Distracted

Aside from reading about hockey and watching a fair bit, I've done nothing I should be doing this week, other than my skate on Monday night. *hangs head* Feeling very stymied yet doing nothing about it. Obsessive is the only way I know to go about things like this, so to turn off the obsession means turning off my motivation. :\

But today, at the very least, I'll do the exercises my chiro gave me. I also discovered that the Wollman rink is still open in Central Park, so that is much easier to get to and with better hours than Chelsea Piers. If the ice is decent, that'll be my rink for the duration. I've got a date to go Monday with my friend Tory from Seattle, who is going to be on the Today show Monday morning. Can't wait to see her and hear all about her national TV debut.

Meanwhile, I have a huge amount of work to get done today, so I need to quit dreaming about hockey and do it. Though speaking of dreaming, I dreamt about playing goal all night last night. At least it felt like that. That's what I get for reading the Terry Sawchuk biography before bed. So far it's a good read and is getting me ready for the review copy that the publisher of the book of poetry about Sawchuk is sending me. How nice is that? I'm really looking forward to reading that book and posting a review here.

I did finish In The Bin on the plane up. Pretty funny book. Good inside look at what off-ice officials deal with. I have a new appreciation for my buddy who works the opponents penalty box for the Aeros.

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Trade Deadline Day

Wow. Riser. Chris Simon? Really?

I feel a little sick. I'm all kindsa down with enforcers and even the better agitators, but this guy is just f'ing crazy. Code? What code? Blech.

Got my Jesus Saves shirt in the mail today. It's lovely. :)

Skated last night, only for about 30 minutes. Worked on stopping quite a bit. Progress is slow and a little bit discouraging, but I'll get there.

Update: Okay, I've had some time to think about it and I'm okay... maybe even a little excited... about Simon joining the Wild. I'm not even talking about it on the Wild board because so many people are just lousy with righteous indignation, it's disgusting.

From my perspective, yes, the guy has some pretty dirty play in his past. But the two most notable incidents were against guys who are extremely dirty and dishonorable in their own right. Maybe Si went too far with them, but it's not like his shoving sticks up Ovechkin or Crosby's noses. We're talking Hollweg and Ruutu for pete's sake! Major a-holes who deserve pretty much everything they get.

But once you get past that stuff, here's a guy who will do ANYTHING for his team. He's vilified by fans and the media, but it seems his teammates are quite fond of him and have supported him wholeheartedly because they know the shit this guy has done for them on the ice. With all the princesses and pouters we have on the Wild, I find this kind of guy pretty refreshing. I'd sure rather have a beer with one of these tough guys than with Queen Gaborik.

So to those who would Booo him at his first home game with the Wild, I think you need to check yourselves. This guy is on your team now and frankly, if someone's on my team and there's nothing I can do about it, then they're gonna get my support because I don't want any weak links. Here's a guy who plays with, some might say insane passion and we've got probably 10 guys who play with no heart whatsoever half the time. You're gonna boo THAT guy but you're okay with Demo and Gabby pouting about needing a stronger centerman? Give 'em f'ing Princess Pouliot. They can shop for silly euro wardrobes together and pass the puck and slash opponents.

Okay, maybe I'm overstating things a bit, but it's been a frustrating day hoping Riser would come up with a great defenseman or center to help the team. But Simon is who we got and the first time he punches Brad May in the face, you'll see how he's totally worth it.

And now maybe Voros can play hockey and quit getting his ass handed to him in every fight. I respect that he shows up and takes what's coming to him for his marginally agitating style of play, but if you don't ever win, it just kinda takes the wind out of the team.

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Happy knees

Had some goalie fun yesterday. We tried to go to the batting cages so I could work on "seeing" the ball, but they were broken. We played putt putt instead but the courses were SO crappy, it was hardly worth it, other than it was nice to be out in the sunshine for a while.

So then we came home and played with my reaction ball for a while. Started with DH bouncing it at me and me just trying to catch it, but that was boring, so I got my stick and that helped. But then we started talking about the fact that I should work on catching certain shots. So, I got his baseball glove. I still couldn't catch so then we just played catch for a bit so I could get used to it. Putting it all back together at the end, I was pretty happy with my reaction times, though that damn thing just bounced through my 5-hole like I didn't even have legs.

I have trouble catching down low, but it was a good exercise and, as always, pretty fun. AND my knees don't hurt today.

Might skate tonight. Still haven't decided about taking my skates to NY... I think I'd like to. Looks like I'm taking the big bag, so I should have plenty of room for them.

