Monday, June 21, 2010

Vacation Weight, Cold Sweats, Aches and Pains


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!