Lumpdate

There is still a pea-sized lump above my left eyebrow from the injury I sustained at my very first practice about four weeks ago.  I still find it hard to believe that tomorrow will be my fifth week of practice.  I have really tried to concentrate on working on my crossovers since Tuesday's practice.  In fact, I was concentrating so hard during Wednesday's Open Skate that I took a nose dive to the floor and smacked my right eyebrow on the ground.  No lump there, but it is still pretty tender.

SAN DIEGO OR BUST!

Toxins B. Gone

I got home after practice tonight and just soaked my aching feet in a warm epsom salt bath while watching an episode of BSG 4.5. When I did that fitness bootcamp a few months back, the instructor kept telling us to soak our bods in epsom salt to rid them of toxins. I think I'm actually going to have to try full tub immersion one of these nights.

Okay, so tonight was better. After the warm-up, stretching and some drills, we were put in a pace line and before it even started, I was pulled to the side for some special instruction. I admit, that there was some welling, but when the coaches sent another Fresh Meater over too, well, it was such a relief. Misery loves company, right? Or maybe it is just nice not to be the only one who ever needs individual attention.

While the rest of the team was on the track doing their pace line, I stayed to the outside and practiced picking up my feet and eventually working my way to crossing over. This crossing over technique is supposed to help one expend the least amount of energy while skating and it helps to make one go faster. I definitely improved by the end and felt speedier. Not fast, but faster than before. I was so glad to finally have the mechanics of crossing over and picking up the feet broken down from the beginning.

Tick Tock

I have ten minutes before I have to leave for Fresh Meat practice. I am dreading it, of course, because last night was another fiasco of a practice. I could not even hold in the tears until the end of practice. I started leaking probably less than 45 minutes into practice due to my absolute inability to do a turn stop and due to multiple crashings to the ground while trying to execute said stop. Eventually, someone noticed my discomfort and I was then given some personal instruction by Charlie. Then the turn stop seemed nice and easy, but I was doing it slowly while also holding onto the handrail...but then we had to do it during suicides and it just would not come. Blah.

I had a bit of a break when I was called out of the pace line to have Pigeon look at my skates. That was actually really nice, because I made her narrate the entire process so that I could get my Skates/Wheels 101 fix. I rejoined the pace line only to eventually fall and trip a girl or two behind me. My knee got pinched in the fall, so I skated to the side to shake out the pain. Shamrock N. Roller then skated up to me and asked how I was doing and we talked about how derby is an emotional sport and she said that even though she yells during practice, she is really nice one on one. That was nice to hear, because she is intimidating when she yells. She also reminded me that I was there for a reason, because there were some girls who did not make tryouts and that I am not the only one who has ever been a beginner skater. That was also really good to hear, because it does seem that everyone else must have emerged from the womb with skates attached.

Socks!

Daisy picked up these meaty socks in Portland, OR.

RollerCon 2010??

If I get good enough and pass all necessary skills tests, I want to attend next year's RollerCon in Las Vegas, NV. Here is a promo video for RollerCon 2009, which ended in early August.

P.S. This video accompanied Mildred Fierce's article in Good Times.

When the Levee Skates

Last night a group of FM'ers met for Tuesday night practice in the parking lot of PetSmart in order to skate the levee along the San Lorenzo River. (Limited panoramic view is here.) I spent a good portion of the hour before practice dreading this skate. I figured it would be another hardcore, kick my ass skate, but instead of on wood it would be on concrete. Oh joy! Plus, this is not a straight, level track. The levee has a lot of downhills, uphills, tiny pot holes, bicyclists, dogs, junkies, and other skating dangers. Eeek!

I pulled into the lot and sat in the back of the Fit putting my outdoor wheels onto my skates. As I watched people pull into the lot, I realized that a lot of them had not dressed in workout clothes, but in jeans. This was the first indication that this skate was not going to be as hardcore as I had imagined. The second indication was that hardly anyone was wearing their mouth guards (well, I'm still terrified so I wore mine on the downhills!). Heather Headlocklear gave us a few pointers for skating the levee and off we went.

A pack of faster skaters, accompanied by Charlie Red Stick, went on up ahead and I stayed back with FM Daisy, FM Natalie, Heather Headlocklear, Cinzilla and Cinzilla's daughter/junior derby grom Hana Slam Tana, Mildred Fierce, FM September and maybe one or two others. It was nice to take it easy and to stop before each downhill portion. We would gather at the top of the hill and Cinzilla would spend time telling us what to expect, which was so helpful and I am again eternally grateful for all of her encouragement and support.