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Brief skate

Well, we dawdled at lunch and only got to skate about 30 minutes today, but man, what a skate! As soon as I stepped on the ice, something was different, even though I haven't skated in nearly two weeks. My balance was better than it's ever been and I felt totally confident almost the instant I stepped on the ice, where normally I have to do a few laps before I feel solid (and sometimes I never feel like I've gotten my ice legs).

It took me a while but I realized it must be due to the pelvic adjustment I got at the chiropracter this week. I had NO idea it would make such an enormous difference, but I'm definitely sold and if I lose that sense of balance again, I'll be going back for another adjustment. I'm hoping by keeping up my yoga and strengthening, I won't need to go much, but at least I know more about how my body works. Very interesting stuff!

Anyway, we worked on one-legged swizzles and stopping, both of which were much easier today, too. It's a Pelvic Miracle! Huzzah!

Coach Stalin and I discussed coming back and playing a bit of driveway hockey, but I decided not to press my luck. However, I did come home and tape my stick. Black on the blade, white on the knob. Somehow putting that knob on just makes it My Stick now. It's so lovely. I'll have to post a picture. :)

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Hockey run down

Lots of stuff going on in the corner of the hockey world that interests me most:

• Syracuse Crunch are apparently out for John Scott-blood due to a "code" violation last time they played. Of course, who knows if Johnny will see any ice time. It's a 50/50 shot these days.
• Apparently Schaefer is hurt bad enough that the Aeros have had to call up goalie Briggs from ECHL team in Idaho as insurance. I thought I saw Brusty limping on Tuesday... Our deep goalie corps ain't so deep anymore. Not good given how we're playing. Trial by fire for these E guys.
• Austin will have an AHL team by 2010. The Iowa Stars are moving to be closer to their parent team. Beyond wondering what will happen to the Aeros, I wonder what that means for the Ice Bats? I haven't heard any mention of that and I don't see Austin supporting two hockey teams sufficiently. I guess the 2010 season is going to be pretty interesting.
• We're already planning for Chucko to come to town on March 17 and 19. I'm going to get a peice of garden hose to take with me so I can have a visual to wave around when I'm calling him a hoser. Be ready Chuckles. Wait, who are you? (That one's for you, Reitzy.)

Not much else going on. Got to show off my new stick to Coach Stalin and Co. yesterday. I think we're gonna try and skate tomorrow afternoon, assuming I can get my "chores" done early enough. Tomorrow will be two weeks since I last did a real skate where I could work on drills and stuff. I miss it.

Got a packet of info from GDI (Goalie Development Institute or something) today in the mail. I really just want my free copy of Goalie News. These guys are way too serious for me, but looking thru their info has certainly stirred my fervor again. Give me a net to mind!!!

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Injury

So, the injury continues and I've done a bunch of nothing, other than yoga a couple of times since my last post. However, I did go see my chiro yesterday and she discovered that my pelvis is way out of alignment. So we did a little lower back cracking and some cold laser therapy on the knees, which definitely feel better today. She also gave me strengthening exercises to do daily. I'm sure the pelvis thing is why my right hip feels so jacked up when I try to do splits.

I still won't do any goaltending probably until I get back from NY. Not even sure how much skating I'll be able to do realistically. Public skates at Chelsea Piers are during the afternoons, and then add 30-45 minutes of travel time each way. Tough proposition when you have a job. Might just focus on healing up while I'm there.

My goalie stick arrived yesterday though and it's lovely. Not too heavy either. Alas, it sits with the foam (but still HARD!) pucks and rolls of tape waiting for me to be able to play again. Woe is me. Still, I've found myself turning around in my desk to admire it a few times a day today. :)

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VD/Friday update

That's Valentines Day. Only REAL puck bunnies require VD updates...

Kinda took the day off from workouts yesterday after doing yoga on Wednesday night. Did do a bunch of stretching during the Wild game, which maybe helped my knees a bit. I dunno. Hard to tell if it was that or the Advil. But they WON in dramatic fashion. Very fun game!

More "offness" today, unless I squeeze a yoga session in this afternoon before we head to the game against the Iowa Stars (MUST WIN!). Then tomorrow, I head to Austin to cheer on my gals in the Austin Half Marathon... blissfully, from the sidelines. I'll miss Sunday's game, but I'll be drinking margaritas and eating chips and queso, so I don't know that I'll be too bothered.

Tonight is my last Aeros game until this time next month.



P.S. I ordered the Jesus Saves t-shirt to appease my tantrum-throwing inner child. That'll get me thru the month.

