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Your health during a FIRST regional
After discussing with some of the people on my team, we found that our health was extremely poor during our competitions. Sleep deprivation due to discussing thermodynamics and quantum physics until 2 o'clock in the morning. Our team woke up at 5 and went to bed between 12 and 2 in the morning. We ate at a pizza place for our two nights there. Lack of water was a major problem in our pit area. I suffered from continual nose bleeds due to dehydration. It would then dry and make my nose stuffy. I lost about 5-10 lbs but I was exercising in the hotel gym. I was just curious what other people's health patterns were like during a regional?
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There is definitly much sleep deprivation on my team during a regional. Oh well, that's what the trip is all about, IMO ;)
And then, there's the question of your health during the MATCHES.... by the end of the weekend, my throat hurts sooo badly. |
Although I can't speak for our entire team, no one in my room suffered any type of health related issues. We usually went to bed between 12 and 3 am and woke at 6 to 6:30. We ate relatively well, Mc Donalds in the Morning, cook-out or venue food for lunch, and nice restaurant for dinner. We did, however average about 12 cups of water a day. At the hotel we would simply fill the coffee pot up with water and use it as a communitee cup, filling when needed. I would suggest drinking more water, not only will u not get dehydrated but it also detoxifies your body.
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yea, between the sleep deprivation and the extreme dehydration, I was feelin pretty lousy by saturday.
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I know that I suffered from dehydration during our regional, simply because I didn't drink enough water. I had packed several bottles for the pits, but I just didn't ever think nor did I take the time to pull one out and drink from it. I'd say that over two days, I drank a bottle and a half of water.
However, being able to go home since the competition was down the street (it's actually closer to my house than it is the school) helped a lot. Eating home-cooked meals and getting to sleep in your bed was definitely a plus. I'm not sure that I'm getting the entire experience this way, but I really don't need any less sleep than I'm getting currently. Six hours a night is low enough for me. We also did some starving ourselves. I'd eat a light breakfast; usually I wouldn't even finish that. Lunch would actually get delayed by a couple of hours from the planned lunch hour. Dinner was eaten at about eleven or midnight, but at home. Speaking of sleep... |
We would go to sleep anywhere between 1 am and 2:30 am ad wake up between 6:30 and 7:00 am. Our teacher got kind of angry that we all didn't get very much sleep. But how can you when there's the competition to think about?
After we got back everyone was so tired that like 2/3 of the team got sick. Oh, well. One night we got the hotel to let us use the conference room to watch Friday's matches and discuss strategy for saturday. We were up till 12:30 doing this. We had a very meaningful strategy meeting and apparently it worked (seeding third and making it to second round of semifinals) and we got to hook up the dreamcast for a little bit too. See we've got this real cool guy (Avo) on our team and he is a real smooth talker. The hotel was going to charge us $240 for the conference room but he got it for us for free. Unfortunately that night after the meeting our bathroom flooded so we were up very late waiting for some service and were very tired the next day. After the trip everyone was just so tired that like 2/3 of the team got sick. Oh, well. Sorry I got a little off topic but it's all in the spirit.:D All the above was the Phoenix regional. At LA last year it was so load in the place that I completely lost my voice by the end of Thursday (and I didn't even do any cheering). |
I had some problems with backaches and overall soreness, which probably is a result of sleeping on the hotel floor for 3 nights. Human players deserve better treatment!
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I rarely eat. When I do, it's a mass stuffing of hot dogs and junk food as quickly as possible to get back to the competition. i rarely sleep or walk during the days etiher.
It takes a few days for me to recover from these things. As for my throat, I'm pretty sure I become mute for at least 3 days after these competitions. |
After being in plays and musicals and losing sleep over theirs, competition isnt too big of a deal, maybe b/c i went to bed at like 11... that coulda been a small factor, i like my sleep. but yeah, i was feeling fine, until we lost, then i wasnt feeling so fine, no relation to my health
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I am always a wreck. Not only do I not get any sleep, I usually get somewhat dehydrated. The heavily sanctioned pit area rules on beverages, the high cost at the venues and the continual work on the robot do not allow for great hydration at an event. However, I forget about all of those things and have a great time!!!
