So I went to practice last Thursday, and apparently the schedule was a bit rigorous early in the week because only 10 of us showed up! LOL! We did falls, of course, then packwork so we can establish some sort of cohesion and actually play together. 5 mediocre girls playing together can be more adventageous than 5 awesome individuals!
Anyway, during drills our team of 3 worked really well blocking Daniel, then were tasked with a play requiring one to booty block Rose and another to hit her. Um, I'm scared of hitting Rose. She weighs less than I do, but I just bounce off of her! And sure enough, that's what I did, came down on my knee and a shooting pain went through it. What's weird is that it was my RIGHT knee, not the left one that I hurt at the expo bout. I sat out the rest of practice, pissed at the world.
So Sunday comes around and I'm so nervous I don't know what to do with myself. I am VERY happy to make it through tryouts, but I have NO IDEA what my score will be. I don't even know how many laps I completed. But whatever, it's over! (I also managed not to have shooting pain through my knee until the next-to-last jam - and Mike our magical EMT hit a pressure point that made the pain ease up much quicker than normal. Let's not talk about the 1000 mgs of Naproxen I took to ease the pain in my back during tryouts.)
Yesterday I met with Ruby, Mya & GI at a sushi place to discuss marketing stuff before the team meeting. After the team meeting we got our results. 2.6 out of 4 and 24 laps in 5 minutes. Eesh. Our new rules specify that to transition from new recruit to Storm Chasers (our version of Fresh Meat) you must skate 25-in-5 and score a 3.0. Lightening Broads (LB), 26-in-5 and 3.1, Tornado Alley Rollergirls (TARG), 28-in-5 and 3.5. So if we were being strictly judged, I'd be back in the new recruit section. LUCKILY I know from the last tryouts that many many of our members are being placed on a team (LB or TARG) when they don't make the requirements, and have a 3 months probation period to bring up their scores, skills and speed to desired levels. I really really really hope they put me on LB probation, but we won't find that out until sometime Wednesday. Keep your fingers crossed. :)
Here are my scores:
Basics: 2.75
Falls: 3
Balance & Agility: 2.85
Skating with: 2.37
Blocking: 2.16
Laps: 2.5
TOTAL: 2.6
(24 laps in 5, 5 laps in 1)
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Tryouts this weekend - EEK!
Weigh-in went moderately well on Nov 29 - I lost 2.8 lbs for a weigh-in of 197.4. My situps and pushups went DOWN though, I think Aunt Flow had something to do with the situp decrease.
Monday we started practice up again. Each session begins with 30 minutes of "Brian torture" where we are made to complete strange exercises rumored to have come from the P90X routine. Mondays are "newbie" days, so we refined basic skills. We're also re-learning falls so that we land less on our knees (rockstars are now banned!) and it's very odd to do a superman / four-point fall that starts with landing on your wrists. We did this both Monday and Tuesday and I'm wearing holes in the side of my wrist guards already. Our new "go-to" fall is a barrel roll. Say what?! Fat girls flail, which is not conducive to barrel rolling. Tuesday we scrimmaged, though I dropped out after my knee cursed at me a little. I refuse to voluntarily hurt myself before Sunday!
I am so sore today. Every muscle in my body hurts. I haven't been this sore since starting derby. Stupid off-season.
And then tryouts are on Sunday. I'm still super nervous about laps. :( I will probably make the Lightning Broads team, but put on probation (which means in 3 months I have to try out again and show improvement in my problem areas).
Oh yeah, did I mention we are now renting a warehouse?! So practice is available 7 days a week, which is pretty damn awesome. The downfall is that the space is not climate controlled (but neither was our other location) and it's incredibly dusty. The floor is concrete and it's also slick, so we're encouraged to use hybrid wheels.
Monday we started practice up again. Each session begins with 30 minutes of "Brian torture" where we are made to complete strange exercises rumored to have come from the P90X routine. Mondays are "newbie" days, so we refined basic skills. We're also re-learning falls so that we land less on our knees (rockstars are now banned!) and it's very odd to do a superman / four-point fall that starts with landing on your wrists. We did this both Monday and Tuesday and I'm wearing holes in the side of my wrist guards already. Our new "go-to" fall is a barrel roll. Say what?! Fat girls flail, which is not conducive to barrel rolling. Tuesday we scrimmaged, though I dropped out after my knee cursed at me a little. I refuse to voluntarily hurt myself before Sunday!
I am so sore today. Every muscle in my body hurts. I haven't been this sore since starting derby. Stupid off-season.
And then tryouts are on Sunday. I'm still super nervous about laps. :( I will probably make the Lightning Broads team, but put on probation (which means in 3 months I have to try out again and show improvement in my problem areas).
