Whew. That about sums it up. This past week was a subtle reminder that while my mind and body believe they are young...I am not. On Saturday, I subbed for a friend in her volleyball tournament. On Sunday, I had an all day tournament of my own and this was after playing two matches Wednesday night, and four matches on Thursday. My body is beat, literally. Although I am grateful for the ability to play and to be able to keep on performing at these high levels of competition, this past weekend was a reminder that, no, I am not 18, or 21 or even 25 any more. And while I do take care of my body, the realization that forever playing four nights a week or two long days over the weekend at division one or division two levels of competition is no longer a luxury I can accommodate. My knees ache, my hips and back tight. Even with stretching, training and pills the pain still pursues. Thus, it is my older and wiser mind that resurfaces to remind me I cannot go on forever. I must cut back. At this point in my life, training for the many years I expect to fulfill rather than the big game is more important. I will not be giving up the game, though, but I have realized that I should work to preserve my knees, and joints and body before the hard dives, constant jumping and countless twists cause me to find real injury.
Ah, enlightenment. I know I am a different person than I was ten years ago. At 18, when I dove for the ball and hit my head on the announcers table trying to get the ball back into play I was fine. I shook it off and got back to it. Now, after a day of reflection on the aches I endured last night and slightly today, I realize it is better to take care of my body before I break it. If that wasn't motivation enough...Levi keeps threatening to trade me in because as he put it, "I got a broken one." :)