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Yeah, at cross country meets, I declare to my roommates that I'm sleeping in a bed, no matter what. Usually, one of them just either concedes and splits a bed, or they have to flip for it or something. However, when sharing beds, make sure EACH PERSON HAS THEIR OWN SET OF COVERS. I've had a horrible horrible experience whereby the other kid kept rolling over and taking the top layer of covers and I ended up with a cold the next morning. |
We had to sleep four to a room while the beds looked like they were just large enough for a single. We were able to get cheap rooms in the Hilton Towers ($99) which wasn't bad just that the number of people per room was.
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We got about 6 hrs of sleep each night. One of my firends had a lot of trouble sleeping though. She has trouble sleeping in strange places & then couple that with having to share a bed. But overall it wasn't too bad. We were all eating pretty light though. Continental breakfast in the morning, sandwhiches around noon (we certainly couldn't afford to buy concessions), & then whatever restaurant we decided on at night. But we made it. Kristin
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Re: Your health during a FIRST regional
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I usually got 4 or 5 hours...got home at 11-12 ish...posted on CD...did homework...slept at 1 or 2...got up at 5...wait...that's less than 4 hours...and I can't count...wow...sleep deprivation is worse than I thought...:D
But usually, my health isn't that great after regionals...but I never get sick. |
In general.. the team usually stays quite healthy... me on the other hand.... between no sleep.. and my nerves causing me to not eat... I am not too well come Saturday night. I usually loose 5+ pounds a competition. I do however, drink plenty of water while I am there. My biggest issue is stressing over everything too much... but oh well.. six competitions under my belt as driver.. and I will never learn. :)
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i always sleep for like 2 days after a first competition..it takes alot out of you...i usually got about 6 hours of sleep, and tried to drink alot of water.....
we ate so much junk food, we had burger king for breakfast twice and then this really good place called the origianl pancake house, and lunch we had panera!!! woo hoo! go national science foundation grant! Diner was always much better then the rest...we went to ed debevics and ran into the huskies...talk about a loud diner....(it was all in good fun) i just feel bad for anyone in the resturant... but over all first competitions take alot out of me... |
I have yet to meet anyone who doesn't have an ailent at competition story. Seems like everyone gets sick at some point during competition. But if you think about it the FIRST season is in the middle of cold and flu season so its not that odd. I went to the 2000 Nats with a broken ankle. It was actually a blessing because I got freshman to carry my bags and milked it for all it was worth from the disney staff. As for sleeping on the floor, just ask your advisor to room you wish underclassmen. That way you can get a bed. If your a freshman bring a sleeping bag.
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Stress stress stress... I always get sick. I'm going on my 11th competition "in booth"... |
I managed to get a normal 6h of sleep due to the Canadian regional being a 40 min drive from my house. I was able to eat breakfast and dinner at home but reluctantly coughed up the doughto the concession stands at lunch. I managed to stay hydrated due to the $@#$@#$@#$@#$@#$@#$@# water fountains at our event. They had nice pressure and didn't taste like $@#$@#$@#.
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stress was generally high, but i managed to stay healthy due to my near-constant consumption of jamba juice :D
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How do you people manage 6 hours of sleep at a competition?!?!? I'm lucky to get that at home! Thinking back, I don't remember going to bed before 2 or 3am during UCF, and we got up at 6-6:30 every morning. As for the whole dehydration thing, I managed to sneak my Nalgene in and nobody seemed to care that I was walking around with it. That said, my feet always feel like they're going to explode after a competition, and I can barely talk for a few days afterwards. Other than that, the 4 hours of sleep serves me just fine...
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Having the robot break and being in the finals made my heart race and I was rather stressed, and my voice held up very well through Friday and Saturday. And I slept in quite late on Sunday. So that made up for the lack of sleep while there.
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I ended up losing 8 lbs at the St. Louis Regional. I feel it was justified - not one member stopped running around frantically until well after the regional was over. I found out early on that lemonade helps when you feel like you are going to pass out. :rolleyes:
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Dehydration + lack of sleep + my gerneral morning crabbiness = our last regional. But my worst competition was going to West Michigan last year with food poisoning. Does anyone leave competition with a voice?