Oh yeah, did I mention we are now renting a warehouse?! So practice is available 7 days a week, which is pretty damn awesome. The downfall is that the space is not climate controlled (but neither was our other location) and it's incredibly dusty. The floor is concrete and it's also slick, so we're encouraged to use hybrid wheels.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
No Try Outs for Me
I can't honestly say I'm disappointed - because I am scared to try out! BUT it was my knee and not my fear of failure that held me back this time. I still haven't tried skating on the knee, but yesterday was our first day of our derby biggest loser type challenge! $20 to enter, and top 4 winners get a portion of the total (50/30/15/5 I think). And even after just situps and push-ups, my knee hurts today. Sooo brace is back on, naproxen on schedule. AND the worst news of the night (even though I knew what was coming) was the number on the scale - 200.2 lbs. All time high. Now I know why the people on the Biggest Loser cry when they see that starting number.
So here are my starting numbers:
Weight - 200.2
Waist - 42"
Hips - 46"
Situps - 24 in 1 minute
Pushups - 4 regular, 19 on knees in 1 minute
My goal is 5 lbs the first week, and 1.5 lbs each week thereafter.
So here are my starting numbers:
Weight - 200.2
Waist - 42"
Hips - 46"
Situps - 24 in 1 minute
Pushups - 4 regular, 19 on knees in 1 minute
My goal is 5 lbs the first week, and 1.5 lbs each week thereafter.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Off Season?
Our off-season consists of one month without scheduled practice... but during our "off month" we have an expo / demo bout and tryouts! My good intentions of working out and skating every day quickly fell by the wayside - by the time the November 10th came around (the day of the expo bout) I hadn't skated in over 2 weeks. EEK! I was psyching myself out so bad that I almost didn't attend the bout.
But BOY am I glad I did!!! I was on the orange team, with V, Killa (last minute addition), Bella, Rican, Taryn, Electra, Southern Belle, Scarla (sick), and Zooey (her first bout!). (Other team Kitty, Rosie, Wicked, NiTrick, Tori, Banana, Sweeny, Malice, BABS, Hell'N.) Before the first jam we do an explanation of game play, and I thought I was going to vomit! Literally had to take my mouth guard out and stick it back in before the first whistle blue to really start the game. I'm definitely one of the worst players on the team, but I really worked my ass off.
Highlights:
- Keeping a fast pack with Killa
- Booty blocking a couple people including jammers :)
- With a push from V, shoulder blocking Hell'N (jammer) OUT and DOWN, right in front of B & Dad, it was AWESOME!!!!!
Sub-par performance:
- Being back-blocked (fallen on!) by mAlice, sticking a revenge hit and simply bouncing off of her!
- Falling over Killa and tweaking my knee. But I got up, caught the pack, but had to take corners with just my right leg because my patella was doing weird things. (Mike our EMT rocks though, he iced it and popped it back in.)
- Slow recovery after falling. I want to be one of those girls that bounce back up sprinting
So yes, I popped out my kneecap, and while it didn't hurt that night (just felt really strange), the night and the next day it was SORE. Luckily Friday it's back to feeling weird with twinges of sore, but hopefully I'll be good as new soon. I also broke a blood vessel in my right hand during first half. Wednesday night it looked like a lightening bolt (a sign of the Lightening Broads?!), Thursday it was a cool purple covering half of my palm, today it's fading fast.
League-wide tryouts are the 21st. Ummmm, EEK!!!!!
But BOY am I glad I did!!! I was on the orange team, with V, Killa (last minute addition), Bella, Rican, Taryn, Electra, Southern Belle, Scarla (sick), and Zooey (her first bout!). (Other team Kitty, Rosie, Wicked, NiTrick, Tori, Banana, Sweeny, Malice, BABS, Hell'N.) Before the first jam we do an explanation of game play, and I thought I was going to vomit! Literally had to take my mouth guard out and stick it back in before the first whistle blue to really start the game. I'm definitely one of the worst players on the team, but I really worked my ass off.
Highlights:
- Keeping a fast pack with Killa
- Booty blocking a couple people including jammers :)
- With a push from V, shoulder blocking Hell'N (jammer) OUT and DOWN, right in front of B & Dad, it was AWESOME!!!!!
Sub-par performance:
- Being back-blocked (fallen on!) by mAlice, sticking a revenge hit and simply bouncing off of her!
- Falling over Killa and tweaking my knee. But I got up, caught the pack, but had to take corners with just my right leg because my patella was doing weird things. (Mike our EMT rocks though, he iced it and popped it back in.)
- Slow recovery after falling. I want to be one of those girls that bounce back up sprinting
So yes, I popped out my kneecap, and while it didn't hurt that night (just felt really strange), the night and the next day it was SORE. Luckily Friday it's back to feeling weird with twinges of sore, but hopefully I'll be good as new soon. I also broke a blood vessel in my right hand during first half. Wednesday night it looked like a lightening bolt (a sign of the Lightening Broads?!), Thursday it was a cool purple covering half of my palm, today it's fading fast.
League-wide tryouts are the 21st. Ummmm, EEK!!!!!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Not Just Skating
Practice is improving. I still couldn't keep the pace line for 30 laps (dammit) but I gave it the ol' college try. I continued skating around the outside, but my back just kept getting worse shooting pains and cramping. But Monday I held on for the rest of the practice - from Brian torturing us slowly, to tag-team laps. We cut off early (about 8:30) and a lot of girls went to see the new warehouse. I personally was exhausted and headed home.