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SO/KU/SS Wednesday

That's Schaefer Out, Khudobin Up, Scott Suspended...

Aeroes up against the best AHL team in the West tonight. My expectations are looooow.

I dreamed last night that Johnny got called up to the Wild to fill Boogey's enforcer role. Fortunately my dreams do not tend to be prophetic. I think it was because the Wild really needed an enforcer last night against the Oilers, and I was reading The Code before I went to sleep so I had enforcing on the brain.

Gonna try to fit a yoga session in after the game before I head to the airport to pick up DH.

Started this post an hour ago and got sucked into going through an entire thread for Hackva masks on the goalie board. I'm definitely gonna go that way when it's time to buy. I'm amazed that people settle on a design/paint scheme. The ones with big teeth painted on them scare me. I'll probably just get a white one to start. Imagine, if I had all white gear, I'd look like a goalie angel... *choir singing*

Eh, the only other thing is that I bought a bottle of glucosamine chondroitin MSM today to see if that helps my knees not be so angry. Supposed to take a couple of weeks to a month to kick in and notice a difference, if it's gonna work at all. We'll see. Lots of goalies swear by it.

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Twofer Tuesday

Today is one of those marvelous days where I'm home alone and I have a hockey game on the radio and a hockey game on the TV. The only thing better would be if the TV game was in HD, but I'm not complaining.

The Aeros kicked so much butt, I couldn't even keep up with how many pushups I was supposed to do or did. I think I'm one set short, but I'm not gonna sweat it. Hmm, I think I owe a set of crunches, too, for the most recent goal by the Oilers. I'll do those.

Let's see what all went down in the Aeros game (because the Wild are losing... Garon is a damn good goalie):

1. Johnny got into two fights with the same guy. First one, apparently took him down with one punch. Second one, he was messing with Fozzie and Mr. Big Teddy Bear Heart took exception from the bench and gave him a scholarship to the University of John Scott. :) Sounds like he pummeled him for quite a long time. Hopefully his hand is okay. And hopefully someone took video. He's huge and fabulous.
2. The final score was 7-1 after being 0-1 at the end of the first. Talk about coming out swinging. The first three goals came within 3:16 of the start of the second period.
3. Schaefer got hurt pretty badly just about 2 minutes in. Not good. In fact, BAD. But thank the hockey gods, we have Khudobin to call up from Beaumont. Still, you never want your All Star goalie to limp off the ice with the assistance of two other players.
4. Brust, still a bit tender in the groin, filled in and kicked butt. We're so lucky to have such solid goaltending.
5. Fozzie got 4 points on the night (1 goal, 3 assists) and Olvecky got 2 goals, from there it was Clutterbuck, Rosa, Ward, and Irmen... Really? Irmen? Yep. Atta boy.

Exciting game. And makes up for the Wild losing 4-1 (so far). Amazing how the Oilers are up by 3 and still playing like they're down by 3. The announcers are talking about how any time it's gotten physical in this game, the Wild could not hold their own, and if Boogaard isn't coming back anytime soon, they need to get a tough forward on the line. Ayup.

Anyway, the knees are still aching, so I've decided to take it easy on any leg work until the public skate next Monday. There's a post game skate on Friday. I RSVP'd for it but will only skate if I'm having absolutely NO pain in my knees. That ice is gonna be wrecked and bad ice is so much harder on the feet and knees. There's no deadline, so it's okay to take it easy (she tells herself).

I got FIVE hockey books in the mail today. Starting with The Code: The Unwritten Rules of Fighting and Retaliation in the NHL when I hit the sack tonight. Very excited to have lots of good hockey books to read.

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Monday Skate

Coach Stalin took the night off (other than giving me major stink eye for saying that I don't need to learn crossovers because you can't do them in goalie pads anyway.... what? It's true? Bah.) because my knees just weren't going to tolerate a bunch of torque-y moves, but we did go skate for about an hour. Just striding and a little bit of one leg balance stuff. Just a fun skate.

Of course, we got there right as they were cleaning the ice (it was actually decent tonight) and as soon as they reopened the rink, a girl was figure skating in the middle and fell backwards and cracked her head on the ice. I thought she was okay because she moved a bit, but I think she passed out and all the guys skated over and helped her and got her off the ice. She was still there with an ice pack on the back of her head when we left an hour later. Poor thing. It frightened me for sure, so I know she must have been quite shocked. Made me a bit sick to my stomach though. Medical emergencies are not an area in which I excel...

