boots

OMG. Those skate boots showed up. I put them on and they fit...fucking perfectly...I cannot wait to get plates for them, mount, and skate them. I want to skate them so bad I will probably fill the holes and have them mounted ASAP even if I don't get new plates right away. And the dye job will happen when the stuf gets ordered and comes in. Pix will eventually surface!

Dixie

big update

So after our season ended I pretty much took a hiatus from posting. I was still skating at practices, but there hasn't been a lot of exciting stuff going on. We built a nine foot roller skate for our local Christmas parade and that was a blast! Since my last post I have (FINALLY) started to kind of get the hang of turning from front to back. I'm very terrible at it though. But the progress is there.
I've also learned how to remove plates that have been riveted to a boot. A hammer worked great. Then I learned how to mount and realized that I need my own tools...anyone got a spare break off tool? I also bought a pair of vintage Riedell 265 boots. Sadly they are too small for me and despite my best efforts at stretching them they are still super uncomfortable. I'm probably going to sell them to a teammate if she likes them.
But not until the white skates I bought come in. They look like a Riedell 295, but the person I bought them from referred to them as 8wheel (brand?) skates. IDK. They are going to be plastered with purple leather paint and mounted on my size 4 invaders for now. Assuming its not too long for a size 8 boot...lol
At any rate I am hoping for a set of DA45 Avenger Mg for Christmas in a size 2. Those will be S/F on the new boots and if I don't get them for Christmas I will buy them just as soon as I can afford them. And I want to do my own mounting job. I need a drill.
And I think that I've covered pretty much everything that's been going on.

Also, a note to the commenter who was concerned about my concussion. I am pretty sure that I had a minor one(my mom the nurse seemed to think so), but suffered no ill effects and am fine. My helmet has been replaced.

<3,
Dixie

ERG vs. CCRD

We lost our final bout of the season last night. Our first half was god awful and we had a rally in the second until some bad calls really killed our momentum. I felt like this was the worst I had ever played and managed to fall and hit my head pretty hard during the second half. I got up and kept skating but came back off after a lap or two because I tptally thought I heard four whistles. Turned out I was just knocked half stupid and hearing things. I think I'm OK tho. I mean other than just being depressed that we lost and feeling pretty inadequate as a derby girl.

I'm thinking about blowing off practice for a week or two so I can regroup and get my head on straight but I dunno just yet how I feel about it. I do know that I am really struggling with feeling as though I practice well and then play at a level that is nowhere near how I do at practice. The problem is that I don't onow why thos and that is something I nees to figure out ir I'm ever going to get better. I've been up for less than half an hour so ir things are jumbled or whatev thaya why. Also I just realized that my head still effin hurts. Now I'm annoyed. And I still feel like the worst derby girl ever and I think I let my team down....


Not feeling the love today,

Dixie von Doom

Had a good practice tonight but left feeling a bit down after having to deal with someone who I find to be less than pleasant...I'll get over it I'm sure. Had some funny moments including hearing someone yell, "the goat's jumping the fence!" As I was the goat in question and directly behind the person speaking it made me laugh so hard I almost fell. Some of the ERG skaters came down and played with us to prep for our bout on Saturday since we are borrowing them against their own team. Is there irony there? Anyway if you're in WNY or Western PA or if you feel like a road trip come see us in our last bout of the season in Erie, PA. Also this post was sent from my phone so ignore my typos!

Derby <3,

Dixie von D.

Bout on 9/25 Pike, NY

The Babes of Wrath faced off last night against the Nurse Rachets from Rockin' Rural Roller Girls at their home in Pike, NY. Getting there was an adventure in and itself since it's almost a two hour drive on backroads....I took my time coming home as I spotted several deer and didn't really feel like hitting them...at any rate...

In our first match-up against the RRRG the Babes (along with a few guest skaters from ERG) we ended the game at 192-140 Babes of Wrath after two periods of hard hitting fast paced, penalty laced derby action! I had a major track cut (not typical for me) and a low block major which I knew I was getting the instant I went to fall and my muscles tried doing two different things....OOPS. I haven't seen final stats and minors weren't being called to the skaters so I'm not sure where penalties for the rest of the team stand. Leanderthal scored MVP for the Babes and after her awesome jamming she deserved it. I keep hoping that one day I'll MVP for a game, but we'll see. I think I have a long way to go first.

Also, massive bruise on my arm, not from a cool hit or anything, but because I slid out and missed the chair on my second trip to the box and bashed my arm into the announce table (i think). A few others had minor bumps and bruises I'm sure, but we didn't have any major injuries last night and that's ALWAYS a good thing.

Our next bout, and last of the season, will be against ERG on October. 8th at Evan's Skateland West in Erie, PA. Here's to improving as much as possible between now and then!!!

Dixie

scrimmage practice

Scrimmage practices are the best. It gives me a chance to take skills I've been working on and put them into play during a jam situation. I've gotten better at breaking out of the pack to form up a wall and better at communicating that I need that wall when no one else is near me. Also, my positional blocking does seem to be improving...as long as I can avoid tripping on my own feet. :(

I had a few kicks from skates and a helmet to the thigh, plus general soreness from skating like mad, but I enjoyed every minute of it and am looking forward to our bout against Rockin' Rural Roller Girls on Sunday. I expect we will do well and as always each bout is a learning opportunity for us. Go Babes!

Dixie

I LOVE the last practice before a bout. That is all...for now.

Dixie von D.

frustration

Yep, missed a couple practice updates...nothing exciting to share that I can recall, which might explain why there was no update. Strategy, while necessary, bores the hell out of me and that was last week. Sunday freshie/endurance isn't exciting either, but more fun than strategy.

This week I simply find myself frustrated at myself. I'm always struggling with endurance and keeping up my speed and tonight I really felt that. It sucks to know you're the slowest of the bunch...or to feel like you are, but I'm pretty sure I am actually the slowest skater that's NOT fresh meat. After a year and still being so slow I feel rather beaten down in that regard. And at this point I'm not sure that my slowness is a matter of endurance the way it once was. I think I'm just slow....

Add to that my inability to complete a simple front to back transition (we have freshies that can do this, on their first night even) and I feel like I suck worse than ever. This is something that I've struggled with since I started skating and I simply cannot get my feet to do what I'm telling them to do while moving at speed. It is easy enough standing still, but a lot of things are easy when you're not really moving. I have this mental block or something in my head that tells me I can't do this...no matter how much I try. Plus not being able to complete said transition prevents me from learning a tomahawk stop as well, which isn't frustrating so much as it is annoying.

I love roller derby, but am starting to have my doubts about whether or not it loves me back...


Dixie

Recap,,,of a lot of stuff

OK. So I mentioned in my last post that I was thisclose to my 25/5. I haven't gotten a chance to skate it again, but I'm pretty confident that I can do it. We were scheduled to practice Wed. night as usual, but we had several people who were out of town or off skates and decided that we could take a night off. So instead a group of us hit the local mall in our derby gear (practice was canceled late) and shopped for tights/fishnets, etc. It was an awesome bonding experience for the group of us and I really enjoyed it because I seldom get to do that with my league.

