One thing at a time

Gear. Practice. Game. D-bag ref. Tourneys. Wireless internet. I have so many things swirling in my head that I want to write about that I've been stuck for two days writing absolutely nothing. Which is making me angsty. And no one wants an angsty goalie. I'll start with the shiny new gear...

~Giant Goalie Bag~
Rating: Awesome
Pros: Can carry ALL my gear in one place, easily. Can enter and exit doorways without having to rely on my bellydancing background to slither through with something balanced on each shoulder. Actually zips closed. Doesn't smell like cat pee.
Cons: I forgot about the fact that I will have to actually lift that sucker now and then. Like to get it into the back of GoalieHusband's pickup, or into my car, or up and down the basement stairs. I have to struggle with it, but I can manage it on my own. I need to get a little better at that and will just consider it strength training.

~New Pants~
Rating: Very Good
Pros: Aren't ripped up. Have actual padding in convenient places like inner thighs. Aren't big enough for the Stay Puff Marshmellow Man.
Cons: Are slightly shorter than my old pants, leaving more leg exposed (oh baby!) when I'm down in the b-fly. That can be rectified with something I was considering purchasing anyway: combination knee/thigh pads. Tailbone protector is just a tad too short as well, but I think I can swap out the one in my old pants with this one.

~The Suspender Issue~
Yes, I know you're going "Wait a minute. What suspender issue?". I never wore suspenders with my old pants. A discussion on the Goalie Crease board about tucking vs not tucking your chest protector (into your pants) and where and how you wear your suspenders made me think that might be the solution to my chesty's tendency to pop out of place sometimes. So I bought suspenders when I got to the rink for practice on Wednesday.
Rating: Still Under Evaluation
Pros: Keep chesty in place as recommended. Too well.
Cons: Still have to figure out in which configuration I'm going to use them, to avoid what happened at practice happening again...

(Ohhh I'm slick. Like that teaser?)

What I tried doing Wednesday night was tucking the chest protector into my pants, and wearing the suspenders over the chesty. I ran them under the "floater" on each shoulder (piece of padding that's only attached in two places), to keep them from sliding down off my shoulders as I moved around. The point of doing this is to keep all your gear in place, and have everything move with you as one unit. I have trouble with my chest protector being a tad too loose so I figured this might solve that problem.

And oh, did it ever. Too well, as I mentioned. Not only did I feel like I was trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey, it kept all my body heat in and I ended up completely overheating in the middle of practice. I was working a little harder than usual, because I had my own private "coach" (more on that later), and then went straight to the main net for the forwards' shooting drills, without any water break in between. In the middle of that drill I just spaced. I had that dry hot bright red face, no-sweating, disoriented thing going on again. I was just standing there in the net at one point, bent over, letting the pucks fly past me, and the coach looked at me, barked my name, and asked if I was ok. I told him I needed water and went to the bench. I felt like a complete ass. I drank lots of water during the day, knowing I had a double-header that night. I guess it was just the fact that the heat had absolutely nowhere to go that put me over the edge. Once I guzzled some water, stripped off the layers and got rid of the suspenders, I felt better. After a bit of a rest I re-dressed, without suspenders or tucking, and went back out on the ice. I felt so much better; no restriction of movement, no boiling inferno in my body.

I still plan on experimenting with the suspenders. I think I might still use them, just underneath the chesty. Lots of guys on the board swear by tucking, but I don't think it's for me. I just felt way too restricted. We'll see. Work in progress.

What's really astounding though, is that a bunch of dopey hockey players had an internet discussion about "tucking or not tucking" without any references to genitalia. I guess everyone else is just way more mature than I am. *snicker*