Vacations are always the death of my fitness level. Earlier this month, it proved itself true yet again after some fun and sun on the North Carolina coast. A good amount of beach time mixed with some really amazing food and drinks and I've fallen off the wagon. I know this because before heading off for vacation I sat at a comfortable 184 and came back to a 'healthy' 190. It's not a terrible number to be sure, but definitely not the number I was hoping to see upon return!
I decided to kill off some of that heft and get back at it, I would dive head first into some pick up at Kettler last Thursday. 'Fortunately' only 3 other Skaters and a Goalie showed and I got all the ice time I could have ever hoped for, possible a few shifts too many (see: All of them!). Playing 2 on 2 with a group of guys that I've seen playing a lot and far better than myself really isn't good for gauging your experience level. I found myself chasing almost immediately. It wound up being an extremely hard skate with a pace I just couldn't keep up with, but I wouldn't have traded it for anything. By the midway point of our ice time, my body was giving me some wonderful cold sweats and having a hard time keeping my skates under me in a few situations with just the lightest contact. I attribute most all of this to the time off leading up to and including my vacation. It was a really great skate with a good group of guys willing to put up with a skater nowhere near par for the sign up sheet. I was rewarded at one point with a goal for playing the front of the net. Picking up a rebound and throwing it home, I quickly remarked an adage I've heard many times this past season 'Go to the net and good things happen'.
It's always a fun couple of days after a hard skate. My body finds things that have never ached before and cramps them up for a few minutes or an hour and then moves on to a completely unrelated area of my body to do more of the same. It's an interesting battle but one I hope will go away in time.
Here's to another good day on the ice tomorrow, hope to see you there!