Last night we had our first open house/recruiting event and while we didn't have the turnout that facebook suggested we would have (not surprising) we did have a decent amount of people show up. We should get at least a couple girls on skates out of the deal, might have an NSO turned skater after her baby is born, and if we were going to try and start up a junior league we would have our very first derby brats! And they were too cute! Although I'm not sure the 13 year old would appreciate me saying that about her...she was a sweet kid though. All in all, the event seemed to go pretty well. And I got mad props off the coach during a pushes and pulls drill that we did during the practice portion that we did to let potential fresh meat get their feet wet. I was a speed demon around that track. Love to see myself improving and love it more when people notice!

This morning there was an off-skates practice with Tuesday Hula from QCRG that I was slated to be at, but my phone rang at 3AM with news that my in-laws house had burnt down. So I woke my husband (Yankee von Doom since he is actually from NY and I grew up in the south..hence my name) and we drove out because while there wasn't much we could besides be there for his parents there was no way were doing anything else. They were camping with some friends and their dogs so no one was hurt but the house and everything in it are total losses. It's a shame to lose the heirlooms, firearms, household goods, and whatnot, but I'm more grateful that no one was hurt. I will miss my big bad ass shotgun, but in the grand scheme of things that's not what really matters. At any rate, I texted my league and told them I would be there this AM because I wasn't sure what might need done. It turned out that I could have probably gone, but after sleeping for roughly three hours, getting woken up about the fire, and handling that boatload of information and adrenaline I got home about 6 or 630 and did some cleaning, puttered around a bit and was passing out on the couch while Yankee crawled back in bed. At 9 AM I woke him as per his request and then passed back out under a blanket with a raging headache for an hour. He feels very lost and in a way so do I...being here is more important than derby right now. I'm just waiting for things to be normal again for now...

Dixie

Pre-vacation practice

This is a note from last week's practice that didn't make it up before I left for Canada on vacation. We had a good night with most of the girls on wheels (people are recovering from a summer slump as it cools off I think). Couple of minor knee issues that should be fine with some RICE and TLC and since I am a total klutz I decided to take a massive spill. Somehow during a Wall Breaker drill as I attempted to juke through a wall I fell and managed to take a skate to the ovaries...between that and the fall I was curled up on the ground in a fetal position gasping for air and crying because in addition to that pain I thought I might've broken my thumb. Here I am, gasping for air, spitting my mouth guard on the track and trying to get my gear off which consists of me swearing, still gasping, and trying to remove my helmet and wrist guards while telling my derby wife (Aeon Fox) to "get it off. Pull it off!" She started at my helmet and then when I kinda waved the wrist in her face she got it...or maybe I said wrist guard..IDK...lol Suffice to say that it hurt like a bitch when she pulled the glove over my hand, but that my thumb was not broken in the long run, my ovaries did not have a skate shaped bruise, and I was back on the track within probably ten minutes. After laughing my head off after what our bench manager said was the hardest fall he'd ever seen...

To end the night we did a 25/5 time trial skating derby direction, non-derby direction, and I think backwards. Skaters who had not done 25/5 or just wanted to do it again could do it and then do other variations from there if we chose. Since I have been stuck at 21/5 for AGES I figured another crack at getting to 25 was in order. Also, my coach just basically asked me/told me i was going to do it...lol
So I did it. And my time for 25 laps...was 5 minutes, 4 seconds...and as usual I freaked out afterward. Not because of my time as I was pretty happy to have finally gotten 25 laps, but just because I'm a freakin' spazz. So I have to shave four seconds off my time. After doing a lot of up and down hill walking on vacation I think it might help me with getting my time...LOL Here goes...DERBY!

Dixie

Ugh, practices are becoming my own personal hell. Not because derby has ceased to be fun, but because I am, once again, sleeping horribly, which means that practice is beyond difficult for me as I do not function well when not sleeping well. Also, my boots are working their way to being shot and I can't afford new ones. I will be looking into things such as doubling up my socks and whatnot to keep my feet happy until I can save up the cash for new boots.

Otherwise derby is derby as usual. We are working on a roster for our September bout, but we seem to have lost several people and have no idea when they will be back, which puts us short. Hopefully we can borrow some skaters from another nearby league without too much difficulty, otherwise it's going to be a very rough bout. After having my lovely derby wife Aeon Fox show me how to properly complete a front to back transition on my skates I almost succeeded in completing one last night after just a few minutes of practice. Yay. And that, is derby news...

Dixie

Marketing/Ranting/Rambling/IDK

So it just randomly occurred to me that I need to learn how to become a blog marketing guru overnight so that I can convince people that I am an awesome enough skater that they should sponsor me or just donate money cause they love me so I can get new skates. Yes, I realize that this sounds very conceited of me. I am also an only child and had entirely too many people in my life tell me that I am awesome and amazing at everything. LOL

In all actuality, I just need to learn to write about things other than practice and whatnot on a derby themed blog so that I can generate more hits and followers. Maybe when I'm not working a job that forces me to ask off months in advance for every event I want to attend and penalizes me for asking for time off by cutting my hours I will have more to share. In the meantime, please stay tuned for more of my stupid/goofy/silly/angsty rants that may not be derby related and my weekly(ish) updates on derby in my life.

Love,
Dixie von D.

eating pizza and blogging

Practice last night was HUMID and the floor started to squeak...omg...I was dehydrated and dizzy real quick. The I sucked it up, got over it, and skated til I was ready to puke. We are gearing up for an open house/recruitment event at the end of this month along with bouts in September, October, and possibly December against the Albany All-Stars B team.

And then we will be on to next season. I am starting to try to get things ironed out, but I need venue info and our events planner handles a lot of that so I've dashed off a note to her and will keep working on what I can do for now.

Also, I tried something last night at practice that seemed totally impossible for me to have done when I started skating. We will set up an obstacle course with cones to weave and dodge, things to jump and whatnot and up until now I have always just jumped and avoided the obstacle because I never thought I was going to clear more than the basic jumping requirement. Our obstacle is a cheap wooden hockey stick that is balanced on two cones that stand no more than a foot high...if that. For me, I was convinced there was no way I was ever gonna clear it. Last night Coach Pistol Whip finally goaded me into trying it. First try I cleared it (mostly I think) but had a crazy bad landing. Was informed that it was "badass". My second try I actually jumped too late and barked my shins on the hockey stick. And then the drill was wrapping up so I have shelved that trick for another time, but I will clear that stick and stick my landing damn it!

Dixie

nothin new

Wow...I've really gotten lax about keeping up with things lately. Of course, we are also experiencing a summer slump within the league so that certainly doesn't help matters. Playing freeze tag on your skates is awesome though. :)

I am working on planning schedule for next season and hopeful that we will have our flooring/bouting space issue worked out so we can have home games more frequently. Also, one thing I don't like about derby is board meetings. LOL Although ours are generally pretty low key affairs that don't have tons of drama. I am looking forward to practice next week and am really kind of annoyed at my job because they prevent me from going to the Freshie practice to help out and meet the new girls. Grr. And that's my derby life right now....

Dixie

Bout day recap...sort of...

So we had a bout Saturday night against Enchanted Mountain Roller Derby. We thought we were OK with our roster, only to realize a couple days before that we weren't so much. So we went into the bout with 9 skaters. That made for a lot of hard skating and some very tired skaters by the end of the night. Considering that setback the game was a good one and while we lost by an almost 100 point margin I don't think we played a bad game. I felt like we learned a lot and will be able to use what we learned in our next bouts for sure. Can't wait to skate again. D<3!

