A Wonderful Feeling

I've written before about older athletes.  About what Dara Torres wrote about training as an athlete ages.  My relative quietness on the blog recently has largely been the result of having to work through the injuries that cut last season short, the hospital in December, and a blood pressure problem this spring.  So, it was with some trepidation as much as with anticipation that I finally took the field Tuesday with my Rochester Speed Skating teammates (and some Roller Derby colleagues) for dryland.

 Now, I am not an accomplished athlete, and probably never will be, and I'm fine with that.  The gifts God gave to me are different than the balance and coordination of a natural athlete.  Competitive sport, for me is mainly about the friendship, fun, health, being part of a team,  and setting goals that are just a little beyond what was possible the season before.  I also know that in every practice, and in every meet, I get a lesson of some sort, to use and to build upon.  For all that, after several months, it was daunting to think of trying again.  To think of reinjury.  Or of embarrassment at failure, or of being too far behind.  Of being 60 this time.

It turns out that there was nothing to fear.  My teammates were, as they have been from the start been welcoming and supportive.  Our coach's admonition to adjust your training to your condition is the same in execution as it is in theory.  I've got a long way to go, but the reality is that my carcass worked better than I'd expected, on the first day back.  And twenty-four hours later, there is the stiffness that is normal to getting back into it, but none of the injury-type pain I'd feared.  Having made a new beginning just feels really, really good.  Lactic acid and a little tenderness in the usual places never felt so good!