Wednesday, December 28, 2011
AHHH
Recruitment is only five days away. Why am I so nervous? I've been through this once before. I know what's going to happen, and I know most of the people. Yet, I'm still nervous as fuck. What if I still suck? What if I stop improving early on? What if I improve but still never reach the level I need to? Will my right ankle always hurt like a son of a bitch after skating? Will my endurance ever improve? ;alsdkfja;lsdjf
Thursday, December 8, 2011
December Goal
My goal for December is to work on my skate form/posture. I'm doing some off-skates stuff on the weekdays and finally am getting back up on skates on the weekends. Shae helped me out a lot more than she realized this past weekend, I think. When sticky skating, I was always told to push hard on the turns and that the movement is like a half-moon. I started doing that and was going faster than I did at the beginning, but then Shae called it "scooter pushes" this weekend. It's amazing how something as simple as a change in terms can make it 100% more clear. A few laps around and I started pushing like I was riding a scooter... I've already seen a definite increase in speed. Am I where I need to be? I have no clue. Probably not. But I'm getting there!
I'm also bending my knees more when I'm skating. I can feel the difference when I do it. It's easier to get and maintain speed. It's still an area where I'm not 100%, but even 20% is better than before.
Next recruitment: 3 weeks, 4 days.
I'm also bending my knees more when I'm skating. I can feel the difference when I do it. It's easier to get and maintain speed. It's still an area where I'm not 100%, but even 20% is better than before.
Next recruitment: 3 weeks, 4 days.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Women's Sports
I follow a freaking ton of roller derby blogs, both here (stalking many of you courtesy of Google Reader) and on Tumblr. The big thing controversy today is over some douchebag writing an article for a little PoS local newspaper about how roller derby isn't a sport. I won't link it here just because many of those people are paid specifically to create controversy and make money for each page view. I won't give that douchebag the pleasure of any additional clicks from the two people who actually read this.
The thing is though - he's not the first and probably not the last to say that roller derby isn't a sport. The prime arguments that these people have are the fake names and the outfits. The names I'm not going to get into right now. The outfits however... Yes, sometimes the outfits can be a little outrageous. This seems to be primarily during certain themed bouts where leagues go out of their way to create an amusing spectacle to draw in the crowds, bringing attention not just to the league but to the charity they support. Usually, however, the women of roller derby wear a short-sleeved shirt or tank top with their team's name on it, some short shorts that allow comfort while keeping the body cool, tights to minimize rink rash, and, of course, their safety gear. What's wrong with that?
In my opinion, the problem is deeper than just what derby girls wear. It's the fact that a sport dominated by women does not garner respect in our society. Think about it - when was the last time you remember anyone talking about women's soccer/football? What about women's basketball? Tennis? Rugby? Cheerleading? (And when I say "cheerleading", I mean the actual sport of cheerleading generally popular in high school and college, not the women who wave their pom-poms during professional football games.) Gymnastics? Luge? Bowling? Golf? Out of all of those, the only sports I can remember anyone talking about are tennis and women's golf, and I suspect the latter is because I live an hour or two away from the LPGA headquarters.
Many of the sports listed get more respect than roller derby, but it's certainly not because of their outfits though. Cheerleading is a sport known for being sexualized with it's tiny skirts and belly shirts. Female tennis players wear cute little skirts rather than the seemingly more practical shorts, but no one gives them shit for that. Hell, when you do hear about female tennis players, it's usually about how hot Anna Kournikova or some other cute little blond girl is more than their amazing skills. Gymnasts often escape the sexualization despite wearing less than derby girls, though this might have more to do with the average ages of gymnasts being between 13 and 17.
If you play one of the other sports, the ones where women wear comfortable, practical clothing, you're often called "a lesbian", as if this is an insult and as if the sport you play and the clothes you wear are what define your sexual orientation and not, you know, being sexually attracted to people of the same sex. I heard this enough back when I played softball, that people don't want to come out and "watch a bunch of lesbians play softball because they're not good enough to play baseball," while the all-male school baseball team enjoyed fairly large crowds and a field that's both well-lit at night and close to both the school building and parking. Never mind that our varsity softball team often took the state championship while the baseball team was just okay. We were women viewed as trying too hard to be "manly" and therefore not to be taken seriously. You just can't win.
In summary: nothing we can do will make people like this view us with respect, not because it's roller derby but because we lack penises. We can rant and rail at this guy, but it's probably not going to do anything but make him more popular with his boss. Or we can save up the rage for our next bout and skate it out.
(BTW, I'd love someone in his local league to invite him to skate with them for a week or so. Just pop him in with a brand new fresh meat class so he can learn all the falls and whatnot, then start running some endurance drills before he leaves. Let's see how he feels about our non-sport after that.)
The thing is though - he's not the first and probably not the last to say that roller derby isn't a sport. The prime arguments that these people have are the fake names and the outfits. The names I'm not going to get into right now. The outfits however... Yes, sometimes the outfits can be a little outrageous. This seems to be primarily during certain themed bouts where leagues go out of their way to create an amusing spectacle to draw in the crowds, bringing attention not just to the league but to the charity they support. Usually, however, the women of roller derby wear a short-sleeved shirt or tank top with their team's name on it, some short shorts that allow comfort while keeping the body cool, tights to minimize rink rash, and, of course, their safety gear. What's wrong with that?
In my opinion, the problem is deeper than just what derby girls wear. It's the fact that a sport dominated by women does not garner respect in our society. Think about it - when was the last time you remember anyone talking about women's soccer/football? What about women's basketball? Tennis? Rugby? Cheerleading? (And when I say "cheerleading", I mean the actual sport of cheerleading generally popular in high school and college, not the women who wave their pom-poms during professional football games.) Gymnastics? Luge? Bowling? Golf? Out of all of those, the only sports I can remember anyone talking about are tennis and women's golf, and I suspect the latter is because I live an hour or two away from the LPGA headquarters.
Many of the sports listed get more respect than roller derby, but it's certainly not because of their outfits though. Cheerleading is a sport known for being sexualized with it's tiny skirts and belly shirts. Female tennis players wear cute little skirts rather than the seemingly more practical shorts, but no one gives them shit for that. Hell, when you do hear about female tennis players, it's usually about how hot Anna Kournikova or some other cute little blond girl is more than their amazing skills. Gymnasts often escape the sexualization despite wearing less than derby girls, though this might have more to do with the average ages of gymnasts being between 13 and 17.
If you play one of the other sports, the ones where women wear comfortable, practical clothing, you're often called "a lesbian", as if this is an insult and as if the sport you play and the clothes you wear are what define your sexual orientation and not, you know, being sexually attracted to people of the same sex. I heard this enough back when I played softball, that people don't want to come out and "watch a bunch of lesbians play softball because they're not good enough to play baseball," while the all-male school baseball team enjoyed fairly large crowds and a field that's both well-lit at night and close to both the school building and parking. Never mind that our varsity softball team often took the state championship while the baseball team was just okay. We were women viewed as trying too hard to be "manly" and therefore not to be taken seriously. You just can't win.
In summary: nothing we can do will make people like this view us with respect, not because it's roller derby but because we lack penises. We can rant and rail at this guy, but it's probably not going to do anything but make him more popular with his boss. Or we can save up the rage for our next bout and skate it out.
(BTW, I'd love someone in his local league to invite him to skate with them for a week or so. Just pop him in with a brand new fresh meat class so he can learn all the falls and whatnot, then start running some endurance drills before he leaves. Let's see how he feels about our non-sport after that.)
Friday, November 25, 2011
Trail skating
Fun fact: I'm really embarrassed by how awful I still am at skating. I hate that I put so much work into learning how to skate and still am so much slower than everyone else, even people who started out after I did. As a result, I've not skated at all for the past month because every time I even strap on skates, my confidence takes a beating. It's hard to go from being awesome at most things I try to being absolute crap.
However, my best friend convinced me to go trail skating yesterday for the first time and it was the best thing she could have done for me.
Yes, I fell (maaaaany times.)
Yes, my shitty ankle hurt like a son of a bitch.
Yes, I had a very embarrassing fall that resulted in a shredded knee sock and a very painful asphalt-filled scrape.
GIFSoup
But this skate session was exactly what I needed to get my head out of my ass. I could only do *one mile* before I chickened out. I should have at least tried for two. Next time, I'll do two. My stability is much lower than it was before, proving that it's time for this skate break to be over. So here I am, spending Black Friday doing chores and working on my paper, all while skating around the house.
Recruitment round two: 1 month, 8 days.
However, my best friend convinced me to go trail skating yesterday for the first time and it was the best thing she could have done for me.
Yes, I fell (maaaaany times.)
Yes, my shitty ankle hurt like a son of a bitch.
Yes, I had a very embarrassing fall that resulted in a shredded knee sock and a very painful asphalt-filled scrape.
GIFSoup
But this skate session was exactly what I needed to get my head out of my ass. I could only do *one mile* before I chickened out. I should have at least tried for two. Next time, I'll do two. My stability is much lower than it was before, proving that it's time for this skate break to be over. So here I am, spending Black Friday doing chores and working on my paper, all while skating around the house.
Recruitment round two: 1 month, 8 days.