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yup
My team suffer from major sleep depravation! Other then that we had stress, and I would have to say dehydration. All the guys on our team said that all the girls were suffering from PMS. In my view the whole team was suffering from PMS.! LOL! Yet in the end we managed to come together. Im still sick from the comp which was last weekend! grrr! It was cold in Georgia!! Way diff from the temperatures in Miami! and im the clown that was going around wearing shorts...and I wonder why im sick!
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Other than just being stiff everywhere in my body, being perpetually tired, and eating nothing but junk food my health has been alright so far this year through two competitions.
Granted, after a competition I usually sleep through all of sunday, and this week through my monday morning classes as well. BTW: Whats the weather like in Houston? |
Too many kids use FIRST as an excuse to stay up late. They should use it as an excuse to go to bed early. If you are a part of the team you owe it to your peers to be in top shape every day of the competition. You owe it to your team to get to sleep at night and to eat enough food and drink enough water. If you can't get away from the pits then there should be people on your team who bring you food. But you need to take care of yourself.
Don't brag about how little sleep you got because what it really means is that you screwed up. |
the idle rantings of a crazy strategy guy
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as for my health, anyone who knows me knows that i lose my voice by about noon on thursday. =-] as for sleep, i'm a huge insomniac anyway, so the night before the competition i'm lucky if i get an hour or two of sleep. thursday night i'm usually so tired that i don't remember my head hitting the pillow. friday night depends on how high we're ranked and how tough saturday's matches are. high ranking and tough matches saturday means George doesn't sleep well. low ranking usually means i can just go out and have fun on saturday, so i sleep like a log. as for post competition... well, my mind is usually so sharp after a competition that i fill up 2 or 3 pages with drawings of ideas to try next year and in the off season. well... yeah... i had to reread what i wrote to make sure i was still on topic =-] so there's me during competition. anyone else think they're at their best when they're at a competition? (FIRST, football, baseball, chess, etc.) i think i just live to compete... |
getting sick at regionals
when i got home from the UCF regional, felt fine for two days and then my throat started killing me. when i went to the dr. he told me i had mono:( , and that somone at the competition had given to me. So the next competition i go to next year, im gonna be sure i what im doing at all times
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Re: yup
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*just realized her time of the month is during nationals* Oh man, I hope nobody pisses me off there like they did in San Jose. Grrrrrrr >.< |
Our team usually does pretty good on health at regionals..... usually 1/2 the team ends up sick after competitions though becuase of that one person that always comes w/ a cold, then they always manage to pass it on to everyone else...
As for sleeping...... there our a few of us on our team that are the master at sleep deprevation... :yikes: (dj, clark, me, austin, bryan, anthony)...lol |
I hear ya all,
the worst thing that happened was in NYC, when our alliance was about to compete in the final round, when i had to run all the way to the pits and back, i got to the field, and i get a bloody nose, and i have no choice of driving or not, so i grabbed a paper towel and drove one handed...i think it was all a blur, but we lost the match. I usually get sleep deprived, dehydrated and headachey. Kevin Antaki Team 481 AIM: xpalendocious |
yeah...we'd usually stay up playing cards and talking about the competition in someone's room til about 3 in the morning...head back to our rooms, talk a little more, then sack out for a few hours...get up between 5 and 7 and head out...we had a water bottle that someone passed around while we were watching the competitions, and most of us weren't in the pits, so it wasn't too hot and we didn't get dehydrated...had horrible cramps and backache, but that was cause my period decided to join in on the fun...*sigh* well, at least people avoided annoying me ;) but i did get sick once i got back...i think i left my voice down in FL...i got it back recently though, and judging by the fact that it was more tan than i was, i assume it stayed there for awhile ;)
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So many dehydrated people...Why doesn't one of the teachers or something go to the nearest grocery store and buy a 24-pack of water bottles??? That's what we did...and nobody got bloody noses or anything like that...
