A sputtering start and my less than triumphant return to BJJ

So I was derelict in my duties and didn't put up a kick-off post. Day 1 was rough. I'm not going to lie.  I woke up too late to go to the strength class at Monkey Bar Gym. I still have mixed feelings about the class, but since I need to workout 5 times a week for the challenge, I figured it would fill the void.  Being too late, I decided to kick off the burpee challenge with 100 burpees for time in my backyard.  10:42 excruciating minutes/seconds later, I called it a day, showered, and biked to work.

At work, I realized I, too, had failed to meet Meagan's checklist for success and didn't pack a lunch.  A quick trip to Chipotle for a salad with veggies, meat and guac, and I was good to go. While not the most prepared start to the challenge, I was getting by. 

Unfortunately, that's when my body decided to rebel and the migraine set in. A quick bike ride home, and I was in bed by 6pm, and out till 7am. At least I know I got enough sleep.

Day 2 went much better. I didn't pack a lunch, but had plenty of snacks: celery with guacamole, and bumps on a log with almond butter.  More than enough to get me till lunch.  Around 3:30, I realized I hadn't yet eaten and went back to Chipotle for another delicious bowl of meat and veggies. One cup of coffee later, and it was a bike ride home in a thunderstorm to unpack some more boxes, then off to brazilian jiu jitsu for the first time in over a year.

For those of you who have never gone to a bjj class, let me tell you -- your first day back after any time off, let alone a year, is rough.  Your muscle memory doesn't really kick in.  You feel awkward.  You *know* you know the next move, but you can't remember what it is.  I knew this was going to happen, and wasn't really looking forward to my first day back. That said, it was totally worth it.

I showed up about 5 minutes early, checked in with the front desk, then headed to the mats.  There were about 20 people there.  Most in their 20s, and all male. No one said a word to me.  I thought, this does not bode well.  1 minute before class began, a woman blue belt, showed up.  Class started on the dot, and we began a 30 minute conditioning warm up. We were told not to stop moving, even if waiting in line for our turn in the rotation.  Run in place, do jumping jacks, whatever, but you had better be moving.  If someone was caught not moving, everyone had to do 10 burpees.  Suffice it to say I got my burpees for the day in. 

The warmups were extensive, but I was pleased that I was strong enough to do everything except the handstand to front rolls, handstands to back rolls, (I'll get it someday, I swear), and had no problem with endurance. About 10 minutes in, we were doing 3 push ups, then jumping through with our feet to a prone position. I was jumping through when I felt an awful pop.  The mats had moved and my little toe had gotten caught in the mat.  It was bent in a 90 degree angle in completely the wrong direction.  I thought it was a little weird, but was sure it would fix itself.  I finished the rotation, jogged back to the front, and noticed it still hadn't moved. I reached down, pulled it out, and popped it back into place. The joint and the entire right side of my foot turned purple -- I had dislocated it. Ignoring my toe, I finished up my warmups.  On our water break, I asked the other woman in the locker room if she had any tape. After looking at me like I had 3 heads, she said no. 

When we returned, our instructor, a black belt, paired us up to work on passing the guard.  He paired me with Kelly, the other woman.  She seemed a little friendlier this time around, and we worked our 5 passes.  I was pleased that I knew all of them, though some of them were more ingrained in my mind than others. After that, we were paired off again and rolled for 6 minutes with different partners.  Because there were so many people, we rotated rounds on and off the mats.  After 3 rounds, our 90 minutes were up, and it was time to go home.

Overall, I felt awkward and out of practice, but I definitely wasn't the worst. The fundamentals are there, but the secondary steps are lacking. At the end, one of the brown belts asked me if I would be interested in helping him by serving as the 3rd person in a private lesson he's giving another woman. He said it would all be very basic for me, but that it would be great for her to have a partner.  There was no way I'm turning that down.  Between that and just a general feeling of accomplishment of making it through all 3 rolls with my first dislocation ever (even if it is just a toe), I definitely can't complain.  It's been a slow start, but I've made it through.  And really, that's what matters.