I had a great productive week:
Physio therapy – Dr. Aiello has done an amazing job on my ankle and it’s getting so much better. I’ve even got used to the acupuncture 🙂 It’s the first time that I’ve had an injury that I haven’t been discouraged since he’s given me a wide range of exercises to do on my own. I’ve been going to the gym everyday and working really hard with keeping up my cardio and I feel a lot stronger with the weight training. Spider Tech bandages have been extremely helpful and provided me with the necessary bandages that I need. They are the so much more comfortable to wear. I get all the support of normal braces but they allow full range of motion.
Javelin – I’ve been able to do most of the javelin drills during the last month except for the running, jumping and pivoting. This week was really exciting because I got to meet new people that Bill has coached over the years. Some of them are coming back after being away at university and others are returning after a few years break. They are such a talented group of athletes and it’s a great environment to be in. My strength training is going very well and I know that it will really help with my distances. One of Bill’s previous throwers (Cheryl Coker) came to visit. He was her coach in the the 1980’s and he said that she was one of his best throwers ever! It was inspirational. She is now a biomechanics and motor learning professor at the university in New Hampshire. She was watching our movements very closely so I really didn’t want to mess up. Bill wants us to use an application on our IPhones called Coach’s Eye to help perfect our movements. It’s the coolest app ever. You film your movements and it plays back in slow motion or you can freeze each frame and then draw lines of what the proper technique is. I am going to use this app not only for Javelin but also for my taekwon-do pattern training. Check out their site. I love how technology and science play such an important role in training.
Taekwon-Do – I’ve really missed TKD but it’s too hard with all the pivoting and direct contact on my ankle. This week was the first time that I tried a pattern. It felt so good just being back in my dobok. It’s like my second skin 🙂 My balance wasn’t the greatest but I know it will be fine. At least there was not pain. I was especially happy to be wearing the Spider Tech tape for extra support. Now I just have to start SLOWLY with the kicking drills on the paddles to see how that feels. Paddles are great since they move with the foot so it’s not such a hard impact. I will train on my own over the Christmas holidays so I can be ready to resume my normal classes and training.
Soccer – is the last sport that I’m able to try according to Dr. Aiello. He doesn’t want me playing at least until January. My OSU Force soccer team leaves for Florida next week to play in the Disney Cup Showcase Tournament. We’ve been training extra hard over the last couple of months (on and off the field) to prepare for this. This is a great opportunity to be seen by University scouts. I really hope that they do well and I can’t wait to hear all about it when they get back. Good luck ladies 🙂
All in all, I’m very happy with the way things are progressing and I am looking forward to the holidays to take in some extra training time and to fully heal my ankle. I have so much to look forward to in 2012!!!