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At the Long Island regional, there was something in the catered food Thursday that got me sick all weekend. After that I took a hike over to the Commons.
Otherwise it was sleep deprivation at it's finest. By Saturdayday everybody was on each others nerves. I was still sick and all so I stood back and watched, trying to keep sane. I found that ditching the pits for a half hour and just hanging out instead helps. The robot is big and old enough to take care of itself. Going to Rutgers tommorow, luckily its only an hour away, so we should all stay a little healthier.:) |
My health at regionals is usually quite poor. Last year I came down with a yucky case of food poisoning in Cleveland, and this year I had the cold of all colds at the Midwest regional. As for sleep, my team has a strong, though unwritten code...seniors get beds. Being one of 3 seniors on a team of 7 guarntees me a bed no matter what. Aside from that, I've got a bad back, and if I end up on the floor, my back gives me problems all day long. My team also sleeps. Most of us aren't wild, the past few trips we've been on, the people in my room ( including myself ) found ourselves asleep by midnight, every night.
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As I said before, I have no health-related problems either at competitions. (This is probably due to past conditioning, I am immune to caffeine and regularly go weeks on end of 4 hours of sleep per night.) But there was so much discussion on this thread, I decided it must be more than just too many hot-dogs and too much sleep for a few days. I think many of us are overlooking the fact that we are usually extrememly anxious/nervous/tense for up to a week before the event. We all know that stress is bad for you, and it's effects are multiplied when it occurs for a week or two, especially when combined with poor diet and little sleep. Just my two cents, oh well.
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However, sharing a mug of water between two or three people isn't exactly healthy.
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It has now become a tradition of mine to pull an all nighter during a regional... why?
Manchester NH... i went back to school friday night, stayed up intill 4am watching movies with friends. Knowing that I'd have to get up again at 5:30 am... i just didn't bother going to bed. Philly... I overnighted a bus 12:30am to 9am from Boston to Philly, I can't sleep on busses well, I might have gotten an hour or two. So I consider that an all nighter. water is key... in manchester they didn't allow food in the pits so i was going to a water fountain all the time. It is also not good to eat fast food during a comp, i always look for salads and sandwiches. my throat still hurts from talking/yelling well... things to look forward to at nats! ByE erin p.s. if it doesn't kill you... it only makes you stronger |
I usually try to stay in shape, but I think there is a rule against listening to 'Your Attention Please' by BMG for extended periods of time.
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I successfully made it through the midwest regional with no sleep the first 2 nights and then friday night I was starting to get sick so I had 5 hrs a sleep....a new record ;)
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Exactly how is the poor health habits at the regionals any different for the poor health habits from the build season? I thought the build season was so you could become immune to sleep and be able to simply function on three hours of rest.
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Ok, good to know it's not just me :)
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I haven't been in the best of health since the season started. Lack of sleep during the build, after the build, during competition, hrm... come to think of it, how is this different from normal? *shrugs* I cought a very bad cold after the Sacramento Regional. I don't understand why though. I went home every night and went to bed early because I was tired as hell. I was sick for a whole week. Then my allergies kicked in just in time for SVR *grumbles* and I have to suffer through with them for Houston.
[edit] It's hard to go through a choir concert when you're singing and yet coughing every other measure. Gah! It's a pain...[/edit] |
I haven't read all of the posts here yet so if this is a repeat, sorry. At all of these competitions, nationals especially, we are all shaking hands, trading tools, touching the same doors and player stations, and hand rails. We are transmitting a huge amount of germs add that to eating without washing and all of that goes right into your mouth. I get nuts during comps with washing my hands often and always before eating. I suggest the same for everyone. See you all healthy in a few days.
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It's kinda worrying me right now, because last week in Chicago, our arm driver, Emily, got really sick, and she couldn't even drive the second half of the weekend. Now, our coach, Stephanie, is getting sick, too, and it looks like she has the same thing that Emily had. A FIRST competition is draining enough without being sick, too, and now I'm really worried about my friends.
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I'm taking herbal immune-boosters to prepare for Houston...Plus I'm taking them with me. I always get sick when I travel. Those pills better work...
