Getting back on track (or trying to)
Today is one of the sorest days my body has had in a very a long time. It hurts to laugh, I’m having trouble raising my arms above my head, and my legs feel like jello. As much as the pain is, though, I have to say… I miss feeling sore! For once I feel like I’m making progress, and it’s been awhile!
It’s been a frustrating battle the past few months, trying to get back into the exercise swing of things. As I summarized in this post, I’ve been going through a cycle of sickness and injury. It actually continued a bit longer, as I managed to turn my ankle (the same ankle, of course) again, although the second time around wasn’t as bad as the first. That was about two weeks ago, and I decided that I was going to stop running altogether, at least for awhile. Instead, I’ve been going to the gym for low-impact cardio and doing some push-ups and crunches at home. A few days I went out to Clark field to do some track work - i.e. running some 400s not-very-fast, and as often as I remembered I tried to do strengthening exercises for my feet and ankles. I’ve been very careful, because I really didn’t want to injure myself again.
This past weekend was jam-packed (for me). I was originally going to have a typical weekend - sleep a lot, rest in front of the TV, and maybe go to the gym. Instead, I went climbing for the first time in over a year on Saturday - very much an impromptu trip - and then played ultimate all the way to finals in the Spring League tournament on Sunday - first time playing that much since Winter League. And… I survived! At least for the most part. :)
Climbing was fun! We were originally going to go outdoors at Reimer’s, but it poured down rain on us out there and we had to bow out. That was too bad, although it did add to the adventurous fun. A few of us went to an indoor gym to get some climbing in. I wouldn’t call myself a climber - I’d only climbed a few times in my life over a year ago - but it’s definitely a lot of fun, even when you can only attempt to climb a few routes before your arms going to jello. Of course, my arms are super weak, and I know if I started going more regularly it would get better. So I’m going to try. :)
Ultimate was an iffy decision for me, because sprinting back and forth in cleats usually increases probability of injury, especially ankle-turning. It was kind of like a trial to see if I was on my way back to normalcy - if I made it through the tourney without destroying myself, then I could consider starting to run and play ultimate again. Of course, it made me realize how much fun ultimate was - I can’t believe I almost forgot - and that makes me motivated to keep it going (but carefully). I’m going to try to hit up some pick up games in the next couple of weeks, and then we’ll see. I’m already signed up to play in TBUF, a beach tourney - at the end of the month, so gotta be ready by then - don’t want to let my teammates down!
All in all, I’m just hoping I can get back into the swing of things. I’m incredibly out of shape, and I need it!