Practice before Xmas

So it has been a crazy week for most of the girls and practice last was very small, reflecting that craziness. After the first of the year we will really start pushing mandatory practices, weather permitting, but for the holidays sometimes other things interfere. Anyway, last night was awesome even with our little group! We did falls, jumps (i got mah hops!!!!!!), endurance, pack skating, glides, stops, squatted skating, and a bunch of other stuff. We also took a few minutes to mark out a derby track with cones because I hadn't skated on one and neither have some of the others. What a difference and I loved it! I could actually widen my stance and do some positional/booty/stall blocking and I was taking some serious hits. One thing I have got to get better at is getting back up after I fall. I need to really remember that we have two seconds to get up and return to active skating and then I need to just do it. My body shouldn't have to think about it. One more goal to accomplish. DL<3!!!

Dixie von D.

25/5 sat practice

We're starting to work on min. skills more and more and one of the things I hadn't even attempted was my 25/5. It scared me. A lot. I was pretty convinced that the first time I tried it I was going to be a total fail at it. Like 15 laps and that would be a lot of work to improve upon by March.
So yesterday at the beginning of practice after warm-ups and stretches someone said they wanted to try it because they hadn't done so yet and the girls talked me into giving it a try as well. So the three of us that were doing it lined up, clock was set, and off we went. The other two ladies were immediately pacing faster than I was and I tried to keep up, but was consistently a couple seconds behind them. I fought to not let them lap me as I started tiring out and refused to stop or even think about how many laps I might have skated or anything other than the idea of skating and footwork and making it around the rink.
After five minutes of skating when time was called I practically fell over and laid there trying to catch my breath. I've only been skating for about 4 or 5 months and I'm getting better, but that was srsly hard for me. I was pretty sure that I hadn't made 25 laps. I had no idea how close I was. 21 laps in 5 minutes for my very first attempt at it doesn't seem too bad. I know that my form was pretty poor and that I was coasting a LOT through turns because the 93a(ish) wheels are still a teeny bit too hard for me to be super comfortable with on crossovers at speed, but I want to get to the point that I am good with them. At any rate I'm glad I tried it cause now I know where I am, and will be working to improve as much as possible before testing in March. DL<3!

Dixie von D.

Angry Robot Roller Derby

http://angryrobotrollerderby.blogspot.com/

Everyone should check out the above blog by an awesome skater named Dreadnought from the Boston Derby Dames who is also the 2011 captain of the Nutcrackers! She talks about being a freshie, being a freshie mama, and is an all around awesome blogger AND quilter!!! Also, an inspiration to those of us who aren't quite so epically good!

Got my skate on!

Practice was NOT canceled this week but I still feel like I need more time on my skates! I never wanna take them off these days! My endurance is still improving and I'm incredibly nervous because I found out that our Mins. testing is coming up in March and realistically March isn't that far away and doing 25 laps in 5 minutes scares me. A lot! A lot a lot! Jumping scares me too cause I'm a white girl who can't jump. My plow stops suck, I haven't even attempted one footed glides, I'm slow getting up from falls and I use my hands on them, my footwork blows, I can't skate in a squatting position (is this what I hear called a duckwalk??), and I think that about covers all the things I can't do. This seems like a very long list of things to learn and master and a very short amount of time to do it in. And I was nervous before I sat down and checked the list out. Now I think I might puke.

On another note, our first scrimmage is coming up in February and I'm really looking forward to that. We should have shirts by then! And our first official bout has been announced as being on July 9, 2011. So in the seven months leading up to that bout I will pass Mins., work harder to get into derby shape, start exercising outside of derby, and try not to focus on things that are just going to stress me out needlessly. I'm refusing to add a weight loss goal to that list of things because I know that derby makes me gain muscle and the number itself might not drop a lot, even if the clothing sizes change. I can already squeeze back into a pair of stretchy size 18 jeans that I bought ages ago so I know I'm progressing on that front. I would love to be back in my 18s for good and love even more to get into a 16, but my hips might just be too wide for that period! LOL In any case, here's to moving on and moving up! DL <3

Dixie von D.

