Thursday, July 8, 2021 (Court Day #391)

I left work a little before closing time and got to Skypark a few minutes after 6 p.m. I was player number 9, but poor Judy is recovering from knee surgery and was only knocking the ball around gingerly, so I was into a game very quickly.

Left to right: Judy, Janet, Sharyl, Mark, and near court, Debbie, Kristin, Larry and his wife Jacquie.

I felt out of sorts right away. I wasn’t playing as well as I normally do.

I quickly figured out that I was exhausted. Dragging. Fatigued. As I played more games, my right forearm began to hurt. My tennis elbow was coming back. Damn. So a total of 12 hours of play over three straight days then playing again with only two days between was overdoing it. (As if I should be surprised, right?)

The last game was Janet and me against Mark D. and Adrian. I played that game lefty. We lead most of the game but lost after they came back and tied up the game 10-10.

The four of us left shortly after 9 p.m.

The company was good, but I was not into it. I wasn’t having my normal amount of fun. It vaguely felt like work being on a pickleball court.

Saturday, July 10, 2021 (No Play)

So. My right forearm aches a bit when doing certain things. Lifting a heavy water container out of the fridge hurts. Even typing is not 100% comfortable. Yes, I overdid it. When it started to hurt Thursday night, I should have switched to my left hand, but I get so much more power and control playing righty. It has to be at least half a skill level’s worth. (Like 3.0 versus 3.5.) I hit Adrian and Mark both twice in the chest Thursday night. A successful body shot for me lefty is rare. It’s frustrating playing lefty.

Tournament

I got an email yesterday about a tournament later this month about an hour away in Monterey. July 24 and 25, round robin, unsanctioned.

Of course, I’m thinking . . . can I? Will my arm be good enough? Can I even take a day off from work? Though mixed doubles is on Sunday, men’s doubles is on a Saturday, a workday for me. Could I find a partner? Would it be fun or frustrating?

And tomorrow. Do I play? Do I take the day off? If I play, Brommer or Derby? Will I be frustrated going back to the hell of lefty again?

Sunday, July 11, 2021 (No Play)

I opted to take today—my normal Sunday play day—off from playing. I need to recharge and give my right arm time to heal. Sure, I can play lefty, but I’ve been overdoing it. I need to “want” to be on a court. The desire needs to be there. My body has been telling me “no” but I’m used to taking every opportunity to get out and play.

I did run into my parents and they mentioned that my brother John was excited about pickleball. (I’d taken him out for his first pickleball outing very recently.) He was telling my parents all about it and how it’s better than tennis and combines ping pong and badminton and tennis together. He has small children, so getting out of the house can be a challenge. Still, maybe he can start playing regularly some day.


Number of days on a court: 391
Number of total hours: 2,014

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