Dixie

pre-bout practice

So as lousy as last week's practice was...this one was the complete opposite. It was a night where the planets aligned, angels sang, and derby was played, bitches! I had a good night, did lots of scrimmaging to prep for Saturday's bout, got some good hits, am working out being an "anchor" that simply allows me to shove people or be shoved where I need to be, and even ran a full two minute jam. Granted, it was me and another girl who rarely jam and it was a slow jam, but I got lead jammer and fought my way through that pack repeatedly. I was NOT gonna call it off. We did good. And I smell...so on that note...shower time for me!! Derby <3!!


Dixie von D.

rant

I know that I write a lot about being better and doing things to get myself there, but have struggled with the motivation to do what I need to do for a very long time. I'm still trying to push myself and go where I need to go in order to succeed, but when I constantly feel like the worst player on a team and berate myself even while others are cheering me on it just feels hopeless. I don't want to give up on roller derby, but I'm scared that derby will give up on me. There are a lot of "but"s in the previous sentences...which to me says that I'm making excuses. And I am. So I need to break that habit. I need to break the habit of simply vegging out all day long. I need to grab my sneakers, tuck my girls into a super supportive sports bra and start jogging, biking, stretching, or whatever exercise I can do that will help me. I need to get over my issue with being fat and slow and out of shape and feeling like people are judging me and just do it. Why is this so hard for me?

Off

Practice tonight wasn't bad, but several other skates also said they felt as though they were having an off night. I'm less frustrated than I was before, but I definitely almost had an anxiety attack a couple of times. I'm so sick of this...have an appointment tomorrow with my doctor so I'm gonna see what he says. One good thing that came out of tonight is that I've found a skater who is pretty close in ability to me so I can work with him (he's a ref) and try to push harder and feel as though I have a chance at improving rather than just sucking and falling further behind the super amazing skaters that I try to emulate. But I'm moving on from that right now before I start having a pity party.

I've found that short, choppy crossovers are not a bad thing for me and have started working on them. Once I find the PERFECT wheels (Yeah Right!!) I should be golden. At least until something else new and shiny comes along and catches my eye...but at any rate...I'm tired and ready for bed after a better than I expected practice. Derby and mental issues take a lot out of a girl...

Dixie

Just thoughts

I'm fast approaching my first derbyversary. When I started last July I had forgotten how to skate and couldn't hardly make two laps without breathing heavy. Luckily I'm not quite that bad anymore. But I am still struggling with my 25/5 and endurance issues. Exercise is always on my list, but as other things in my life occur it sometimes drops lower and lower until it is no longer a priority. Changing that would do me a world of good I think. But so far I haven't managed to do so. Honestly, I've been thinking a lot lately about how much I love derby and how I don't want to give it up. At the same time I'm starting to feel like that I should be able to do my 25/5 by now and if I can't do it soon i may step into being a ref for a while. I don't want to, but if I'm hurting my team by continuing to skate, then maybe stepping back to give someone else a shot might be in my best interest. I don't know what to do about this because the thing that has really forced me to look at this has been my inability to pass minimum skills. Or more accurately the 25/5 since I can do everything else. I'm pretty down today tho and I'm fully aware that my mood is certainly coloring my thoughts. Hopefully after practice tonight (on a floor that we can actually skate...it was so humid last week that any real maneuvering was IMPOSSIBLE, so we just kinda screwed around for a bit and called it an early night) I will be feeling better about my skating abilities and skills.

Current dream skates

Riedell 965, custom black and purple leather. Size 3 plate, either Invader DA45 or XK4 DA45, currently jonesing for Radar Zodiacs and will have at least bones reds. Currently skating a Rebel Invader package with a size 9 boot that for some reason has size 4 plates mounted to it...I thought the 3 would've been a better choice, but since I bought it as a package...*shrug* It's been good to me and will keep being good to me until I can afford to drop the money on the Riedells. Also, I need those Zodiacs right now, along with new elbow pads cause mine are shot...I have SEDs?? Probably...someone buy me skate stuff? I wish!! Derby love!!

Dixie

*grumbles*

Missed practice last night after having the absolute worst anxiety attack I have had in YEARS. I mean, it was the first one I'd had on months, but the probably one of the worst I've ever had. Hubby stayed home from work and as much as I wanted to go to practice I knew that it probably wasn't the best or safest idea for me. So I stayed home...now I'm sad about it cause I don't know if I'll get back on skates before next week and being off skates for too long really sucks! Besides we have a bout July 9th that I need to be ready for. I'm trying to make myself start training harder, per my last post, but when I don't feel well or am tired (my anxiety causes both of these things) then it gets hard very quickly for me to be interested in doing much. Today I'm grumpy and frustrated. I need some derby love.

Dixie

Penalty question

So in our bout Sunday I was one of the few players who did not get ANY penalties called on me. Like None. Zip. Zero. Zilch. Not One. So my questions is this: does this make ma just a very clean player or does it mean that I need to get out there and be more aggressive? Penalties seem to be a big part of derby as does aggressiveness and I really felt as though my aggression and hard hitting badassery was lacking in the bout Sunday. I wish there was video that I could watch, but I'm not sure how much there is or if I'm actually in any of it. I find so few pictures of myself on skates it makes me laugh. Does my hatred for the camera show so clearly? Or do people avoid me cause I'm huge? lol I laugh at that, but I'm not kidding. This is a rambly post. Any one want to weigh in on penalties or lack thereof?

Dixie von Doom

cardio plans...again

So after mnoths of hemming and hawing and half assing thins tonight I started again on an exercise routine. While I can skate well and generally appear to be pretty fit I have re-discovered just how poor my cardio conditioning is. On skates I'm not bad. Practice doesn't kill me quite like it used to, although General G'Injure makes sure we definitely get a workout. However, 45 minutes of cardio that ranged between jumping rope (I suck at it pretty hardcore now...used to be almost decent at it. it will change), jogging, walking, and random aerobics in my living room and I am dripping sweat. I feel like it was a good workout, although I didn't stretch nearly as well as I should've. My cat was very interested in my doing push-ups...which translates to he got in the way and every time I went down he was right there. I kept headbutting him in the side. LOL And, while I can't keep up with the pace at which we do push-ups at practice I have discovered that I can do at least 15 reps of girlie push-ups if I go at a slower pace. So while I'm not quite to the level of doing real push-ups I did see progress tonight. Also, does anyone else think that doing push-ups on skates and in your gear is harder than it should be? Just sayin'...And now tht I'm all sweaty and feel better after a workout, I'm gonna shower, start some laundry and chill until bedtime. Tomorrow's workout will be derby practice and Thursday might just be a long walk with the hubby, although he does encourage me to jog at least a bit during said walks. Off I go! DL<3!!

Dixie von D.

CCRD v. ERG

So, I missed a practice post cause I was too busy prepping for the bout that was up and coming very quickly. Said bout was yesterday...first bout ever for the Babes of Wrath as we took on the Eerie Roller Girls. We had a good crowd at the Jamestown Savings Bank Ice Arena and things went off without a hitch. But really, when all is said and done, everyone had an amazing time and we won our first bout!!!!! Right now I am too tired to even remember what the score was, but all I know is that we did it.