The downhill portions were really not that bad. Yes, they were really fast and scary, but it seemed that as long as I stayed loose, in a low, crouched position, with pressure off my toes and one foot just slightly in front of the other, then I made it down without crashing. Yay! And then I would hit the uphill portion and would just lose speed. I think that each attempt at going uphill in duck walk formation is what caused me to have a sprained womb this morning. Ouch! The lower abdominal muscles right above my pelvic bone are killing me.

I finished the skate with Cinzilla, Hana Slam Tana, and FM Kellie down a really steep slope and that was exhilarating! I'm really glad I didn't bite it when I ran over a plastic cup lid. Yay! I'm also glad I took time to tighten my jingling toe stops after both FM September and FM Elaina lost theirs. I am also still in love with my outdoor wheels...those monsters can handle anything!

Monday Night, Dry Eyes

At about 9:00 p.m. on Sunday I started to get butterflies about Monday night's practice at the Palladium. Those butterflies lasted throughout the flight home on Monday and right up through the first twenty minutes of practice. With my history of crying after each of the previous two Monday night practices, I just did not want to go through that again.

At the twenty minute mark, we had a group photo shoot with the Loma Linda Firefighters who were in town taking care of the wildfires up in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Then after our group stretch, the next hour or so was led by Hillary, a local skating coach. This was great. It was such a slow practice that focused on footwork and balance. It was not an easy practice...my legs (and right thumb) are definitely sore today, but it was just slow-paced, which is such a relief after the previous Monday nights. Whew!

Tonight, Fresh Meat skate outdoors at the levee, because the Harbor Hellcats need the Palladium to practice for their upcoming bout. This means, I have to switch out my wheels again. I'm a little bit nervous about skating the levee, because it is a pretty hilly skate and, as I discovered in Florida, I don't like inclines while on wheels.

(P.S. Photo lifted from Roxy Scharmichael's facebook page.)

(P.P.S. It's like a Where's Waldo game trying to find me!)

Oaks Park in Portland Rocked My World!

What's a wanna-be derby girl to do when she's out of town and has to miss practice and the joys it brings?? -- Ok, based on the description of Rachel's last Monday night practice, maybe missing wasn't such a bad thing-- Anyhow, only one day into the trip, Daisy felt the need for speed. That derby bug gets its disease into you and you find that roller rinks can beckon to you, with a flashing neon light reminiscent of demonic taunting from a cartoon character's craving. With the moon over the rink, Daisy was ready to let out a howl! Aroooo!

Oaks Park Roller Rink: http://oakspark.com/skating.html scratched that itch, and how!

But really,I was just looking for some Safe, Wholesome Family Fun! Live Wurlitzer organ music made it feel especially wholesome! The teens (also rentals) were great skaters and actually asked me when we could go skating again! Yeah!! (and contrary to the pictured sign it was not "heck" in there!)



Persistent Daisy "please, please, please will you take us to Oaks Park????" pictured here with one of her (affable) Portland hosts, Kevin. What a trooper! Thanks for making my vacation skating dreams come true!



Rental Speed skates made Daisy a happy girl. Made it easier to practice a derby stance as Artistic style skaters elegantly danced by on the palatial sized floor.

When, when, can I go back to Oaks Park?

Florida Heat

I brought my skates and pads to my sister's place in Orlando, FL. I figured that I would just roll around the parking lot outside, but luckily there is a tennis court right next door. So I switched the blue wheels that came with my skates for my hot pink Radar Pure outdoor wheels. I was a little bit nervous about switching wheels without proper instruction, but I used the anatomy of a skate diagram from Sin City Skates and it was easy-peasy: Nut comes off, wheel comes off, bearings pop into new wheel, new wheel slides on, nut goes back on, and tighten. Yay!

I wanted to get out there pretty early to beat the Florida heat, but I was still on California time and did not make it out until 8:20 in the morning. It was already hot and humid. I took the wrong turn out of my sister's place and ran into a downhill slope. Uh oh! I had not expected that. I wondered if I should attempt a plow stop, but without helmet or mouthguard, I decided that the best course of action would be to just roll into the grass. I eventually found my way to the courts via concrete sidewalks. My new wheels handled the sidewalk cracks with such ease! They are not made of the same hard plastic as my blue indoor wheels, but are instead made out of some kind of thick rubber.

I spent an hour skating out in the heat...And I was soaked through after about ten minutes...At least I took frequent water breaks...