These Bruises Better Disappear Soon...

[**NOTE:  graphic photo at the end, please don't open if you are sensitive to bruise photos]

I was feeling adventurous after my long run on Saturday morning so I decided to join Tappan and some of his friends for a game of Paintball.

I'd never played before and I didn't know what to expect...but I thought it'd be fun and might even serve as a good "shake out" for my legs after my long run!  I didn't want to get tight sitting on my couch all day.

I got all dressed up-- Tappan told me to wear dark clothes, so I showed up looking like a ninja.

We had a group of 12 people and I was not the only novice in the group (Tappan's only played a handful of times and it'd probably been a decade since his last time) so I didn't feel completely like an outsider.

We worked together and came up with strategies and actually won a few times versus some more experienced teams.

It was all fun and games until a VERY inconsiderate person shot me in the quad/IT band area from about 2 feet away.  For those of you who don't know the rules, that is completely NOT allowed.

It HURT.

Fortunately it was the end of the day so I was able to get home and ice it relatively quickly.

Here are the stages of healing:

It still is uncomfortable if I touch the spot, but thank goodness it didn't bother me during my runs on Sunday and Monday...In that case I'd be pretty angry, haha :)

Despite the giant bruise, I ended up having an enjoyable time and someone on the opposing team even said I was one of the "fiercest ones" out there, which I took as a compliment!

Have you ever played paintball?
Ordinarily I would dislike the idea of paintball (i.e. getting hit), but I like stepping outside of my comfort zone sometimes and I certainly am glad that I did this time!  Sadly, I don't think I'll be back again though, it was a little traumatizing to get hit so hard at such a short distance.  But more importantly, the lack of respect from the opposing players was enough to turn me off from it.