Monday Morning: Jiu-Jitsu 30+ Tournament Post Competition Thoughts

Now that I'm 31, 2 days of rest before a tournament is not quite enough.
I find that as I've gotten older, I simply have to listen more carefully to my body or I will not be at peak performance on tournament day.

I cannot train consistently for weeks on end with only a day off at a time and no consecutive days off for weeks on end.
By the time tournament time comes, I'm burned out, and that last bit of flex n' bust out you need to secure the position, finish the takedown, or resist that urge to concede the position just isn't there when you need it.

I can't simply train hard and expect to win. I have to train hard and train smart with an exact amount of precision in timing my peak performance.

I'm a historically slow tournament starter and yesterday at the Pendergrass Classic in North Carolina was no exception.

I won my first match on points, lost my second on points in the 30+ adult blue belt -149 lbs.
Won another match by armbar after running up the score 15-2, then lost another match 10-2 on points (I could be wrong) in the blue belt adult -149 lbs.

I entered the blue belt adult Absolute and triangled the two heaviest guys in the bracket and beat another on points to win my first blue belt absolute division.

That's the nature of the beast. It's been several years since I'd done an absolute division since tearing my ACL and having my knee reconstructed.
That being said, winning the absolute is a pretty damn good feeling.