Monday, November 7, 2011
13 Signs You're Too Busy
From The Huffington Post
1. You spend a good amount of time worrying about time.
2. You can't remember the last time you were spontaneous.
3. You eat most of your meals on the go.
4. You haven't talked to your best friend in weeks.
5. You're sleep-deprived.
6. You silently wish for cancellations.
7. You don't have time for your indulgences.
8. You can't recall the last time you broke a sweat.
9. You chafe at being asked a favor or commitment.
10. Your body is showing signs of rebellion.
11. You don't deal well with unexpected changes to your schedule.
12. Your bills look like the Tower of Pisa.
13. Everyone tells you you're too busy.
I've bolded the ones I've definitely shown. The ones in italics are my "sort of" category. I speak to my best friend online and occasionally over the phone, but we don't see each other nearly as often as we did once, though part of that is also her derby schedule. I've made time for my indulgences over the last week (namely reading trashy novels and playing the Sims) but it's been brief periods of time that I've needed for my sanity and to maybe, just maybe, stop the weird twitch I've developed in my eye. My bills don't look like the Tower of Pisa - I started out my adult life with bad credit thanks to identity theft, so I learned early on how important it was to make sure your bills are paid and how much good credit is necessary in today's society.
All this is my way to say... I might quit derby for a little while. Not permanently - I love it too much. I can't even do anything really, but it's gotten into my blood. All I want to do is talk derby, even if right now it's to complain that I don't have the time to practice. Because, honestly, I don't. I work full-time. I go to school. Combined together, that alone is killing me. Add derby in, and I don't have a night to myself. In order to take time and de-stress, I've stopped practicing on the weekends. It's not right. If you're not willing and able to practice on the side in addition to team practices, derby might not be the sport for you. Not at the moment.
So I'm doing some thinking right now. And by "thinking", I mean I need to quit, but I can't bring myself to write the email. I hate quitting. I've never really been a quitter before, particularly not for something that means so much to me. Do you know I exercised on my vacation? ME. EXERCISING. ON VACATION. That's not something I would have done before derby.
But it's not fair to my team to take up rink space, even if it is beginner rink space, if I'm not able to commit myself the way they deserve. I've already designed my spring school schedule around derby. They were tentatively discussing doing recruitment again in January. That would give me time to finish this semester, take a break, do the holiday thing, and come back refreshed. I keep telling myself that it's not really quitting, it's taking a two month break. But it doesn't stop my heart from hurting, and it doesn't stop me from feeling like a terrible person, one of those people I always criticize by saying "Well, if they truly want it, they would go for it."
I really need to hit something right now.
EDIT: And apparently by hit something, I meant "cry." Damn it. I hate crying.
1. You spend a good amount of time worrying about time.
2. You can't remember the last time you were spontaneous.
3. You eat most of your meals on the go.
4. You haven't talked to your best friend in weeks.
5. You're sleep-deprived.
6. You silently wish for cancellations.
7. You don't have time for your indulgences.
8. You can't recall the last time you broke a sweat.
9. You chafe at being asked a favor or commitment.
10. Your body is showing signs of rebellion.
11. You don't deal well with unexpected changes to your schedule.
12. Your bills look like the Tower of Pisa.
13. Everyone tells you you're too busy.
I've bolded the ones I've definitely shown. The ones in italics are my "sort of" category. I speak to my best friend online and occasionally over the phone, but we don't see each other nearly as often as we did once, though part of that is also her derby schedule. I've made time for my indulgences over the last week (namely reading trashy novels and playing the Sims) but it's been brief periods of time that I've needed for my sanity and to maybe, just maybe, stop the weird twitch I've developed in my eye. My bills don't look like the Tower of Pisa - I started out my adult life with bad credit thanks to identity theft, so I learned early on how important it was to make sure your bills are paid and how much good credit is necessary in today's society.
All this is my way to say... I might quit derby for a little while. Not permanently - I love it too much. I can't even do anything really, but it's gotten into my blood. All I want to do is talk derby, even if right now it's to complain that I don't have the time to practice. Because, honestly, I don't. I work full-time. I go to school. Combined together, that alone is killing me. Add derby in, and I don't have a night to myself. In order to take time and de-stress, I've stopped practicing on the weekends. It's not right. If you're not willing and able to practice on the side in addition to team practices, derby might not be the sport for you. Not at the moment.
So I'm doing some thinking right now. And by "thinking", I mean I need to quit, but I can't bring myself to write the email. I hate quitting. I've never really been a quitter before, particularly not for something that means so much to me. Do you know I exercised on my vacation? ME. EXERCISING. ON VACATION. That's not something I would have done before derby.
But it's not fair to my team to take up rink space, even if it is beginner rink space, if I'm not able to commit myself the way they deserve. I've already designed my spring school schedule around derby. They were tentatively discussing doing recruitment again in January. That would give me time to finish this semester, take a break, do the holiday thing, and come back refreshed. I keep telling myself that it's not really quitting, it's taking a two month break. But it doesn't stop my heart from hurting, and it doesn't stop me from feeling like a terrible person, one of those people I always criticize by saying "Well, if they truly want it, they would go for it."
I really need to hit something right now.
EDIT: And apparently by hit something, I meant "cry." Damn it. I hate crying.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Decisions, decisions
I've been performing at renfaires since I was 16. It started out with the Virginia Renaissance Faire and a couple of others. The only one we have here that goes longer than one weekend is all the way out in Tampa, but for the past two years I've made the drive every weekend during faire season. Every year, I say I'm not going to do it, that it takes up too much time, that it's too expensive and every damned time, I find myself at auditions once again. Not this year, however! I have *roller derby*.
They called me today. The director left a message asking if I'd be interested in coming back in my previous role. I haven't returned the call yet because... well, they've never called before to ask. o.O Just hearing the voicemail message left me all excited and wanting to plan. My character is already set; I'd just need to do a few tweaks. I already have all the homework I did during rehearsals saved in Evernote. Hell, now that I have a smartphone, I wouldn't even have to take the time to print it. I can just pull it up on my phone when they want to see it. Rehearsals are only half days on Saturdays. I could do that easily.
Performances are a different story. I'll lose eight weekends to that plus one Friday, with two days taken out to account for bouts. I was super stressed last year trying to do this. I had no one to carpool with from Orlando, which means I was stuck incurring all of the gas costs, all of the mileage, all of the everything. There is a girl I met through SCA that might be interested in doing it this year. I might have help on that, but I might not. There are also three faire people now working for Disney who may be doing faire if they can manage to get their weekends off. But it's still just so much work trying to do work, school and roller derby or work, school and faire. But work, school, roller derby AND faire? I might actually give myself a heart attack. (Even though my derby knee pads *would* be perfect for some of my more physical bits...) Plus, hopefully before the end of next faire season, I'll move out of honorary status, into official status and placed on a team. I suspect this is going to lead to me taking a larger role in the league, or at the very least practicing more often. Plus, when the eight weeks of performances hit, I will officially be unable to get any skating in on the side. No open skate, no Barber Park.
I'm crazy to even think of doing this.
They called me today. The director left a message asking if I'd be interested in coming back in my previous role. I haven't returned the call yet because... well, they've never called before to ask. o.O Just hearing the voicemail message left me all excited and wanting to plan. My character is already set; I'd just need to do a few tweaks. I already have all the homework I did during rehearsals saved in Evernote. Hell, now that I have a smartphone, I wouldn't even have to take the time to print it. I can just pull it up on my phone when they want to see it. Rehearsals are only half days on Saturdays. I could do that easily.
Performances are a different story. I'll lose eight weekends to that plus one Friday, with two days taken out to account for bouts. I was super stressed last year trying to do this. I had no one to carpool with from Orlando, which means I was stuck incurring all of the gas costs, all of the mileage, all of the everything. There is a girl I met through SCA that might be interested in doing it this year. I might have help on that, but I might not. There are also three faire people now working for Disney who may be doing faire if they can manage to get their weekends off. But it's still just so much work trying to do work, school and roller derby or work, school and faire. But work, school, roller derby AND faire? I might actually give myself a heart attack. (Even though my derby knee pads *would* be perfect for some of my more physical bits...) Plus, hopefully before the end of next faire season, I'll move out of honorary status, into official status and placed on a team. I suspect this is going to lead to me taking a larger role in the league, or at the very least practicing more often. Plus, when the eight weeks of performances hit, I will officially be unable to get any skating in on the side. No open skate, no Barber Park.
I'm crazy to even think of doing this.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Progress made
The recent change in practice time and location has made it a little more difficult for me to get some skate time in. I managed to make it before the end this time on Monday, though it wasn't enough time to even bother strapping on skates. I did get to watch the other girls from our fresh meat group scrimmage though. They look fantastic out there! I hope I'm doing that well after my second recruitment. It was difficult at times to spot some of the new girls versus the vets. I was so proud of them! So jealous, but so proud!! I drove home that night a bit sad about how little I get to practice now with midterms and school scheduling craziness but then, towards the end of the now looong drive, I started reminiscing about my first practice.
Do you know when I first started skating, I often couldn't even make it around the entire rink? I'd go along the wall (forever gripping the wall), make it to the next point where the wall ends, get off the rink, and rest. After a couple of weeks of skate classes at the rink, I'd often go a lap, rest, go a lap, rest. When I went in for my first derby practice, I had only been off the wall for a couple of weeks, and it was only just barely off the wall. I was still nervous about getting too far away from it. I remember being slightly terrified of our very first drill. All we did was skate and do falls at various cones. We were skating in the middle of the rink though, away from my precious wall, and I felt like I could barely move.
Perspective. I still suck, but not as much as I did once before. Remembering that compared to how I skate now is what's getting me through. Yes, I'm going through a second recruitment. But I'm going to nail it the next time around.