Tuesday was more "quality time" with Brian, and there were only about 15 skaters that showed up (compared to about 35 the night before). Then line exercises (Rose showed me I could go faster without compromising form OR falling on my butt), and suicides (which, when done properly, do make you want to kill yourself). And we couldn't stop there! Rose had us skating around the rink doing all sorts of drills, the worst I think was the right-knee-left-knee dance until I collapsed. I dropped out a tiny bit early and examined the huge blister on my pusher foot big toe. Lovely.
But what's really on my mind... As any rollergirl knows, "by the skaters, for the skaters" is code for a WHOLE lotta work when you AREN'T skating! When the organization grows, so do the responsibilities. And it's a weird transition, having to delegate to volunteers. Since I'm a newbie, I'm still wondering where I fit in with all this. I'm a great volunteer (obvious by my crazy animal rescue obligations), but I do NOT want to sign up for more than I want to maintain. Unfortunately so far the jobs I prefer are already taken. Hopefully things will fall into place. I certainly DON'T want to be asked to swipe credit cards all next season!!!
Tuesday was more "quality time" with Brian, and there were only about 15 skaters that showed up (compared to about 35 the night before). Then line exercises (Rose showed me I could go faster without compromising form OR falling on my butt), and suicides (which, when done properly, do make you want to kill yourself). And we couldn't stop there! Rose had us skating around the rink doing all sorts of drills, the worst I think was the right-knee-left-knee dance until I collapsed. I dropped out a tiny bit early and examined the huge blister on my pusher foot big toe. Lovely.
But what's really on my mind... As any rollergirl knows, "by the skaters, for the skaters" is code for a WHOLE lotta work when you AREN'T skating! When the organization grows, so do the responsibilities. And it's a weird transition, having to delegate to volunteers. Since I'm a newbie, I'm still wondering where I fit in with all this. I'm a great volunteer (obvious by my crazy animal rescue obligations), but I do NOT want to sign up for more than I want to maintain. Unfortunately so far the jobs I prefer are already taken. Hopefully things will fall into place. I certainly DON'T want to be asked to swipe credit cards all next season!!!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Just Do It - it's more than a Nike slogan!
I did go to practice on Tuesday. Recently our Monday practices have been super crowded, with 40+ people, but Tuesdays have just over half that (25 with some leaving in the middle). I like the less crowded option much better!
I made it through practice on Tuesday! First was a lot of off-skates including a ton of lunges. Then skates on. I still can't keep up with even the "slow" pace-line, so went to the outside and kept skating. Out of 5 suicide drills I skipped one. I ended up with bruises on both my knees though because my pads slipped down. Grr.
The next day (AND the day after that) my butt muscles were absolutely killing me from all the squats, knee drops, and down-ups. From the top of my bum to the backs of my knees. I still feel a little soreness when I sit on the toilet even today.
Thursday was fun at Choctaw, and I figured out dodgeball is a great way to improve agility! We should try it at practice!
I made it through practice on Tuesday! First was a lot of off-skates including a ton of lunges. Then skates on. I still can't keep up with even the "slow" pace-line, so went to the outside and kept skating. Out of 5 suicide drills I skipped one. I ended up with bruises on both my knees though because my pads slipped down. Grr.
The next day (AND the day after that) my butt muscles were absolutely killing me from all the squats, knee drops, and down-ups. From the top of my bum to the backs of my knees. I still feel a little soreness when I sit on the toilet even today.
Thursday was fun at Choctaw, and I figured out dodgeball is a great way to improve agility! We should try it at practice!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
A Positive Attitude
My thoughts lately have been self-degradating and defeatist. I compare myself to others and only see where I fall short. I have started to dread practice because we may do something I'm not good at, or an exercise where I won't be able to keep up. This must stop! How am I supposed to get better when I don't try? Or when I expect myself to fail??
Tonight is practice, and I will complete the ENTIRE practice.
In other news: I went skating outdoors with a few girls last week, and at just about the halfway point, Abby Lobotomy (one of our on-again-off-again newbies) broke both bones in her leg! We waited for what seemed like forever for the ambulance to get there, and once they loaded her up we realize that we are left on the opposite side of the park, in the dark, on skates. Luckily we were only about 3 miles from my house, so my mom came to pick us up and cart us back to our vehicles. Then Rican Rage and I headed over to the hospital after hearing from her hubby that she could have visitors. She had surgery the next day and spent 3 days in the hospital. OUCH.
Tonight is practice, and I will complete the ENTIRE practice.
In other news: I went skating outdoors with a few girls last week, and at just about the halfway point, Abby Lobotomy (one of our on-again-off-again newbies) broke both bones in her leg! We waited for what seemed like forever for the ambulance to get there, and once they loaded her up we realize that we are left on the opposite side of the park, in the dark, on skates. Luckily we were only about 3 miles from my house, so my mom came to pick us up and cart us back to our vehicles. Then Rican Rage and I headed over to the hospital after hearing from her hubby that she could have visitors. She had surgery the next day and spent 3 days in the hospital. OUCH.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Fear of Failure
Why am I so scared to fall? Worried I won't be able to keep up? I think the fear of failure is one of my most limiting qualities. If I don't try my hardest at something, it's like I convince myself that I *could* do it, if I had really tried. Unfortunately I think this has a more negative effect overall than if it turned out I have to work extra-hard at something in order to achieve it.
