Saturday (a/k/a Ow!)

So Saturday morning, I was running late - slept through my alarm clock, and woke up 10 minutes before I needed to leave home to head to Streb - and still needing to shower, walk Fiji, and have coffee (oh, yeah. Coffee is critical!) Then I get back from walking the dog, leave, and realize that I forgot the camera (Leah and I had said that we'd film each other), and then when I went back to get it, left my tights and shirt at home! Not a good start to the day, and a harbinger of what was to come.

So I get to Streb, and do my thing - swing a few times, up and down, then mod.

Here's a demo:


When it was time to catch (Manny in the trap), as I was coming back towards the board to get into the uprise, I feel shooting pain under my shoulder blade. Ouch! (And I really try not to complain, usually) That was it, I was out for catches, and really, really pissed, since I wanted to work the mod timing with M, and have it become a consistent trick!

So you'd think I'd quit then. After all, that would be the smart thing to do. Instead, I took some arnica, applied some heat, and decided to stick around for the second class. Worked on the mod some more, (not half-bad considering that they hurt!) and threw (non-catchable) mods to catch. Completely unlike myself, I was relieved when it was over.

On the plus side, I got to see Jean catch her wonderfully lofty forward over, and Leah work on the cutaway.

So, I figure, if I'm going to hurt, let there be a lesson, or two out of the pain. Here they are:

1. Stretch! It's getting cold out. That means muscles aren't as loose as they are in the summer. While stretching is always important, it's all the more so when their natural tendency is to tighten. So stretch!! Before class, between turns, etc. Keep those muscles warm! I've seen a bunch of muscle injuries this week, not just mine, and have the feeling that a bit of warming up and stretching before hand would have gone a long way toward prevention. Usually we're all racing in seconds before class starts. It's a good idea to get there early to properly loosen those muscles. (That also includes starting off with a warm up swing instead of going all out first time up)

2. If it hurts, stop. There's no glory in staying for a second class (or even the rest of the first) if you have to lay down between turns since it hurts too much to sit up. I'm probably one of very few lunatics out there who keeps going after getting hurt. Sure, I was able to fly through it, but it definitely wasn't fun, and I'll need every one of the days off for Thanksgiving to recover.

3. Sleep is a good thing - it helps the body heal faster. And with that thought, I'm off to bed.

(Thank you, Leah, for the vid footage!)

4. And a follow-up. No fear to fly after getting hurt. Strange. All this time, I've been psyching myself out by being afraid... of what? Some vague unknown scary thing. When I was actually hurt, I knew what to do - how to check myself on the low bar, take an assessment swing, stay in lines for everything, etc., to keep myself safe and avoid further injury.