Today I....

Played soccer! For the first time in YEARS. I joined a new local women's league and went to a pickup game today. I think real games start next week. Anyways, it was so much fun! And, holy crap, it was a lot of running. My workout DVDs are great, but they are a mix of strength and cardio and are quite short. Running for 90 minutes is not something I've tried to do in like 6 years. I now also have a HUGE blood blister on my big toe. Yummy. I didn't think about the fact that the huge calluses I used to have on feet are long gone. I also didn't realize how much I really missed playing.

When I was in high school, soccer was my life. In fact, when I was a freshman, I wanted to play college ball and eventually play professionally (though, at the time, the only way to do that was to make the national team). I worked really hard and happened to luck out with some amazing teammates and coaches. In fact, the travel team I played on later in my high school career was one of the best things in my life at the time. Things on that team just clicked. We all had an amazing chemistry on the field and off the field. It's hard to describe to someone who has never played before. I was not the fastest, or the best at any one thing, but I think I had an intuition thing going on. I was a smart player, and I was decent at distributing the ball. We had some great times, traveled to a few places for tournaments, went whitewater rafting, and just really enjoyed each other's company. Ah, I'm getting misty-eyed (I do that a lot)!

High school soccer was fun for a little bit, but there was a lot of pressure and my love for the game was slowly replaced with stress and frustration. Plus, I had a nasty ankle injury sophomore year. I was completely ignored at that point, because I was, for all intents and purposes, useless. That was a pretty hard thing to deal with.

Also, as I started getting on towards the end of high school, I started getting interested in things besides soccer. I realized that there were so many things I didn't get to do because I was spending every second doing sports. I started getting into music, and eventually started playing guitar. I also wanted to spend some more time building a social life. I was working a part-time job and getting really into the academic part of school. I wanted to have time to join the History Club, etc.

But, after all this time, I do really miss playing soccer. It was such a huge part of my life and is a big part of who I am now. I miss being on a team. I miss having a 12-18 girlfriends without even having to think about it. I miss having that outlet for stress. Today, I even realized I miss the small ritual of sitting in the grass and putting shinguards, socks, and shoes on; it was always a time of contemplation for me. It's great that my town has started a women's league, and I'm happy I'll get to play a few games.

Sigh. I'm gonna be sore tomorrow!

RYAN'S RECOMMENDATIONS:

Listening: I've been listening to the CD my dad made me for high school graduation. One of the songs on it is "Wouldn't it Be Nice" by the Beach Boys. I was obsessed with the Beach Boys when I was young. I remember listening to them on cassettes with my Walkman.

Reading: Chesapeake

Watching: Bones, Season 2. Some crazy forensics shit. And, perhaps a budding romance.

Working Out: Played soccer today (as I may have mentioned before...). Sports are so wonderful. You get a workout while you're having fun and not even paying attention to the fact that you're exercising. Yeah.