Watched my first live bout yo!

On Saturday I took my tribe of midgets down to see a Sunstate bout (Riots v Defiants). It was amazing to watch live, despite my squinting a lot from having no glasses on. The live atmosphere was like 80% better than youtube :)

I learned heaps from it, but feel like it really reiterated hows much more work I need to be putting in on a daily basis. Those girls are brutal, in the peak fitness of their lives, and amazing skaters.  I cant yet tick any of those boxes (well I'm brutal in a non-derby way). Yet anyway. I tried to pay particular attention to the way they skate; what skills they most frequently use and referenced this to what I've been learning in class. The two most important aspects I found to be stops and starts. How to quickly recover from a fall. Learning to skate fast can wait, being able to dynamically change direction is imperative.

I've broken this into exercises I already know and am going to really focus on:

1. T-stops and starts
2. Falling safely on my butt (getting up without hands)
3. Turning to face behind me (as in turning using my skates)
4. Braking backwards onto stoppers
5. Crossovers

Then I started to research skate-specific training, I've read a lot about doing interval training but how? I stumbled across Fartlek training and whilst a lot of specific drills require a group, it can definately be done alone. Of course I'm more in favour of group punishment, it's too easy to give up when it's just you (a bit like a bikini wax, you just cant do that shit to yourself). Dem's the brakes I guess. Hence now my plan its to make myself a training schedule by the week. 

My plan feels something like this:

3 x skate sessions a week (2 focussing on the skills as above and one free skate with fartlek elements)
2 x off-skates sessions based on fartlek/interval training, with quad killer exercises like wall sits, squat jumps, or maybe a bike sesh to mix it up..

Plus of course my weekly class with the tattooed goddess. I'd like to have the luxury of a daily skate but I have kids, and therefore schedules coming out of my arse as it is. I think the 5 sessions might be slightly hopeful but I gotta have goals right? I figure I'll do 2 skate sessions and an interval training during the week, with the last two over the weekend...

What do you do and how is it working?

Nothing both brutal and amazing ever happened to a benchwarmer

So the only time I’ve ever skated, I was about 8 years old and went with vacation care. I don’t think I’ve ever tried and failed so hard at anything since. The next day, I felt agony like I’d never felt before. I remember coming out of my room screaming and unable to lower my arms. It seemed all the grabs for the railing left my arms shredded. My mother laughed of course, as I’d never had sore muscles before and was positive I was dying.

21 years later, I’ve made a not-so-secret pact with myself that I will, at all costs, be a Derby girl. So last Saturday my friend (who also intends to learn) and step-daughter headed out to our first ‘Star Class’ at the local rink. $8 entry, $3 skates, couldn’t go wrong!

That was, until we entered what looked like a swarming village of small children. Tiny people all around going extremely fast, and I’d be lying if I said my heart didn’t sink a little. I somehow thought adults still tried to be cool? Seemingly not, judging by the coffee-swilling packs of mothers seated all around. I felt SO uncool. What adults were there, were speeding past at break-neck speed. I strapped on my skates, and then the thought occurred to me. How the fuck am I going to stand up in these? My friend who swore she “couldn’t skate” miraculously seemed to speed merrily away, leaving me at the bench, wondering how to get to the rail without making a complete arse of myself.

Well, nothing both brutal and amazing ever happened to a benchwarmer so I psyched myself up to ignore everyone and stand on my own 8 wheels. UP! Now. TO THE RAIL! Gingerly, doesn’t even come close to how I approached the next hour of rail holding and trying to remain upright on these disastershoes. After a short burst of confidence, I’d realise I was going too fast with no bail plan and grab desperately for the railing leaving my legs and wheels to continue after me. Then, I slowly made my way out onto the rink. (Yes I was skating outside the rink). What I found was not only was I having the time of my life, I was drenched in sweat; not so much from physical exertion (it’s impossible when you’re travelling that slow) but from CONCENTRATING! My mind was on fire, I was more focussed than I’ve been in years! I dared myself a new dare every time I went round don’t grab for the rail at all this lap, bend your knees and skate faster, try and snow plow stop. I headed out at the end of the session high as a metal kite, but not without sneaking a lustful glance at the derby skates on the shelf begging to be mine.

My friend and I were hooked, we had to knowlearnsmash derby. I’d told myself, if I showed any signs of being able to skate, that would be it, I’d join roller derby. I passed my own test :)

My biggest concerns about derby, not as much the injuries, but my weight. I’m 100kg’s at the moment, not exactly the ideal weight for impact sports (or anything for that matter, except cuddling). I’ve been lucky in my build as I’m also 6ft, so I don’t look like the weight I am. Well, not entirely. I’m doing this to play team sport because I LOVE and MISS it, to get fit in a way that is more sustainable than the boredom and jerks I hate at the gym, and because well, I’m part islander which means I’m physically destined for contact sport. But mostly because I’m in awe of the girls who do it, and wonder if they’d ever be my friend being so fiercely divine as they are. I’ve watched everything I can on youtube and read all the stuffnthings and forums and reviews and its decided!

And so here I am, writing a blog about it, perhaps because I’ve read a few of the derby blogs and realised that my big girl experience that might be of use to other women who want to smash their way to physical freedom. Because derby already made me feel more comfortable with my body, and I haven’t even played yet!

Tryouts in 2 months, buying my skates on the 15^th May and then.......SKATE EVERY DAY UNTIL I CANT MOVE!