Well, I survived my first, and as you read this my second, evening of Learn to Curl at Blaine Lake Curling Rink.
What inspired me to decide to take lessons, I have no idea. A middle-aged (hem hem) woman who has too much on her plate has decided to don stretch pants, sneakers and bunny hug (yes I said bunny hug, not hoodie) in public and in a class of elementary students to learn the basics of curling. While parents and others joined in the stands to watch, I had a feeling that next week the audience may be larger.
Okay, so it looks waaaay easier than it is. I have developed a whole new appreciation for the sport and its athletes. I always said, one never has the right to critique anything unless they have attempted it. I still stand behind that!
You should have seen the faces on the children when they came up to me and asked if I was one of the instructors and I said, "No, I am learning how to curl." I am sure the reason they did not burst out into laughter is because they were raised to respect their elders!
Karen was clear about instructing us on some stretching exercises Hmm, this wasn't so bad, I could stretch and twist like anyone else. Really now, how hard could this curling thing be?! Little did I know what lay ahead.
Ok, so it's like this: put this foot in the hack, the other on the slider, balance, breathe, balance, keep upper body straight and lower into position, now raise posterior and push out of hack, balance, slide and stay up ... Oh, if only it were that easy!
Other than trying to balance on the ice in a squatting position, I fared quite well with the thought that I basically had very little distance to fall basically just topple over unless I did the unmentionable. Yes, you guessed it and it did happen on more than one occasion where that darn slider foot decided to veer to the left of my focused path. The darn problem was I could feel that leg sliding away from my body and couldn't bring it back despite my darndest efforts. Seriously, it is so interesting how my brain says one thing and my body parts decided to act on their own.
I would highly recommend taking a class with the youth. They are an energetic bunch and because I am not pushed to competition or feel intimidated, I enjoyed it as much as they did, or maybe even more
I am sure they thought I was joking when I said, "okay, I need to rest a few minutes," but I wasn't even though I consider myself in good physical shape with walking 3-5 miles a couple times a week complemented with my weight training but I actually heard muscles screaming that I didn't even know were registered with my brain. And to think I even paid money to do this!
Has anyone ever thought of bringing this sport indoors and off ice? Wait, isn't that shuffle board? Hmmm, sounds less painful and safer for me.
Regardless, I had fun and honestly wished I would have taken this up years ago (like when my body was much younger and flexible). Watch out Olympics not!