EDIT: After getting some sleep and checking with another skater I was informed that our final score was 163 Babes of Wrath to 137 Eerie Roller Girls

As per my usual post-bout feelings now that I've had time to relax and decompress I look back on my performance and feel like it was really poor. I feel like I never train hard enough and when I bout I lose a lot of the aggressiveness that I take to practice with me. My endurance is better each time bout and that is when it really shows me that it is better, but I still would like to get good enough that I can try jamming here and there. Back to drawing board! I'll post the score when someone reminds me what it was! DL<3

Dixie von D.

CCRD is famous!

CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY ROLLER DERBY. The Babes of Wrath are featured in an article in today's paper. Come down and support the Babes @ their first local event, Summer Bruise-In


Dixie von D.

Dixie scores...in under two minutes

Our first local bout is in 10 days!!! We are getting in as much practice as is humanly possible without wrecking ourselves completely and finishing up the planning of things. I am STILL waiting on confirmation for an NSO class and right now if I don't hear something soon I might start freaking the hell out!!!! Gotta love anxiety disorder! NOT. So anyway, things are probably going more smoothly than I imagine them to be...I'm just a freak like that. I did get my wheels dyed and when I've been skating for a while and they get gunked up, they look like I have nasty rental wheels on my skates. I really don't I swear!

Practice Wednesday night was good. I need velcro though as my pads aren't stretching out as much as I had hoped they would...my legs are so large that 187 Pro Pads don't fit me right...and I can't afford to shell out for customs, but I can fix these with some craftiness that I gotta get done ASAP! Hell yeah! It was hot in the rink and we were all feeling it, but I love practicing in the heat, it reminds me of home growing up.

And...the girls FINALLY talked me into playing a single jam in the jammer position which I have absolutely never freaking done before and have never even like jamming during pack drills. I DO NOT jam. Ever. I block. I hit. I take out jammers. But Wednesday they convinced me I should. And I said OK, just this once. I will hit the jammer line. I really wanted to take off @ the first whistle. Pure habit. Coming off the line my opposition, the lovely Jowanna Scrap, was faster than me, but with my above mentioned giant legs I was able to pop up and around her to break through the pack. It happened fast enough that I don't know if I was hitting people or if my blockers made me huge holes to get through (or both!), but I was high tailing it through as fast as my fat ass would go, which is faster than it would go when I started skating. Breaking the pack for a lead jammer call earned me a round of applause from the team and I stormed around again for a quick four points and called it before Jowanna could score (I think; We weren't keeping score really). Then I sat down to catch my breath as I discovered that I had been moving far faster than I thought I was. Also, I still have no endurance. Our trainer/coach/awesome skater General G'Injure wants that to change as much or more than I do though and we are going to start trying to have off-skates training when we can now that it is warm out. I gotta fix my bike up and/or start jogging (I loathe it), but I know it will be good for me. Also, I have some leads on areas to skate outdoors and I will start utilizing them. I wish I could magically increase my endurance like crazy before the bout, but I simply don't see myself making enough of an improvement to play jammer in such a short time and I don't feel like I will be confident enough in my skills to jam in July against Enchanted Mountain RD when we face them in the regular season. Those girls play a mean game and I love them! Also, holy crap this has been a long post...I'm done now...DERB LOVE<3!

Dixie von D.

updates

OK, so I bought a set of the olympian bel-air wheels from the rink and managed to break them from the floor a couple times towards the end of practice Wed. night. I think between all the people the floor had just gotten a bit slick and I was tired and had poor form. My legs bothered me for the entire practice. I am going to be dying them BRIGHT freaking orange and will post pix when I have that done because my skates are turning into an obnoxious mish-mash of neon colors. I'm really struggling with my left hip flexors giving out/not being strong enough and have started working out both hips in hopes of combating this. One legged squats are good too, but I have issues doing them without falling over.

We are planning our first local bout for June 12th and finally have enough refs and are getting up there with having enough NSOs that I'm not totally freaking out about everything. Now I'm just trying to make sure that they all get trained before the bout. I will be suggesting that we have an official ref/NSO rep in the near future as this is confusing and exhausting and while I know that learning to ref/NSO is good for skaters I don't know if I want to be the one responsible for making sure we have a full crew for every bout...oh wait...I'm Interleague Rep...guess that's part of my job. lolz I think that we will be OK tho and can pull this off. Anyone who is semi-local to Chautauqua County NY needs to come to Jamestown on June 12th for the Babes of Wrath first home bout against the Eerie Rollergirls!! DL<3

Dixie von D.

sweetness

Another wonderful practice last night. I borrowed a set of Bel-air Olympian wheels from our rink owner and they were just wow. I'm thinking about trying to buy them from him, although I'm really hoping he can find a set with metal hubs for sale. He's not sure if they still make them tho. I am also looking at a set of Radar Devil Rays, but haven't gotten to skate them quite yet...there are several girls who have them though so hoping I can borrow a set one night for practice. I pulled off five laps in 1 minute last night on the olympian's without too much trouble, although maintaining that speed for a full five minutes will not be easy. I think if I can get a good start and push push push I can tack on the extra four laps I need to pass my 25/5 which I will be trying again next week. Looking forward to it. Also....24 days until the Summer Bruis'n featuring CCRD Babes of Wrath v. the Eerie Roller Girls

!!!!!

Tonight was just awesome. After kicking my own ass last week I seem to have found a sweet spot for my trucks, am nailing some hard hits, and can feel myself getting stronger in tiny increments. Also, I landed hip first on a teammate's skate. She's fine, I'm fine, but there's gonna be one HELL of a bruise on my hip!

I got my new knee pads today and despite the fact that they are a smidge too tight (they'll stretch!) I LOVE having a set of 187 pro knees. Tonight was the first time in AGES that my knees didn't hurt when I got home from practice. Sooo nice...

Trying to figure out what I want to do about my wheels since I slide on red fugitives(92ish), want something harder than my poisons(84), my coach wants to put me on a 95a tuner, and I'm convinced he's crazy, but I see things that make me wonder if maybe he has a point. I'm so confused!!!And tired! DL<3

Dixie Von D.

First Local Bout

Alright Ladies and Gents! Chautauqua County Roller Derby will be hosting our very first bout in June at our local ice arena (melted floor) and we had our first big meeting about it this morning! Three and a half hours later I KNOW we have made good progress and we have a lot of stuff already in the works. I think we're doing alright, but if anyone has bout production experience (and I know you're out there!) please leave me comments with suggestions, advice, anything helpful you can think of!! I want to make sure all of our bases are covered! DL<3!!!!



Dixie Von D.

The day after

So, this morning after I'd had a chance to shower and decompress and look back on last night, I know that I just need to buckle down and push harder. I have roughly a week of school left and all I can do is finish all my classes, pray that I got my GPA high enough to graduate, and move on with my life. In the meantime I am trying to start working in mini workouts throughout my day. A set of squats here and there, push-ups and sit-ups during commercials if I'm watching TV, wall push-ups while I'm making dinner, and then continue to bring it with jogging, bike rides, and as much skating as I can work in...since the skating involves driving and gas is over $4 a gallon though, that might be harder. Also, yoga/pilates to increase my balance and work my core. I know that endurance is a big part of derby but a stronger core is going to allow me to get up from falls faster and keep me more stable on my skates.

Mr. Von Doom is getting me new knee pads for our anniversary and I will be getting them early so I can get used to them prior to our upcoming bout against the Eerie Roller Girls. Also we might have a new practice space and potential new home altogether for CCRD which means less of a drive for me and has the potential to garner us a LOT of new skaters...at least for the area we live in. I cannot give up on this now. Not when we have all worked so hard. DL<3!