I fight this fear every time I go to practice, even just GETTING to practice is an internal struggle. This roller derby thing does not come easy to me, especially when I see skillsets surpassing my own in girls that started this endeavor long after me.
Anyway, last week I only completed half of practice on Monday. Craptastic eating habits and little water left me dehydrates, dizzy, and exhausted. Tuesday Daniel led a drill and we had a visiting skater. I am extremely insecure in my speed and blocking ability, but did complete the exercises. Then scrimmage where I busted my elbow because of my cheap pads.
Saturday was our fair demonstration, I was once again the fat girl. I *hate* being the fat girl in the group!!! Three of us were on skates, 4 weren't, and we did several short demonstrations. Wrecks' flirty ways also scored us free cinnamon rolls. Nice. Straight from the fair to BB's baby shower, and though I had grand plans to either return to the fair or head to Dylan's party, the night ended with me watching The Bounty Hunter with my parents. hehe. Sunday was the last bout of the season - TARG's expo (or The Lightening Broads) vs GCRG's expo (Thunder Dollz) and I screamed so much I lost my voice and gave myself a headache. They whooped us HARD, 249 to 69. What a way to go out.
I fight this fear every time I go to practice, even just GETTING to practice is an internal struggle. This roller derby thing does not come easy to me, especially when I see skillsets surpassing my own in girls that started this endeavor long after me.
Anyway, last week I only completed half of practice on Monday. Craptastic eating habits and little water left me dehydrates, dizzy, and exhausted. Tuesday Daniel led a drill and we had a visiting skater. I am extremely insecure in my speed and blocking ability, but did complete the exercises. Then scrimmage where I busted my elbow because of my cheap pads.
Saturday was our fair demonstration, I was once again the fat girl. I *hate* being the fat girl in the group!!! Three of us were on skates, 4 weren't, and we did several short demonstrations. Wrecks' flirty ways also scored us free cinnamon rolls. Nice. Straight from the fair to BB's baby shower, and though I had grand plans to either return to the fair or head to Dylan's party, the night ended with me watching The Bounty Hunter with my parents. hehe. Sunday was the last bout of the season - TARG's expo (or The Lightening Broads) vs GCRG's expo (Thunder Dollz) and I screamed so much I lost my voice and gave myself a headache. They whooped us HARD, 249 to 69. What a way to go out.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Tournament and More!
Wow, 10 days since I've updated, I'm such a slacker. :)
I missed Monday's practice because I was fully enjoying my Labor Day. Tuesday's practice was a lot of fun. Dizzy led an exercise that we had seen at RollerCon. The first half was off-skates, side shuffle, grapevine, and a football-type drill where one girl stands in the middle, back to the line of girls and trys to booty block them then they run toward her and dodge around. I have to be honest, I was SUPER nervous about the on-skates portion. I hate being the slowest one in a group! But I didn't need to worry, I was right on par with some of the other new girls, and ended up having fun while improving skills. Then an unremarkable scrimmage where I managed not to fall too much!
Wednesday was warmup then scrimmage. Poor Bella forgot ONE of her skates at home in Norman and was using the rental skates which had crud caked on the wheels and aren't great to skate on even when pristine. So I insisted she use my skates for the scrimmage portion (she was playing on Saturday, I of course was not). She said they worked well but were a lot heavier on her feet!
Friday some of us went to GI's house to prep the welcome baskets for tournament participants. Ni-Trick, Zooey, Dizzy, and Tawny along with GI and I made the prepping pretty easy and the baskets looked phenomenal!! (Pictures to be added)
The tournament was exhausting! Andy and I arrived at about 10am and helped set up. Rita was nice enough to do my make-up and I had ga-ga sparkles going on - lol. I ran the scoreboard during the first home game and expo game and it is a job I really enjoy. By the last game though, I already knew the outcome and was just tired. Brian convinced me I would have fun at the after party, and he was RIGHT! Don Quixote's karaoke bar was awesome when full of derby girls. Appetizers to eat, energy drinks, and LOTS of dancing with Banana, Meanie, Rose and many more!
Tourney recap:
TDB vs GCRG - shut out by green country 220 to 20
TDB vs TARG-A - CLOSE game but we squeezed out a win
TARG-B vs CORDA - very close but CORDA took the win, due in no small part to Faerie Mean
TARG-A vs GCRG - dominated by green country
I missed Monday's practice because I was fully enjoying my Labor Day. Tuesday's practice was a lot of fun. Dizzy led an exercise that we had seen at RollerCon. The first half was off-skates, side shuffle, grapevine, and a football-type drill where one girl stands in the middle, back to the line of girls and trys to booty block them then they run toward her and dodge around. I have to be honest, I was SUPER nervous about the on-skates portion. I hate being the slowest one in a group! But I didn't need to worry, I was right on par with some of the other new girls, and ended up having fun while improving skills. Then an unremarkable scrimmage where I managed not to fall too much!
