good news and bad....

The best news of the day....drum roll please...

Vivi got her mid~quarter grades..... 5 As and 2 (very high) Bs....These are her first grades in Middle school...so...Yippie Vivi!  Now we wait to see what the "Kid in College" pulls off for his midterms.

Sunday, Pierre and I went down to ABQ for practice...I really needed to go down because we were working WFD and Caber.  Pierre threw too...barefoot(very cute)....I worked for a long bit on WFD.....a long time. Trying to clean up feet...which I started to look at....trying to remember I have hips.....trying to clean up where to look as I throw.....trying to clean up the little issue I have with bending forward....I ended up getting a couple of good throws in, not far...I was too tired at that point to have much power left. But perhaps, in hindsight....I worked too long....my legs felt tired~my knee was tired...but I felt fine.  Caber was good...Chuck giving me more specific corrections...I almost turned "red" but I got a lovely caber kiss instead.  I shall turn that caber soon!

Next morning...actually, at about 3 AM I awoke with a nasty sharp pain behind my knee cap. Cracking weirdness when I straightened my leg....hurt to drive.....can't get off a chair.

Great job Mona....great timing....

First thing I think, "See, I told you, you are too old to have tried this crap....I knew you would hurt yourself."

Really? I immediately go there?  I stopped dead in my kitchen and said, out loud..."shut up." Which for me, is progress!

I am used to a certain amount of pain...but stabby sharp pain in my knee? um, yuck.

I decide to go to the gym....I know how that sounds....but I am so close to finishing this lifting program...AND...I know these guys are super knowledgeable about mobility...I mainly work mobility.  I look at the lifting...hmmmmm...no squats for me!  So, I just do shoulder presses. MY FAVORITE.

2X5 45
1x5  70  I have to shake out my leg...even at this weight....even though I am not "using" it.
1x3  90
1x2  110...I looked at this and laughed...I have yet to crack the 105...so 2 reps at 110 looks just stupid...and I am tired and annoyed at my knee.  I load up the bar anyway...and wouldn't you know..I get the damn 110...both reps.

 3x5  (supposed to be 130!) I unloaded the bar to 90.  I did all of the sets.

Then I did good mornings....

4x10  62.5 

At this point I kinda felt like crying....everyone around me is working 75 power snatches...getting measurements....they are signing up for a 9 week challenge.  I decided not to do it because of the lifting...now I can't lift and I just felt....stupid.

As I was leaving...BJ kinda followed me toward the door....He asked me how I felt about the games this weekend....if I was nervous.  I was kinda short with him I think, I didn't mean to be, but I was hurting at that point and feeling LAME.....I said no,  but then I thought about it...I always get nervous.  I think that is part of the charge of competing, isn't it?  I don't care if the games are "small" or "low key." I even said to BJ...I always chase after PR's. 

I feel pressure too because these are my "home" games and I am hoping that some folks will come see me for the first time. I feel pressure to keep working on form so that I can reach my longer term goals.  I feel pressure because some folks who have never seen what I do, may come to see these games~BJ being one of them....I suddenly had this fear that he will come watch this thing I do....that he has invested a bunch of his time in and think...geeez, that's stupid.

BUT...I know that comes from my prior experience with a trainer......I know he is not like that at all..... he respects what the athletes in his gym do, even if he doesn't do it himself.  That's part of what makes him such a good trainer. 

I wanted to yell shut up again like I had in my kitchen, but I think that might have been hard to explain to BJ that I was saying that to me...not him.

Ugh...

As for the knee?  I had two people tell me, " It is your ACL" Blah...who knows.  The swelling is greatly reduced today~better than that...I got out of bed this morning without stabby pain. It feels...sore...but not terrible like yesterday.  I feel tentative...cautious.

Nothing really to do about that.....especially for Saturday.  I think I will have to avoid squats all week and be gentle with my knee and with myself.

Throwing tentatively is still better than the years I spent sitting on the damn couch watching my life go by instead of participating in it...