Havin' Some Fun With the Numbers

I get caught up in the numbers. For someone who doesn't like, nor has ever liked math it is amazing how often I track things numerically. Sometimes to a fault. For instance; having not run a mile since a week ago today it bothers me that my yearly mileage is down and that I've not been able to log a mile for that length of time. Obviously it is the wise thing to do as I seem to be feeling just a bit better today and I probably need a few more days to fully recover. There have been times I've come back from an injury or an illness too quickly just to "get the number up" or "log" the miles. Wrong thing to do.

But after going through the previous week with what I'm calling a case of bronchitis (there I go self-diagnosing again) I walked off the ice last night and felt a sense of relief at what I had just accomplished. When my illness began and I looked at my calendar I knew I would be entering a tough stretch of hockey season. Just getting through it felt like an accomplishment. But in the condition I was in and fighting and battling to get over it while maintaining myself at work and on the ice was very tough. Looking back, here are some numbers I walked away with that make it all the more amazing:

• 6 - days of officiating in a row (last time I did this was in January, 2006 and only did 8 games during that stretch. I did a 9-out-of-10-day stretch back in December, 2002)
• 13 - games (most in that short a span ever)
• 6 - rinks (Kirk Nevin Arena, War Memorial Arena, North Central Recreation Center, Center Ice Arena, Valley Sports Complex, Harmarville Bladerunners)
• 10 - different officiating partners
• 567 - miles put on my car going to all of these games
• 100 - did my hundredth game of the season on Monday night, which is the seventh consecutive season with 100+ games worked in a season.
• 3 - different types of cold and sinus medication in an attempt to get myself through it all.

Much like last year's AA Penguin Cup Championship day when I ran 18 miles and then worked a double overtime game, this late February stretch of 2008 will be a week to remember to say the least.