I Don't Know How They Do It!!!

For years I have watched sports, mainly football. You see the hot new rookies showing off their speed and talents, but you also have a large contingent of older veteran players, sometimes in their early 40s, out there showing their talents, their experience, and their sheer power.

You watch these guys, in any sport getting banged up pretty good, day in and day out. And every game, there they are again, putting out their best effort.

Then there is me. This last weekend, I played some basketball, mostly with teenagers. The athlete in my heart is alive and well. All the trash talk, all the pure love of competition, all of the extra weight, all that extra pain, it's all there.

I am feeling muscles in my legs I forgot existed. My back is tight and sore from top to bottom. I'm walking funny and slow. This morning, while running from my patrol car, through a heavy downpour into the gas station after fueling up, I ran like I imagine a crippled girl would look like running. I played basketball, and a little bit of tackle football last year, and I don't remember feeling it as much as I do now. What happened between 29 and 30?

There are full grown old men playing much harder than I am right now who feel "great" despite beating themselves up or getting beat up much worse than I probably ever have in my life. I don't even think I played nearly as hard as I did last year, yet I hurt much much worse.

Sure I was sweating like a soon to be heart-attack victim, and sucking wind like a guy having an asthma attack, but that's nothing new. I did that even in the best shape of my life when I was in the military and in high school football. I lost a few games of "21" on saturday to a teenager, and one of the kid's dad. But I took on an unknown teammate and dominated the games of 2 on 2. Sunday, I played "pig" and "21" winning every game I played. I played through the pain and slow moving syndrome I was suffering. And then last night I went to work. Getting in and out of the patrol car to check houses and commercial properties was pure hell on my legs, and the walking around wasn't much better.

It's supposed to rain off and on today, as well as tomorrow, so I'll have a couple days off to rest from the increased physical activity. Hopefully the next time I play it wont hurt as much. I have plans to do hiking up in the mountains of Wyoming later on this summer, and I would like my legs to be able to move and operate normally without it killing me.