Dixie Von D.

*sigh* and more *sigh*

So last week I felt like a freshie. This week I just felt like I sucked. Booya BooTay from Hellgate Rollergirls in Missoula, MT was down to visit family and she came out to practice with us. I adore her and am sad that we only get to skate with her like once a year. She's really sweet and kind of intimidating to me, but that's because most people who are better skaters and not on my team intimidate me...I really need to get over that.

I fell countless times, kept taking other people out (in a bad way) kicked Susan B. in the cooch (i'm sooooo sorry), and had a panic attack on the track. I don't even know what triggered it. I do know that being the goat sucked...I'm clearly one of the least maneuverable and agile girls on the team and it really shows. Right now I'm frustrated and sad and contemplating giving up derby because I just don't feel like I can do it anymore. But I love it so much and I know that I can be myself around the women I skate with and they never put me down even when I suck and I put myself down so hard. I dunno what to do. I dunno if Dixie Von Doom is gonna make it. I just feel like I'm lost and floundering at derby right now and I'm afraid that with our first home bout coming up I will do something that screws the team up...royally. Just not feelin the love tonight...

Dixie von D.

Freshie Feelings...lol

Ugh...after last night's practice I feel kind of like a freshie ALL over again. I just switched out the cushions on my skates from a purple and yellow SG super combo to an all yellow combo and it made a very noticeable difference. It took a few laps to adjust and while I felt better on them by the end of the night and I noticed that my 92 Fugis didn't seem to slide quite as bad I think I need a bit more time on them before I start making more changes. I think I will try the orange tuners or maybe the green quickie stickies at some point though.

Overall practice was good last night. We did some pack skating and footwork, which Aeon Fox was kind enough to show me some tricks that I could use to improve my footwork immensely. YAY!!! <3 my derby wife! I didn't totally hate footwork after that and might start almost liking it. When we started scrimmaging it took a few rounds but eventually we started to coalesce into teams better than we had before and I had some good hits on jammers and several of our girls who have been primarily pivots or blockers are starting to come into their own as jammers. I don't know if I will ever get there, but I'll try. Endurance first though. DL<3!

Dixie von D.

4/16 scrimmage

We had a mixed scrimmage Saturday with EMRD from Limestone, NY and ERG of Erie, PA and it was a freaking blast. Limestone hosted everyone and we played half hour bouts to allow for enough time for everyone to play. Our first game was against Eerie's Blue team and we won with a final score of like 68-55 or 65-58...something like that. We looked good together and were pretty cohesive and at one point my booty and Aeon Fox's booty were the biggest obstacles to Eerie's jammer. Awesome sauce! I've come to the conclusion that I REALLY should get new knee pads since mine ride up even when I have then taped and taking a hard cap to the knee cap repeatedly hurts like a bitch. Surprisingly though, no bruising. Leanderthal is all kinds of fast and I'm pretty sure that my mother-in-law is her new number one fan. :)

Second game was against the Limestone girls and wow...just wow. I think the final on that one was 111-25, Limestone. Simply put, I feel like we are outclassed by them at this point in time. They play a faster game than we do and I was having problems keeping up with that. They also hit very hard and like to mess with your head. My left arm is a bit sore courtesy of Icky Thump (who I LOVE), but nothing major. I think Icky just likes to beat on me cause I'm a big girl who takes the hits and gives em back. Next time tho, I should lean away from her and step forward and see if I can sneak by instead of hitting back. Maybe I can surprise her...

Also, have recruited a friend of mine who decided that derby looked like too much fun to pass up! I felt like the scrimmage was a success even if we lost one of our games because we did play well and I think we are becoming more cohesive on the track and every bit of time on skates helps us improve in some way or another. One thing that I need to add to my training is agility work and foot work. I hate foot work. But I need it. Badly. Otherwise just keep pushing for that endurance and driving to win. DL<3!!


Dixie von D.

Slacker...

Yep, I'm a slacker. LOL Actually with all the car issues and being super busy with my internship and school and whatnot I've barely had time for practice, much less to update about it. I was at practice on March 30 with the Eerie Roller Girls when they came down and we had a good time. I bricked myself with my own skate that night. Lots of girls, not a lot of room to fall, and a jump bar to the shin. There's still a bruise and a knot that will probably last most of the summer. Oops...but my other option was to nail someone in the head with a skate. Then I skipped a week of practice due to lack of a vehicle and bad weather. At the most recent practice we did lots of scrimmaging since we had a scrimmage the following Saturday and since I had been pretty hit or miss with my attendance I was worried, but I hit track and felt like I was on fire! It was good. Our scrimmage gets its own post though. And you'll have to wait for that one. :) DL<3!

Dixie von D.

cars suck

My track record for missed practices is not improving....I don't like it, but sometimes you do what ya gotta do. Being super busy with school, my internship, and my real job means that derby practice isn't always a huge priority right now, even though I would like it to be. Also, lack of transportation makes it difficult. Turns out that when I blew the radiator hose in my car it overheated (big surprise) but that since the temperature gauge in the car doesn't actually work properly I didn't catch the problem until it actually stalled and died. Got it running and home, then to the shop (this post has been interrupted by a napping kitty), "fixed" only to get it right back to the shop because it wasn't running right. So after waiting for a week to get something figured out my mechanic discovers that not only did my blown hose destroy the coilpack, plugs and wires, but it also resulted in a head gasket issue (warped and gonna blow should about sum it up) since I didn't know that the engine was overheating. Good thing: I get a new car. Bad thing: I can't really afford said new car. At any rate I might have found a vehicle and will probably just junk my busted car, then I can get back to derby...also, my internship will be done mid-April!!!! YAY! You can expect more regular updates of a derby related nature at that point. Until then...go skate! DL<3!

Dixie von D.

Practice anxiety

Ugh, I haven't felt this way in months. While I've been slowly improving, I'm not making leaps and bounds and I found out last night that the training committee is really gonna start stepping things up at practices. They've already begun tracking attendance and I am pretty good on that front so no worries there, but I'm at a point where there are times that I just physically cannot keep up and practice is kicking my ass already. I have General G'Injure to thank for this and while its not a bad thing because I need to push myself more, it scares me and freaks me out and makes me anxious (like panic attack on the way home last night anxious) because if I can't cut it at practice my playing time in bouts could be affected and that just sucks. A lot.

Granted I am a pretty strong player, but I can only play for a jam or two at a time because my endurance isn't up there yet, but I'm getting better. I don't feel like I should be a huge factor for me, but I'm terrified that it might. Will I end up getting less time that the people who aren't as good because they have better endurance? Or will I be OK as long as I keep pushing myself as hard as I can even if that means being the slowest one on the track? Better yet, why am I worrying about this? Why not just suck it up and do it? That seems like a better tactic to take, right? But I'm still kinda freaked out by the whole thing.

On a happier note I finally ordered softer cushions for my Invader DA-45s and went from all purples to a purple and yellow combo and I definitely felt an improvement of the way my skates seemed to handle. I'm seriously considering jumping right into all yellow cushions at next practice. And I did feel like I was skating stronger since working out, but I've only worked out a handful of times before last night's practice so some of that might have all been in my head. *shrug* But yeah....yellows are good and blues might be better, but I'll wait and see. Off for schoolwork....boring! DL<3


Dixie von D.

