Slapshots' football comeback has its first chapter completed.
Of course, like everything in life, there's good news and bad news.
Good news:
I played football two sundays ago, and had a great game, including a sack on D and a couple decent plays on offense. My wind was good, and I had just as much speed as anyone on the field, despite spotting 10 to 15 years in age to many of the participants.
Bad news:
I got my sack on the last play of the first half, and heard a "pop" in my right ankle. I knew I rolled it, but during halftime, I took off my cleat and the swelling seemed minimal. So, I played the whole second half. After the hour ride home, I looked in horror at my ankle and realized it had swelled up to the size of a plum
The net result, after a set of x-rays at the ortho the following week, was a very bad sprain. Though I could put full weight on it from the beginning, the swelling has been pretty bad, and only in the last couple of days has it started to subside. I'm going to try and play in 2 weeks. I've been rehabbing it every day.
Further notes: Well, I now have a personal trainer...full time. Once a week, I'm going for personal training.
My body, after a lifetime of lifting, has become very strong, but very limited. As long as the movements are rigid and defined, I don't have serious risk of injury....but now, as I endeavor to enter the sporting world, I need to be able to move my body in unorthodox ways...a/k/a in ways befitting a football player.
My trainer summed it up best...I'm 38 years old. I have the body of a 20 year old, but I have the lateral ability of...well...a 40-year old. I've spent the better part of 15 years ignoring "athleticism", and I need to work on getting that back, and I need the help of a trainer to do it. I simply don't have the knowledge set to train myself in the art of athletics.
He and I have worked out a very simple plan...train me like you would train an up-and-coming high school or college football player, build up all those peripheral muscles that I've ignored for so long, and increase my stamina. Of course, there are limitations. With a wife, son, and career, I can't devote my entire life to this, but certainly can devote a majority of my gym time to it. I have no doubt I can maintain most of my strength , and lose very little in the way of aesthetics as long as my diet stays consistent, which it has for the better part of the last 2 years. No worries there.
So, that's where I'm at. In fact, I go for training today. Last week, he spent an hour showing me how to rehab my ankle, and I've been doing it religiously every day since. Today, who knows what will be in store, but my guess is we're going to work a little bit harder.
Slapz
