Tuesday, October 29, 2013

on the opposite side of 40 now

so far so good.  Hopefully I will be able to play derby on this side of it!

MRI is scheduled for Saturday early afternoon.  Didn't realize they did 'em on Saturdays.  Good to know.  There's been no real change in it; just random periods of pain when walking.   Glad I ordered those recaps for my kneepads!

Friday, October 25, 2013

going to cry silently in the corner now

MRI will be scheduled as soon as insurance hoops are jumped through

it can take about a week to get the results (witness January 2012)

that will put me at 11/4 for earliest knowing anything

figure whatever happens will require at least 4 weeks of no skating PT, which takes me to 12/4

last bout of the home season is 12/14

so I've put in for a LOA until the beginning of the year.

see title of this post

***sigh***

So I went to scrimmage last night - it went pretty well.  I know I wasn't where I was before, ability-wise, but my coach said I did well on blocking and how she "always wanted me out there", which was nice.  Because it was Thursday, I had to leave after only half an hour of scrimmaging.  Drove home with no problems (manual transmission, don't'cha know)

I got home and my knee was so bad I thought it would buckle out from underneath me if I put any sort of weight on it at all.  I had to drag my leg behind me when walking from the sofa to the freezer to get an ice pack. 

This morning, it was essentially fine.  Just a slight ache. 

So, I have a call into the ortho guy.   My guess is that I'll have to take at least another two weeks off (since he said it would probably take 4-6 weeks to recover, and this would be week 3), which means I would be out for the November bout.  Tryouts for the travel teams start in two weeks, so I'd be out for that.  But then it becomes a question of - is this something that will bother me for the rest of my life?  Should I take travel season off too?  But can I be on the Board of Directors if I'm off-skates?  I don't WANT to take that much time off skates.  Would becoming a referee reduce the stress on my knee?  Do I want to become a referee?  I'm frustrated, and can't decide what to do.  I'm in a holding pattern until I hear back from the ortho guy (who already called, but I missed his call 'cause I was talking with my boss). 

stupid parkour.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

I'm gonna do this, REALLY I AM

so I was looking at the class schedule for the fitness place I signed up for.  There are a few that look interesting ("Core Challenge", "HardCore", a few higher intesity water aerobic classes) but the schedule for the classes is changing at the beginning of November, and if I were to do this I'd need to rejigger my work hours, so I'm going to wait a bit.  Maybe go in and just do normal individual stuff (though I have determined that I am probably more likely to do stuff if there are a bunch of people around me dedicated to doing the exact same thing).

I do get a free personal training session, so maybe I'll use that and be like TEACH ME HOW TO USE THESE MACHINES AND FIND A WEIGHT FOR ME TO START WITH.

Yes, I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW I did this before a few years ago and it just turned into a magical money disappearing thing.  This time it's only for three months which I already paid for at $12 a month.  So it's not THAT bad. 

In theory, at least.  Watch me break my leg on a bicycle or something. :P

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

you're the update, you're the update, you're the update boy or girl

so yesterday my knee was sort of at about a 1-2 pain level.  It was HAY I'M HERE AND I'M YOUR KNEE AREN'T YOU LUCKLY.  So, I took some Advil before practice.

It was fine for the first 1:45 of our two hour practice, and only at the end did it start to ache.  Yay!!!!!!!

It was really really really nice being back on the track.  I could tell my endurance was down - at one point during a drill I got sent out of bounds and I was like "Okay, I'm just going to stand here out of bounds for a second before I go back in."  I also left the inside line waaaay open during a jam or two during the scrimmage part.  My coach said I looked great out there, so that's something.

My heart rate monitor went batshit insane.  My average heart rate was 161 (for my age, 90% max is 162).  My maximum was 192.  For my "zone" limits (118-154), I only spent about 35 minutes in that range, as opposed to the 1:49 duration of my exercising.  Whee?

Finally, I just (as in, about half an hour ago) did a 3 month fitness membership on Groupon for a place not too far from my work for $36 total.  Figure in theory I can go there after work and spend some time.  In theory, of course.

Monday, October 21, 2013

so

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday of last week, my knee was totally fine and awesome and normal and whatever.

