Hurts So Good...

Hello, friends! 
Today, I am mighty sore.  It is probably the sorest I have been in a long time.  Why?  Because on Tuesday I got to play flag football for the first time in years.  Allow me to break it down for you. 

Back in the day, one of my favorite things to do in the whole wide world was play flag football.  ACF (Asian Christian Fellowship) had a team and I was the captain and quarterback.  We had speed in Darryl Toma.  Quickness in Victor Lin and Alex Lo.  My protection was provided by Henry Tsay.  Peter Chieng and Kirk Lin were my always sure handed safety valves.  We weren't the best team in the league, having never won "the shirt," but boy did we have fun.  My first two years at Mizzou I organized a scrimmage between WashU and Mizzou.  I even played for the mens and coed team and helped coach for a bit.  But, as things got busier, my time grew limited, and my passion for flag football had to be put on hold. 

Fast forward to a few weeks ago.  I was talking to Dane, the captain, quarterback, and all-star of Mizzou's AAA (Asian American Association) flag football team.  I asked him how the team was going and he said it was a little frustrating because they had to forfeit a game due to lack of players.  I told him, if he ever needed a sub, let me know and I'd do what I could.  Guess what happened on Tuesday?  AAA needed a sub and I was in. 

Understand, friends, that I am not in the same kind of shape that I was back in college.  I am a few steps slower, a few pounds heavier, and a few years older than I was back then.  But, since I have been biking more and training for the triathlons, I would consider myself in pretty solid shape.  I played center, got a few blocks in, caught a few passes, played safety on defense, had a few tackles, and we won in a laugher 33-6.  I played a solid 40 minutes of football (two, twenty-minute halves) and it felt great to be out there again.  I even got an invite to play on the coed team on Sunday. 

So why am I so sore today?  I was talking to one of my students about it at lunch today and he made an interesting point that I had not considered before.  He reminded me that in football, it is the constant starting and stopping that gets to you.  I thought back on the game and he was absolutely right.  What I did on Tuesday was pretty much a series of sprints.  I sprinted to block downfield.  I sprinted to run my routes.  I sprinted to make the tackle.  I was constantly starting and stopping.  I was also using muscles I hadn't used in a while.  Biking, swimming, and running are one thing, but it takes a whole different set of muscles to play football.  Some are the places where I am hurting now I would not be hurting if I just did 40 minutes on the bike or in the pool. 

Would I do it again?  In a heartbeat.  In fact, I plan on playing again on Sunday night.  =0). 

Stats:
Distance Traveled: 6 miles ($.57)
Meters: 9.5 hours on campus ($9.50)

Total: $10.07
Grand Total: $153.09
Left to Save: $421.54

Happy Biking!

~Adam