Wednesday was warmup then scrimmage. Poor Bella forgot ONE of her skates at home in Norman and was using the rental skates which had crud caked on the wheels and aren't great to skate on even when pristine. So I insisted she use my skates for the scrimmage portion (she was playing on Saturday, I of course was not). She said they worked well but were a lot heavier on her feet!
Friday some of us went to GI's house to prep the welcome baskets for tournament participants. Ni-Trick, Zooey, Dizzy, and Tawny along with GI and I made the prepping pretty easy and the baskets looked phenomenal!! (Pictures to be added)
The tournament was exhausting! Andy and I arrived at about 10am and helped set up. Rita was nice enough to do my make-up and I had ga-ga sparkles going on - lol. I ran the scoreboard during the first home game and expo game and it is a job I really enjoy. By the last game though, I already knew the outcome and was just tired. Brian convinced me I would have fun at the after party, and he was RIGHT! Don Quixote's karaoke bar was awesome when full of derby girls. Appetizers to eat, energy drinks, and LOTS of dancing with Banana, Meanie, Rose and many more!
Tourney recap:
TDB vs GCRG - shut out by green country 220 to 20
TDB vs TARG-A - CLOSE game but we squeezed out a win
TARG-B vs CORDA - very close but CORDA took the win, due in no small part to Faerie Mean
TARG-A vs GCRG - dominated by green country
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Pinky Toe Inconveniences
While our team has been around a long time, it has seen a tremendous growth spurt in the last year. Times are a-changing and we're now a WFTDA apprentice league, are sorting through our fresh meat process, and attendance is open record. I'm sure more changes are being discussed behind the scenes, but us minions don't know about them yet.
Anyway... I am in LOVE with outdoor skating! A few times I caught myself reverting back to childhood and bracing fully upright for a fall. I had to consciously remind myself to squat so if that broken concrete does make me fall at least it's to my knees and not my butt. We did 5 miles because of my time restrictions (and some girls being late) and I look forward to next time completing an entire route around the lake (11 miles).
Sunday my boyfriend and I were goofing around giving hip checks and I was between him and our water-bed frame (with regular matress). I caught my right pinky toe on the drawers under the bed and ripped half of my toenail off (and proceeded to cuss like a sailor). Monday I come into work limping, and no working out or skating for me that day. Yesterday it was much better so I attended our monthly meeting and then did jogging, plyometrics and stretching but opted out of scrimmaging. Did I hurt myself this much before I joined derby??
And I almost forgot, I really need to get back on my Couch to 5k program. *grumble*
Anyway... I am in LOVE with outdoor skating! A few times I caught myself reverting back to childhood and bracing fully upright for a fall. I had to consciously remind myself to squat so if that broken concrete does make me fall at least it's to my knees and not my butt. We did 5 miles because of my time restrictions (and some girls being late) and I look forward to next time completing an entire route around the lake (11 miles).
Sunday my boyfriend and I were goofing around giving hip checks and I was between him and our water-bed frame (with regular matress). I caught my right pinky toe on the drawers under the bed and ripped half of my toenail off (and proceeded to cuss like a sailor). Monday I come into work limping, and no working out or skating for me that day. Yesterday it was much better so I attended our monthly meeting and then did jogging, plyometrics and stretching but opted out of scrimmaging. Did I hurt myself this much before I joined derby??
And I almost forgot, I really need to get back on my Couch to 5k program. *grumble*
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Ouch! and Double Ouch!
No practice Monday, so instead some of us met up at McNellie's pub & grill for Pint Night. Rosie, Josey, Meanie, TechNik, Mauler, and applicable meat were there. Good times and sweet potato fries.
Tuesday was an Open Practice. After Killa lead some jogging and warm-up stretches, we had an option of trying our lap time or going down stairs. I was still a little congested, but honestly was scared my lap time would have gone down. :( SO... V took us downstairs to do plyometrics and tae bo moves in the parking lot. It was GORGEOUS outside, with a breeze, so it would have been a shame to waste it. Back inside for floor exercises (legs, butt & abs).
Then a short stint of scrimmaging, which was great because we only had 7-8 people on each team. First jam (as inside blocker) I fall FLAT on my ass. OUCHIE. Luckily I have a lot of padding and didn't break anything. Few more unremarkable rounds, and Brian puts me in as jammer. Again with Cacky persistently bumping me out. She doesn't hit real hard, but she's effective. I go out of bounds, to my knees, try to take out a new girl on the sidelines and Eva jumps over me and catches my thigh with her skate. EFFIN OW! Get back up, never make it through the pack, slide to the sidelines and whimper. The shitty part, it hurts like hell, I feel it every time I take a step, and it's not even an impressive bruise! Hmph.
Today I'm scheduled to meet some girls at Hefner to try my hand (or feet, I guess) at outdoor. Wish me luck!