*sigh**grumble*

Stupid weather...all snowy and nasty and causing practice to get canceled. I dunno what I'm gonna do being off skates for so long....have to see if I can squeeze in a sesh sometime soon I guess. But my chestnuts are exploding in the oven so gotta go!!!DL!!!!<3

Dixie von D.

P.S. My apartment smells like pine trees, the fake tree is up, and I think I might hang some lights later after I do a bit of schoolwork. And the chestnut crisis was averted!!

First Dec. skate

So I'm way late updating about Wednesday night. Which sucks cause we had a good night. Lots of Endless Jammer, helped out a newbie working on her derby stance, endurance is still coming, found out we have a bout in January and realized that I need to kick my ass into extra high gear so I'm ready for it, and am getting T-stops down which is helping me start to get the front to back transitions I've been struggling so hard with. And getting those means I will eventually get the Tomahawk stop down. Not fond of footwork on toe stops cause it makes me toes hurt and really bad at grapevining across the rink cause try as I might I start rolling forward. Advice on how to stop that would be most helpful. And that was practice in a nutshell. I'm feeling kinda down tonight or I would elaborate more, but *shrug* it's just been a rough coupla days and try as I might I seem to be the only one getting into the Christmas spirit and people keep shooting it down....bah humbug...DL ya'll <3

Dixie von D.

First Saturday practice

Fun fun! We had a small bunch today because I don't think everyone knew what was going on with this practice, but it was all good. Lots of endurance and footwork and I'm starting to get better and better. Having good skates helps a TON! I think I've solved the issue with pulled muscles when I do falls by raising my toe stops and I've also started making progress on the T stops. Now if I could just get the front to back transition down and improve my backwards skating I'd be moving! Also, gotta start making some noise on plow stops so it doesn't take me two extra feet LOL But I'm so not the only one having troubles with that. It's highly unlikely that I will be at the next two Saturdays due to work, but as long as I get my Wednesdays I can live with that I think. And that's things...gotta go make dinner!! DL<3!

Dixie von D.

Thanksgiving Eve practice

Awesome!!!! I'm getting better on my new skates and tonight is the first practice in a bit that I've come home sore form (of course I was also out for a while lol)Most of the soreness is good, but my pull thigh muscle is not good as it kind of hampers me from getting up when I fall and I cannot even try to practice falling drills. Luckily I'm not too bad at falling!

Kind of sad that I missed Wall of Pain cause I wanted to try it on my new skates, but after the first two laps when my baseball slide made me obviously grimace in pain my derby wife (love you Aeon Fox!!) promptly told me to get my butt off the floor and go sit down before I hurt myself worse. So I pouted and then wandered off the floor all sad :(

However Endless Jammer was lots of fun, better skates are helping both my form and my endurance, and we did several scrimmage jams tonight that were pretty awesome and epic if I do say so myself. I really need to work on my timing, my ability to move within the pack, and my overall blocking skills, but I have improved soooooo much since I started and that makes me srsly happy! DL<3


Dixie von D.

Last Sunday practice

So last night was our last Sunday for a while and I decided that I would go to this one because I was going with a brand new Revel Invader DA45 set-up and was DYING to skate them! I had pulled the wheels and dyed them, played with the truck adjustments and whatnot and had them all set to skate, knowing that I most likely would need to adjust them at least once to get very far. As I had correctly assumed after taking one lap my trucks were WAY to loose and sloppy and my wheels were also loose as I cannot seem to get the hang of getting them so they spin freely but don't wobble. So I asked Mike to give me a hand, laughed when he was wobbling the trucks back and forth like crazy cause I had them that loose and watched and learned a bit while he made adjustments. Eventually I need to get better at doing them, but I figure I want to skate not spend practice fighting with my skates to get them adjusted like so.

