This week has been wild. I hardly even know where to start.
I guess I’ll start with skipping practice on Monday. I hate skipping practice, but my finger really hurt from being in the splint, so I took the splint off, took my pain meds, and rested.
On Tuesday I thought I’d get back into things slowly with yoga, but yoga was cancelled when the campus closed because of inclement weather. A storm system with a lot of tornadoes was headed our way. One of those tornadoes touched down in my neighborhood. I lost power for about 36 hours, but my neighbors weren’t so lucky. I am grateful for my life, my loved ones, my pets, and my home.
On Wednesday morning I saw the orthopedist. He confirmed that the finger is not broken, told me I didn’t have to wear the splint anymore (yay!), and cleared me to fence with caution (double yay!). I’m buddy taping most of the time and slowly and carefully working and massaging the finger to get my range of motion back. I still have trouble picking things up, and I swear everything around me wants to bump into it, but I’m seeing some definite progress.
I went to UWF fencing on Wednesday night and practiced left handed (and took a hot shower). When we went to bed that night, we had no idea how our weekend would go. Fortunately life got back to normal on Thursday, so Nik was able to pack us up on Friday, and we headed up to Atlanta that night.
We woke up bright and early on Saturday for Meridian Challenge of Arms (MCA). This was the first ever MCA, and the turnout was fantastic (over 60 fencers!). Before the fencing started, my longtime friend and mentor took me on as a formal student under the new rapier peerage. Then the real fun began! I signed up for every tournament, and I fought all day with my left hand (with my finger back in the splint and refused as much as possible to protect it). I had some really awesome fights. Then I had some fights that I lost and just couldn’t figure out how. Then I had some more good fights. Then I had a few more not-so-good ones. It was an erratic day, and at times it was frustrating, especially since I had trouble looking back and figuring out what went wrong (more on that in a couple of paragraphs).
That evening at court, however, one of my dreams came true. I don’t care if it sounds cheesy – it happened. I was induced into the Meridian Order of the Blade.
If you aren’t familiar with the SCA and its awards, the MOB is “an armigerous [meaning it bears heraldic arms] polling order given in recognition of excellence in skill, instruction, leadership, and service to the sport of rapier, the rapier community, and the Kingdom.” In other words, a bunch of people I really respect voted and decided that I am on their level. I’ve aspired to this honor since I heard about it because I wanted to be part of that group of elite fencers. They recognized me and welcomed me as one of their own last night, and I’m just floored.
Today I have felt every movement I’ve made with my left arm. I try to condition both sides, but I used those muscles in a way they haven’t ever been used. I think I was having a decent amount of fatigue, but I was so hyped I didn’t recognize what it was. I’m home now, though, so I see a bath with Epsom salts in my future.
Tomorrow I should be back to my normal routine. Thanks for staying patient, and I’ll try not to be such a slouch about updating (no promises until after War).
Marie's Fitness Blog 