As I went down, I kept believing my foot would slide along the ice, out of harm’s way, but it never happened and my full weight twisted my ankle out of any normal range of motion.

Unable to put any weight on it at all, I had to crawl home through a greenbelt behind the block I live on, Finnegan leashed to my wrist.

The result is that I am still limping around and going to physio to repair the damage and hockey is off the list until at least March.

Every day that I think it feels better, something tweaks it and the pain returns, renewed.

I’m hoping my physio can get me back on track soon.

Here are some stats:

• 12: The number of drafts that are in my WordPress queue. I am having a tough time editing them for publication
• 7: The number of days per week I have more than 4 hours of my time scheduled
• 5: The number of books that are sitting on my desk at home, waiting to be reviewed
• 28: The number of hockey games I am scheduled to play before September 1st
• 4.25: The multiplier applied to my income to match the amount my home will cost me
• 2.6: The multiplier applied to my income to match the list price of a similar place in Langley
• 3: The number of minutes in my current commute to work (one way)
• 50: The average number of commuting minutes required if I move to Langley (one way)
• $40: Approximate monthly gas cost of my car today
• $550: Approximate monthly gas cost of my car if I commute to/from Langley
• 18: The number of students I have this term
• 60: The highest number of students I have had in a term
• 6: The lowest number of students I have had in a term

That’s all I can think of for now. Off to hockey.

My morning routine started out normally: down 2 flights of stairs, let Finnegan (the aforementioned dog) out in the back yard to do his business, back upstairs to crack open some expensive dog food, throw back some food of my own – but that’s where my typical morning activities ended. This time I wrapped myself in cold-weather workout gear and head out into the early morning. As luck would have it, the rain was pouring down for my first day at Boot Camp.

I arrived early and found other participants in their cars, trying to keep warm before having to trudge around in the cold, rain-soaked field. At 6:00am, everyone congregated at the end of the field. We dropped off our gear and got right into it: 2 laps around the running oval and then back to the instructor for more. A few exercises later (pushups, crunches and some others), the instructor measured everyone (bicep, chest, stomach, butt, thighs) and gave us some more information.

Pretty easy. I figured this whole Boot Camp thing was going to be a cakewalk!

Until about 6:05am this morning. The moment I stepped on the field, I had to start running while holding weights over my head. Have you ever done that? It’s much harder than it looks, trust me. Many exercises like this one (movement combined with weightlifting), innumerable pushups, racing around a circuit of stairs and every combination of stationary weight-lifting and I was getting pretty damn tired.

Our instructor then paired me up with another participant in which we had alternate between exercises. The catch is that I had to do pushups while he ran the stairs circuit. So, the slower he was, the more pushups I had to do. But the faster he ran, the more winded he was when it was his turn to do pushups and my turn to run. It was pretty tough.

The end of class seemed to linger just beyond reach of each new exercise, like the elastic dental appointments that seem to stretch into infinity. Finally, we were done and I was completely wasted but happy that I made it through.

I wonder what Day 3 is going to be like.

I am by no means the best player on the team, more likely that I’d get thrown into the lower end of the skill tree, but I’m still part of the team so I’d like to feel like I am contributing.

Bringing my fitness level up is one way that I can improve my on-ice performance and give myself a little extra in the tank for a hard skate or race for the puck. I have been trying to find a way to get some exercise into my schedule, but with commitments during the day and evening, it’s hard to find time.

While I was reading the Georgia Straight yesterday, I saw an ad for Survivor Boot Camp. They have a 5 day-a-week program that trains you for an hour at a time over the course of a month. According to their site:

“The scope of the program is aimed at whipping you into shape by exposing you to a comprehensive fitness program. “

The next program starts March 3rd, ending just a couple weeks before the tournament begins – perfect! So here’s the downside: The class is at 6 o’clock. In the morning. Normally, at 6am, I would be curled up in bed, dreaming. Certainly not sweating off the pounds in a Boot Camp environment.

In one way I’m looking forward to someone leading me through an exercise regime. As I usually start working out and then drop the idea after a few days. In another way, I am terrified at having to wake up at 5am every day just to have someone Full Metal Jacket me around for an hour at a time I’m usually warm in bed.

We’ll see how it goes, MAGGOT!