A Beautiful Game

A few weeks ago I got laughed at by a co-worker for describing hockey as "a beautiful game". 

In retrospect, I think a lot of people misunderstand hockey. To outsiders, the perception of hockey is one of violence and brute physicality which leaves very little room for skill and finesse. However, in my completed biased and partisan opinion, there is not a single game in the world that combines everything together like hockey. 

Physicality

Let's start with the obvious. There is hitting in hockey. But a lot of times, it is a unique skill set. P.K. Subban is a very gifted player. I think a lot of people mistakenly assume that if you are big, you can hit and that is all there is to it. Subban is a little bit above average sized, but he is by no means unusually large. The key to his hits is his elite skating ability and timing. If you are terrible at either (and most human beings probably are), you are going to miss. This isn't football, where you can just wrap some guy up in your arms if he side steps you. Subban has to skate backyards, maintain his gap, and time his pivot to make this hit. 

If he misses, his target has a free lane to the net. The play he makes here is pretty devastating. But physicality in hockey is partially a mental game. The next time a player is flying down the wall with the puck, maybe he hesitates because he knows Subban is out there. Maybe he doesn't make the bold play because in the back of his mind, he worries about getting hit. A play like this impacts the whole game.

Because you are skating into them, these type of hits hurt. A lot. Ask Brad Marchand. Or Adam Larsson. But delivering them is an underrated skill. 

Footwork

When people hear about footwork, they might think of soccer or basketball. Maybe they think of boxing. Skating can be quite difficult. The human body was built to walk and run. Pretty much everyone can do it competently. Skating is quite different. And there is a big difference between slow, gliding, "public skate at the park" skating and skating in hockey. Unless you're a figure skater, you probably don't have the edge work to do it. You probably don't even know what edge work is. Matt Duchene (#92) has incredible footwork and edgework and it allows him to change direction and speed on a dime.

Stick Handling

Pavel Datsyuk. That is all. 

It is a longer clip. I understand if you don't want to watch it all. It's worth it if you do.

Datsyuk is strong, but at 5'11" he is not big. But you probably can't hit him either anyway. Someone tried to here. He can thoroughly embarrass you when you try and cover him (#39 is Logan Couture and he's an All-Star). He might walk through your entire team. Or he'll thread a pass through everyone (#33, the player he walks around, is Zdeno Chara - probably the best defenseman in the world). He's not bad in the shootout either.

Athleticism

Basketball players are super athletic. The amount of body control that elite NBA players like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade exhibit are incredible. Nate Robinson is listed at 5'9" and won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. He is an athletic freak.

I think athleticism is an underrated aspect of hockey. Hockey is played on ice and in skates so perhaps it is difficult to relate at times.

Maybe Jonathan Quick gets a little lucky here in this clip. Or maybe he has incredible coordination. I think it's more the latter than the former.

Miikka Kiprusoff in the above clip looks back and kicks the puck out mid air with his heel and saves a goal. 

This Alex Ovechkin goal does not require any explanation.



There really is more to this game then meets the eye. But I'll stop here because this entry already has a lot of YouTube links. 

Suffice to say - there is something for everyone in hockey. Try it out sometime. It's a beautiful game.







All videos courtesy of YouTube. Photo of Nicklas Lidstrom is licensed in the public domain.

26.2: A Guide to People Who Want to Run a Marathon and Have No Clue How To

Way back in September of 2012 I ran a marathon. The original decision to run one was a rash, impulsive, borderline stupid decision. I had no idea what I was in for. When I started training, I realised that the last time I had actually run for exercise I had lived in a different country. I was completely unprepared.

Does this look like a person enjoying himself?

If you wish to to embark on this semi-fool hardy goal of running a marathon, perhaps you can learn from me what NOT to do.

When I lived in Taiwan I ran three times a week for thirty to forty minutes. For me, that gets you about 3 to 4 miles at the most. Not very far. I had a good friend that I would compare running times to. I would set a PR on my 1 mile, 2 mile, or 3 mile time and inevitably he would best it. Neither of us really enjoyed running that much so it became a sort of tortuous attempt to always one-up the other. This friend ran a marathon in 2010. His time was about 3:58:00. I told myself I could top his time so I started training in April 2012.


Things I did not know about long distance running beforehand:

1) Shoes make a difference. Who would have thought that running on 5 year old running shoes that were mostly worn out was a recipe for joint pain and extreme fatigue? There is some debate about what I call minimalist shoes (the ones that look like feet) versus traditional running shoes and the benefits and disadvantages. I do not really want to get into that. But be aware that we all have different running gaits (overpronation, supination, etc) and shoes are important. Do research. Choose wisely.

2) The wall is a real thing. I always thought that when you ran, you could fall into a groove and run indefinitely. Not sure why I believed that. It is completely illogical. Around the 17 to 18 mile mark, you get unbelievably tired. It is a feeling I have never experienced before. Even that 44 hour all nighter I once pulled left me with more energy. Once you start walking, you probably will not be running much afterwards. Once during training I ran 19 miles in 3:21:59. I think it took me nearly 40 to 45 minutes to cover the last 3 miles of that run. THE WALL - Very real. It can be avoided. See below.

3) Stay hydrated and eat. Consume running gels if you want to. Find something that works. At the same time, DO NOT drink too much water because it will lead to fun things like diarrhea and gastrointestinal issues. You might be in need of a bathroom while you are in the middle of nowhere. I have had personal experience with this. I will let you figure out what I had to do in these situations.

4) Time commitment. Do you like getting up early on Saturday morning? At the peak of your training runs (20 miles), you will be getting up at 6 am and finishing your morning run by 8:30 am to 9 am. If you are like me, you will come home to find your spouse still asleep. It is as if nothing ever happened. Except now you are pretty tired and the day has yet to begin. Aside from the weekly long runs, you will hopefully be running 3 to 4 times a week during the week days for distances that stretch from 3 miles at the beginning to 15 miles at the end. 

5) Ice water baths. This is probably nothing new for people who are actual athletes, especially those who have played contact sports. Being the unathletic child that I was, I never played in any organized sport. But for those that did, they might have soaked in ice water after games or practices. Why would you subject yourself to this? Is the running not painful enough? During especially long runs (16 miles plus), your body begins to break down a little and immersing yourself from the waist down in ice water prevents inflammation from occurring. It narrows the blood vessels and keeps swelling down. You will be much less sore the next day. If you decide that what I am telling you is stupid and that you would rather soak in a hot tub instead, you will regret it the next day. And probably the day after that as well. 

If all of these things sound appealing to you, then perhaps a marathon is something you should attempt. This is after all, just the training leading up to race day. You will spend 4 to 6 months doing what I have described above. Trust me though when I say that it will be worth it.