Going from a 88a outdoor wheel to a 92-93a Fugitive was a BIG change for me and it took me a few laps to get my crossovers back completely and I did take some pretty good falls (my right knee is sore and a wee bit swollen today). Also I pulled a thigh muscle cause I got distracted when we stretched and was screwing off...gotta stop that!

We did a warm up of 20 laps as a pack and normally I have hell with this and am very quickly lagging behind the rest of the pack. Last night I did considerably better than I had previously, was keeping up with the pack, weaving a bit, and at one point just for giggles took off on a semi-sprint around the track. My speed is rapidly improving and the better wheels mean I don't tire as quickly because I'm using less force to generate that speed. Got several compliments on how comfortable I seem on the skates and how well my form is. However, the slalom drill last night was not my friend. My first time through I just lost myself and hit the floor and my second time through I slid out trying to slalom through a corner. I still have some adjusting to do when it comes to skating the harder wheels, obviously. So now that I have awesome skates and all my gear I need to really buckle down and start training with more cardio so I can increase my endurance. Winter is coming so no more jogging for me, but I want a to get some zumba videos and the Heart Attacks workout and start using those along with my free weights and a pilates/yoga video that has to be good for me somehow. Also, 25 in 5 needs to happen by March at the latest..it might happen sooner, but I was too chicken to try it last night at practice. LOL But that's it for now and another update will come later in the week after Wed. practice. I can't wait to run an Endless Jammer drill in my new skates!!! DL<3!!!!

DIxie von D.

Return

OK, so after almost a month off skates, surgery, a vacation, and another birthday I am FINALLY back to my normal routine. Mostly...
The important thing about back to normal is that I have been skating again! Last night was my first night back in close to a month and WOW! I sucked. I didn't even try to exercise right after my surgery cause I couldn't move and exercising on vacation just didn't happen, although I think now that it probably should have and I know that for next time. I only fell once and it was partially due to a skate being too loose so I didn't forget everything.
But I definitely have lost some endurance and need to work it back up to where I was. 15 laps at a moderate pace almost killed me and I was doing probably almost twice that before I went out. What a difference!
Also, in awesome news...I ordered new skates! Bright green Rebel DA45 Invaders should be arriving tomorrow. YAY!!!!!! I have red wheels on them, but they will be coming off so I can dye them purple, along with black toe guards, purple laces, and bearing cleaner/speed cream so I can be XTRA awesome! Will maybe post pix of the before and after dye job on the wheels, hopefully they will turn out nice and pretty! But schoolwork and photo uploading are both awaiting me so I'm off. Derby <3!!!

Dixie von D.

Whine...

This is entirely not related to derby at all and basically I'm feeling depressed and whiny and self pitying and bored and a bit pathetic. I know that a LARGE part of the way I feel today is because I have been cooped up at home with nothing to do but clean or do homework for a week now and I still have probably another week to go. Of course, then I go on vacation, but that's not right now and right now is where I'm at.

I can't skate, grocery shopping is a chore that requires me to either ride one of those stupid mart carts or try to walk the whole time and end up hurting because I over did it (both options suck), I have no Halloween plans, I missed the QCRG bout I was supposed to be at cause of my stupid surgery, I'm broke, there is nothing awesome and fun to do, and and and....

Yeah, it's one of those days. *sigh* I'm trying to use all this free time I have to be productive and get lots of cleaning and schoolwork done and get the bylaws done for the derby league I'm with, but I keep getting sad and miserable and don't want to do anything when I'm sad and miserable. Also, feeling like this makes me want to drink alcohol. Drinking when you're already depressed is a bad idea. I know this. Which is why I keep little to no alcohol in my house unless I have plans on drinking it very shortly after purchase when I'm not depressed. Trying not to be come an alcoholic is working, but sometimes it is hard. Ugh, I sound drunk as it is, but I'm not. I'm just sad, miserable, depressed, etc. (SEE ABOVE)*sigh* Gonna try to focus on being productive....