Do you know when I first started skating, I often couldn't even make it around the entire rink? I'd go along the wall (forever gripping the wall), make it to the next point where the wall ends, get off the rink, and rest. After a couple of weeks of skate classes at the rink, I'd often go a lap, rest, go a lap, rest. When I went in for my first derby practice, I had only been off the wall for a couple of weeks, and it was only just barely off the wall. I was still nervous about getting too far away from it. I remember being slightly terrified of our very first drill. All we did was skate and do falls at various cones. We were skating in the middle of the rink though, away from my precious wall, and I felt like I could barely move.
Perspective. I still suck, but not as much as I did once before. Remembering that compared to how I skate now is what's getting me through. Yes, I'm going through a second recruitment. But I'm going to nail it the next time around.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
WTF, body? W.T.F.
I can't do a crossover. I can't. I've been trying so hard and every time I think I have it, it's gone by the next practice.
However, I can now almost do a tomahawk stop... as long as I don't move faster than a crawl. XD
WTF. I can't even do a basic maneuver like a crossover! Yet one of the refs pulled people aside today to help with 180 turns and I nailed them ridiculously quick. I still trip up every once in awhile if I'm going too fast, but I can do these! And I can do almost-tomahawks! It was pretty amazing, and totally made up for the failtasticness that was me trying to fucking keep up with the pack. (We moved this weekend and I did something weird to my ankle/outside part of my calf. I didn't even think it was a concern until my leg was shaking, unable to even support myself while skating.)
Extra practice agenda for the weekend: Speed and crossovers.
However, I can now almost do a tomahawk stop... as long as I don't move faster than a crawl. XD
WTF. I can't even do a basic maneuver like a crossover! Yet one of the refs pulled people aside today to help with 180 turns and I nailed them ridiculously quick. I still trip up every once in awhile if I'm going too fast, but I can do these! And I can do almost-tomahawks! It was pretty amazing, and totally made up for the failtasticness that was me trying to fucking keep up with the pack. (We moved this weekend and I did something weird to my ankle/outside part of my calf. I didn't even think it was a concern until my leg was shaking, unable to even support myself while skating.)
Extra practice agenda for the weekend: Speed and crossovers.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Being a Ravenclaw does not help with roller derby
I warned you that there would be fandom crap in here, right?
Being a Ravenclaw does not help with roller derby. Not really. I've done a ton of research, watched videos on Youtube, etc. but that sort of stuff only gets you so far. It doesn't actually get you up on skates, it doesn't get you hitting hard, and it certainly doesn't get you onto a team (a fact I definitely know as I currently hold Honorary status on the team due to failure to pass minimum skills requirements.)
Recently, however, I was sorted into Pottermore as a Slytherin, the ambitious (and occasionally evil) house. I disagreed at first. (And by disagreed, I mean "sat in front of my computer in a catatonic state with the green Slytherin screen up.") But I've decided to embrace my new house. After a few weeks of getting used to the idea, I switched out my Universal Orlando annual pass lanyard for a green and grey striped one. This was a big moment for me; I've rocked my Ravenclaw one for a year since the park first started selling them.
As nerdy and slightly crazy as it sounds, the new house has also given me a level of confidence that I didn't feel before. As a Ravenclaw, one holds confidence in their intelligence and wit. I still have that, but now that I'm embracing the ambitious Slytherin side, I'm even more determined to get what I want. And what I want is to be on the Psycho City Derby Girls, not as an Honorary member, but as a full-fledged, scrimmaging and bouting team member.
Being a Ravenclaw does not help with roller derby. Not really. I've done a ton of research, watched videos on Youtube, etc. but that sort of stuff only gets you so far. It doesn't actually get you up on skates, it doesn't get you hitting hard, and it certainly doesn't get you onto a team (a fact I definitely know as I currently hold Honorary status on the team due to failure to pass minimum skills requirements.)
Recently, however, I was sorted into Pottermore as a Slytherin, the ambitious (and occasionally evil) house. I disagreed at first. (And by disagreed, I mean "sat in front of my computer in a catatonic state with the green Slytherin screen up.") But I've decided to embrace my new house. After a few weeks of getting used to the idea, I switched out my Universal Orlando annual pass lanyard for a green and grey striped one. This was a big moment for me; I've rocked my Ravenclaw one for a year since the park first started selling them.
As nerdy and slightly crazy as it sounds, the new house has also given me a level of confidence that I didn't feel before. As a Ravenclaw, one holds confidence in their intelligence and wit. I still have that, but now that I'm embracing the ambitious Slytherin side, I'm even more determined to get what I want. And what I want is to be on the Psycho City Derby Girls, not as an Honorary member, but as a full-fledged, scrimmaging and bouting team member.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Worried
Testing is today.
I'm SO not ready. Today is the day when I start feeling jealous of all the other leagues, the ones with three months of recruitment training before that big day comes up. Two months seems fine if you know how to skate. I feel like I'm so close sometimes. My crossovers are improving. I'm getting lower. I'm getting faster. My endurance is improving. However, the rest of the fresh meat girls are already scrimmaging, so I'm just hanging out with the two others who started out not knowing how to skate because none of us are ready. We're just hanging out, waiting... for what? I don't even know at this point. We do warm ups and cool downs with everyone else. I suppose they're waiting for us to show signs of improvement or quit. It's a bit disheartening.
I mean, I understand why we're not scrimmaging. We're not ready at all. We're not fast enough, we're not strong enough, we simply don't have the skills. Watching the scrimmages has really helped us learn the rules of the game, but our skating isn't improving by watching. I'm debating quitting for awhile and coming back for the next recruitment in January. I know I won't exercise as much as I need to between now and then, but it would give me a chance to get caught up on school work (three weeks in and already behind) and arrange my spring schedule to work with derby.
I'm SO not ready. Today is the day when I start feeling jealous of all the other leagues, the ones with three months of recruitment training before that big day comes up. Two months seems fine if you know how to skate. I feel like I'm so close sometimes. My crossovers are improving. I'm getting lower. I'm getting faster. My endurance is improving. However, the rest of the fresh meat girls are already scrimmaging, so I'm just hanging out with the two others who started out not knowing how to skate because none of us are ready. We're just hanging out, waiting... for what? I don't even know at this point. We do warm ups and cool downs with everyone else. I suppose they're waiting for us to show signs of improvement or quit. It's a bit disheartening.
I mean, I understand why we're not scrimmaging. We're not ready at all. We're not fast enough, we're not strong enough, we simply don't have the skills. Watching the scrimmages has really helped us learn the rules of the game, but our skating isn't improving by watching. I'm debating quitting for awhile and coming back for the next recruitment in January. I know I won't exercise as much as I need to between now and then, but it would give me a chance to get caught up on school work (three weeks in and already behind) and arrange my spring schedule to work with derby.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Balancing life and derby
School started about a week ago, adding a bit of complication to my life/derby balance. Practices were moved awhile back to days when I have class, which means on those days I now go to for 9 hours, class for 3 hours, then derby for 2. It's exhausting. By Wednesday, I'm ready to just hibernate for the rest of the week. It doesn't help that this is the first semester that I've gone full-time since back in the day when I lived at home with my parents. I'm already falling behind in school, which is killing my inner Ravenclaw. If I would have come to this realization a week ago, I would have dropped my Econ and Judicial Process classes. I still would have one day each week where it's work/school/derby, but at least I would have time to catch up later in the week and still have something resembling a social life. As it is, I feel terrible because I can't do very many of the social things that many of the derby girls do. The little bit of free time I have generally goes to additional skate practice.
Right now, the other new girls are all scrimmaging. My roommate and I are the only ones who aren't. We're hanging out on the sidelines most of practice, which gets a little frustrating at times. I want to skate! At the same time, however, I recognize that I'm just not ready for it. I'm not comfortable with skating in a pack. I'm not quick enough to keep up. I'd be a danger to myself and others if I were to get out there. So for now, I'm watching and learning that way, and skating on the weekends whenever I get a chance. This past weekend, one of the other players who went through recruitment last cycle got out there and helped me a bit. She seriously worked wonders with me when it comes to sticky skating and getting comfortable on my skates!
Next personal goal: Speed or plow stopping. Not sure which.
Right now, the other new girls are all scrimmaging. My roommate and I are the only ones who aren't. We're hanging out on the sidelines most of practice, which gets a little frustrating at times. I want to skate! At the same time, however, I recognize that I'm just not ready for it. I'm not comfortable with skating in a pack. I'm not quick enough to keep up. I'd be a danger to myself and others if I were to get out there. So for now, I'm watching and learning that way, and skating on the weekends whenever I get a chance. This past weekend, one of the other players who went through recruitment last cycle got out there and helped me a bit. She seriously worked wonders with me when it comes to sticky skating and getting comfortable on my skates!
Next personal goal: Speed or plow stopping. Not sure which.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Victory!
I can sticky skate! Finally!
I've had a huge issue with my sticky skating from the very beginning. I thought I would be fine. In the skate classes I took at the skating rink, they called it "scissors." Your feet simply go in and out in an almost circular motion, both feet at the same time. It wasn't the way the other girls skated though, and I always fell behind them when doing it. The person who was helping me said she thought it was slowing me down because it's so similar to plow stopping over and over again. So she took the time today to show me various methods of sticky skating and I feel so much more comfortable doing it. This is the best and most confident I've felt after practicing in such a long time. ("Best" being in reference mostly to confidence. My legs are sore as all hell.)
Will I pass testing after Labor Day? No. No, definitely not. But I'm a step closer to being competent. Now that I know the basic move, I can practice whenever I have some free time so I can improve on the movement.
