I am frankenskater

So far I've been up at 5:30 once this week, in the freezing cold to skate and will be doing the same thing tomorrow. I have two skatedates on the weekend. I haven't yet started the whole interval training thing off-skates; I'm still trying to psych myself up. This is code for I have been a slack bitch. Tryouts are in one month and three days. wtf am i doing? Dudeguy at work asked me why I wouldn't be ready for it and my answer was that I can't skate yet. I'm wondering if this true, or if it's only because I've decided it so? For reals, can I actually pull this off, or is it physically impossible? 

I've decided regardless I should at least attempt it - to learn how tryouts work and what ballpark physically this operates in. 

It operates in sheer, unforgiving tuffness. I already know. 

In my life I've copped volleyballs' to the face; delivered from the fierce meathands of Australian and Olympic players. I've also dished them out to others. I've torn things, chipped things, pinched things, blackened things, sprained and burst things. I get pain. I do. So, why am I terrified of trying to do a crossover?? Why am I psyched out by the slightest wobble?? 

Well, Pavlov's dog tells me it's BECAUSE of those blackened sprains and crutches and ice baths and fat lips that I'm flipping out like donkey on the edge - nonetheless it seems like an effectively useless protocol to follow. I'm gunna kick my survival instinct into submission and skate into next week pushing all of my boundaries. It's high time I took this bitch for a ride and figured out what the fuck she's made of nowadays.

Shut up and skate bitch.

Rink-test dummy: my new derby gear

So I vaguely covered my journey into the world of freshmeat gear but thought I should revisit it so we can look at what gear I got and what I've noticed. My apologies for the shitty photo quality, I'm new to this blog idea and have no fanciness.

I went with:

Protec kneepads

Protec Wristguards (hand not included)

Protec helmet

Protec elbows

Crazy VXi skates (stocko bandit wheels and enclosed bearings)

Outdoor Radar jelly wheels and Bones reds bearings

All up this cost me $550.00 (got them from Skatetrader, the don't have freshmeat packs but will make up one and offer a discount). Make of that what you will but it was the best combo for me and came out far more suitable and cost effective than any of the freshmeat packs online.

I ended up swapping over my bones reds bearings with the stocko bearings that came in my crazies because they seemed so much faster, and more for rink. So my road wheels are a bit more sluggish but that suits me fine (all the better to not eat shit with my dear).

The biggest issue I've has with any of my gear is my kneepads. Whilst they want to save my arse when I come down on them, the velcro also wants to make my life unbearable. They're tight as fuck, and I wonder if they don't fit now given how much they cut in. The back of my knees end up looking like a strung ham after a skate. The tattooed goddess said to get them tight as I can bear it because eventually they loosen as the cushions inside compress but I think I went a lil too tight. I've come down on them a few times now and its been blissfully painless, so they are like tiny clouds it seems : )

Wrist guards are what I've found to be most essential . I've come down on those bad boys with 100kgs of fear and know they've saved me at the very least a fracture. I can also see they'll wear out fast by the battle scars they already bear.

Overall I'm pretty happy with my gear, though next time I might try out the 187 knees, they seem less bulky and cumbersome. What are you guys rockin' and howsit working?