So I went back...

I didn't go this past weekend, but I did go to the Beginner II class Tuesday night, after an absence of about six weeks (not counting the two classes I took elsewhere). I wanted to get there early enough for a good warm-up, but a wreck on the highway slowed me down and I only had about 10 minutes to change at get ready. Apparently my absence has been noted, as I did get a "Welcome Back!" from the instructor.

I didn't do too badly in class. I had a minor goof during barre, but the bigger concern was the cramping in my upper calf muscles. By the end of barre even holding tendu would cause the beginning of a spasm. On the other hand, my balance didn't seem to have fared too badly. Even later I felt in control during turns. Perhaps the less-forgiving, slippery floors of the other studios taught me something about where my weight is ending up.

My energy was holding up pretty well through the first 75 minutes of class. If it had ended then I'd have been fine, but this is a 90 minute class and I was pretty well burned out by the end. The instructor made a general comment that it didn't seem like we were putting energy into it, and in my case it was a choice between one energetic run-through or getting to the end of class with some measure of control.

The next morning I woke up hurting pretty badly. The worst was the underside of my right foot just in front of my heel, which felt like the joints had frozen up. My glutes (aka "turn-out muscles") hurt almost as much, and when I got to thinking about it my calf muscles were joining the chorus. With a little help I've managed to get all of these to quiet down, and none seem to suggest any injury (just lack of recent use).