I've had a huge issue with my sticky skating from the very beginning. I thought I would be fine. In the skate classes I took at the skating rink, they called it "scissors." Your feet simply go in and out in an almost circular motion, both feet at the same time. It wasn't the way the other girls skated though, and I always fell behind them when doing it. The person who was helping me said she thought it was slowing me down because it's so similar to plow stopping over and over again. So she took the time today to show me various methods of sticky skating and I feel so much more comfortable doing it. This is the best and most confident I've felt after practicing in such a long time. ("Best" being in reference mostly to confidence. My legs are sore as all hell.)
Will I pass testing after Labor Day? No. No, definitely not. But I'm a step closer to being competent. Now that I know the basic move, I can practice whenever I have some free time so I can improve on the movement.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Secrets
Cardiovascular Health
Let’s take a look at the components of the sport of roller derby. First and foremost, you must be able to roller skate, and you must be able to do it well. Skaters, even those with previous experience, spend hours doing laps to learn the mechanics of speed and agility on eight wheels in the physics of the flat track.
Roller skating is a form of cardiovascular exercise approved and encouraged by the American Heart Association (AHA), and those that skate enjoy the same full body benefits as runners (1). Most government bodies recommend that an adult should do at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week to maintain cardiovascular health and keep obesity at bay, any more than that (or any more intense) will lead to an increase in health and a shedding of pounds (2).
Since most leagues practice twice a week minimum, skaters are already going to get about 175 minutes of pure skating or drill work (two practices a week turns into 240 minutes of practice does not usually equate to 240 minutes of skating). However, many leagues have three practices a week, and most skaters are serious enough about their sport to seek cardiovascular and strength workouts OUTSIDE of practice times as well (3).
A healthy heart means increased blood flow. This allows the body to clear arteries naturally, repair muscles more efficiently, and strengthens the immune system. This all equates to lower blood pressure (great for stress) and a control on blood sugar (great to avoid diabetes). (3)
From Why roller derby? by Kristie Grey
I've mentioned numerous times that I'm extremely out of shape. Extremely. It's hard for me to keep up with the rest of the group as a result. Well, one thing I haven't really mentioned was my recent scare when it came to my heart's health.
This past fall and spring, I had numerous occasions where I'd be lying around my apartment and would be able to feel my heart randomly start beating harder than normal for one or two beats, often skipping a beat. I'd just lay there freaking out that I was about to have a heart attack at any moment. This was part of my inspiration to start losing weight. I started back in January with a slow weight loss plan (slow because drastic changes to my diet never work for me longer than a few weeks.) I still had problems all through the spring despite losing a little bit of weight and a bunch of inches thanks to the physical activity involved in my renfaire performances. By the summer, they finally went away after I started learning to skate. I've sworn I'd never get to that point again. (The weird heart beats started up this week as I start freaking out due to school/work/derby, so now I know that it was never actually my heart. I suppose that explains why my cholesterol was never elevated and my blood pressure was normal.)
But the whole thing started me on what will hopefully be a lifetime of increased cardiovascular health. Roller derby has been great in that way. While I know now that the issues were never really my heart, I can feel how much I'm starting to shape up. I'll always be a chubby girl, but at least now I'm a chubby girl who is at least semi-healthy.
Let’s take a look at the components of the sport of roller derby. First and foremost, you must be able to roller skate, and you must be able to do it well. Skaters, even those with previous experience, spend hours doing laps to learn the mechanics of speed and agility on eight wheels in the physics of the flat track.
Roller skating is a form of cardiovascular exercise approved and encouraged by the American Heart Association (AHA), and those that skate enjoy the same full body benefits as runners (1). Most government bodies recommend that an adult should do at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week to maintain cardiovascular health and keep obesity at bay, any more than that (or any more intense) will lead to an increase in health and a shedding of pounds (2).
Since most leagues practice twice a week minimum, skaters are already going to get about 175 minutes of pure skating or drill work (two practices a week turns into 240 minutes of practice does not usually equate to 240 minutes of skating). However, many leagues have three practices a week, and most skaters are serious enough about their sport to seek cardiovascular and strength workouts OUTSIDE of practice times as well (3).
A healthy heart means increased blood flow. This allows the body to clear arteries naturally, repair muscles more efficiently, and strengthens the immune system. This all equates to lower blood pressure (great for stress) and a control on blood sugar (great to avoid diabetes). (3)
From Why roller derby? by Kristie Grey
I've mentioned numerous times that I'm extremely out of shape. Extremely. It's hard for me to keep up with the rest of the group as a result. Well, one thing I haven't really mentioned was my recent scare when it came to my heart's health.
This past fall and spring, I had numerous occasions where I'd be lying around my apartment and would be able to feel my heart randomly start beating harder than normal for one or two beats, often skipping a beat. I'd just lay there freaking out that I was about to have a heart attack at any moment. This was part of my inspiration to start losing weight. I started back in January with a slow weight loss plan (slow because drastic changes to my diet never work for me longer than a few weeks.) I still had problems all through the spring despite losing a little bit of weight and a bunch of inches thanks to the physical activity involved in my renfaire performances. By the summer, they finally went away after I started learning to skate. I've sworn I'd never get to that point again. (The weird heart beats started up this week as I start freaking out due to school/work/derby, so now I know that it was never actually my heart. I suppose that explains why my cholesterol was never elevated and my blood pressure was normal.)
But the whole thing started me on what will hopefully be a lifetime of increased cardiovascular health. Roller derby has been great in that way. While I know now that the issues were never really my heart, I can feel how much I'm starting to shape up. I'll always be a chubby girl, but at least now I'm a chubby girl who is at least semi-healthy.
Friday, August 19, 2011
ACK
We're getting closer and closer to final testing (September 6th and 8th). I'M SO NOT READY. After we pass testing, we start scrimmaging. Awhile ago, the coach said if we're not ready for it by that point, we'll have some one on one time to get us up there but now I'm wondering if that's going to happen. We seem to have lost some people yet again and I suspect the only reason I'm not getting pulled right now despite my complete and utter failure at pack skating is because they need more fresh meat skaters in the beginners scrimmages (well, that and the only way one learns to pack skate is to, well, practice skating in a pack.) But *flail* SO NOT READY.
1. I can't keep my feet down on the corners. I can sticky skate or I can stay with the pack. I can't do both. When I go skating this weekend, this is what I'm going to work on. If I have the energy tonight and can talk my roommate into it, I want to go to open skate and work on it after work today.
2. My speed blows. I'm getting closer! I can just almost keep up with the pack. However, my endurance blows as well, so I'm getting tired way before I should. Again though, it's something I'm very slowly improving on each time. (If I can pass on any advice to future derby girls, it's WORK OUT AT HOME BEFORE YOU GO TO RECRUITMENT. It's awful to feel like you're always holding people back.)
3. I feel pretty okay with blocking. I wasn't sure I would until last night we practiced drag blocking while skating around. I was with one of the Psycho Sisters and was able to successful drag block her, but she couldn't push me out. (Of course, this might be in part due to a probably 100 lb weight difference between us, BUT STILL. I might not be able to get my fat ass around the rink but at least I can push people out.) I think it helped that most of my experience drag blocking was with Itzel, who is pretty much an unmovable force when she wants to be. However, I only seem to get low right around the time when I feel like I'm going to get hit, so I'm going to be caught unaware at some point while skating.
This is my last weekend before school starts so I'm not sure how much skating I'll get in, but I know it needs to be A LOT. At the very least, I need to sticky skate until I feel like I'm going to vomit. One of the Psycho Sisters tried to show me how to sticky skate like I'm skiing, so I'm going to give that a try sometime this weekend to see if I can manage this. I have two weeks to catch up with the pack. I can do this, I can do this, I can do this, I can do this...
1. I can't keep my feet down on the corners. I can sticky skate or I can stay with the pack. I can't do both. When I go skating this weekend, this is what I'm going to work on. If I have the energy tonight and can talk my roommate into it, I want to go to open skate and work on it after work today.
2. My speed blows. I'm getting closer! I can just almost keep up with the pack. However, my endurance blows as well, so I'm getting tired way before I should. Again though, it's something I'm very slowly improving on each time. (If I can pass on any advice to future derby girls, it's WORK OUT AT HOME BEFORE YOU GO TO RECRUITMENT. It's awful to feel like you're always holding people back.)
3. I feel pretty okay with blocking. I wasn't sure I would until last night we practiced drag blocking while skating around. I was with one of the Psycho Sisters and was able to successful drag block her, but she couldn't push me out. (Of course, this might be in part due to a probably 100 lb weight difference between us, BUT STILL. I might not be able to get my fat ass around the rink but at least I can push people out.) I think it helped that most of my experience drag blocking was with Itzel, who is pretty much an unmovable force when she wants to be. However, I only seem to get low right around the time when I feel like I'm going to get hit, so I'm going to be caught unaware at some point while skating.
This is my last weekend before school starts so I'm not sure how much skating I'll get in, but I know it needs to be A LOT. At the very least, I need to sticky skate until I feel like I'm going to vomit. One of the Psycho Sisters tried to show me how to sticky skate like I'm skiing, so I'm going to give that a try sometime this weekend to see if I can manage this. I have two weeks to catch up with the pack. I can do this, I can do this, I can do this, I can do this...
Monday, August 15, 2011
Awkward skating
Some days I feel like I'm the most awkward skater there could ever be. I've been shown how to do a crossover a million times. Yet I still can't do it! I feel like I've reached this point where I simply can not improve any more (which is too bad, because there are so many skills I still need to work on.) I can't do crossovers, I can't skate on one leg... hell, sometimes I feel like I can barely balance on two legs. Without crossovers, my speed won't improve (I slow down massively on the corners and just glide my way through.)
