Distractions
I played in the Rack ‘Em tournament again tonight and I’m allowing myself to admit, I played like a monster! I was getting out from everywhere, and particularly racks that you wouldn’t expect anyone to get out of. You know, those ones where only one or two of your balls are free from the cluster but you just keep chipping away and the next thing you know, you’re shooting on the 8 ball??? Yeah! Racks like that!
My first match was against a strong player named Tommy. I know he didn’t mean to, but he put the rack on me in the first game. My opening break left a huge cluster with only a few balls separated from it. I strategically picked the rack apart from the break. I saw all the patterns and made the tough shots to get the job done. I couldn’t believe it myself! Even when I expected myself to miss, I made it.
And it all happened as I hobbled around the table.
My chiropractor appointment at 9 this morning confirmed that I had a pinched-ish sciatic nerve situation and after a few snap, crackle, pops, I felt about 80% better. I could tell things were moving and flowing again, but the joint was still very sore from the trauma. I’m not nearly in as much discomfort as I was on Wed-Thur, but certain movements are still sharply painful and I think I’m more afraid of aggravating the condition than anything.
I won one more match on the a-side and lost to Pete. I lost to him on Wednesday night too. UGH! He ran the first rack and I hooked myself in the second game with two balls left. It’s only only a race to two, bar table 8 ball, so I guess anything can happen. I was disappointed, but forgave myself because I made some really nice shots and breakouts to get on that ball. I was seeing the patterns and not making any dumb decisions.
I won three more matches on the b-side before meeting up with Pete again and splitting in the finals. Pretty anti-climatic.
I got away with a couple on the b-side, but I couldn’t believe how well I was playing overall. At the end of the night, my friend Shawn said, “You should have sciatic problems more often. You’re on fire!”
It sounds crazy, but pain and limited mobility really forced me to concentrate a little harder. It forced me to focus a little better on the contact point and it surely forced me to stay down. The couple times I jumped from excitement, I about fell over from the pain. I staggered around the table at a slow and steady pace and even though I was a little worried about not hitting a single ball on Thursday, everything just came together.
I remember once, Tom Ross told me how sometimes he plays better when he has a cold. I couldn’t believe or understand it at the time, but he explained that with his head all cloudy, none of that other stuff could get in the way and it made him have to work a little harder to stay focused.
I don’t recommend getting a pinched nerve or catching the flu to play better pool, but it’s funny how one big distraction can help make all the other little distractions seem insignificant.
I’d also like to clarify… When I referred to Toasti’s Blog as “My New Favorite” it’s more “My Favorite of the New” because it wouldn’t even be fair for a tenured, veteran, master blog such as FastMikie.com to be in contention for such a title. Hail to Fast Mikie, Master Multi-Blogger…
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