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After every regional I always lose my voice for about three or four days. A problem for me since I'm in my schools' chorus. speaking of which a cool site is:
http://www.johnconahan.com/ It's my teachers site. Dang I wish I could sing like him... Now back to illnesses. I haven't missed a day of school in four years! Actually I just plan my sicknesses to be during weekends (coincidence) But travel related illnesses? nope. I've flown enough airmiles I can get two BA (Brittish Airways) tickets on the concord from NY to London, round-trip. For the rest of you check two things: 1)emergency exits. 2)barf bags. (either in seat pocket or under seat.) Now back to the topic at hand... |
Last year I caught a killer cold at NYC. This year I just completely lost my voice. Not that anyone's complaining. I was really dizzy throughout eliminations. I suffer from an extreme case of FOMS and rarely can pry myself away to get water.
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Every year, i get sick after WMR...this year was no different, but i had to go to school today, which sucked.
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I always seemed to get sick at nationals... but nothing beats nationals two years ago... Aside from being the Mascot for three days straight... (which pretty much meant that i was outside in the Florida sun the whole time...) I managed to not have a voice every-morning... [which was not screaming or cheering related...], Sunburn just on the back of my calfs... (how that happened i am still pondering...) and get yelled at almost the whole time to take a break and sit in the shade and hydrate...They thought i was going to get dehydrated... even though i bought one of the swanky disney water-bottle holders and kept filling it up in the pits once the block of ice i froze in it overnight at our houses had defrosted. I probably was the best hydrated on the team. One of our other team members got sick because she was dehydrated, and another was just sick (turned out that she had an appendicitis... which burst after we got back)
After finals one of our adults MADE me take off the uppet... sit in the shade... and have a powerade. Figures that as soon as they make me sit down, they want me to put it back on for the Good Morning America segment thing. Only real problem I've had was that my green spray-painted shoes didn't have much support left. The voice thing happened again last year... I think it might have been alergies or something... that was it though. NOTE: The best way to keep yourself hydrated is to keep an eye on your water consumption... I have a water jug from when i worked at the Y and as long as I drank at least two jug-fulls everyday I didn't have to worry. And if you are worried about colds... the Halls Vitamin C suplement things do wonders... I am the only one in my dorm who was not sick in November... I recomend the strawberry ones... but that IS MY OPINION. I am not trying to get people to buy them. |
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I generally just watch what I eat and I'm ok....last year, I gave up junk food for lent, and this included fast food, so my immune system was shot to hell because I couldnt eat anything, all we ever seemed to stop at were fast food places... |
i died last year at KSC but through a miraculous invention called water i was revived so i am still alive
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almost our entire team got sick or felt sick all but i think five or six people. and as for sleep world domination is more important (risk).
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I know that I personally managed 6 hours of sleep during each day at the J&J. I also bought 5 big aquafina bottles each day, and went through most of them. On the third day, I also had Halls fruit soothers (or whatever they're called).
A parent brought a case of 20oz poland spring bottles for our kids too, and they sucked 'em down. think we had like 4 left at the end of the competition (only 10 kids on the team) Trying to teach that monday was funny, but I made it through just fine, and the kids did too (except one who was out today). I am still sore, however, and tired. |
eek, i lost my voice friday of west michigan, still havent gotten it back.... and i've been sick since monday after midwest.... but, i'm happy about that, due to HOW i got sick...
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Take care of yourselves
Well I just hope all of you going to Houston take care of yourselves. I for one will be praying for all of you to have a happy, safe and healthy time.
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I routinly skip a sleep period(couple times a month). No big deal. Just skip, and stay with 6 hrs sleep a night, if that. Don't get sick.