At the same time though, there are improvements. For example, I can t-stop now! I worked so hard to try to get t-stops and they finally just... clicked. They're still very new for me so I feel like cheering every time I nail one, but I'm still trying to play it cool like it's not a Big Fucking Deal that I can now do this awesome stop.
We've also had a change in venue for practices, so now we're indoors all the time. While it's a big yay in some ways (OMG, no more outdoor skating in August in Florida!), we're now skating with the Psycho sisters on a regular basis. It's so intimidating sometimes! We do our 20 in 5 each practice and even in the slow skater area, I'm being passed at such high speeds. I always know when someone's coming up behind me because I hear the surprised sounds as people all of a sudden have to go around me. I'm afraid to get in anyone's way. While I know I need to keep up with them, I'm always crossing my fingers that they'll finish their 20 when I'm still at lap 10 so they'll go down and stretch and I can try to push my way through the last few laps. (I know, I know. I need to get over that. I'm never ever going to skate in a bout all by my lonesome. But I am SO not ready to skate with everyone else yet! Why couldn't I have a recruitment with a bunch of other girls who can't skate so I'm not the only one who sucks balls? Why do I always have to be the last one done with every exercise, the one who can't keep up? ::headdesk headdesk headdesk::
It's been almost 1.5 months and I *still* can't do a crossover. What. the. hell. is. wrong. with. me???
At the same time though, there are improvements. For example, I can t-stop now! I worked so hard to try to get t-stops and they finally just... clicked. They're still very new for me so I feel like cheering every time I nail one, but I'm still trying to play it cool like it's not a Big Fucking Deal that I can now do this awesome stop.
We've also had a change in venue for practices, so now we're indoors all the time. While it's a big yay in some ways (OMG, no more outdoor skating in August in Florida!), we're now skating with the Psycho sisters on a regular basis. It's so intimidating sometimes! We do our 20 in 5 each practice and even in the slow skater area, I'm being passed at such high speeds. I always know when someone's coming up behind me because I hear the surprised sounds as people all of a sudden have to go around me. I'm afraid to get in anyone's way. While I know I need to keep up with them, I'm always crossing my fingers that they'll finish their 20 when I'm still at lap 10 so they'll go down and stretch and I can try to push my way through the last few laps. (I know, I know. I need to get over that. I'm never ever going to skate in a bout all by my lonesome. But I am SO not ready to skate with everyone else yet! Why couldn't I have a recruitment with a bunch of other girls who can't skate so I'm not the only one who sucks balls? Why do I always have to be the last one done with every exercise, the one who can't keep up? ::headdesk headdesk headdesk::
It's been almost 1.5 months and I *still* can't do a crossover. What. the. hell. is. wrong. with. me???
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
This is not my best day ever.
I feel awful. This was one of those nights where I questioned why I wanted to do this. Is hardcore exercise where people come up and hit you really the way I want to get in shape? Perhaps I should start out as a ref or NSO before I become a skater.
At the same time, I know I need to just push through. At the very least, that's what people keep saying. "You've improved so much!" Sure, I've improved a lot. But I'm still so very very far behind. I'm in this awkward phase now where I can do t-stops... most of the time. I can *almost* do a crossover if I'm going slow and I really think about every movement. The crossovers part is what's killing me right now. We had to do our 20 in 5 today. I failed it so hard. I was keeping up at first, but halfway through, I just freaked out every time I tried to do a crossover. I don't know why. Then I fell so far behind everyone else that I wasn't sure I'd ever catch up, so I sort of gave up. Sort of. I mean, I kept skating, but I didn't push as hard as I could have. At the point where the whistle blew signifying the end of our 5 minutes, I was at about 16 or 17 laps. I kept going and was the last one to finish. Ugh.
Nothing I could do tonight was right. I couldn't lean properly. I couldn't hit properly. I couldn't hit hard enough. I couldn't sticky skate very quickly around the corners. I didn't have time to drink at work today (all I had all day was a cup of coffee and a medium Pepsi) so all I could think about while skating was how delicious water would be. We had junk food before the match, so at times I was so close to vomiting that I could taste my burrito supreme again (never again will I eat Taco Bell before skating.) And, of course, junk food just left me feeling icky all night. That's on top of the fact that I'm just not in shape enough to keep up.
Yeah, this is not my best day ever.
At the same time, I know I need to just push through. At the very least, that's what people keep saying. "You've improved so much!" Sure, I've improved a lot. But I'm still so very very far behind. I'm in this awkward phase now where I can do t-stops... most of the time. I can *almost* do a crossover if I'm going slow and I really think about every movement. The crossovers part is what's killing me right now. We had to do our 20 in 5 today. I failed it so hard. I was keeping up at first, but halfway through, I just freaked out every time I tried to do a crossover. I don't know why. Then I fell so far behind everyone else that I wasn't sure I'd ever catch up, so I sort of gave up. Sort of. I mean, I kept skating, but I didn't push as hard as I could have. At the point where the whistle blew signifying the end of our 5 minutes, I was at about 16 or 17 laps. I kept going and was the last one to finish. Ugh.
Nothing I could do tonight was right. I couldn't lean properly. I couldn't hit properly. I couldn't hit hard enough. I couldn't sticky skate very quickly around the corners. I didn't have time to drink at work today (all I had all day was a cup of coffee and a medium Pepsi) so all I could think about while skating was how delicious water would be. We had junk food before the match, so at times I was so close to vomiting that I could taste my burrito supreme again (never again will I eat Taco Bell before skating.) And, of course, junk food just left me feeling icky all night. That's on top of the fact that I'm just not in shape enough to keep up.
Yeah, this is not my best day ever.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Part of me wants to be really down on myself right now. We were doing pace lines with some of the Psycho Sisters at practice on Saturday and I just couldn't keep up. Even worse? I was the *only* one who couldn't keep up. I'm the only one who can't get the speed necessary to do the freaking exercise! I could cry. What's getting me through it though?
A month ago, I could barely move on my skates. Sure, I couldn't keep up. But I wasn't all that far behind them! I'll get the speed. It's just going to take some additional practice. We tried to go trail skating in my neighborhood today only to discover - surprise! - trail skating requires decent sidewalks (aka trail skating can't happen in a cheap apartment complex.) We're going to try again next week with Shae at one of the parks in the area.
Fun fact about me: I'm a total Ravenclaw. I'm always up in my head, and it's no different with derby. Even the most basic of exercises (like practicing t-stops) never goes well because I overthink it. I can t-stop. I can! Really! But in front of people, if I feel like they're watching me or waiting for me to do it, I can't. It's terrible. We had the first part of our minimum skills test the other day and, even though we haven't heard results yet, I feel like I was a complete failure. I can't even do a proper stride when I'm being judged. Right now, I feel like I'll be lucky if I make it on a team by December. I also find that I don't like to experiment as much with things I can do on my skates when other people are around watching. I might try to take some more time this week to go to Barber Park while my schedule allows it. If I can get up there sometime when we have the facilities pretty much to ourselves, I want to start playing more on my skates. At least when I bust my ass then, my failure will be private.
A month ago, I could barely move on my skates. Sure, I couldn't keep up. But I wasn't all that far behind them! I'll get the speed. It's just going to take some additional practice. We tried to go trail skating in my neighborhood today only to discover - surprise! - trail skating requires decent sidewalks (aka trail skating can't happen in a cheap apartment complex.) We're going to try again next week with Shae at one of the parks in the area.
Fun fact about me: I'm a total Ravenclaw. I'm always up in my head, and it's no different with derby. Even the most basic of exercises (like practicing t-stops) never goes well because I overthink it. I can t-stop. I can! Really! But in front of people, if I feel like they're watching me or waiting for me to do it, I can't. It's terrible. We had the first part of our minimum skills test the other day and, even though we haven't heard results yet, I feel like I was a complete failure. I can't even do a proper stride when I'm being judged. Right now, I feel like I'll be lucky if I make it on a team by December. I also find that I don't like to experiment as much with things I can do on my skates when other people are around watching. I might try to take some more time this week to go to Barber Park while my schedule allows it. If I can get up there sometime when we have the facilities pretty much to ourselves, I want to start playing more on my skates. At least when I bust my ass then, my failure will be private.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Wheeee!
Today's practice was awesome. The day started off not-so-great with a slightly difficult move (as in helping a friend move, not a derby maneuver or something.) We grabbed chinese afterwards and simply did not feel like leaving the apartment, but we pushed ourselves to get out and go, even knowing we would not be successful at today's part of testing. We did most of the level one skills test on Thursday, but today we had to do stuff like one leg glides, pace lines (which none of the members of special mittens have done), sticky skate, etc. I still can't manage to sticky skate around corners, nor can I get my legs up. I know I did horribly on today's testing bits, but I feel like I did much better on Thursday, so hopefully it will all balance out.
After that, we started some of the basics of blocking, as well as hip whips and pulls (aka pull carts.) I freaking LOVE pull carts. They were much easier than I thought. I love the challenge of pulling along those extra people though. It gave my legs a great work out. We only did one lap, but I feel like I could have kept going. Hip whips I wasn't very comfortable on. It just felt odd to me to grab someone at the hips like that and pull them back. I was terrified of tripping up Itzel or pulling her back into me. I also think I might have been too far to the left in order to do it properly. I'll make sure to work on hip whips whenever we manage to make it to an extra skate session this week. And blocking? Love blocking! (Even if it does feel like everyone has bony shoulders when doing shoulder blocks.) Gauntlet was a lot of fun - frustrating because I'm not as fast of a skater as some of the others and I noticed some of the new girls kept moving further and further out so there was a lot space between people, but when I knocked up against the Psycho sisters, it felt great. It was just touches - not actual blocking - but I know blocking is likely going to be what I do most, if not all, of the time. It was great to get that small taste of it.
