One word: owww!

The conflict I had for tonight's class resolved itself, and yesterday I entertained thoughts of going to class. Yet two days after the nasty cramp in my adductor my legs still hurt. Last night I was seriously concerned that one or the other would cramp, and this morning they still occasionally twitch in certain positions.

Perhaps it'd be best if I took it easy this evening, and snuggle up with a nice jug of Gatorade.

January is a different month

Ten days into the new month I've already gotten to more classes than I did all last month: a Saturday and a Tuesday of the Beginner 2.75 flavor, and today's true Beginner 2. The Saturday and Tuesday classes were mentally challenging due to the long combinations. Today's class felt markedly easier, allowing me time to really focus on form, at least until the last couple of exercises when I just felt tired. The combinations at the end weren't complex, but I was tired and I still sometimes have trouble stitching phrases together into a continuous movement.

I though I'd done quite well, getting only a few minor spasms in my feet and calf muscles during barre and feeling quite mobile this afternoon and evening. However, while getting up out of my chair this evening, I was hit with a horrific cramp in my left adductor. After some minutes (hours, it seemed) the cramp loosened enough for me to hobble to the kitchen and get some water, vitamin and mineral supplements, and Gatorade. Now, lying in bed with the laptop on my legs, I have to be careful of my position as both adductors are still twitching and acting like they may cramp again.

At first I couldn't figure out why I'd gotten the cramp. Then a possible cause occurred to me. The weather here has been balmy, with temps in the 50s and 60s. It's also rained a lot, making it quite humid. Since this is nominally winter the thermostats are set to keep the classrooms above 72F, but the actual temperature half way through class was 76F. All through class I felt hot and sticky, and I sweated a lot more than usual. I guess I allowed my electrolytes to get out of balance.

I'm going to have to miss Tuesday evening's class because of a conflict. There used to be a Beginner 2 class Monday nights, but it's now an Advanced Beginner class and I'm not ready for that yet. Wednesday is Beginner 1, which is now agonizingly slow, Thursday is another AB, and there are no classes Friday evening. So it may be next weekend before I get another class.

It's a New Year

So I made it to two classes in December. Two whole classes. I guess that's better than one or none.

I have an appointment tomorrow so I started the year with a Beginner 2 class this morning. I'd had nasty cramps in my feet and calf muscles the previous two classes and made a point of drinking some Gatorade in advance to forestall a repeat. That seems to have worked to some extent, with just some minor cramping in the longitudinal arches during barre.

I felt pretty good through most of class. The jump combo was 4 changements, 2 quick step-piqué thingies, and 2 even faster pas de bourrées. I must be out of practice because I couldn't keep up; I'll console myself by noting that neither could 2/3rds of the other students. But I tried. I guess I'll go back to practicing PDBs when I'm standing around waiting.

The last exercise was a jumpy twisty thing that I normally would have enjoyed, but I just couldn't wrap my head around the sequence. I watched the others for a while trying to pick up the pattern but never did. I'm sure it'll seem trivially easy next time I see it.

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).

My problem with the Nutcracker

I went to see The Washington Ballet's Nutcracker last night. And I discovered I have a problem with it.