Dixie von D.
:(

Off skates :(

*sigh* Being off skates sucks. I don't mind missing practice due to prior plans or trips or what not, but because of illness or injury is another thing. I want to be better RIGHT NOW so I can skate. But since I have four little holes poked in my belly where they removed my gallbladder it's going to take a few days I think. On the up side this means that my wheels will probably show up soon now because I can't use them...LOL I'm off to go get caught up on life that was put on hold during my hospital stay and will be back when I have something more to share! DERBY LOVE!!!!

Dixie von D.

practice makes progress

So Wednesday night at practice some of us began boycotting certain drills because there are things that we need to be working on that we aren't and things that we are working on that don't seem quite so necessary as prepping for our minimum skills test. I spent more time off skates than was probably ideal, but the time I did have went well. My wheels are still not here (big shock...) and our coach kept telling me I needed to use speed to get through the pack during jamming drills. Do you know how hard it is to get any sort of speed when you're using outdoor wheels on a sport court surface?? Srsly?? I'm almost ready to just order them from elsewhere and eat the extra cost. But Cannonball has an older set of Caymans that she's going to let me borrow and I know that as much as I have heard people say that Caymans suck they will have to better than the outdoor wheels I'm using now. And that was practice. No major falls, nothing super exciting. I'm still improving, I've lost a pound according to the scale, but none of my clothes fit right which indicates that I'm losing fat and inches and gaining muscle. I fit into a size 20 top again which I haven't been able to comfortably do for a while now so yay for that! And now...off to mundane things like housework. DL<3

Dixie von D.

first time jamming...kinda

Practice tonight really flew by and my ass hurts...mostly cause I'm clumsy and not cause I did something awesome, but let's not get into that. Let's talk about me skating an endless jam as a jammer, which was fun cause i got into the pack and just start checking people cause I can't get enough speed to just blast through them like some of the others were doing. We also ran several scrimmage jams, but my head was kinda off at that point. I'm dehydrated and really feeling it tonight so I've been downing water and powerade like crazy...it's not helping much yet though.

My mojos that I ordered did not come in yet...*sigh* but I'm holding out hope for next week. Overall practice tonight went well. I still HATE the Wall of Pain, still remind our coach that he's a sadist and sometimes flip him off, but he knows it's all in fun and still pushes me as hard as he thinks he needs to so that I improve. And I am still getting better. The harder I push through my crossovers the more speed I generate through a corner. I'm using that to keep up with the "big girls" who are better skaters than I am. Unfortunately, I'm working so much harder for my speed that I still can't maintain it for long, but that comes with time and more training. I really need to start working harder on my cardio outside of skating, but I freaking hate doing it...skating is fun and awesome and my girls are all there...jogging through the neighborhood is boring and stupid and not fun...lol Anyways...off to bed for an early appt. tomorrow and more derby love soon! DL<3

Dixie von D.

Beating each other up

Practice had a LOT of hitting and blocking type drills last night and it was a lot of fun. It was also pretty mellow as far as practices go, but that can be a good thing. Endless jammer is quickly becoming a favorite drill and eventually I am going to try jamming instead of blocking, but as of yet I haven't worked up the nerve (or speed) to do so.

I know that at least one of the others has commented on being a bit sore today and I'm definitely feeling the results of practice last night. Not really banged up, but I took a few good spills and was giving and receiving some fun hits. We all need to work on getting used to giving and taking hits and also Coach pointed out that we need be using our crossovers more to get speed in the corners which makes mad sense and I can see what he means and it makes uber sense and I can launch myself with some speed through the corners, but getting speed on straights is NOT happening at this point. I think I might have a set of Mojos by next week though and am hoping so!!!

Baseball slide falls I can do well (go figure!) and got a laugh as we were practicing the drill when I promptly completed a fall, looked up, and said, "Now that I can do!" And that was most of practice. As usual I boycotted the Wall of Pain, even though I started feeling kinda anxious and should've skating more. Also, I should quit studying a go jogging while the weather is nice, but I'm sooooooooo far behind on schoolwork it's not funny. Which means I'm going to have to be done with derby for a while and go study...boring!!! DL<3!!!