My roommate is doing derby as well, so I suspect that the house is about to become a giant blocking session. If you're coming to my place any time soon, I recommended you stay down in derby stance and watch out for anyone coming up behind you. You're about to be hip-checked.
After that, we started some of the basics of blocking, as well as hip whips and pulls (aka pull carts.) I freaking LOVE pull carts. They were much easier than I thought. I love the challenge of pulling along those extra people though. It gave my legs a great work out. We only did one lap, but I feel like I could have kept going. Hip whips I wasn't very comfortable on. It just felt odd to me to grab someone at the hips like that and pull them back. I was terrified of tripping up Itzel or pulling her back into me. I also think I might have been too far to the left in order to do it properly. I'll make sure to work on hip whips whenever we manage to make it to an extra skate session this week. And blocking? Love blocking! (Even if it does feel like everyone has bony shoulders when doing shoulder blocks.) Gauntlet was a lot of fun - frustrating because I'm not as fast of a skater as some of the others and I noticed some of the new girls kept moving further and further out so there was a lot space between people, but when I knocked up against the Psycho sisters, it felt great. It was just touches - not actual blocking - but I know blocking is likely going to be what I do most, if not all, of the time. It was great to get that small taste of it.
My roommate is doing derby as well, so I suspect that the house is about to become a giant blocking session. If you're coming to my place any time soon, I recommended you stay down in derby stance and watch out for anyone coming up behind you. You're about to be hip-checked.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
So far behind...
I feel so far behind the others right now. Itzel, Nat and I are fairly even with each other but we're very far behind the rest of the skaters. I'm going to keep going just because I'm improving so much, but I can feel a second recruitment period coming on for me. It sucks, but at the same time I recognize that it's best that we not skate in a bout until our skills improve. I still suck at jumping, but our one-on-one instructor of the day assured me that she's never had to full-out jump over someone. Step over limbs? Yes. Jump over someone? No. Not that it's going to stop me from working on it. But tomorrow when I get home from work, I'm going to find a nice area of grass and just work on jumps off-skates. I jumped today and had a wicked fall on my tailbone. I'd prefer to never do that again.
We were able to skate with the rest of the girls for part of the day. I'm so conflicted when I'm skating with everyone else. Part of me is super excited because Hey, I'm doing this! Another part hates that, while I'm doing it, I'm much slower than most of the other girls. But I'm getting better. My endurance is improving, too. I mean, I still get winded before a lot of others, but I remember at the beginning of the year that I'd get winded just coming up the damned stairs. I mean, how ridiculous is that? No one should get to that point with their health. Hence me attempting derby.
Also, if you ever have sinus issues, skate hard on a hot day. I have a cold right now. I sniffled my entire way there, blew my nose a million times while putting on gear, but after getting warmed up, my sinuses basically cleared up. They're a mess again now that I've been home for a little while, but they're getting there.
We were able to skate with the rest of the girls for part of the day. I'm so conflicted when I'm skating with everyone else. Part of me is super excited because Hey, I'm doing this! Another part hates that, while I'm doing it, I'm much slower than most of the other girls. But I'm getting better. My endurance is improving, too. I mean, I still get winded before a lot of others, but I remember at the beginning of the year that I'd get winded just coming up the damned stairs. I mean, how ridiculous is that? No one should get to that point with their health. Hence me attempting derby.
Also, if you ever have sinus issues, skate hard on a hot day. I have a cold right now. I sniffled my entire way there, blew my nose a million times while putting on gear, but after getting warmed up, my sinuses basically cleared up. They're a mess again now that I've been home for a little while, but they're getting there.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
SO. SORE.
Thursday night we had practice. Last night, a few of us skated over at someone's apartment complex in the racquetball court. Today we did free skate at the skating center. I AM SO SORE RIGHT NOW. I did better today at free skate than normal though. One of the other derby recruits recommended that I turn my shoulder more into my crossovers and it really helped. I still can't get my foot all the way over yet, but I'm still working on it. I'm getting better and much more comfortable on my skates. I'm not where I need to be, but I'm getting there.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Progress!
Team Special Mittens is making progress! (Special Mittens is what Itzel and I are calling our small little group of misfit skaters. The name was pulled from a derby blog that I read awhile ago but I can't for the life of me remember which one to credit it.) Itzel was a freaking master of t-stops by the end. It was awesome to see how well she was doing. I'll admit, I was a bit jealous!
I finally fell trying to do t-stops, which I really needed to do. I discovered that I'm getting pretty good at falling (proper falls, I mean. One knee slides, double knee falls, baseball slides, even superman falls.) Ellen Rage and Tiger Beatdown are freaking miracle workers. My t-stops are improving (they're nowhere near what they need to be, but still better than they were!) I'm so close to getting crossovers right now. I actually wanted to keep on going tonight until I mastered them! They also made sure to make the last part of practice fun for us to, which I really appreciated (perhaps more so than some of the other women, but meh. I've always been a fan of making an ass out of myself in public.) They had us do the Electric Slide (which HOLY SHIT I've not done this dance since probably 1995), the Cupid Shuffle, and the Cha-Cha Slide, all of which are always great ways to get more comfortable on the skates.
I'm not ready for the Level 1 test next week. But quite honestly? I've made so much progress at this point that I can't help but already feel victorious.
I should have some decent bruise pics soon. My leg has a lump that is very slowly turning colors.
I finally fell trying to do t-stops, which I really needed to do. I discovered that I'm getting pretty good at falling (proper falls, I mean. One knee slides, double knee falls, baseball slides, even superman falls.) Ellen Rage and Tiger Beatdown are freaking miracle workers. My t-stops are improving (they're nowhere near what they need to be, but still better than they were!) I'm so close to getting crossovers right now. I actually wanted to keep on going tonight until I mastered them! They also made sure to make the last part of practice fun for us to, which I really appreciated (perhaps more so than some of the other women, but meh. I've always been a fan of making an ass out of myself in public.) They had us do the Electric Slide (which HOLY SHIT I've not done this dance since probably 1995), the Cupid Shuffle, and the Cha-Cha Slide, all of which are always great ways to get more comfortable on the skates.
I'm not ready for the Level 1 test next week. But quite honestly? I've made so much progress at this point that I can't help but already feel victorious.
I should have some decent bruise pics soon. My leg has a lump that is very slowly turning colors.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
"Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning." Ben Franklin
I'm frustrated with my current progress in skating. And by "progress", I mean, "lack of it." There are so many little things that I've been practicing for awhile that I'm just not getting a hang of. One leg glides are one of the big ones. I can't seem to manage control enough to stay up on one leg. I don't know why. I can stand on one leg for a freakishly long time when I'm not on skates.
In fact, I think that's one of the most frustrating things for me. While I wouldn't call myself particularly talented when it comes to sports, I've also never had that hard of a time with them. My endurance has always been complete shit, but I used to be amazingly quick at sprints. I can catch a line drive, intercept a pass in football, bowl a decent game, get some decent hits in during tennis matches, but I can't lift my fucking leg while roller skating. I feel like there's some big secret to doing it that's just completely eluding me.
I'm starting to get a little self-conscious about how horrible of a skater I am. We keep doing all of these exercises as a group and most of the other girls just fly through it with no problem. On the other hand, my arms are flailing everywhere as I try to regain balance after jumps (usually failing. My ass always hits the ground on jumps.) I started out Sunday making an attempt to do jumps over pool noodles but midway through I gave up and started just stepping over them. Why? Not because I was afraid of falling. I'll never learn if I don't try and fail. I just felt bad because the other girls behind me kept having to go around me. It's one thing if I suck and go slow. I don't want to be that person that pulls anyone else down with me.
In fact, I think that's one of the most frustrating things for me. While I wouldn't call myself particularly talented when it comes to sports, I've also never had that hard of a time with them. My endurance has always been complete shit, but I used to be amazingly quick at sprints. I can catch a line drive, intercept a pass in football, bowl a decent game, get some decent hits in during tennis matches, but I can't lift my fucking leg while roller skating. I feel like there's some big secret to doing it that's just completely eluding me.
I'm starting to get a little self-conscious about how horrible of a skater I am. We keep doing all of these exercises as a group and most of the other girls just fly through it with no problem. On the other hand, my arms are flailing everywhere as I try to regain balance after jumps (usually failing. My ass always hits the ground on jumps.) I started out Sunday making an attempt to do jumps over pool noodles but midway through I gave up and started just stepping over them. Why? Not because I was afraid of falling. I'll never learn if I don't try and fail. I just felt bad because the other girls behind me kept having to go around me. It's one thing if I suck and go slow. I don't want to be that person that pulls anyone else down with me.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
I'm not going to make it.
When I first started training a week ago, I was average. There were a number of girls better than me, but a bunch of people worse than me as well. Now as people drop out, I'm at the bottom. I was pulled aside along with one of the other girls because we need additional help skating. I'm trying to tell myself that it's to be expected. I mean, I couldn't even get off the wall until just over a month ago, and took a couple of weeks out of skating classes due to vacation and visiting friends. And quite honestly, I recognize that I need additional help skating. If I can nail stopping, I think that would fix some of my issues. However, I'm ridiculously overweight and out of shape. Tonight really brought that to my attention as I'm gasping for breath.