Roller Derby Workout DVD

So I've had this DVD hanging out for a month or so before I finally got around to trying it and despite the fact that I've been skating for several hours a week for several months this workout kicks my butt. I'm doing it off skates so I don't accidentally kick my cat in the head, but I still love it. We have an event coming up in April so I'm going to try to do this at least 3x a week til then and see how much I have improved in that time. Also, we will be bouting against ROC Derby in August and really want to be good and ready for that so the Babes can show the world what we're made of.

I've spent too long talkin' about steppin' it up without doing it so now I've got my game on and gonna make some progress towards being a badass derby girl! DL<3

Dixie von D.

4 wheels means I get to use 8 wheels

Got my car back this AM and promptly headed to practice. So nice to get some skate time in. I'm still lagging behind several of the skaters fitness wise, but when I remind myself that prior to derby I wasn't getting pretty much no exercise AT ALL I realize that I've come a long way.

I felt a bit off this morning at practice, but it was early and I don't sleep well, plus missing any of my regular skate time seems to do that to me. By the time it was all over I felt better, if a bit tired because General G'Injure runs a wicked practice. As much as I fuss about things like Satan's Mattress it's good for me and I feel better after a good ass kicking workout. Tomorrow after work I will pop in my roller derby workout DVD and hit it up! As soon as the weather cooperates and I can start riding my bike, jogging, and skating outdoors that will be on my agenda as well. And once I finish college I can really focus on getting myself into shape, although I'm hoping by then I will have made some progress and see some sexy results. Although if Susan B. is to be believed my ass is looking pretty damn hot already. Yeah! Steppin it up, bitches!! LOL OK, that was my tribute to the aforementioned Susan B. who is a white girl with gangsta slang. I'm out for dinner and (more) homework. DL<3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Dixie von D.

no car = no skating = heightened anxiety/depression issues

I have no idea when I will get my car back out of the shop. I was hoping for yesterday or today, but as it still needs a brake cylinder replaced and some work on the brake lines that split (probably from the pressure that backed up d/t to busted cylinder) it might not be til Monday or later. Since being without my car means I am sharing hubby's car I basically can go around town in it and that's it. He is super paranoid about me driving it out to rink we practice at and hitting a deer, especially since I did exactly that in my car a couple months ago.

It sucks a lot. Derby is a major outlet for me and I've been so stressed and anxious lately with everything going on in my life that I've really needed it. And I cannot has it. I'm on edge and anxious all the time right now and it would be so nice to put on my skates, even for a little while and be able to forget all of that and let it go. I only have to survive through April tho and things should start settling back down after I finish my internship. In the meantime I just have to hang on.

Things that make me anxious:

1. Getting enough hours at work to pay the bills
2. Passing minimum skills testing
3. My house not being as clean as I would like it to be
4. Failing any classes in my last semester of college and not graduating
5. Not being the best skater I can be and continuing to improve
6. Being unable to do things like the tomahawk stop and get up from falls as fast as I want to do so
7. Worrying about my husband's health while they try to figure out what is wrong
8. pretty much everything


Ok, so that last one is horrible for me to put on there, but it is very true. I get anxious and worried over every little thing and I do so very easily. Random things will set me off and send me into a tailspin. Wed. night I literally laid in bed for three hours and did nothing because I got so anxious and depressed that my mental state had actually reached a point where I felt unstable and my instinct was to retreat to a safe place i.e. my nice warm bed so that I didn't have access to anything that could be potentially used as a weapon. To clarify that, at one point in time I was a cutter and still bear those scars. Sometimes I go to a place where I want to cut again and know that in order to not give in to that urge I need to be away from anything I might be able to use in that fashion. So I did that, rather than letting go and giving in. It might not be the best way for me to cope and maybe I need more therapy, but I am so adverse to the idea of therapy that whenever it gets brought up I will make up a reason not to do it. I can open up with my writing all I want, but actually talking to a therapist means I just lie to them and manipulate them into hearing what they want. I don't trust them and I'm pretty sure it's because I was forced into therapy as a teenager and once I figured out how to play her the woman would believe pretty much whatever I said. And I simply didn't trust her not to tell my parents things that I said no matter how much she claimed that they were in confidence. So this is a long rambling post about how unstable I've been feeling because I don't really know where else to post it or who I can talk to about this because my family either doesn't know about my problems or I won't talk to them about it because I feel like they have enough going on and don't need my crap. Also, I don't need attitude about it and some people will give me that. And I love my derby girls, but again they have their own crap to deal with and I'm not dumping on them with all of my crap, especially when some of it is much more trivial than what is going on in their lives. Being alone is another big anxiety trigger for me at times and it has been pretty bad lately too. Every time I am home alone I get the gross achy feeling/knot in the pit of my stomach and have to make an effort to stay focused and not freak out because I am alone. I'm wondering if this is worse because A) I'm worrying about hubby and his health and even though it's nothing life threatening it's still kinda freaking me out and B) my late grandmother's birthday is coming up on the 1st of next month and I am reminded of her a lot more around this time of year. *shrug*

Eventually I will be able to work through this fit, the league drama will settle down, college will end, and things will go back to as close to normal as they ever get for me. In the meantime, please bear with my rants and fits and whatever else I come up with on her. I just need to vent sometimes.

Dixie von D.

Title Goes Here

So I didn't get a post in after last practice because I have been busier than hell with work and my internship and my car breaking down. It was a small and short practice because we've been trying to solve some league drama that we are making go away and getting better structured so that it doesn't happen again. We did lose our scrimmage, but I think I shared that already and we are looking possibly having a mini-tourney type thing with a few other local leagues next month. Also, going to be looking into bouting Roc City's "B" team in August. I just need to fire off an email to their coordinator and see if they would be interested. And that is that. DL<3!!

Dixie von D.

rant and whine

Yes, I'm a derby girl and yes, I'm throwing myself a pity party. Mostly because if I don't get this out of my system I am going to freak out and lose it at practice with a full scale anxiety attack that I don't really need right now. Some of my teammates definitely have bigger shit that my issues going on in their lives and they don't need my shit to show up at practice if they can check their shit at the door too.

Wednesday night, 2/23, we jammed through most of practice and I felt as though my performance was mediocre at best. I dwelled on this more than I should have until Saturday, 2/26, when we had practice that morning and our scrimmage that night. I was doing OK at practice, feeling good, almost able to forget Wed. night when our player-coach Gen. G'Injure suggested we pop up the timer and do a relay. There were five of us and we each had to do five laps. I've been skating for several months and the last time I tried my 25/5 I was only short by four laps so I thought I would be OK doing 5/1. It took me something like a minute and a half to make those 5 little laps. We still completed it in less than the 5 minutes on the timer, but it certainly wasn't due to my skating...so the others were goofing off and cheering and there I was kneeling in the center trying not to have an anxiety attack. I got up to take a lap with them because I didn't want to show that weakness and was able to kind of shove it back for a few minutes.

