Last week our football team (soccer) won our first game... because the other team didnt have eleven starters show up so they had to forfeit.

This week our opponents actually showed up. I showed up early and taped my ankle (not bad considering Im a rookie) and then stretched and ran around a bit to warm up. We got into a circle and were just kicking the ball around, and I hurt my right (kicking) leg. The muscle on the inside of the top of the thigh. It wasn't a showstopper, but it didn't feel good every time I swung my leg, whether it was a pass or a shot.

We came out strong, we put three shots on goal in the first ten minutes, and pressured hard and got a couple more shots that were wide, but close. I subbed in around the 15 minute mark (we play 35 min halves) and within two minutes, both my legs were on fire. It was strange because I think we played harder last week when we just scrimmaged, and I had JUST gotten out there, too. I came out around the 30 min mark, just before halftime and we just kinda fell apart. We had a strong D, but we lost control of midfield. They got a goal on us, and it was 1-0 at halftime.

We started off strong again in the second half, pressured their goalie a bit, but they took over midfield again and got in close. There was a high bouncing ball and in his attempt to clear it, one of our defenders hit it funny, it bounced funny and went into his own net. Oops, 2-0. Shortly after that there was a bad call. The ball came up, hit one of their players hands, bounced and hit one of our players hands. They called it a handball against us, and as he was inside the penalty area, the ref awarded them a penalty kick. They scored on that and it was 3-0, and that's how it ended.

I don't know what happened to my legs, my quads stiffened right up like little steel bridge cables. I tried massaging them and stretching them, but it didn't really help. I kept moving though, walking, stretching, massaging.. I thought maybe I was dehydrated, but I had been drinking watered down PowerAde for the last two hours. I went back in for another shift in the second half, and stayed out til the end of the game, not that I could have done anything about the score :)

I played soccer when I was a kid, five or six seasons until I was about 12 or 13. That's 20 years ago for those who are counting. Some of the guys on a team play every weekend and have for their entire adult lives. On paper, there really isnt any team that can beat us, but since we had never played together, and aside from the little scrimmage we had last weekend none of us had ever practiced together, either.

I'm not claiming to be a supastar or anything, but hey, tell me what you want me to do and I'll go out there and do it, even if it means driving home in 3rd gear the whole way so I wouldnt have to lift my left leg onto the clutch! I got home and struggled up the stairs and collapsed on my bed for a bit. The drive home and the sitting around didn't help my legs at all. When I tried to stretch, holy cow did it hurt. Eventually I was able to stand and get into the shower. I had a headache as well, so I took two extra strength Advil and then went to forage for dinner.

McCoy's was closed, I guess they're closed on Sunday nights, I'll keep that in mind for the future, so we fell back to Canton, and I had some comfort food (mmmm Honey Garlic Chicken) and then went for a stagger down the sidewalk to Haagen Dasz. Once we got home, I fired the Magic Bags into the micro and then went to bed with a hotpack on each of my legs. Damn if that Advil didn't bring about a 200% improvement (bringing me to about 60% mobility) and then fell asleep with the hotpacks on.

Today wasn't too bad, all things considered. My feet were sore today, in places I had never had sore feet before, and my left buttcheek is a bit sore, but so long as I got up and moved around a bit every thirty minutes, it was OK.