I'm having fun!!

A few months ago, I wrote about my aversion to structured activity and/or needing a training schedule. I'm a little disappointed to say that aversion is still in full effect. I'm also a little happy to say that. You want to know why...?

I'm having fun!

Photo by an awesome volunteer!

Getting scored for the first time at Ohlone Archery, and I got my first ribbon!

Aaaaand playing a little sitting volleyball

(I've also been playing wheelchair basketball again for three weeks.. I'll have to ask someone to take some pictures!)

This week was a huge milestone for me in this search for fun.
  -Hellyer 5K on Sunday: I took on a trail that had scared me after my fall a couple years ago, and was able to stay calm on the hill that is still bit much for me (although I fully admit I didn't think I'd have to see that one). I felt like the 5K itself was a bit of a battle, but I was pushed forward by my crew of volunteers that helped me down to the trail, the two strangers that helped me up the aforementioned hill, all the cheering from friends, and my volunteer crew waiting to help me back up to the road (telling me that I was doing great the whole time). Plus I got to see quite a few friends that I don't get to see much, so getting lots of hugs was the best part of the day!

  -Wheelchair Basketball: I've been playing again for a few weeks, and at this week's practice I was playing really well; I even got a rather spectacular winning shot and an equally spectacular pass. The guys I play with have been coaching me quite a bit since I came back, and explaining why I should do these things, how it helps, and what the advantage is. They're also pushing me into getting into a position to take more shots, rather than my intuition to help others get the shot... but they've been sure to tell me that I'm really good at screening and they like that I do it. As I was heading out, one of the coaches told me I as playing really well and was improving, said I looked like I was starting "get it". I told him the coaching on the court is really helping and that I was starting to understand, and "that's when I get dangerous." ;)

  -Archery: One of my first rounds was the closest I've ever gotten to a perfect end. The instructor came over to see, told me I was doing really well with grouping, and made the comment that I should keep score. "Doesn't count if you don't keep score..." Then lets keep score! At the end of each round, my brain goes straight to "what can I do better?" My instructor goes straight to what I'm doing well (grouping, adjustments, scoring better than I thought), then asking me if I knew what was happening with the wayward arrows and making me think about how to fix it. When he lowered the target for the second half of my rounds, we got into a discussion about my aiming; I aim much lower than average and I wondered if it was because of my view from the chair or just my eyes, he told me about an instructor he had that talked about crouching to see where to aim and said I was already at that level. Out of sheer curiosity, I decided to shoot a round while standing when I was done scoring. I use a combination of learned/natural movement and a basic landmark to aim, and that sent my first arrow right above the target, directly into the wall. So I adjusted to more aiming at that landmark, which got my next four shots onto the target, but only one anywhere near where I wanted it to go. He said it was basically like starting over, and I said it was definitely a learning experience (for both of us!); in the chair, my aim starts at the bottom of the target and I adjust from there, but in standing, I was up much higher and that natural movement I've developed was just gone!

And back to the scoring; I got a 238/8X! He said that's above average for a first time scoring and with 20 more points, I would have made it onto the range's leader board.

I grew up in a world of "girls can't do that" and "not enough"; I have observed the world of soccer moms and signs at Little Leagues reminding parents that it's kids on the field, not pros; and three years ago, I was thrust into a world of "you can't do that" and others throwing around the word "disabled" like it's a bad thing.

Then came wheelchair sports.

Encouragement has been coming at me in droves. Fun is at the top of the list for all of my coaches. Mistakes are a learning experience rather than something to dwell on. Trying new sports is highly interesting rather than strictly cross training. Doing well is cheered out loudly.

And in all of that, I've found the fun again. I have friends wondering what races I'll be signing up for because they want to see me, rather than pushing registration sites at me and telling me I need to sign up, or go farther than before, or faster than ever. I'm improving my skills in volleyball, basketball, and archery... not afraid of trying something new to learn if there's a better way or simply to learn more about what I am doing. Despite not training nearly as much as I did before, I feel like I'm getting stronger when running with Tsunami. And I'm still working on it, but I'm getting better at marking the things I did well before moving to figure out how to improve the things I did not so well... which in itself is a huge step just because I'm pushing myself out of looking directly at what I did wrong and getting stuck there.

So three months later, I still don't want a training schedule.... but I've found I really like 5Ks right now and I'm having fun playing these various sports. I'm even improving at all of the above, will be playing in a few volleyball tournaments, and have been asked to help at the upcoming Valor Games as an archery coach. And more importantly, I'm happier and more patient, in general.