I stretched out, and made conversation with the other players as they entered. I saw a couple familiar faces, but most were new.

When I stepped on the ice, I felt surprisingly comfortable, but this relief lasted only a couple minutes. I glided around a bit, and then sped up to work on my crossovers. One side was easy, the other was shockingly difficult. I used to be able to skate fluidly. I went backwards, and was surprised at how stiff I was. So much for being able to do quick backwards maneuvers!

I knew my stick-handling would leave something to be desired. I wasn’t good at holding on to the puck and shooting before, I knew I’d be lousy now. I surprised myself by sprinting around the rink quickly without losing the puck, then slamming it high into the boards. Wow, I lifted the puck on my first try?

The drills made me blush. I couldn’t stop on my weak foot (well, I could, but not on a dime.) I was having trouble passing. And I never got a goal during our shooting drills (nor did I lift the puck in that context.) I loved the “horseshoe drill” where you skate up to the blue line, take a pass from someone in the opposing corner, and shoot on goal. I can always catch those passes since they are light, easy, and unopposed. And I get the shot on goal each time, though the goalie is always ready! Still, it is a fluid drill.

But it is the drills that make me uncomfortable that are those which I must do more frequently, alas. I wish I could just rent out a rink and bring a couple friends with me to practice the super simple passes and shots. Over and over and over again, not in front of other people!

I left after an hour of drills. They were going to have a scrimmage, but two things kept me from participating: 1) I knew I was going to be hurting in the morning and didn’t want to push my luck further and 2) I had expected practice to end at 3pm, and it was already 3:30pm and I wanted to get to the BBQ in case Husband needed me.

Sure enough, the muscles protested loudly. I could barely walk at the BBQ, and attempting to push Spliggle’s stroller over the grass was a Herculean effort. My hand shook involuntarily as I ate my dinner. Driving home, I was afraid my leg would stiffen up at an inopportune time (such as when needing to use the brakes.)

Today, two days later, I am still sore. I am not walking straight, and my back is stuck funny. I have enjoyed warm baths. Today I am going to work out on the exercise bike to “loosen up” a bit.

We will see how it goes. The schedule isn’t out, so I don’t know when I will next have an opportunity to skate, but I hope it is relatively soon so that I can get into the groove instead of having a series of really sore muscle days.