I have a lot of work to do over the next two months.
I have a lot of work to do over the next two months.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Practice 2, in which I develop a hatred of concrete.
Sunday practices are outdoors on a concrete rink. This was my first time skating outdoors and I was absolutely terrified. I don't know if it's because I was using indoor wheels (96a GT Swirls that came with my skates) or what, but I was terrible. Grapevines were soooo hard. I just kept skating forward unless I turned my wheels extremely inside and bent my knees. I feel like it's the pressure of my knees pushed together that kept me from moving forward. The thing is - I just did grapevines on skates on Thursday to try to prep for crossovers and I didn't have as many problems. When I get paid on Friday, I HAVE to go back to the skate shop and get some outdoor wheels. At least then I'll know if I suck it's because I suck and not because my wheels blow.
My falls are definitely improving. I felt like I had a hang of the one knee slides and double knee falls but I still need a little work on baseball slides and superman falls. Baseball slides are the reason for the graphic at the top - I have a bit of a rash on my calf from the combination of shorts/short socks and baseball slides on concrete (yeah, I really didn't plan my outfit well.)
I still suck at sticky skating though. I think I just need to improve my thigh muscles. I'm ridiculously slower than anyone else though, even the other new skaters. I'm going to try to do a little more exercising off-skates this week to work on that until I can get some outdoor wheels or find a way to get the money for more skate sessions. The sticky skating and grapevines were pretty demoralizing though. I was just absolutely horrible on them. I even thought at one point "What am I doing? Why am I here? I can't do this!" as everyone skated by/around me.
I'll be happy when all of this practice finally kicks in and I don't suck.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
First Practice!
We had our first practice on Thursday evening. I think I did okay. One knee slides were fun, but I have trouble with superman slides and baseball slides. Oh well, two months to work on it, right? I'm also reeeeeally slow at scissors. I need to work on those in skate class this morning (as much as I can anyways - I'm a fattie who rarely exercises so Thursdays practice has left me sore even now.)
I'm already worried about passing the minimum skills requirements. Skating isn't the easiest skill for me, so I have to work harder than some of the others just to master the basics. Sigh. Hopefully once my body gets used to the work, I'll catch up.
I'm already worried about passing the minimum skills requirements. Skating isn't the easiest skill for me, so I have to work harder than some of the others just to master the basics. Sigh. Hopefully once my body gets used to the work, I'll catch up.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Recruitment Night
Thursday was recruitment night for our local league. Itzel and I sort of clung together and made jokes to get through the nervousness, which seemed helped us a lot. They had us fill out some basic paperwork and then went over the basics about playing in the league. I won't lie - the minimum skills test seems daunting right now, and the idea of attempting it in a month is more than a little terrifying. We have an attempt in one month, and then the real deal in two months. After that point, we skate with the league for two months before being assigned to a team.
Everyone was super nice though. They finished the informational night by doing a free skate and a bunch of people kept slowing down to check on us, offer pointers, etc. I didn't skate my best that night, but it was great to get out there and meet everyone. I can't wait to actually start training! (Even if I'll get my ass kicked.)
This past Saturday we had a new teacher for skate class. She's new to me, but not new to teaching skate classes. She's been doing it for 20 years, and I must admit that it's the best skate class I've had so far. She taught a lot of stuff that the other teachers haven't yet (basic stuff like bending your knees for stability) and taught us how to do some moves in different ways that helped me out a LOT. She got me to backwards skate for the first time! She also called me out on not taking as many risks as I should out of fear of falling, which I really needed. I don't realize how obvious it is, so it was nice that she pointed me out for it and gave me a goal to work on when I skate. We're going to an adult skate session tonight so I'll be making that something to work on tonight.
Everyone was super nice though. They finished the informational night by doing a free skate and a bunch of people kept slowing down to check on us, offer pointers, etc. I didn't skate my best that night, but it was great to get out there and meet everyone. I can't wait to actually start training! (Even if I'll get my ass kicked.)
This past Saturday we had a new teacher for skate class. She's new to me, but not new to teaching skate classes. She's been doing it for 20 years, and I must admit that it's the best skate class I've had so far. She taught a lot of stuff that the other teachers haven't yet (basic stuff like bending your knees for stability) and taught us how to do some moves in different ways that helped me out a LOT. She got me to backwards skate for the first time! She also called me out on not taking as many risks as I should out of fear of falling, which I really needed. I don't realize how obvious it is, so it was nice that she pointed me out for it and gave me a goal to work on when I skate. We're going to an adult skate session tonight so I'll be making that something to work on tonight.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek
Freaking out has begun!
Recruitment is on Thursday. I'm not ready. I've not exercised the way I need to, I've not practiced as I should. I can't do a crossover. I'm not drinking water. I can only kinda sorta do even a toe stop.
WHY AM I DOING THIS TO MYSELF?! ::hyperventilates::
Recruitment is on Thursday. I'm not ready. I've not exercised the way I need to, I've not practiced as I should. I can't do a crossover. I'm not drinking water. I can only kinda sorta do even a toe stop.
WHY AM I DOING THIS TO MYSELF?! ::hyperventilates::
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Crossovers!
Skate class yesterday was fantastic. I mean, I sucked at everything we did, but we had a different teacher this time around and she not only pushed us, but she made sure she took time with everyone to try to help us with what we're doing wrong. My stance is entirely wrong on backwards skating so I have to spend the week trying to practice standing with my toes in and my knees super bent. My knees are actually a huge part of my skating problem. Apparently I need to bend them a lot more than I have been, but it just doesn't feel natural to me. I see other people skating and it always looks like they're all standing up. On the other hand, I bend to the point they keep telling me to and it feels like I'm hovering over a public toilet.
We started crossovers though. I've never actually seen a Level 2 class do crossovers. In fact, I watched the Level 3s learn how to do them and how to backwards skate, so I was never expecting Level 2s to do either. I suck at them, but I was able to do them enough that I felt what people were talking about with the sudden burst of speed when you do crossovers. I actually let myself glide a few times around corners instead of crossing over because the speed was a bit overwhelming for me.
Yes, I realize I totally fail as a skater. It had me doubting whether or not I want to do derby. I've always been fairly decent at sports, so it's a bit demoralizing to find myself sucking so much at this. Blech.
We started crossovers though. I've never actually seen a Level 2 class do crossovers. In fact, I watched the Level 3s learn how to do them and how to backwards skate, so I was never expecting Level 2s to do either. I suck at them, but I was able to do them enough that I felt what people were talking about with the sudden burst of speed when you do crossovers. I actually let myself glide a few times around corners instead of crossing over because the speed was a bit overwhelming for me.
Yes, I realize I totally fail as a skater. It had me doubting whether or not I want to do derby. I've always been fairly decent at sports, so it's a bit demoralizing to find myself sucking so much at this. Blech.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Review: Modernskate.com
After a bad experience with a local skate shop, I decided to look online to see if I can find protective gear at a good price. I came across Modernskate.com via Google Shopping and, seeing no negative reviews, decided to give them a try.
This was a fantastic decision.
Modernskate's customer service was fantastic. I sent them an email after placing an order due to the fact that I was shipping to an address that wasn't my billing address (I always ship to my job anymore because UPS just leaves my packages on the ground outside of my apartment and we have a bit of a crime issue.) They apparently have a policy that flags some shipments that go to other billing addresses so that follow up is required in order to ensure the card is yours (a great safety idea that I never even thought of.) They responded quickly to let me know everything's good and the shipment will go out later that day or the next day. I received confirmation by the end of the day (approximately 24 hours after shipping) and received my items about 3 business days later. This was using their free shipping option, which is usually ridiculously slow with most other companies.
The pricing was also much better than most other shops. I went with Triple 8 KP Pro knee pads (I know, I know, not as good as Shae's 187s, but pretty close and without the bulk.) They were $60 through a local skate shop, $75 from a number of other stores, but only $42 through ModernSkate.com. I ended up picking up knee pads and elbow pads for the same price as just the knee pads from the local shop.
All in all, it was an excellent experience that I will be repeating in the future when I've killed these pads. I'll also be recommending them to anyone in search of gear at recruitment night next week.
This was a fantastic decision.
Modernskate's customer service was fantastic. I sent them an email after placing an order due to the fact that I was shipping to an address that wasn't my billing address (I always ship to my job anymore because UPS just leaves my packages on the ground outside of my apartment and we have a bit of a crime issue.) They apparently have a policy that flags some shipments that go to other billing addresses so that follow up is required in order to ensure the card is yours (a great safety idea that I never even thought of.) They responded quickly to let me know everything's good and the shipment will go out later that day or the next day. I received confirmation by the end of the day (approximately 24 hours after shipping) and received my items about 3 business days later. This was using their free shipping option, which is usually ridiculously slow with most other companies.
The pricing was also much better than most other shops. I went with Triple 8 KP Pro knee pads (I know, I know, not as good as Shae's 187s, but pretty close and without the bulk.) They were $60 through a local skate shop, $75 from a number of other stores, but only $42 through ModernSkate.com. I ended up picking up knee pads and elbow pads for the same price as just the knee pads from the local shop.
