Mission Hockey

Having played roller hockey for many years now, I have acquired a lot of hours on my inline hockey skates. Well, after two rink closures this past year, I have had some gaps in my playing time.

Today I reminded myself why the saying goes, "Take it easy your first time back". I went ass over teakettle (I'm fairly confident I used that right) about 5 minutes into my ride. Luckily I had my iPod in my back-pocket to break my fall,grrrrr. I thought about sharing some (semi)-gory pictures with you all, then I remembered how squeamish the diabetes community gets around blood... Ha. This lesson taught me not to skate backwards haphazardly on unfamiliar terrain after a several month skating hiatus or else an ensuing scraped up knee, bruised hip, and bloody palm will leave a painful reminder.

Despite the early spill, skating was a nice break from the worn university classroom seating and from my overused living room chair that keeps me planted for too long some days. The winding, hilly paved trail put some serious blood flow back into my legs. Six miles later, I knew the meaning of winded. I rested, thinking about the insides of my arteries, (I know- weird, right?) and how they might look. Is a micro-thin layer of plaque building up every time a lazy, fast-food filled day comes around? Will they look clean and polished years from now when risk of cardiovascular complications are much higher?

I am thankful that I find such enjoyment in being active. Taking a sunny day hike to the top of a local mountain or dropping in to play a fast-paced game of hockey is helping to keep me healthy and happy. I've tried the gym scene, quickly finding out that signing up for a racquetball court in advance, or waiting my turn for a treadmill was not going to cut it. For best results, I take my exercise with a side of sunshine and camaraderie.