On the drive home it came back and after two anti-anxiety meds, getting ready for the scrimmage, and the drive out I wasn't much better. Skating a few laps helped for a bit, but once the bout started I turned into such a bundle of nerves that I had to force myself to put my water bottle down before I chugged it out nervousness. Even writing about this makes me anxious. So in front of my husband, father in law, two derby leagues, and a host of other people I skated all of 6 jams and in one I got knocked over simply because I lost my focus. I felt like my hits were weak, my endurance was poor, and overall that I did very poorly and could have and should have done much better. I know now that I really need to buckle down and start training hard to get this together and maybe make a decent derby player, but I'm terrified that all the hard work in the world won't help me get better....not feelin' the love today...*sigh* Anxiety is not my friend.

Dixie von D.

Scrimamge Results

184-72 EMRD. In all honesty we didn't get beat as badly as some of us expected too. I ended up taking a double dose of my anxiety meds cause I was far more of a bundle of nerves than I wanted to admit to being. It seemed to help, but I still don't feel like I did very well, although I only took one trip to the box for a major tripping. My endurance is really terrible, I don't have any noticeable bruises (yet), and I didn't play nearly as much as I wanted to. A lot of that last part was due to a lack of confidence on my part. After Wed. nite practice and practice this AM where I didn't manage to make 5 laps in a minute or less I've been feeling pretty down about my skating skills. I did get some good hits in tonight, but feel like I should have and could have been better. No injuries that I know of so that's good. But my adrenaline rush is wearing off and I'm sleepy as hell suddenly so off to bed for me I think. Work calls early at 7AM tomorrow. DL<3!!

Dixie von D.

jamming practice

We have a scrimmage Saturday evening against EMRG. Last night at practice we had one person end early due to shin splints acting up, another take a fall hard enough to cause hip and knee pain that prevented skating (that one was me), and two knee injuries that are both on crutches today and one may need surgery...*sigh*

As we haven't had enough league stress and drama, now this happens. Also, I was one of the few all night that wasn't singled out as having done something well or given advice....so apparently I am suitably mediocre. Not really where I want to be. I know I seemed to get some good hits and I think at one point my positional blocking was exactly where it needed to be, but otherwise I just felt like teh suck kind of. At any rate, I guess we'll go out Saturday night and do our best and learn from it no matter what happens. DL<3!

Dixie von D.

Snowy Sat.

Saturday practices are always small, but still a good workout. Satan's Mattress is slowly getting less horrible for me. My big problem is getting up fast enough. We spent a while running endless jammer today and I don't think I will ever be a good jammer. I just can't get through the pack. I've tried strategy, I've tried being sneaky, using force, cutting inside, cutting outside, and I just get put down every time. I think a lot of it boils down to not being fast enough to just get it done. However, my blocking skills continue to improve and are getting pretty good. I need to keep stomping through footwork drills even though I hate them so I get better and moving across the track and not cluing in the opposing jammer too much. Scored some good hits though and then slalomed a bit. I didn't have quite so much tightness today from my chest and lungs and my cough is going away. Here's hoping I'm good to go by next Saturday when we scrimmage EMRD out of Limestone, NY. Also, my kneepads slip horribly and taping them helps, but isn't perfect. Any other suggestions for keeping them in place? Knee gaskets almost never fit me cause my legs are huge though. At any rate....DL<3!!

Dixie von D.

update again!

Ugh...I'm over my cold, but the cough part is lingering very badly. It makes skating difficult. But it also makes me stronger cause it forced me to push a little harder. Still...hacking a lung and feeling like you might puke isn't fun. So after some scrimmaging where I worn my ass out and got a couple decent hits I was done. Knocking Cannonball OOBs and a good solid shot to Aeon Fox always make me feel like I did something good. Besides after Aeon popped me with a HUGE hit to get by me in the pack and sent me into a four point tuck and roll to try and chase her down, she deserved some Dixie style revenge...

And that was the exciting bit of my practice on Wed. night. Practice tomorrow AM, again Wed. and then a scrimmage against Enchanted Mountain Roller Derby on Sat. 2/26. I am not going to admit to my nerves cause that'll just make them worse! Wish the Babes of Wrath luck! DL<3!

Dixie von D.

really, really late post...just to get caught up

So I know I haven't updated in a couple of weeks. My bad. The week after I bashed my head into a wall practice was canceled due to poor weather. I didn't feel the need to update that nonsense cause I was pissed about not getting my skate on. I had to work the following Saturday and this week I was really sick, but went to practice anyway.

I remember being really sick and skating anyway. Coach was in my face telling me I needed to skate harder. I got back in his face telling him to shut up cause at least I was out there skating, which was more than I could say for one of the other girls who was sick and also at practice, but not on skates. I pushed as hard as I could with the horrible ache in my chest and the head spinning dizziness. I think practice was good overall.

Saturday was supposed to be a split practice with another league in the local area, but they canceled on us and those of us that were there were all still sick and not feeling super great. So we skated, but not too hard. And now I'm just waiting for next week's practice that I expect to be all better for. We have a scrimmage in 13 days that I'm getting nervous about. I've also scheduled my first bout in June, plus we have another in July. For a new league with no experience I think we are doing well.

Also, on a totally unrelated note there was a local event going on over the weekend that several of our skates went to and volunteered as we know the people in charge of the event. It was great exposure for the league and for a good cause. Photos have surfaced on Facebook and when I saw them all I could think beyond how much fun the girls seemed to be having was that I was so glad I hadn't gone. Why? Because compared to my teammates I am a beast. And while that might be OK on the track if I can use my size to my advantage I would have both looked and felt ugly and out of place at the event. I'm not rally even looking forward to doing photo shoots for the league, but it's something that we will be doing. So I am talking to a friend about having him do mine so that I'm not completely uncomfortable in front of the camera.

The above train of thought makes me a bit sad because I thought I was doing so well at getting over all my insecurities and crazy issues. *sigh*

Dixie Smash!! (into walls...)

Thank goodness for helmets! I spun out crossing through a corner last night and bounced my head off a wall. Other than a mild headache I was fine and I doubt my helmet sustained enough damage to warrant replacing, but I'll check it out. Otherwise practice was good. Scrimmages(which I seem to have lost my focus at), slaloms, and the Wall of Pain were the standouts last night.

I rally think we need more people to be familiar with the rules of derby, as we have a LOT of penalties during scrimmages. Back blocking and track cutting are the two that I see most commonly and I know that my worst offense is definitely back blocking. Jenga and I were on opposing teams and she knows that I can be a problem for jammers so she would engage me and keep me busy with her rather than watching for the jammers. A good strategy that blasted me every time. Suck for me, good for her, and it made me glad that we play for the same team.

The single slalom line was a slalom drill and quite typical. Once again I pushed my way around the track and through the line with as much speed, maneuverability, and skills as I could muster and the improvement shows, albeit slowly.

Wall of Pain. I HATE this drill. Running pyramids in school was miserable and skating them in derby isn't any better. This would be the drill where I spun out of a corner and bashed myself into the wall. I saw it coming and flung myself to my knees and backwards so I didn't collide face first and merely took the hit then sat there giggling and flashing a thumbs up sign to let the girls know that I was actually OK. I have a feeling that the fall was more spectacular to watch than I think it was, but I'm not sure really. However, after this drill was over (and I did all but the laps where I fell) I was chatting with another teammate who had been skating in my group and she said that I was really getting faster. Apparently, her training method involves pushing herself to stick with someone who is faster than she is and every lap we skated she was right with me. I kept trying to pass her and was getting frustrated that I couldn't seem to do so, but when she told me how hard she had worked to keep up with me I felt a bit better. I think some of my inability to keep up with and pass other skaters is that I have a tendency to run wide and loose in the corners as opposed to tight and narrow. If anyone has good advice about tightening up crossovers I want to hear it!

