Agility

I ran across some photos of me on a church league softball team that reminded me of how I used to be able to move. I was never the best athlete, but I used to be fairly light on my feet, relatively nimble, and capable of at least passable proficiency at almost any physical activity I spent much time attempting. I'm not nearly so nimble on the baseball diamond any longer. 

I also discovered that I'm also not nearly as agile at tennis as I once was. We got out onto the court recently with the elementary school aged boys, who had never played tennis before. I was about like you'd expect, including a few times when the ball was lobbed over my head. As I turned and started heading back to the baseline, I realized that at one time it would have been easy to make that shot; and now I wasn't going to get there in time. Walking is hard enough. Running in a straight line is tough, and making a turn takes a lot of concentration. Running while looking over my shoulder and needing to move to one side or the other is almost disastrous (if falling and scraping my knee is a disaster). 

Someone recently asked me if, early on in the post-accident recovery, riding a bike was easier than walking. At that time I had to strap a crutch to my bike so that I could walk when I got where I was going. So, yes. When I first got on a bike again, cycling was easier than walking. In fact, even now cycling is easier for me than walking. When I'm on a bike, I can just ride. When I'm walking now, if I want to not stumble, I generally have to consciously think pretty specifically about which muscles to engage. 

And walking is certainly easier than playing tennis, or baseball, or basketball, or soccer, or racquetball, or volleyball. But I had fun on the tennis court. And it might be fun to try any of those other games again, too. I guess that means I have to add some agility work back into my fitness routine.