Back From Break, Random Notes

Back from spring break. It was a crazy time over spring break, things got pretty out of control...no, no, wait, yeah, they didn't. I went home to the Philly 'burbs and basically worked out, hung out with a few friends, read a lot, and watched a few movies. Did a little shopping for some new sneakers, found nothing I like, but DID come up with a very lifelike Randy Moss figurine in a clearance bin for 5 DOLLARS! I only had 4 dollars in my pocket, and wouldn't you believe the man took it. Now ol' Randy sits on my desk and keeps an eye on things.

I played some ball this weekend in cleats and all, and felt really good. Didn't go quite 100% but didn't totally half-ass it either, and I think I'm coming along really well at this point. I played Sunday and the ankle is still pretty sore, but nothing like it used to be. I squatted today and it's even doing well. I could cut actually pretty well.

Hoping that all is going well for the SU football team in the beginning of spring practices, which according to Syracuse.com started on Monday. I hope to be with them someday, and will continue to work towards that goal. I do not know when tryouts or that sort of thing are, but when they do come- I will be ready. At this point, with cardio and all I'm working out 6 or 7 days a week, depending on the week, and am really coming along. I've said it before- if I don't make this team, it certainly won't be for lack of effort. I will control what I can control, and that is what I put into it.

I'll be updating a lot more soon! I'm also on the radio on 88.3 WAER in Syracuse on the post game shows for basketball and lacrosse. More so lacrosse at this point, but the occasional basketball show as well. Tune in after the games for my ...analysis? Uh oh...

You can also go to http://www.waer.org/ and listen live. Happy Tuesday and back to work.

Just tried out the ankle with cleats...

Strapped on cleats for the first time since the old snap crackle pop occurred. Truth be told, I was sort of expecting everything to just be completely fine, and I guess to some extent it was.

I ran some routes at like 70% speed and it definitely hurt, and definitely still felt weak. I was really disappointed, but I dunno...I guess this is to be expected. I don't know. I basically feel like s--t about the whole thing.

So, (and I know Josh will get a kick out of this) I'll be trying it again tomorrow. Because I'm an idiot. And because I dunno, maybe I just need to be more warmed up first. I mean I warmed up, but maybe...not enough. Maybe I just...maybe the ground was too hard. I'm sure I'm fine. Yes, I am totally fine.

So things are good. I'll update you all tomorrow on how it goes, most likely from the ER.

Back On The Horse Tomorrow

Back to the weights tomorrow- looking forward to it. I'm going to bed in a few minutes and going to wake up early to go before class. I've felt at times lost and confused this week without having a steady gym schedule- my goal has become the center of my life, it seems. Not that anyone that has been near me over the past several months would not agree, but I guess I'm just continuing to notice.

The ankle is finally starting to have some burst in it. I really started to notice this week with all the basketball and stuff. It's starting to show a little life, which is exciting. God, it has been a long, long time I feel like since it was just normal to run, jump, or cut without pain. It's nice. Let's hope it continues, as I still haven't put on cleats and really beat it up, but basketball is a pretty decent indicator I feel like.

As always, I'll keep you updated on how things go...Go 'Cuse in the Big East Tournament.

Back in Saddle Again

A lot going on!

- Started classes this week- taking 17 credits this semester, with some pretty hard classes to boot. Should be my worst semester thus far in terms of workload in college. I'm now a senior though (albeit a 24 year old one, I started school at 21) and there isn't much more to go.

- Started training again. After 9 full days off, I got back on the horse today at the gym. I benched the most that I've ever done and generally felt absolutely incredible- haven't felt that good at the gym in a long, long time. My body needed the rest, and my back was reasonable. I concentrated the entire time on having good form during exercises which could mess with my back and afterward, I iced my back and ankle for 20 minutes. So far, so good, I'm sore back there, but nothing horrible. We'll see how I feel tomorrow, and how this thing progresses. Tomorrow is leg/back/etc day so that's the real killer. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

- I'm going to start really concentrating on getting my ankle and legs right in terms of conditioning. It's time to start being in ridiculous shape on the lower half of my body now that my strength is up- I have to be able to at least outwork the other people trying out.

More updates to come soon now that things are rolling. More and more people have been coming, and I'm appreciative of all the people taking an interest in my crazy journey. Thanks for coming, as always, and keep coming back for more awfulness!

Injury Update

So my back is getting a little better. I've taken now a full week off from the gym, by far the longest period since I started in September. My body seems to really appreciate it, actually, so I'm hoping this back problem turns into a good thing, but getting some much-needed rest.

I've been going into physical therapy with the whiz therapist herself Colleen O'hara, and coming along pretty decently. Still is pretty painful, though. I slightly under stated the intensity of the pain in the last post about my back, it's been keeping me awake at night, waking me up in the middle of the night, and putting me in agony throughout the day. I couldn't even tie my shoes, but continued to ignore it. It's slightly alleviated, but still pretty f**ked up.

I'm taking a few more days off, then getting back on the grind with much-improved form and less weight on some lifts- gonna have to take it a bit slower than I was. Truth be told I was flying up on weight more than I should have been; I was a bit overzealous. Am a bit overzealous. But going to control it now.

I'm headed to Notre Dame on Monday to give a report for 88.3 WAER in Syracuse on the Notre Dame vs. Syracuse basketball game. Break is just about over and back on the grind come Monday.

Tendinitis...I hardly knew her

Just got home from a physical therapy appt with good old Colleen O'Hara of the Rothman Institute in King of Prussia, PA. I've had some back problems, apparently from horrific posture coupled with horrific form while squatting and doing dead lifts, in addition to the good old ankle issues I've come to know and love over the past 6+ months.

Some good and bad news. The good news is that my ankle has excellent range of motion, meaning it moves each way pretty well. The bad news is that I have some tendinitis going up the bottom of my foot, Achilles, and up the side of my leg. No big deal, I have some exercises that I can do to combat it, so it shouldn't be the end of the world.

Same with the back- working on a few things, and I should be pretty good, pretty soon, hopefully. It's good to be back in there and say hello to everyone where I used to work, I even saw a patient that I used to hang out with all the time who is a history teacher at a local high school. I told him he inspired me to be a History minor, and he told me I should be a teacher, then proceeded to laugh his ass off.

Times at NFL Films have been interesting, as always. This has been a lot cooler than a lot of days over the summer, because since we're in the thick of football season, a lot of live TV is being made on the go and I'm lucky to be a part of it. Pretty neat the way everything works, and how smoothly it's set up.