And this was practice last night. Looking forward to the next one! DL<3!!

Need my fix!

So, I'm waiting impatiently for practice night to get here again. I did get a bit of skating in Sunday AM before work though and it was good. Sandwiched Aeon Fox between myself and another skater and since she can be so hard to hit I was definitely impressed with our teamwork.

Our testing is coming up in March and the only thing that leaves me really nervous is the 25/5. I haven't successfully done it and hate to fail. It gives me the anxieties. We have a joint practice with the Enchanted Mountain Roller Girls on the 5th of Feb. but unfortunately I didn't have enough notice to arrange my work schedule around it. I might still see if I can work a later shift though because I really want to be at this practice to meet some of the EMRG since I haven't gotten to do so yet. And on the 26th of Feb. we will be scrimmaging with them in Olean, NY. Looking forward to that.

But now I've gotten myself all nervous and wound up about testing, even though I know that I'm getting better every week. I think I'm going to go make hubby a lunch before he has to leave for work (He needs a derby name!) and then once he leaves I'm going to clean and exercise for a while. I'm still not great at exercising every day or every other day like I should be, but if I can sneak in a bit more here and there it's more than I was doing and it all helps in the long run. DL<3


Dixie von D.

Committees and meetings and derby, oh my!

I just wanna start this off by saying that last night's practice was full of awesome and win. And not just because I was chosen head of our inter-league relations (by default, but don't tell anyone LOL). We had some good strength training for our warm-up followed by a faster paced practice with fewer breaks and I feel like we got WAY more done than we have in the past. I couldn't keep my head wrapped around our scrimmage teams though and kept letting the wrong jammer just blow by me...no doing that in bouts! Bad! Anyway...advice about handling committee stuff would be good.

And we did a slalom drill last night that normally I hate and for some reason have problems doing, but a while back I started being able to keep up for the entire drill and last night I took off at a sprint and cleared the line faster than I have before. Fast enough that people noticed and commented on it so I know I'm getting better still. Soooo..yeah...my cat just woke up my hubby and the spazzy cat made me lose my train of thought....

Our newbies are getting better and better, I'm seeing people really start to find their niche in certain positions (mine is being a blocker), and we're getting more organized and unified as a team. Our shirts should be in soon and I will need to get my name and number tended to. Doing some looking to see what will work best to keep it on there. But my busy day ahead is calling my name so off I go. Not that I want to do anything. My muscles aren't used to the extra training at practice and they are telling me about it, but i LOVE the feeling!!! DL<3!


DIxie von D.

Skating and Ranting

I hit up a Saturday practice since things got canceled due to weather last Wednesday and it was a really good practice. We're going to be seriously steppin' up to the plate with a tighter schedule, less water breaks, and more added fitness that will help with core and overall strength. We started on Saturday to see how it would work with a small bunch of us and I'm glad I was there for it so I'll know what's going on. Also, the extra moves on top of my working out at home (which is more half-hearted than it should be) has left me with that slightly sore feeling the next day that I love. Had an issue with losing a wheel off my skates because the axle nut covers prevented me from tightening the nuts down properly. I think if I wanted to fight with taking the covers off every time I cleaned bearings and changed wheels it would be OK, but they are annoying to get off and I feel like the potential of losing a wheel is enough of a hazard to prevent me from using them again. So I had to deal with that before I could do any serious skating on my new Atom Poisons. Once I got settled and rolling I was really liking them. Wednesday will be my second time on them and I will be getting a better feel for them and my looser trucks. Looking forward to derby more than usual this week because I've been very depressed for a couple days and I'm torn between keeping all my ear piercings and dealing with the difficulty that will arise when I job hunt or just taking most of them out. Most likely I will end up removing them as needed for a job, but I think what really upsets me is the lack of acceptance in the workplace and the fact that I can't get several of the piercings I want because either my job or the important people in my life have issues with them. It makes me sad and angry and depressed. And I'm PMSing...I want some chocolate cake please. And then an extra hard workout to burn it all off. DL<3

Dixie von D.

stupid snow

I spent ALL day Wednesday working on the bylaws, code of conduct, and my letter of intent. Right after I finished I get a text informing me that practice had been canceled due to the weather. Boy, was I ticked! I fumed and grumped and pouted about not getting to skate. Then I pulled my skates out and did some maintenance. Cap-style toe guards, bearings cleaned, new gumball toe stops dyed purple, and new atom poison wheels also dyed purple. Thinking about hitting up the Sat. AM practice tomorrow since I don't work til later in the day and trying everything out. But right now, work is calling my name...off I go to make money and support my derby habit!! DL<3!

Dixie von D.

Nerves and Writer's block

Trying to write a letter of intent to become the head of inter-league relations committee. It's making me wanna puke cause I don't think I'm good enough to be in charge. I'm having serious writer's block over it. Not sure what skills I can actually bring to this one, but I gotta try and write the letter. Even if I don't get voted committee head I gotta try. Cause otherwise I will have failed. Wish the scaredy-cat, anxiety ridden derby girl luck! And send advice!!!!!

Dixie von D.

typical night

So practice tonight was pretty average. Still getting better and better sometime one lap at a time sometimes by a grand slam. We've been choosing committee heads and as no one has really stepped up for Inter-league Relations I will be submitting my letter of intent for that @ the meeting next week. We didn't set the cones up this week, which I think kind of sucks because that is a really good way to get used to skating on a derby track. It is something we should begin doing every week as far as I am concerned. Also, need to start and finish bylaws and a code of conduct by next Wednesday for our meeting if at all possible so gonna be busy, busy with that. I STILL cannot get the hang of transition from forward to backwards and when I try I invariably fall. I have no idea why this is such a hang up for me, but it drives me crazy. Watching other skaters, watching videos, doing it standing still...nothing has seemed to help me get the hang of the motion. Grrrr. But as things tonight were nice and ordinary and a good workout and I am tired, I'm gonna call it a night and go shower off my derby stank. DL<3 ya'll!!

Dixie von D.

Late post...again

I started out posting within a day of practice generally and would have a ton of thins to share or ramble on about. Now it seems that my posting comes further and further behind each week. I know the holidays have affected this and am hoping to get back into the swing of things a bit better here soon.

Although hunting for a car might be a bit time consuming.

The above statement is why you shouldn't hit a deer on your way to roller derby practice. I'm fine, although I was a bit sore and did take it easy at practice which means that I felt like I accomplished pretty much nothing. Also as I was rather shaken from hitting the deer practice was a bit of a blur. I do know that my falls are one thing I won't be worried about @ mins any longer as I find that I'm starting to focus on getting right back up quickly. The next part will be taking my hands out of the equation entirely, even if I do think not using your hands is silly. LOL At any rate I wasn't feeling my fire like normal because of soreness and shakiness after hitting a rather ENORMOUS doe at high speeds in my little car. It's probably going to be totaled, but we've made it clear to the insurance people that we would rather they fix it so we shall see. Meantime I'm trying to be all smart and am looking for a car in a price range that I can afford...which honestly isn't much considering my lack of savings and low value on my car due to it's age and mileage. *shrug* Here's hoping my new year only improves! DL<3!

Dixie von D.