Knees felt okay though. I don't think I harmed them any by doing it, which was my only concern.

Oh, and my friend in Toronto, Bill, provided a link to some pics from the Aeros/Marlies game yesterday. Bill had put in a special request for photos of Cal and John, so there are some really nice ones, but it's SO weird to see John Scott in forward-type stances! Thanks so much Torpedo20 for getting these shots. They made my day!

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Monday

Knees are feeling a bit better today but still tender on stairs or if I turn my leg funny. Wild won yesterday, with Harding playing the shoot out brilliantly. As frustrating as he was for the Aeros sometimes, he's really becoming a stud in the NHL. Good on ya, Hards! And Burnzie on a tear as well. Love that kid and his freaky zoo.

Loving my new Hip music... Ahead by a Century, Fireworks, Wheat Kings, Long Time Running are the early favorites.

Interesting thread on the goalie board I read regarding rituals after being scored on. Granted, I've never played a game and I fully accept that I'm supposed to suck right now so it's easy to let goals go, but I do clear the puck and then think quickly what I could have done differently to have stopped it. A few times I lost my focus when I couldn't figure out how I might have stopped it, but that sort of insight will come with practice. But if I could troubleshoot it right away, I was ready for the next shot.

Did yoga last night to try and give my knees some relief. Not sure it helped specifically, but it didn't hurt and I slept like a baby (and finished my bad hockey book!) Looks like we're skating tonight, though it will be a VERY easy skate. No drills. I think that's good for me mentally, too. I don't ever want it to feel like a "chore" to go skating, so I'm due for a pure fun skate.

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Goalie Knees, Angry Knees

Knees are still quite angry today, though Advil helps but truly only lasts for a few hours. I'm planning to do yoga before bed and hoping that will stretch some things out and relieve some of the tension pulling on my knee caps.

My boys lost today, but it sounds like they played hard. 1-0 in favor of the Marlies. Still watching the Wild game and have magically avoided seeing the score, so I don't know how the even score is going to turn out in the end. I am fond of Manny Legace, so it's nice to get to see him play. Even more, I notice how different Harding looks in goal compared to Backstrom. I knew immediately it was Harding just by watching his movements in relation to play going on behind the net. His movements are so fast and crisp.

Meanwhile, I found some great articles on newbie goaltending. I continue to not be deterred from this goal, and in fact, I feel even more confident that I'm approaching the position with the appropriate respect. The author hadn't skated for 20 years and showed up to play goal at a drop-in session. I can't fathom being so bold, and it appears that's a good thing.

Goaltending 101
Goaltending 102
Goaltending 201

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Bed. Now. Plz.

Well, after much drama with a zamboni malfunction during the first intermission last night, the boys managed to pull off a HUGE win, AND Scotty got another goal! I'm Lovin' It!

Meanwhile, after my day o' slacking, I was ready to work and Coach Stalin was in full bossy mode and even punished me with the Standing With Knees Bent game. Boooo! I really just need to get her a shirt that says "Bend Your Knees" on the front and back.

Anyway, we worked on balance and swizzles and stopping again. I have to say, I love love love the ice at SLICE. It's so clean and smooth and just the right hardness. I don't get tired so easily, my feet don't hurt, and I feel so much more confident. Good ice is a beautiful thing.

Then we came home and played driveway hockey. Well, Coach shot a chuck-a-puck and then a tennis ball at me and my new goal (which worked nicely, in spite of being a soccer goal, and only cost $25 at Academy). It was a blast but my right knee is very angry. Tomorrow will be yoga only, to try and undo some of this abuse I've done to myself.

Needless to say, between an hour+ of skating and an hour+ of playing goal, I am falling over tired tonight. I think it's Vitamin I and bed for me as soon as my ice pack gets cold again.

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Slacker Friday

*gasp* No workout today! Total rest day! Haven't had one of those in a while!

However, I did buy a Tragically Hip album (Yer Favourites), so that's sort of Canada/hockey related, right? :)

Today's Aeros Audio Thanks Shave.

The boys play tonight, though I don't know how much I'll get to listen to. Fortunately some of the "unknown" time is going to be spent in the car, so I'll get a taste one way or another.

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Hockey Any Time

Great post on the NYT hockey blog this morning.

http://slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/08/poetry-corner/

I love when sport inspires art or poetry, which I guess goes back to my attraction to deep contrasts. Which reminds me... the Ducks are doing a "win Giggy's loft" thing and they showed all around the inside of his condo. And he's got this HUGE, fabulous painting of a goalie on one wall. I want that! :) Oh, look! How did we live before YouTube?