Tuesday was an Open Practice. After Killa lead some jogging and warm-up stretches, we had an option of trying our lap time or going down stairs. I was still a little congested, but honestly was scared my lap time would have gone down. :( SO... V took us downstairs to do plyometrics and tae bo moves in the parking lot. It was GORGEOUS outside, with a breeze, so it would have been a shame to waste it. Back inside for floor exercises (legs, butt & abs).
Then a short stint of scrimmaging, which was great because we only had 7-8 people on each team. First jam (as inside blocker) I fall FLAT on my ass. OUCHIE. Luckily I have a lot of padding and didn't break anything. Few more unremarkable rounds, and Brian puts me in as jammer. Again with Cacky persistently bumping me out. She doesn't hit real hard, but she's effective. I go out of bounds, to my knees, try to take out a new girl on the sidelines and Eva jumps over me and catches my thigh with her skate. EFFIN OW! Get back up, never make it through the pack, slide to the sidelines and whimper. The shitty part, it hurts like hell, I feel it every time I take a step, and it's not even an impressive bruise! Hmph.
Today I'm scheduled to meet some girls at Hefner to try my hand (or feet, I guess) at outdoor. Wish me luck!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Workout Plan!
I sat out of Monday's practice. I was dizzy and felt like my ears and eyes may pop out at any moment, and didn't want to take the chance. (Okay, maybe I'm a LITTLE overdramatic. I still didn't feel well enough for drills.) But I went and sweated at the Market anyway, just to be supportive. :)
Tuesday was actually a lot of fun. Off-skates workout first including jogging, lunges, stretching and abs. Then skating around the rink practicing basics (falls, knees, stops & starts) and not-so-basics (tomahawk turns, squat jumps, backwards skating, 180 jumps). I am actually pretty good with backwards skating and tomahawk turns, chalk that up to rink skating in my twenties. Then... scrimmage! Total blast. I jammed against Rae and got lead jammer and a grand slam - YAY! But I called it off after that second pass because I was very winded. Which leads me to my next point.
Okay, so we all know my 25-in-5 is more a 24-in-5 consisting of shakey legs and haggard breathing. THIS must change. So Meanie (in her effort to become a jammer) and I decided to start running. Couch to 5k program seemed appropriate. I started on Wednesday, and let me tell you, this body is NOT made for speed (it's made for comfort). B joined me and we both followed the instructions. Soon after the exercise "ended," we realized that we were only halfway around the track and had to keep going back to our vehicle. Total walked - about 3 miles (I got snappy at about mile 2 1/2.) A little twinge of shin splints today, nothing major. My butt and legs are going to look FANTASTIC! (Note: Still waiting for Meanie to start her program - Week 1 Day 2 for me is tomorrow!)
Tuesday was actually a lot of fun. Off-skates workout first including jogging, lunges, stretching and abs. Then skating around the rink practicing basics (falls, knees, stops & starts) and not-so-basics (tomahawk turns, squat jumps, backwards skating, 180 jumps). I am actually pretty good with backwards skating and tomahawk turns, chalk that up to rink skating in my twenties. Then... scrimmage! Total blast. I jammed against Rae and got lead jammer and a grand slam - YAY! But I called it off after that second pass because I was very winded. Which leads me to my next point.
Okay, so we all know my 25-in-5 is more a 24-in-5 consisting of shakey legs and haggard breathing. THIS must change. So Meanie (in her effort to become a jammer) and I decided to start running. Couch to 5k program seemed appropriate. I started on Wednesday, and let me tell you, this body is NOT made for speed (it's made for comfort). B joined me and we both followed the instructions. Soon after the exercise "ended," we realized that we were only halfway around the track and had to keep going back to our vehicle. Total walked - about 3 miles (I got snappy at about mile 2 1/2.) A little twinge of shin splints today, nothing major. My butt and legs are going to look FANTASTIC! (Note: Still waiting for Meanie to start her program - Week 1 Day 2 for me is tomorrow!)
Monday, August 16, 2010
Expo game, Tryouts and a Fear of Failure
Thursday was my first almost-real game. It was an expo at a local skating rink, where our league was divided into two teams of equal skill. We also switched coaches halfway through (first half our team had Daniel Boom, a newer ref, and second half was Brian Bounds). We did manage to eek out a win, though the entire game was close!
Toward the end of the game, Brian hands me the jammer panty, and I tell him I hate him. Surprisingly enough, I manage to stay neck and neck with NiTrick Acid (newer skinny girl who's going to be the next Anomellie), breaking through the pack at almost the exact same time. Unfortunately she gets lead jammer and things debilitate from there as Kitty catches up and clobbers me. I fall, and fall, and fall again, jamming my finger in the last one. I wanted to give up, but I thought "I don't need my fingers to skate" so I get back up and the jam soon ends.
Saturday, Meanie, Taryn and crew went to Choctaw skating rink. (Wicked showed up but left soon because of hip pain.) Had a BLAST with those girls. Left knee drop was lame (due to right knee and left ankle pain), and Meanie spotted one of my faults... plow stopping just before or just after a corner!
