Me, discouraged.

16 July 2000
Had a hard time getting up this morning, so I didn't have time to shower before heading over to Oakland Ice. I don't know whether the lack of shower or the lack of sleep did it, but boy, was I off. I should have known that things wouldn't go well when my gear didn't even feel right.

I went out onto the ice anyway, despite feeling like I'd gained 20 lbs. overnight and hadn't adjusted to the new weight yet. I started by working on stops, and I can't help thinking that I'm getting worse instead of better. My balance was terrible; I was either turning instead of stopping (weight on my heels), or pitching forward as my skates stuttered along the ice (weight on my toes). The more I practiced, the worse things got, and I eventually managed to do something weird to my sacroiliac. Grrrrrr.

I also worked on backwards skating and backwards crossovers, and while I think I made some progress on the pivots, I wasn't exactly skating under control on the crossovers. I even fell stupidly, with my hands first, thereby endangering my wrists.

The only skill that I seemed mildly successful at was turning, and even there I started doing something dumb (and lazy) with my leg that threw me completely off-balance. Cross over, you nerd! Stop dragging your leg and cross over! I'm thinking that most of my troubles on the ice today were from fatigue, because my hips started aching almost immediately after starting work on turns and crossovers, and my legs felt like lead.

At least, I hope it's just fatigue, and nothing that a nap won't cure. I'm supposed to play pickup at 8:30 tonight, and I want to feel excitement, not dread.

16 July 2000 *Later*
Took a two-hour nap on the couch and woke up just as groggy as when I went to sleep. Even a shower didn't help. Went to watch J & R play in their roller hockey game at 6pm and prayed the whole time that I'd wake up and get psyched for the pickup at 8:30.

It finally happened on the drive down to Redwood City. My eyes are still burning as I write this, but I managed to get up for the game and play hard. I was pretty useless most of the time—messing up passes, losing the puck almost every time it came to me, and checking myself into the boards—but everyone was friendly, and I had a good time. I seemed to get a little more confident as the game progressed, too.

The important thing is that I came off the ice smiling, and I even got some clarification on the off-sides rule in the locker room after the game. (I was confused about when I had to clear the zone after a possession change; it turns out that it's only if the puck crosses the blue line.) On the drive home I think I passed happy and crossed over into punchy, however. As I flew up 101 North through Hillsdale I noticed that the electronic billboard for Bay Meadows racetrack said

PLAN A
PARTY NOW

I thought, "Sounds good to me, but what's Plan B?" I obviously need more sleep. I just have to decide whether to risk smelling up my blankets and pillows by going to bed without a shower...

Me, happy.
(and combatting helmet hair with a Red Sox cap)