Taylor Cummings is a three-time Tewaaraton winner, a member of Team USA and the head coach at McDonogh (Md.) . "Taylor's Takes" is presented by Gait Lacrosse. Be legendary.

We’re officially more than halfway through our Athletes Unlimited season now that Week Three’s games are complete, and we are starting to get into a groove with everything.

Our weekdays consist of morning practices, afternoons off for either work or treatment, and evening meetings with different speakers and activities. We had sports psychologists come in to speak to the group on Thursday to help us focus on mindfulness and mental preparation, which was a great way to kick off another exciting weekend.

As far as our weekends go, they are (of course) full of games — three over the course of three days — with a ton of recovery, food and naps inbetween. Since we are all former collegiate athletes, a packed schedule like this is tiring, but it also feels familiar and comforting at the same time.

For me, this week was all about finding comfort in the simple pleasures that AU has brought us. Let’s take a look at those now!

PRACTICES

Most of us haven’t practiced consistently throughout the week in a long time, so it’s been an unexpected pleasure to get back into a routine with our workouts, training and work outside of the AU bubble. It’s almost like we’re back in college for a mini five-week semester, and given that our college days were some of our favorites, many of us are grateful for the little piece of past normalcy.

TEAM MEALS

Thursdays have become a time for team brunches after practice. Some have been hitting up a lot of local brunch spots (Ted’s and First Watch have been fan favorites), while others have gotten their team bonding on at Top Golf, where they can both eat and play.

We all play lacrosse because we love being on a team with amazing people, so to have this time together off the field has been really special.

TRAINING ROOM HANGOUTS

Pre-practice or pregame training room hangouts have also become the norm during our AU season.

Some like to roll out or Hyperice in a circle and chat. Some are busy with our trainers and PTs getting prepped for the activity ahead. Some even nap in the Normatecs.

Regardless of who is doing what, being back in a training room and hanging out before going to compete is nostalgic for many of us.

FANS

Being back in front of fans has been the best part of game days, in my opinions.

We have spent so much time practicing alone or against ourselves over the past two years, so it’s super exciting to have fans back in the stands watching and cheering us on.  Hopefully one day, the girls in the stands will be on the field playing and we will be the ones returning the favor and cheering our hearts out from the sidelines.