I did stay fed at SVR and LA. (Thanks Jason and crew!) Hurray for a body that accepts all the punishment I dish it. Wetzel ~~~~~~~~~~~ I thank Tigerbolt for helping me develop that talent. |
I felt really fatigued, but that was no doubt due to the fact that I was the driver, and thus:
1. No sleepin'- first night there, got to bed at 11:30, couldn't get to sleep until 1:00, woke up at 1:30 and sat up for an hour with insomnia, then got up at 6:00 2. No eatin'- On one of the days (forget which), I had a Pop-Tart for breakfast, plus a glass of apple juice, then nothing else until 6:00 that evening. It was crazy in the pit. I think a lot of it has to do with how much time you have. If your team has team meetings until 9:30 PM (which mine did), you're not gonna get to bed until at least 10. |
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Our team experienced serious sleep deprivation due to the fact we had an X-BOX and PS-2 in the room. All-night Halo deathmatches are not good for your health.
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It wasn't at the regionals, but at the nats our team brought along a ps2 and DDR(dance dance revolution for those of you who have not yet been enlightened)
They moved it out into the hallway to avoid both the no-opposite gender in the other's room and not to annoy anyone on the first floor(we were on the second) with all the stomping. |
Does moving DDR into the hallway fix the problem of pounding on someone's ceiling? I didnt take my pads to San Jose because I knew that any sort of complaint about my room being noisy would get us sent home.
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yeah, it should the floorplans are generally the same, and usually the sleeping area is next to the window, opposite the room door.
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Team 5 in general doesn't get to much sleep loss [first year in this so I'm not positive].
Me: I go to bed around midnight at the latest during comps., at home it's around 10:30 now (used to be around 11:30 or so). Pittsburgh - Day 1: Woke up at about 5:30. I went to bed at around midnight, after spending some time w/ team #35 (if anyone of you guys read this, remember the countdown? lol). Pittsburgh - Day 2, 3: [Woke up at about 6:30 - 7] About the same as #1. Great Lakes we drove back and forth all the time (~45 minutes away). Woke up at about 6-7 each day though. Houston - Day 1: Woke up at 4, got on the plane (w/ Chief Delphi [so freakin' cool, they should remember Matt and the lil' kid. If anyone wants to hear it...PM or something]). Houston - Day 2, 3: About the same as Pittsburgh...health sucked then though (asthma really bad). Throughout all of these, I've never got sick (thank lord). I've had scratchy-voice-sickness though, but it was cool. P.S.: I know this layout was probably pointless, but at the moment, I'm bored as heck. |
I tend to get nearly debilitating stomachaches at competitions. I think part of that is the poor diet (Dew, half a slice of pizza, more Dew, beef jerky and a Twinkie, more Dew), and the stress of the competition. Between making sure the robot runs, and trying not to trip and fall on my face during HP mode, and being excessively nervous around this one girl on my team, I had to get my back up for HP to start warming up at VCU. These are accompanied on occasion by hyperventilation, which also poses a few problems.
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Anyways... Well, how bout this for health: During Chicago, Midwest regional, I get one NASTY cough. Im getting pretty sick to the point where I have to go to a doctor. At this point, its a week before Houston when I get to a doctor, and I'm told that theres definetly something wrong with my respiratory passages. They have me do a asthma treatment (I've never had asthma btw), and then give me three sets of medicine to take. I start taking them, and 3 days later develop some sort of red bump thing all over me (later found to be an allergic reaction to zipthromax). This is only days before houston now, and the doctor is also wondering if maybe I have walking pneumonia (sp?). All of this is also, btw, resulting in me having no voice throughout competition. Of course, in true FIRST spririt, I arrive at Houston despite my parents and doctor saying I should stay home and rest. Ha! Instead, I ran the 4 flights of ramps many times a day. Im still alive, arent I? :D |
All our team had different cases, like our programmer who only gets 3 hours of sleep on our competitions. I never got a bed at any of the hotels, so I was a wreck when I woke up in the morning. And, my hands hurt from clapping, but I'm ok.
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health at nats
while i can't say anything for my health at regionals. My health did suffer on the nats trip. it was most likely because it was the first time that I had been given an important job. Sleep deprivation combinded with not eating as much as I usually do was not good on my system. Then when I got home I had to drive with my dad to the outer banks of north carolina, and I slept most of the way down. And I probably got more sleep then than I did most of the nights on nats.
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always always always plan a day of rest after the competition :p
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I wonder if anyone else had the same idea. :) |
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