2003-07-23 - 4:57 p.m.

It seems that Monday (7/21) night's practice was a big deal to several people. I actually got in armor! Please no sniggering! I fought for maybe a few minutes before calling it quits. It's a good thing my leg armour belt fell down around my knees when it did because I think I wouldn't have been smart enough to quit right then otherwise. I got over to my truck and realized that I was having a great deal of trouble catching my breath. Ok, I always have a great deal of trouble catching my breath but this was rougher than usual. Ever since then, I've been sore in every joint in my body. Yes, every single joint. The bottoms of my feet are sore! But, that's just background annoyance. I feel like someone has stuck an ice pick into my right hip. This is a chronic problem from back in boot camp. In short, I feel absolutely great! I haven't felt this good in forever! I actually managed to put on a helm and let somebody swing a stick at me! I even swung back and connected a couple of times. And all that against a challenging opponent! Yes, Kevin was probably taking it easy on the old man but I didn't feel out of place. All the old muscle memory is there. I remembered which end of the sword to hold and for the shield, I remembered which one is "this side toward enemy." God, I can't wait until next Monday! I hope I can walk by then!