Interference

 I had mentioned a while ago, I've been doing some stuff other than running (well, and lifting).

Yes, I know - shocking, bordering on blasphemy

One of the extra-curricular activities is goalball - a parasport for the visually impaired, but that anyone can play.

Tank and I use cheap ski goggles with layers of fabric inside to make us completely blind

Because it's played in a gymnasium with a hard floor, we wear knee pads (as my usual starting position is on my knees). I'd bought us some new ones so Tank would have a pair, and ended up with a second pair of the same ones to replace the volleyball knee pads I've had since grade 7.

There's a problem, though: while the knee pads had been ok for a little bit of practice when a school group came to try the sport near the beginning of February, we had a much more intense practice in early March that saw Tank and I on our knees basically for 45mins straight, then for another 25+mins.

The knee pads were not up to this challenge.

Their padding packed it in long before we did, and has not recovered since.
If you're thinking of buying Bodyprox knee pads, don't.

This left me quite sore for the rest of the week, particularly coming hard on the heels of my silly little wander around a snowy field. I had taken the day after that ridiculousness off running, but was back at it from Monday to Thursday. My knees fortunately didn't bother me, but I'd landed quite hard on my left hip during goalball practice as well (with woefully insufficient padding there as well; slider shorts are made for turf, not gymnasium floors!) and that was irritatingly painful while running.

I've since picked up some more protective equipment - more heavily padded shorts, and better knee pads - that I really hope will be adequate!

While goalball is only every 2nd week, I've actually been trying to get out every Sunday (the only available day) to pursue my other extra-curricular:

Waiting for a lawsuit from my old goalie school for wearing their jersey - pretty sure my play counts as defamation of their character

This was a different stick and puck session than the one I'd been going to - described as "family" for ages 7 and up, I wasn't sure what I was getting into.

..but I had some new kit to test out.
(Just the gloves - the mask was new last year)

I was also very uncertain about my first time in net in my new skates: I'd been out on the ice with them exactly once (the day after the snowy field stupidity), but would I be able to shuffle and t-push and not fall on my face in full equipment?

I was doing ok off the ice so far

I had baked my skates the day before to try to get them to a somewhat custom fit.

Not even kidding - into the oven then on your feet to mold to shape
(Though this is one of Tank's, not mine)

..and I'd been working since Tuesday on breaking in my new trapper.

Fun fact: most of them don't open OR close worth a damn when brand new

..but I still wasn't sure what I was getting into. Would there be any adults there? Would I get a decent workout in? I wanted to work on butterfly slides if I could; would I be able to spend a fair bit of time on my knees? Would I be able to work with my new gloves? Would I stop a single puck, or just flail around like a beached whale?

Well..

Yes, yes, yes, yes, and (basically) yes

I was swarmed by gradeschoolers. There was one teenager, plus a couple of adults, but I spent the majority of my time on my knees being deked out by the U10 crowd. It turns out I could actually move decently in the patterns to which I'm accustomed (shuffles, t-pushes, and c-cuts on my feet) in the new skates, but butterfly slides and c-cuts while down? Those are going to take a bit more practice.

And it's possible that this batch of new equipment might take more than a single session to get used to
(ok, I've used the pads 3 whole times now)

All that time on my knees showed me something else, though.

..apart from the fact I should probably just take up macrame instead..

I'd bought a new pair of goalie-specific knee pads in early February to protect me with the new-style leg pads, especially after taking a nasty shot off the inner knee at the charity tournament with my old thigh boards last year.

John Brown makes amazing quality goalie equipment

The problem is, in an effort to save some cash (which is almost always a bad policy when it comes to goalie equipment), I'd bought their lowest-end knee pads. Those were still specced on the website as having an extra pad on the inside of the knee to protect you when down in butterfly, but it turned out the website was a bit inaccurate in that respect.

There's a bit of soft padding in there, but not nearly the full-coverage 0.5" gel I'd expected

So, once again my knees are bruised and sore. I've since brought this up with Brown, and to their credit they are going above and beyond to fix my issue and prevent anyone else making the same mistake. However, that doesn't mean my knees feel any better in the meantime! 

While it would probably be a waste of time and money to invest too heavily in new goalie kit for just one tournament per year, we've actually just signed up for weekly hockey from mid-May to mid-July.

Just shinny - not a "real" league - but that keeps it low-pressure for us

So despite feeling awfully beat up from my non-running exploits of late, I'm hoping that some new gear will help keep me in decent condition, as I've no intentions of giving up on these fun sports! Our goalball season will actually end soon, with the Provincials tournament the first weekend of April, but we've got at least 3 more months of hockey until I take another break.

And I definitely don't intend to quit running!

I'm hoping that as I get more practice on the ice - and maybe some better-suited knee pads - I'll build some fitness and toughen up a little. With any luck, maybe I'll even get a bit better at stopping pucks and balls, and be able to help my teams!

Possibly with more than just a silly pre-game dance!

Happy St. Paddy's day, everyone! ☘️