it sucks getting old!

Some things get better with age.  Wine.  A good cheddar.  My perception of my athletic skills. ;-)
But lets face it, there many things about aging that just suck.  Not the least of which is how my body feels after a sporting event.

When I was a sophomore in college our team traveled to play in an invitational tournament at Santa Clara University.  We were all pumped to be going.  Sunny Cali weather, a few days off school & a great opportunity for us to test ourselves. 



glory days

The tournament spanned a couple of days, and I mean, all day.  We got up, ate, went to the stadium, played, ate, played more, ate, went to bed. Got up the next morning, repeated the whole thing.  We did well, taking second place & feeling good about our efforts.  We got on a plane headed home that night.  Now keep in mind, I was just the goal keeper so my level of exertion was somewhat less than that of my teammates, but we had all worked hard.  That didn't keep any of us from getting up the next morning and hitting the gym.

Fast forward 5 years and I'm living in Boston.  Unable to find a soccer team that fit into my schedule, I opted for Ultimate Frisbee. (For you poor unfortunate souls that don't know what that is, check it out here: www.whatisultimate.com)

Nathan and I played together on a co-ed team that we loved.  It was a great time and a great workout! (Especially since there were no goal keepers & I actually had to run my butt off)




photo credit: flickriver.com

We played weekly games and at the end of the season, a weekend tournament.  We played two games each day and it was intense.  Still, I remember waking up on Monday feeling good and making plans to go to the gym that night.

Fast forward 10 years.  The closest I get to playing soccer anymore is coaching my daughters AYSO team (fulfilling, yes; but not the same!)  In fact the most competition I get these days is battling my kids at bed time.

But this spring/summer I had been invited to play in a softball league with some friends who didn't have enough women to fill their office co-ed team.  (Softball was never one of my sports, but I jumped at the chance to play...anything!)
It was a fun team and we had a good time.  Last Monday was the playoffs and if we won our first game, we'd play for the championship immediately after.  Long story short, we pulled off the cinderella story, beating the undefeated team to take home the trophy.  It was awesome and I realized how much I miss competing and being part of a team!  I felt giddy. 

I got up the next morning....& I couldn't walk, or sit, or bend over, or raise my arms, without pain.  Holy crap it sucks getting old!!!