23 Days Later

I actually counted this out on the calendar and Showcase was 23 days ago. Since I started dancing, this has to be one of the longest breaks I’ve taken. I didn’t quite realize it had been that long until I actually counted it out.

It was good to finally be back in the studio. We talked briefly about Showcase and how well it went despite my physical problems. I hadn’t tried on the dance shoes since Showcase and I was a little concerned given the swelling in my ankle but that wasn’t a problem. We both agreed that one lesson this week was the way to go. Next week, we’ll shoot for two. When we get to the week before Christmas, we may push it back up to three but we both agreed a slow path is best right now.

I’m certainly no expert on injuries like this but I know from following professional sports that if you don’t let a soft tissue injury heal, it can get aggravated and delay the healing process. Given that we are so far from the next Showcase, it just makes sense to get this fully healed before we start going all out.

So it was a weird lesson in a way. PJ had taken our Waltz and reviewed the video multiple times just to isolate the footwork and timing in a few places and that’s where we focused. There are a couple of places where I’m doing a hesitation (or just staying on the same foot for a few counts) while she keeps moving. OwnerGuy may have glossed over those details when we first learned this and it has created some confusion in the Waltz. This was a good way to clarify it.

Do you know how hard it is to not do rise and fall in the Waltz when you’ve spent years being trained to do so? I was fighting that for most of the lesson because it didn’t feel right but the calf is just not ready for full rise and fall so it was walking through the steps while keeping my feet flat on the floor. Still it was good to lock in the precise steps and timing.

The other issue is that there are many times when you take a big driving step and your back leg ends up on a toe anyway. That is also a no-no right now. At one point, I had to be reminded that we weren’t going for perfection just yet.

Despite my attempts to limit stressing the calf, I started to feel it by the end of the lesson. When I walked in, there wasn’t much actual pain but I could feel the tightness where the strain/tear was. By the end of the lesson, there was some pain but it topped out at about a 3. For comparison, the worst pain I had was probably around a 7 so it didn’t come close to that. But it was confirmation that one lesson was probably sufficient this week. The good news is that with rest, things have calmed down.

We did have to give up on the idea of debuting a new routine at the Snowball dance in a couple of weeks. I’m still planning on attending but I’m just going to be a spectator so I’ll get to watch everyone else. But it will be nice to see everyone again – my absence has been noticed.

Hoping with more PT this week that the healing continues and we get back to full dancing soon. I’m also prepared if it doesn’t happen until next year.