Roller Derby Update

I'm still kinda sore from practice on Monday. It was all about endurance and after warming up for a bit, the coach came over and wanted us (the fresh meat girls) to try time trails. I've never tried doing the time trails yet, so I was a bit nervous.

As part of the WFTDA (Women's Flat Track Derby Association) minimums, you need to be able to do 25 laps in 5 minutes. I felt like I was going to throw up as I watched the first group of fresh meat girls go.

Then it was the second group's turn. I lined up with the 3 other girls in my group and got ready. At the whistle we started off around the track. By the middle of the trials, my lungs felt like they were going to explode. In the end, I did 18.5 laps in 5 minutes. Not too shabby for my first time ever doing them.

I know that once I learn how to and perfect my crossovers I will be able to do more than 18.5 laps. I still feel like I'm tripping over myself though when I try to do the crossovers. I need to start going to open skate night more at Rollarama, but right now the budget doesn't really allow for that. It ranges from $4-$6, but it's also 25 minutes from my house so I've got gas money to worry about. I hope to start going more often though. I also got the okay from the owner to wear my protective gear (knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards, etc.) there, so that will help me be able to work on the things that I don't have the confidence to try without pads on.

I also need to focus on doing more leg work and cardio at the gym so I can make it through time trials without feeling like I'm going to die!

Until next time, space cadets.

Winter Hibernation

See?? I cursed myself with that last blog post, saying that I was getting into the swing of things and updating regularly. Oh well, even though it's been over a month since my last post, I'm here again!

These dreary, cold winter days really do a number on me. I become such a recluse and hibernate until the spring comes. Seasonal Affective Disorder? Maybe, or maybe it's just that it's too damn cold to get out from underneath my warm blankets and my snuggling kitty. I know she's just using my for the body heat, but I'll take what I can get from my usually stand off-ish kitty.

I'm trying to fight off the duldrums though. Finding new and fun things to go out and do around town helps me get out on the weekends, and derby practice helps get me out of the house in the evenings...at least on Monday and Thursday nights!

Speaking of derby. Things are slowly progressing. I was practicing my t-stops in my little kitchen last night. It's the only area that's not carpeted, so while I watched some stupid show on TV I skated back and forth trying out my stops on both legs. My right leg stop is going pretty well, but the left leg is giving me the worst time! It's also a problem with my crossovers. I think I may just hack it off and become the first ever 1-legged derby skater! We also did some hopping/jumping practice on Monday. Scary!!

In other news, I recently celebrated my 30th (yikes!) birthday with some friends at the local burrito place, Bombers. On you birthday you get a huge margarita, so that's what I got. Check out the pictures below!

Happy New Year!!

Well, here we are. New year, new decade and all that jazz. I had a pretty rough 2009, so I am determined to make the best out of 2010. No more sitting at home feeling sorry for myself. No more pining away for lost love. No more living in the land of "what ifs" and "well, if I had done this...". None of that. Get on with life!!

I thought I was going to spend New Year's alone, but then my friend chatted with me on facebook and invited me to a cheap party up in Saratoga. It was really fun and I actually ended up seeing one of my fellow derby fresh meat girls there!! Kangaroo Meat Skewer was there with her girlfriend and a bunch of other friends. How funny is that?! So, we all rang in the New Year together, and even though I didnt' get my New Year's kiss, it was alright.

The next day, I went down to NYC to reprise my role as Yitzhak in my Hedwig shadowcast troupe, The Midnight Checkout Queens. If you don't know what a shadowcast is, it's where you act out the movie in front of the screen, a la Rocky Horror. We were performing at the Brooklyn Museum which meant hauling all of our stuff out there, which was quite the adventure. It was a lot of fun though, we hadn't done the show in over 2 years so it was really nice to see everyone again.

So far, I'm doing a pretty good job updating this thing on a regular basis. *knock on wood* Ofcourse, now that I've said that, it'll probably be a year and a half until I update again!! hehehe Until next time, blogosphere.

Slowly But Surely

I'm getting there. Slowly, very slowly.

Ofcourse, I am talking about the elusive crossover. Last night at practice, I did some crossover "swizzles", where your skates don't leave the floor, and you weave your feet in front of one another. That was something I'd been trying to do for a while, but had not had much success with. Last night I actually did a pretty good job doing them!! Yay!! Crossovers, here I come!!

I've been with the Hellions for a little over 3 months now, and am trying to get so I can meet my WFTDA (Women's Flat Track Derby Association) minimums which are needed for me to be able to skate with the rest of the girls. So far, the only minumums I can meet are:

-regular skating
-stops
-falls
-stepping
-squatting
-focusing
-leaning

The things I need to master to pass minimums are:

-crossovers
-speed/endurance
-one foot glides
-quick cuts
-recovery from falls within 2 seconds
-hopping (yikes!!)
-weaving
-whips
-pushes
-pacing
-weaving around moving obstacles
-bumping
-blocking (taking hits, checks)

When looking at these two lists it seems like I haven't made any progress!! But I have to keep remembering how I was on the first practice I came to, when I could barely stand on skates let alone have "confident and fluid strides" (per WFTDA). I'll continue to push towards getting these damn minimums met so I can then get my REAL derby name and not have to be known as Fake 'Um Steak 'Um anymore!!

Until next time, peeps (if anyone actually reads this). Derby love forever!!

The Hellions of Troy are having a Winter Break Party to raise money for one of our girls who was injured in practice. Please come if you can. C'mon, it's only 5 bucks and it goes to help a derby girl!!! :)

Derby Madness

Last night at derby practice something funny happened. I was skating with Flexi Wheeler, one of our best skaters (she's been skating for 40 years!!) and she asked me if I had done any contact stuff yet like blocking, hitting, etc. I had barely gotten out the word "No" when she bashed into me. I went down on one knee and recovered quickly, so that was pretty fun.

We continued to do a couple other maneuvers with her cutting in front of me and leaning against me. I think I fared pretty well. Flexi even said she was impressed at how solid I was on my skates when taking a block or with her leaning in on me. Yay!!

She got me out of my comfort zone a little too, getting me to skate a bit faster and trying to make me "put up or shut up" about crossovers. I just need to f-ing do them and not be afraid of falling!! Falling is not the end of the world!! hehehe Though, truth be told. I'm not at all afraid of falling forward, that's where all my protective gear is (knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards). What I'm afraid of is falling backwards!! That really hurts!!

I think my main fear of crossovers is that I feel like I'm going to trip over my own feet. That's been know to happen to me just walking down the street, and now I'm trying to possibly do it on purpose?!? Yikes! ;) I am getting steadier and steadier on my skates by the day so I think it's only a matter of time until I can do them without being freaked out about falling. Flexi also said that with skating faster, you actually get a better sense of balance. So I will be working on that as well.

Mmmmmm, Sleeeeep

I love sleep. I really, really looooooove sleep.

Last night I slept for 13 hours (!). I wasn't planning on this, but there it is. I was talking on the phone with a friend and was then going to go to derby practice. So, after getting off the phone I was kinda tired so I decided to take a little nap. Well, that "nap" lasted until midnight, derby practice had long since ended and I was feeling bad about missing it. (I really need as much practice as possible to get those damn crossovers down!!)

So, it was midnight and I figured nothing else was going to get accomplished that night, so I went back to sleep and got up at 7am this morning. It's nice to sleep for that long sometimes. Get to catch up on all the missed sleep of the past couple of weeks. I just wish it hadn't happened on a practice night!!

Well, it's Friday. Only a couple more hours to the weekend. Have fun my bloggy peeps!