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More on today's workout

First, yoga today and boy do I feel better for it. Knees aren't clicking anymore, hips don't hurt, very nice. Unfortunately the Wild lost and I didn't even get a good ab workout out of it because it was only 1-0. So much for Smitty sucking. He sure as hell put the lid on us. At least Voros won his fight and didn't have to hump anyone to do it.

Second, somehow there were THREE fights in the Rangers/Ducks game and nobody managed to punch Brad May in the face. I want for very little in this life, but one thing I want is for Brad May to be punched in the face as often as possible. And yet, I rarely get it. I'll have to go back to old footage to get my fix.


ETA: One more thing... I ordered my first goalie gear today! Got some ITECH goalie knee pads (that I can wear under my leg pads when I get to that point, but will hopefully protect me when I'm playing drive-way goalie in the mean time), and a stick and stick tape, plus a few extra foam pucks. Won't be here until late Feb but I'm still just over the moon about having a stick of my very own.

Beauty, eh?

Now we just need a net. There's a 6x4 soccer goal at Academy that I might pick up (it's less than $25) even though the holes in the netting will let the puck right through... no biggie. But I'm going to check Sports Authority to see if maybe they have something more specific to roller/street hockey. This being Houston, I'm not holding my breath, but I have to try.

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Oops!

I forgot, in my Scotty Got a Goal excitement, to report my skating workout (other than it was hard).

We worked on stopping (one leg snowplow) a bunch. It's getting there but I still have a bit to go before I get it down. Then we worked on one-leg swizzles (where one leg stays neutral and the other does the swizzle... those are HARD, especially for my dumb leg... yeah, that's you lefty!!) And then we worked on one leg skating, with the other foot up. I can't do it for more than a couple of seconds. We worked on that late in the session though, and I was starting to lose control of my edges by then. I need to work on that first thing sometime.

I did okay, but my lower back was KILLING me most of the time. Definitely need to get more serious about my ab work.

Anyway, I'm sort of aching all over today, so it's just going to be a yoga day. Though since the Wild are playing tonight, I may do a similar deal as Tuesday where, instead, I do crunches for goals. I'll need to figure out how to work that. Definitely NO leg work today though, other than what's in my yoga video.

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Sweeet! Scotty Gets a Goal!

I missed listening to tonight's Aeros game to go get a skating lesson from Coach Stalin (who was in full Stalin form tonight and I think I used some 4-letter words at her as thanks... sorry about that, coach). But we left just in time to catch the post-game recap on the radio and pretty much flipped our shit when Shaver said that Big John Scott got his first goal of the season, and further, that he was playing forward due to some injuries and players out.

I could go on and on about what a tough season he's had, sat out the last 3 games, etc. but needless to say, I'm thinking he needed this goal tonight. I'm just tickled pink for him.

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Seven Years: Rangers v. Bruins

Our wedding anniversary is coming up on March 10 and I'll be visiting DH in NYC during that time. There are lots of fabulous restaurants and romantic things you can do in NY, but honestly, I don't think either of us gets terribly excited to dress up and spend $150 on a meal or take a stinky horse ride through Central Park. Nothing wrong with it but why not do something we really WANT to do, but on a normal day, might not want to spend the money on?

So, I told DH I wanted to go to the Rangers v. Bruins game on March 9. :) Of course, the cost of NHL tickets is choke-worthy, especially in Manhattan, so it would pretty much have to be a special occasion. I searched and searched and found some good seats on the 200 level (section 209) on the goal line of the Ranger's attack zone. I figure we can see all the ice pretty well from here and are down low enough to actually see the puck and who the players are, plus I'll be able to watch the goalies on that end, which is obviously one of my favorite things to do at a hockey game!

I'm not sure who I'll go for. I know more than usual about the Rangers since Coach Stalin is a huge fan, but I'm really excited to see Chara play. I need to catch a few Bruins games on CI before then. I hardly ever watch any East Coast teams play since the Wild are in the West, so I know next to nothing about them.

Anyway, I'm very excited to get to go. Our anniversaries spent in the Hill Country have been wonderful, but this is a real treat, too.

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Bargaining

Did a bunch of standing squats and lunges, a bit of plyo jumps over a rolled up blanket (really need to get my feet up) and skipping, lots of stretching and splits work, and a few crunches. I managed a dripping sweat but I don't feel like I'm working nearly hard enough to say I "worked out" and I just felt unfocused.