All in all, it was an excellent experience that I will be repeating in the future when I've killed these pads. I'll also be recommending them to anyone in search of gear at recruitment night next week.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Goals
It was a little quiet today, so I've spent part of my day in between projects going through derby blogs for information. A lot of it is the same information I've received at other sites. What made it all so interesting was hearing the different emotions and stories behind all of it. There were girls who have been injured, women who never made the team, coaches, refs, fresh meat, veterans, lifelong fans... It's all pretty amazing. Derby has such a long history; it feels weird to think I might be a part of that. Not that I actually think I'll be a big part of it, but the sport is well-documented thanks to the power of the Internet, and now I'm adding my voice as potential fresh meat.
Roxy Horror mentioned that we should set goals. This week, I'll be setting goals and thinking of ways I can make them happen. Once I make my list, I'll post them here so I can be held accountable for them. I'll probably end up posting the WFTDA skills list as well. While we're not really held to them in OSDA, they all seem like skills I need anyways.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Saturday Class
Yesterday's class and skate session was a weird mix of positives and negatives. Positive: I had a really good sense of balance going forward. I could step out on the rink and just get to skating. My endurance is picking up as well. Negative: My legs weren't cooperating at times and my skates were vibrating like crazy. I kept stopping before I was ready as a result. Shae mentioned something about my bearings possibly being dirty so I look at my skates - yeah, they're filthy. Not necessarily the bearings, but there's a load of crud all over the wheels. I know jack shit about skate maintenance so I posted on FB a call for help, and luckily enough received a response! Laura was my absolutely savior and let me come over today for a lesson in skate maintenance. We loosened my trunks, she showed me how to tighten my toe stops and taught me everything I need to know about cleaning bearings. Apparently I was supposed to wipe down my wheels about once a week or two, so it took a lot more effort to get the thick crud off the wheels, but now you can finally see the swirly pattern on them again! (I might not be able to skate, but at least I look good when making an ass of myself on the rink.) We took the bearings apart but that was a huge pain. I apparently have very large bearings (they're the generic ones that come with the skates) so it took a ton of effort just to get them in and out, never mind taking them apart. I need to upgrade my wheels for derby anyways so I shot rollergirl.ca an email today with order questions and will simply put on new wheels and bearings next time these need to be cleaned.
Now I'm worried - what if I fall a lot now that I don't have the layer of gunk making my wheels grippy? My wheels are too hard for the surface we skate on, and it's going to be a little while before my new ones come in (aka I've not ordered them yet.) Laura warned me that the cleaning combined with the hardness of the wheels means I'm going to have a little bit of a tough time when I first get out there. I don't mind looking like an idiot in class/public skate but I don't want to go to my first day of recruitment falling all over the place. I had actually reached a point on Saturday where, other than the vibrations, I felt ready to start doing crossovers, even though they're a level 3 thing. I won't learn them until I can start moving backwards a bit and can master one leg turns, but I feel ready to at least start the basic movements now.
Oh, right, backwards skating. I almost forgot to mention that. I can't backwards skate to save my life. Everyone else was able to start getting themselves to move, whereas I'm just sitting there. I can't even figure out how to get myself to start moving. Maybe now that it will be easier to get my wheels going, I'll have an easier time at backwards movement.
Time until recruitment: 1 week, 4 days.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
To skate or not to skate
Tonight is the night that I normally would go to open skate, but I'm not sure if I'll be going or not. I really want to; its killing me not to be on my skates. However, on Sunday when I went to open skate, I had a lot of sweat getting into my eyes, causing me to rub at them. Well, when I rubbed at them, my contact scratched my eye a bit, which means I'm wearing glasses for the moment. Skating with glasses on sort of freaks me out. I've never done it before and quite honestly I don't want to start now. What if I fall? What if my glasses fall off? Plus I hate getting sweaty when wearing these. Hell, I just flat out hate wearing them. There's the constantly pressure on your nose, the oil that seems to gather where they touch my face... I just want my contacts back. ;_;
So now the question is - to skate or not to skate? When I miss my normal Wednesday skate session, I feel unprepared for my Saturday skate lessons. I know it's just beginner classes, but I really need them (obviously. I mean, I wouldn't be spending the money and hanging around so many little kids if I didn't.) But I want to try to move into the Level 3 classes before recruitment night, which means I have two Saturday sessions left. I'm getting pretty close, I think. Sunday when I went skating, I was able to get my foot up long enough to say "sectumsemptra" a few times, which is awesome. I still can't shoot the duck, but I think skating on one foot while standing is the main skill necessary to move up. I need to get to a point where I can skate on the one foot while making a turn. I can barely make a turn on two feet, so we'll see how this goes. I need a LOT more practice than I can actually afford.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Nerdiness and Athleticism?
As you may have guessed from the title of this blog, I am a nerd. A huge nerd, to be honest. Most days, I'd rather be home reading than doing anything else. I enjoy the occasional comic book (a love I learned from my fifth grade best friend who adored the X-men), game of D&D, renfaire, a good LARPing session, surfing the Internet, Doctor Who, Firefly and, of course, Harry Potter (from which the blog received it's name. I've long been known in my group of friends for my love of and amusement with Aberforth Dumbledore. It's to the point where people see goats and think of me.)
So. I don't get out much. Renfaire is the closest thing to exercise in my life. However, a few years ago I found out that there were a couple of different roller derby teams in the area. As a kid, roller derby seemed like the best career choice a person could make. I wanted to spend my days skating around in awesome clothing, getting into fights and being bad ass. My mom disagreed and rarely took me to the rink as a kid. She swore I was going to break a wrist. Then they demolished the rink when I was around 8 or so in order to build a new highway, so there went my roller derby dreams. When I found out about the two teams in the area, I knew I had to join. I kept an eye on their myspace pages, trying to figure out which one was actually active (which ended up being just the Tourist City Terrors, which I think broke into Sintral Florida Derby Demons and Orlando Psycho City Derby Girls? Maybe? I'm not all that updated on local derby drama.)
Anyways, now we have the Orlando Psycho City Derby Girls, Sintral Florida Derby Demons, Thunder City Derby Sirens, and Florida Derby League. OPCD and FDL are both OSDA leagues, whereas TCDS and SFDD are WFTDA leagues. Sintral Florida's a bit too far. Thunder City looked promising (and had the bonus of me already knowing someone on the team) but after doing a test drive this weekend to a bout, I don't think I can do it. The team was fantastic and people seemed really nice, but the drive is just too far for me. I used a quarter of a tank just getting there and back. Make that twice a week until fall when I can only go to practice once a week due to my school schedule? Yeah, sadly not going to happen. Florida Derby League is new and has the additional bonus of offering boot camps to help get people in shape, but it's co-ed which makes me feel nervous. I want to be bad ass, but at the same time I'm not prepared to be knocked over by 250lb muscular guys on a regular basis. (Yet, somehow getting knocked over by 250lb muscular women isn't an issue? I don't know why, but in my head, it's not.)
So OPCD it is. They have recruitment coming up, which I'm excited/nervous about. I love watching their games. This league was actually my first exposure to live derby matches, so they'll always hold a special place in my heart. They have awesome nerdy themed matches (last night was a RHPS match in which we were obnoxious spectators who did the Time Warp, called out call lines and corrected the mispronunciations of the team's names by the announcer.) They seem like a great group of people, and it's only about a 25 minute drive from my house. I also like that most of their bouts are home bouts as well. With work and school, it's so much easier for me if I just have local derby practices, bouts and promos (or whatever they call the extra work that goes into making derby happen. In faire, we call them promos.) without the joys of driving 3 hours down to Palm Beach or up to Jacksonville or whereever else once a month or so. They have recruitment on June 30th, so I'll go in and see how this goes.
I'm more than a little worried though. I'm not a strong skater. I really want this and am willing to work hard, but I'm very out of shape anymore. I used to be in decent shape thanks to softball as a kid and strenous faire activities and a semester of powderpuff football during my first attempt at going to college. I'm trying to get up to the rink to practice as much as possible, but I'm just not catching on as quickly as I feel I should. I also picked up some bad habits when I tried to teach myself to skate and now that I'm taking lessons at the rink, I have to try to erase all of those bad habits. I was really encouraged when I was able to stand up straight and move a little without touching the wall after just two lessons but now I feel like I'm not improving at as quick of a pace. I've stagnated in a major way. I don't feel like I'm strengthening my skills and my legs are killing me after just a couple of laps. My right leg is the worst. While my left leg points fairly straight, my right leg points a little to the right. I think it might actually be from all of the softball in my formulative years. My right leg was always pressed against a base, turned sideways to help maximize my push, or turned to help me run towards the left after a ball, as covering third base made it rare for the ball to go towards my right. So now it won't go straight without expending extra energy. My whole body tries to go towards the right. I don't know if it's normal or not, but it doesn't feel normal. My right leg is always killing me after skating, whereas my left leg feels like it could go on forever.
I'm worried that I'm not going to be in shape by recruitment. I'm worried that my skating skills will be so bad that I'm asked not to come back until the next recruitment, which might not necessarily work in with my school schedule. I'm worried that my natural shyness will hinder my progress. I'm worried that I'll get out there, take a fall and break my wrist or tailbone on my first day of recruitment. And most of all, I'm worried that I'll put in all of the work and never reach the level I need to. I'm scared that I'll do all of this and not even be drafted onto a team. How disappointing would that be? And how embarrassing? I'd hate to have to be like "Yeah, no, I didn't make it onto a team" when my non-derby friends ask me how derby is going. Hell, they're already asking me as if I'm on it, and all I'm doing at this point is taking the beginner classes at the skate rink that have absolutely nothing to do with derby.
We'll see. This week I'm watching what I'm eating, drinking more water, and attempting more exercise in order to prep for recruitment. About three weeks to go until Day 1!
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