Saturday it was so bad I could barely walk.

WHAT IS THIS I DON'T EVEN.

It's okay now, but I'm kinda leery about tonight.  We'll see.

I went to Sunday practice yesterday (I carpooled with someone).  It was drippy and sweat-laden and my heartrate monitor I bought was like WTF ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME QUEENIE and I took a 4 hour nap afterwards, but I WENT AND I DID IT.

Yay me.


Thursday, October 17, 2013

I've got no motivation, where is my motivation

Knee is still good.  I am resisting the temptation to put on my skates tonight.  MUST NOT SKATE.  MUST DO PT AND NOT RISK THINGS.

Sunday morning practices, the bane of my existence, is getting worse.  Not only is it now going to be at an actual gym (so there's no on-skates part), it's further away from my house AND starting half an hour earlier.  But I *have* to do it.  Not only for attendance, but I need to get back to where I was before, fitness-wise. Except it seems like EVERY SINGLE TIME I try to do something fitness-related outside of derby, I injure myself.  The times I've tried going jogging, I screw up my ankle.  Parkour, I screw up my knee.  It's frustrating.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

huh?

PT GUY: I like working with you athletic people.
ME (in my head): Wait.  I'm "athletic"?

Anyway, knock on wood, my knee's been feeling pretty good the last day or so.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Q: Will I ever learn? A: No.

ORTHO GUY: don't do anything that will make your knee hurt.

PT GUY: Take the week off skates.

ME: Oh, I'll skate, I just won't do any contact stuff.  (skates 3 laps)  Ow.  Ow. Ow. Fuck.

so yeah, lesson learned. 

Monday, October 14, 2013

so things continue apace

Our first half-hour bout on Saturday did not start well - at one point we were behind 22-1.  But we kept chugging along and chugging along until we got to the last jam, less than a minute to go, and we were behind, 63-54. 

(I, of course, was watching from right outside of the box office, screaming at the top of my lungs.)

Our jammer got lead, and our blockers held their jammer back, and back, and back.  Scoring pass - 5 points.  Other jammer breaks the pack.  They're both exhausted, you can see it in their skating.  Other jammer is about 1/2 the track behind our jammer.  Second scoring pass - 4 points and she calls it.

It's a tie.  Everyone is freaking the hell out. 

Everyone lines up for the overtime jam.  Points are scored on the initial pass.  No lead jammer, it goes for two minutes.

And....go!

Our jammer scores points.  Their jammer scores points.  Our jammer scores points.  Their jammer scores points.  Two minutes pass.  The scoreboard reads 79-78, our team on top.

Finally, FINALLY the officials blow the whistle and the bout is over and WE WON YAAAAAAAAAAY.

(we won the second bout handily.) :)

In other news, I had my PT session today.  I went to a place that's right around the corner from my house that looked like it was last remodeled back in the early 80's, in a "Basement" style. The guy was really nice, though; he did ultrasound stuff on my knee and said it looked like it was healing nicely and I should just take one more week off and then I should be good to go.  Yay!


Friday, October 11, 2013

have I mentioned that getting old sucks?

my knee needs to make up its mind on if it's going to hurt or not.  Yesterday I walked around most of the day and around Maverick's school (it was Open House night) with no problems at all.  Today (in the same shoes I wore yesterday), it's step - ow - step - ow.

And then last night I was getting these weird random sharp super-painful pains in my left hip.  I consider myself pretty resistant to pain, but I was yelling (and woke up my husband) when it would happen.

So yeah, getting old sucks.  Turning forty in 16 days.  Whee?

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa de daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

so I went to the ortho guy yesterday about my knee.  he thinks it's just a slight strain of the meniscus.  He said "take inflammatories, don't do anything that makes it hurt, here's a prescription for 4-6 weeks PT, you'll be fine."

So I think I'm going to take a few weeks off from parkour.  I think my setup is that I bought a specific number of classes, and can just take them later.  I MUST SKATE IN NOVEMBER'S BOUT. 

Monday, October 7, 2013

argh

my left knee is bugging me.  It started after parkour.  It only hurts when I walk.  Sitting, flexing, squatting, full weight is perfectly fine and dandy, but I walk and it's a pain on the inside of my leg.