Sunday at 9am brought tryouts. I only managed 24-in-5 (DAMMIT), and during our minimum skills drill (starts, stops and falls while skating around the track) my back was screaming for mercy. Scrimmaging was typical (except when I jammed and Goldie Knox kept knocking me to the outside!), and WFTDA written test wasn't bad at all. But I didn't make the team. It's not unexpected, but it's still a disappointment. I was THIS_CLOSE to not going to tryouts at all for fear of not making the team, but I'm glad I went, even if it does mean facing the fact that I'm not ready yet - not only in my eyes, but the eyes of our coaches and team-mates.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Killa tried to kill-a me. Wow, that's lame.
Let's set the scene:
4th time I've ever scrimmaged.
9 Killameter is one of our team superstars.
We're on opposite teams.
And... GO.
It was hot, very hot. We had a news crew coming to film (Oklahoma City SportsCenter - we should be next week's feature!). Luckily we didn't do many laps, and lots of stretching (and, unfortunately after Monday's ab-slaying, MORE ABS) then set up to scrimmage. We are associated with the team we'll be scrimmaging with on Thursday's expo bout - plus a few that won't be there Thursday. Things are going along okay, though it's obvious that blue (my) team was at a bit of a disadvantage due to a couple extra players on the orange team - and our better girls are starting to get frustrated with the lack of teamwork. I'm vowing to "do better, be more aware" when BAM I get hit with a Killa Cut and to the floor I go. Up, and back with the pack, then BAM a Killa Can-Opener. Slower, but up I go. Next time I see Killa coming, but she still gets me with a shoulder to my clavical and once again down I go. Mercifully they call off the jam at that point.
Am I really cut out for this?!
My goals are to work on awareness and sprinting. Unfortunately I don't see either one getting better by tomorrow. :)
And for your comic amusement, here is a video taken at last week's practice (where Rose decided it would be fun to go in the clockwise direction - great). I'm in a black tank with short black shortss and a black helmet standing very center screen at the beginning. (I just realized I'm the fattest chick on the track - GEEZUS.) Check out the hit one of the newbies wallops me with at 0:53.
4th time I've ever scrimmaged.
9 Killameter is one of our team superstars.
We're on opposite teams.
And... GO.
It was hot, very hot. We had a news crew coming to film (Oklahoma City SportsCenter - we should be next week's feature!). Luckily we didn't do many laps, and lots of stretching (and, unfortunately after Monday's ab-slaying, MORE ABS) then set up to scrimmage. We are associated with the team we'll be scrimmaging with on Thursday's expo bout - plus a few that won't be there Thursday. Things are going along okay, though it's obvious that blue (my) team was at a bit of a disadvantage due to a couple extra players on the orange team - and our better girls are starting to get frustrated with the lack of teamwork. I'm vowing to "do better, be more aware" when BAM I get hit with a Killa Cut and to the floor I go. Up, and back with the pack, then BAM a Killa Can-Opener. Slower, but up I go. Next time I see Killa coming, but she still gets me with a shoulder to my clavical and once again down I go. Mercifully they call off the jam at that point.
Am I really cut out for this?!
My goals are to work on awareness and sprinting. Unfortunately I don't see either one getting better by tomorrow. :)
And for your comic amusement, here is a video taken at last week's practice (where Rose decided it would be fun to go in the clockwise direction - great). I'm in a black tank with short black shortss and a black helmet standing very center screen at the beginning. (I just realized I'm the fattest chick on the track - GEEZUS.) Check out the hit one of the newbies wallops me with at 0:53.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Heat Index of 135 degrees F
RollerCon was AWESOME! More details later, that's going to be a long post.
Oklahoma did a wonderful weather welcome home, temperatures matching those in Vegas (103 / 104) but adding in that humidity factor to drive up the heat index to about 135 (so maybe that's just what it feels like). Our practice space charges $300 per day for us to turn on the air conditioner. So, considering it's full of girls that spend their last dollar on wheels, we don't pay and instead suffer through dehydration headaches, heat-induced vomiting, and the possibility of fainting. Fun.
Considering my sweat contained more alcohol than Oklahoma beer on Monday, I only made it through half the practice. And we didn't even do laps! Lame, I know.
Yesterday we had maybe 20 girls start practice, with only 13 finish. I admit I had to take a couple breaks when I got cold chills, I can't imagine how bad it would have been without the 100 oz of water during the day. And my boyfriend came to video the scrimmage at the end of practice. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm sure it's B-E-A-utiful. <--sarcasm
I am pretty proud of myself for being one of only two people to make practice after rollercon, those other three didn't strap on skates this week! And Rose is a badass, I want to be her when I grow up and become a real derby girl. :)
Oklahoma did a wonderful weather welcome home, temperatures matching those in Vegas (103 / 104) but adding in that humidity factor to drive up the heat index to about 135 (so maybe that's just what it feels like). Our practice space charges $300 per day for us to turn on the air conditioner. So, considering it's full of girls that spend their last dollar on wheels, we don't pay and instead suffer through dehydration headaches, heat-induced vomiting, and the possibility of fainting. Fun.
