexico were all among the countries represented at the welcoming BBQ.  It was a very hot day outside and the drinks were flowing freely with the students. I was having fun but I excused myself early as I wanted to get to the practice game on time and get a good seat. I jumped on a very crowded bus full of other American students and got to the oval just before the game started. Finding a spot on the grass I had a good view of the whole field and relaxed to watch the game. It was quite entertaining with many young players in the starting lineup. The Swans went ahead early and never looked back, cruising to a 15 point victory. Live AFL games amaze me with the speed of the game as well as the accuracy of the kicking and threading of handballs and I left the oval dying to play in a game of my own.

The nest day the club had a beach training run set up at Manly beach and we showed up to a crowded beach, sizzling temperatures and a very intense sun. After jumping in a pool of sunscreen we started the drills, running up and down the compacted sand and stretching or doing push up on either end as we loosened up. The coach then moved us to the loose sand where we did some incredibly grueling running drills and core workouts. For some strength training we got into partners and did grappling drills trying to throw the other person down using only our upper bodies. I had to go up against the Phar lap, the ruckman and while I held my own I was completely drained of energy after the exercise. Next we had a handball game followed by the hardest drill of the day: a relay race i n the w ater where we ran from the edge of the water about 50 meters out into the waves to the coach, slapped his hand and ran back in again. This was so, so grueling trying to run in the water and after 4 laps everyone could barely stand. It was a draining but rewarding workout and after we cleaned up the coach took us out to lunch at a nearby pub. Fish and chips had never tasted so good.

The next day I woke up feeling like I had been hit with a bat and had a real easy day. That weekend everyone else in the village was moving in by the truckload and my house is now full. I am living with guy from New York, a girl from Japan, a girl from Melbourne and a girl from South Carolina. Quite a mix

- Andrew Lamont
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