I ended up walking about 1.5 miles total today because, well, Breck = walking. I had lunch with my fave ski instructor and all-around cool person Jenn, and a friend of hers I'd skied with last season. Saw another instructor/friend, Jane, selling her art in the courtyard in front of the Quandry. Saw our neighbor walking his dog as we walked to Jenn's car - and found out Jenn knows him, too. I forget how small-town Breck really is, when you discount the vacationers (said with tongue firmly planted in cheek).
I'm curious to see if my PT will be horrified by 1 and 1.5 miles. Honestly sitting in the car for 2 hours to and from Breck created more discomfort than the walking. I'm not having delayed pain from walking, either. So I feel like it's probably okay as long as I stay on stable flat surfaces. We'll see what she says.
I've found myself googling "ACL surgery 6 to 9 months" trying to figure out that middle part. Trying to understand what exactly is going on in that timeframe. Just read an alarming newschooler thread where the guy asked how big a deal it would be to hit 50'+ jumps at 6 months. OMG. But still, I understand, because while I'm not jonesing for jumps, I'm jonesing for trees and bowls and all the stuff my doc would rather I not do at all next season, because of the greater risk of sudden sideways movement.
Ran across a real downer of an article talking about how full recovery is years out and that most people never fully recover, and how most people think they'll be outliers for that statistic. Well, dammit, I've never been most people, so we'll see about that!
Kind of a Breck ski school insider baseball thing, but Jane's husband Pete may be teaching a level 6 Sundays class. Sundays are only for "custom" groups, so I thought I might be SOL even though I organized a Sunday level 9 group. Missing out on Matt Belleville's classes - two weekdays, so TWENTY actual lessons - next season is just one reason I'm so traumatized. But maybe I can sneak into Pete's class. Some finessing required if indeed there's a Pete class, but I'm not above begging favors.
I was thinking "well okay, I'll do a few level 6 classes when I start at 6 months (January), then promote myself to level 7" - but my husband reminded me that 7s still sometimes go to Whale's Tail and such when the snow is learner-friendly. Right now the thought of even gently skiing sideways into that cornice gives me the willies, and it would definitely be against doctor's orders. Jenn seems surprised at the idea of waiting till 9 months for serious skiing, called it conservative. Then again my first doctor said I shouldn't ski at all for 9 months. (I fired him, but for other reasons. I think.) Maybe because he could very well predict how I'd immediately start trying to rationalize skiing harder stuff the moment I start skiing.
There's something cruel about going back to skiing and having to ski the scariest stuff on the mountain - blues and greens. My husband requested that I flail and wedge like a newbie so that people give me wide berth. I told him the wedge would put too much strain on my knees, and anyway I wanted to start with good movement patterns if I can manage it at all - no silly games for me next season.
If it seems like I'm overthinking events four months away (OMG January is 4 months away!), it's because I have too much downtime on my hands, so I need to fill it somehow. I have read all the books and watched all the TV. As a kid, if anyone had ever told me I could get bored of reading books, I would have thought they were nuts - but that was before I discovered outdoor sports.
Jeez, some articles make it seem like even 9 months is way too soon. But I'm not sure if skiing is considered a level 1 sport like football and basketball. And of course it all depends on how diligent I am with PT, how well I listen, and ultimately how well my body responds even if I do everything perfectly.
*insert gif of dog with head on paws, sighing loudly*