Thursday I went skating. Skating! Yep, time number three since surgery. It felt way better than it did the last two times. It still hurt a lot, but I actually felt like I could do a fair amount despite the pain.
I pushed myself pretty hard, especially doing back-crossovers. It hurt, but it was more of a soreness than a fragility -- I was able to push through the pain instead of being disabled by it. I tested out the crossovers that I hadn't been able to do properly ever since I injured myself, to see if the knee was more stable. I hope it's more stable; it darn well better be after all this! I think it felt like it was, although it was still really hard to tell given that it still feels so sore.
It felt sore but good. Good because I was proud of getting out there and trying. There is no healing and strengthening without pain. By the time I was through skating, I wasn't able to fully straighten my knee any more. I think that's just a result of some swelling in the joint; after I rested it with some elevation all night, I could straighten it again the next morning.
Oh, and skating was also cool because I got to see two LJ friends! Yay for skating livejournalers! After skating, I went out to dinner, then home for a bit.
Yep, that makes two activities in one evening. Of course by this time I was already pretty sore (and couldn't straighten anymore), but I still had a good time. I bopped around to several songs, worked up a good sweat, and had a lot of fun. I chatted with friends, people watched, scoped guys, and critiqued other people's fashion choices. Much fun.
Friday I didn't do anything active, but then Sunday a couple friends and I walked 5K at the Coolest Race in Michigan!
So even though skating and dancing (anything that requires significant knee-bend) still hurts a lot, walking feels fine. Even long walks. That's a pretty cool thing to discover. Actually come to think of it, walking feels a lot better than standing still, which makes not just my knee but my whole body ache after too long.
Sunday was another fairly inactive day, and of course today I had to go back to work. However when I got home from work, it was yard-work time. Not as much fun as skating, dancing, and walking, but it needed to be done. I mean really needed to be done, as the last time I did anything was over two weeks ago. My yard was looking nasty, with tons of tall weeds making it look like a slum. I'm sure my neighbors hated me, and I was certainly embarrassed.
By the time I finished, I was dripping with sweat and covered with little flecks of nature. Bits of grass and weeds that had flown up to fight back, and spots where I ran into my hedge and my wheeping cherry tree as I tried to beat down the grass underneath. My bare arms were being stabbed by a hundred tiny redhot needles, and my neck was simultaneously slippery and itchey. It felt really great to peel off my clothing and rinse off the battle's remains in a luke-warm shower.