Considering my sweat contained more alcohol than Oklahoma beer on Monday, I only made it through half the practice. And we didn't even do laps! Lame, I know.
Yesterday we had maybe 20 girls start practice, with only 13 finish. I admit I had to take a couple breaks when I got cold chills, I can't imagine how bad it would have been without the 100 oz of water during the day. And my boyfriend came to video the scrimmage at the end of practice. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm sure it's B-E-A-utiful. <--sarcasm
I am pretty proud of myself for being one of only two people to make practice after rollercon, those other three didn't strap on skates this week! And Rose is a badass, I want to be her when I grow up and become a real derby girl. :)
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
ROLLERCON BITCHES!
That's right, I've just almost-passed minimum skills, scrimmaged exactly twice, and got a wild hair up my bum and decided to go to RollerCon with Stephanie (aka C.Wrecks). I'm excited and nervous. Signed up for the spectator pass, I'm not ready to try more than that.
In other news, I've adopted my derby name: Suzy SINsation, a shout out to my number one fan, Suzy Bulldog (or Snoozer T. Booplopolous, when she's feeling especially Greek, Booples for short).
And I tried my 25-in-5 again last night with the newbies. 24.5. SO. FREAKIN. CLOSE. But an improvement from 22, so I'm not complaining (much).
In other news, I've adopted my derby name: Suzy SINsation, a shout out to my number one fan, Suzy Bulldog (or Snoozer T. Booplopolous, when she's feeling especially Greek, Booples for short).
And I tried my 25-in-5 again last night with the newbies. 24.5. SO. FREAKIN. CLOSE. But an improvement from 22, so I'm not complaining (much).
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Scrimmage-worthy!
FINALLY! I'm finally allowed to scrimmage with the girls, I guess that means I'm officially fresh meat as well! Most of the stuff on the minimum skills test was gravy after having been on skates for a few months and slowly working up to being able to complete everything. However, after over 2 hours working out in 85 degree heat (thank god the a/c was on or it would have been 95+), my body shut down on about lap 4 of our "25-in-5" (25 laps around the track in 5 minutes). I slid to the ground, shaking like a leaf. Luckily our captain said next time we're doing that portion FIRST. :)
During the test I also found out that some of these girls hit HARD. I had practiced blocking with a big newbie, and a small fast jammer, but when C.Wrecks (an all-around athletic newbie, and one of my best friends) walloped me the first time with a shoulder it felt like someone punched me! Holy crap! I guess I'd better get used to it, because Dirty Dawnie will be coming at me soon enough. EEK!
During the test I also found out that some of these girls hit HARD. I had practiced blocking with a big newbie, and a small fast jammer, but when C.Wrecks (an all-around athletic newbie, and one of my best friends) walloped me the first time with a shoulder it felt like someone punched me! Holy crap! I guess I'd better get used to it, because Dirty Dawnie will be coming at me soon enough. EEK!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Commitment Issues
As you can see from my lack of updating, I have a problem following-through with things. :) I did get back on skates in February, though it was with limited use of my left (bad) ankle. It wasn't until mid-April I was ready for full-on skating, and then I still couldn't do a left knee drop because of lost muscle mass and an inability to assist the rise with my foot (because it put pressure on the ankle).
Now I'm working on getting my speed up (last check I only completed 22 instead of 25 laps in 5 minutes). My wheels are already starting to show significant wear, probably because I've skated outside in them. Ugh. But as of last practice (5-11) I could do an ungraceful left knee drop and everything else on the minimum skills test... except my 25-in-5 because I haven't tried that one again. Not sure how many laps I managed to complete while staying up with the line, but it wasn't 30. :(
As of yesterday, my lower back was KILLING me, and I was sore in the hips and legs.
Goals: cardio, new wheels, situps!
Now I'm working on getting my speed up (last check I only completed 22 instead of 25 laps in 5 minutes). My wheels are already starting to show significant wear, probably because I've skated outside in them. Ugh. But as of last practice (5-11) I could do an ungraceful left knee drop and everything else on the minimum skills test... except my 25-in-5 because I haven't tried that one again. Not sure how many laps I managed to complete while staying up with the line, but it wasn't 30. :(
As of yesterday, my lower back was KILLING me, and I was sore in the hips and legs.
Goals: cardio, new wheels, situps!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Just call me "Grace"
The roller derby dreams have gone on hiatus - not by choice, mind you - but because I managed to fall and twist my ankle in the midst of my third practice. And it wasn't even a cool crash incident... I feel while just STANDING on skates! They were 2 sizes too big (stupid other newbie took the ones that fit me), and I wasn't wearing my ankle brace, but that doesn't make it hurt any less. :)
Crutches for a week, hobbling around like one leg is shorter than the other for a couple more weeks, and I should be back on skates (or at least at practice!) in February.
Wish me luck! (And remind me to wear my brace!)
Crutches for a week, hobbling around like one leg is shorter than the other for a couple more weeks, and I should be back on skates (or at least at practice!) in February.
Wish me luck! (And remind me to wear my brace!)
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