Soooo, I've made a deal with myself since I'm listening to the Aeros game and watching a Wild game at the same time tonight (or I'll be trying to anyway):

I'm doing 10 pushups for every Wild and Aeros goal and 3 sets of stairs for every Wings and Ice Hogs goal. That'll teach me to slack off!

Defense! Defense! Defense!

ETA: Well, between the 3-2 (f'ing Red Wings) game and the 3-1 win for the Aeros, I did 4 x 3 sets of stairs and 50 pushups. Not too bad when the alternative was to sit on my butt and drink a beer. :)

Sounds like the Aeros played rather undisciplined (lots of penalties and two 5 on 3 instances they got themselves into), yet won against a pretty good team. And the Wild played VERY well (I'd wager they played better than the Wings for 90% of the game) but couldn't pull out the win. I guess it was good to at least get a point though.

Go Stars.

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Hockey Books

I asked the (usually) nice folks over at the Wild message board to give me their favorite hockey book recommendations and got a great response. My Wish List overfloweth...

Anyway, several of them are out of print and only available used, so I decided to go ahead and snag those, plus a few of the newer ones, and then a pre-order. Here's what I got:

• Sawchuk: The Troubles and Triumphs of the World's Greatest Goalie by David Dupuis which I got in anticipation of the book I pre-ordered: Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems by Randall Maggs, which is an entire book of poetry about Terry Sawchuk and goaltending. Click the link and read the sample from it. Really excited about that.
• In the Bin: Reckless and Rude Stories from the Penalty Boxes of the NHL by Lloyd Freeberg
• The Code: The Unwritten Rules Of Fighting And Retaliation In The NHL by Ross Bernstein
• The Hammer: Confessions of a Hockey Enforcer by Dave Schultz
• Enforcer: With a Foreword by Link Gaetz by Valerie J. Wood

And there are still 9 more books on my Amazon wish list that I want to read and one that is only available (at a reasonable price) in Canada. But they're all in print, so I'm not as anxious to make sure I get them. I'll be sure to review all of these here as I get thru them.

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Door Minder

So, the goal was the bottom 4 feet of of our french doors, the puck was foam rubber (think chuck-a-puck), the "ice" was hardwoods for me and an area rug for my shooter, my stick was a wrong-handed skater's stick, and my skates were socks, but I played goalie to Coach Stalin's shooting practice today. And it was FUUUN!

Of course, it doesn't hurt to get hit with a foam rubber puck, but the thrill I felt getting hit by it gave me a taste for why goalies put up with the stingers and various other abuses. Making the save feels really really good, so I think it negates some of the pain of the puck hitting you. I may eat these words when a real puck hits me, but that ain't gonna happen without full protective gear on and I'm way off from that date.

However, I do see I need to get a proper goalie stick and some knee pads so I can practice going down (oh, behave!) She got a lot of pucks thru my 5-hole (BEHAVE!), and down low on my glove side. Definitely see the huge need for explosive side to side movement.

Anyway, it was fun and a LOT of work. I was sweating buckets in just 30 minutes or so of play. And Coach goes after her rebounds, even in living room hockey, so that was an added battle I wasn't expecting. :) It was seriously fun.

In other news, Aeros won last night. Finally! It could have gone either way, but it went ours, so I was happy. Here's to getting their groove back on the upcoming road trip.

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Catching up

So, I did make it to the rink on Friday and got a good skate in. Well, sorta good. I had a lot of trouble establishing my balance and controlling my edges. Only felt like I got in a rhythm a few times; the rest felt shaky and awkward. But I did a LOT of swizzles and feel really good that I have that one down pretty well. Stopping isn't coming along very well, but I know I'll get there with more practice. I was tired and sweaty when I finished, so at the very least, I got a good workout. I guess they can't all be mind-blowing. :)

Went to spinning this morning and it just wasn't great. Underhydrated, tired, tired legs, went out too strong on the second song (Animals by Nickelback, which is my Clutterbuck song and one of my favorites right now) and just kinda shot my wad too early. Oh well. Onward!

Had fun at the Aeros game last night in spite of an overtime loss. Lots of folks seem to think they played badly but I didn't leave angry like I have the prior 4 games, so I'll take that and run. Part of that was razzing the Quad City player, Kris Chucko. I mean, you HAVE to razz that name, and the fact that he's sort of a nasty player anyway... I don't feel bad. Sadly, he won his fight. Cal won the other one though, so that was cool. He's a keeper, that Clutterbuck.

Okay, off to the game!

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