Man, if I could cut my knees out and glue in cyberknees, I would BE FIRST IN LINE.  They crunch worse than Rice Krispies.

At any rate, I have an appointment with the ortho guy tomorrow (same guy I went to back in January 2012).  I really hope it's not a "you need to rest for six weeks" deal because I will be like HEY I JUST RESTED FOR SIX WEEKS GODDAMMIT I AM TIRED OF RESTING.

Friday, October 4, 2013

onward and upward continued

Last night was scrimmage, but I didn't skate.  The B team is getting together for one last-minute bout this weekend, and the first half of the night was exclusively for those who were gonna be going.  Since I'm not going, I didn't skate, and I can only go for half the practice time on Thursdays, so I wouldn't have skated anyway.  Plus, I had a little bit of twinging in my left knee that I didn't want to exacerbate.

But, I went anyway.  Our Safety Czar for the league was starting to do baseline testing for concussions and I wanted to get that done ASAP.  Basically, we had to read a bunch of numbers on a card in a certain order and whatnot, and there was a section where there was, say, the word "red" in blue ink and you had to say the color of the word rather than the word itself (the red ink on whatever printer had been used was running low, so I was like "blue....purple....streaky red....yellow....streaky orange") and then repeat lists of words and numbers given to us.

From where I was standing, I could see my times on the timekeeper's spreadsheet, as well as those of the people who took the test before me, and I actually got upset/annoyed that on the color/word test, I got a slow time.  Competitive much?  Sheesh.

I was elected as Lead WFTDA Rep, so this will be the my third (non-consecutive) term on the league's Board of Directors (this upcoming term will be the 6th term). 

In non-derby but still fitness-related news, I bought a pair of parkour shoes (these ones, which are the same kind my instructor has).  I thought they'd be insanely expensive, but $16 SIGN ME UP.  If they work well, I'll get a pair for Maverick.  I know he wants to go on with it after the lessons I bought are over.

I have to exercise today.  That whole 7 minute workout thing seems to work for me - it's long enough that I actually feel like I accomplished something, but it's only 7 minutes long. 

Completely non-derby related

I just wanted to show off my nails - for the first time in about 15-16 years they are relatively nice-looking - 

Thursday, October 3, 2013

in other news

So I've been to three parkour classes so far. I can balance just fine and dandy on one skate, but put me on a 3" beam and I'm WHOA WHOA WHOA ARM FLAILING and fall.  But it's so much fun. 

My nemesis the last few practices has been the safety vault. Yeah, it's the easiest vault to do.  I'd get up to the block and have the worst time getting over it.  Last night I was annoyed and frustrated with about a million different things so I was like GOD DAMMIT I AM GOING TO GET OVER THIS THING and I went up to it and channeled all my rage/annoyance/frustration on getting my foot up (our block is about 4' tall) and I DID IT.  (I had to use two hands, but I DID IT.)

Maverick is loving his class too.  

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

I SKATED I SKATED I SKATED I SKATED I SKATED I SKATED

Sunday - I figured three days wasn't going to make that much of a difference, and it was the first night of Boot Camp and the coach of that needed help, so I went and I SKATED I SKATED I SKATED!

I've lost endurance, and I started getting a blister but IT WAS SO NICE TO SKATE.  OMG IT WAS WONDERFUL.

The league's rule is that when you return from a Leave of Absence, the coach of Boot Camp and New Skaters has to make sure you're not a danger on the track before you can skate in your home team practices.  Fortunately, that coach is also a teammate, so when I showed up at practice last night I was like "hey, I know you were busy last night watching the new folks, but I didn't look like I was a risk, did I?" and she said "no, I'll let the Head of the Coaches Committee know I've cleared you back to home practices."

YAAAAAAY!

I'm still no contact; planning on waiting another two weeks.  (That puts me right after the October bout and will allow me to make attendance for November.)

But I got to skate!  With my team!  It was wonderful!  Yay! 

And I do have to admit, I feel more motivated to do stuff outside of practice - I have to make up a lot of ground to get back to where I was.

ONWARD AND UPWARD!