Dixie von D.

Last practice a few days late

So I'm a bit slow in updating after last practice because everything else has gotten in the way of doing this. We cut things short due to a league meeting afterward, but overall I felt pretty good about it. Loosened the trucks a hair and working with those, perfecting my form which seemed to improve a LOT after loosening said trucks. Coincidence? Maybe..I dunno. But when doing our Wall of Pain drill (which I hate!!!) I had much better form and Coach complimented that. I'm not generating as much speed, but I think a lot of that is due to the outdoor wheels on an indoor surface. I'm working harder for the speed that I do get and my form has to be better to help me get that speed. Gotta get indoor wheels.

Also, landed a nice shoulder on the jammer during a scrimmage and while it wasn't quite hard enough to knock her down it was enough to make her stumble. One of the other girls who is a bit newer said that she hit her as well, but unlike the shot I took that was marginally successful her report was that she hit her and bounced off. She'll get there though and is going to be really good one day soon.

Can't wait for our bout in November! Training to get there and smoke our opposition! DL<3!

Dixie von D.

Is it just me or does anyone else love that almost, but not quite hurty sensation you get after a crazy good workout, whether on or off skates? I love it! Also, strecthing after a hot shower feels sooo good.

Dixie von D.

9/22 practice

Last night was a hellacious night. We were missing a couple of regular girls, but also had quite a few newbies and are consistently averaging 20 or more each week which is awesome for a small area like ours! One of the new girls is a coworker of mine and she is hooked even after a nasty spill with no pads that left her knee instantly black and blue.

I'm finding that I can see improvement in my skating somewhat and while I still haven't mastered the turn around to go backwards I can kind of sort of sometimes halfway do it. I will get the hang of this or die trying. Also, I felt like practice last night was easier than it had been in a while, but several of the other girls said they felt like it was a harder practice than usual. Could I be gaining endurance? LOL I fell more last night than I have in a while, but I wasn't feeling nearly so anxious last night as I have been in weeks past and less anxiety means less self consciousness and less self consciousness means I skate harder. Using the outdoor wheels has also helped improve my leg strength and if they had a bit roll I could almost be OK with skating a bout in them.

Lotsa endurance work last night, several falls including one that several people thought was particularly nasty, an almost guaranteed bruise on my right hip that will take days to show up, and a successful paired slalom run that ended with a wicked whip for my partner and a sliding fall for me cause whipping her threw me off balance, but everyone gave me props for it anyway. Jumping is not my friend and I need to work on it off skates as well as on skates from a stand still so I can get more used to the landing and how it should feel to have them sturdy underneath me instead of rolling out and falling. Overall it was a good night and it was really nice not to have that constant feeling on not being good enough hanging over my head. DL<3!!

Dixie von D.

Ramblings of a Derby Girl

Just got around to ordering a set of nuts and washers for my toe stops (finally!) and also finally got my anxiety meds and started them tonight. Here's hoping it helps and helps soon. Now if I can just manage to get some indoor wheels I'll be doing alright I think...

Trying hard to stick with exercising and cross training outside of the rink, but I'm not in really good shape yet, but getting there, so a lot of the aerobics and basic things are kind of hard for me and after seeing that I don't seem to have lost weight (maybe I replaced it with muscle?) trying not to get discouraged. But I am noticing that my endurance continues to improve so that's good at least.

Next weekend is the East Region WFTDA Playoffs AND a WCR v TXRG game, both of which will be broadcast on DNN and I'm gonna watch as much of it as I can. Not missing the WCR/TXRG game!!! Period! Gotta cheer on my home state against my third favorite city! Still looking for agility training tips and will be really glad when I don't want to cry over EVERYTHING!!! Happy? Yep, I'm tearing up. Same for excited, tired, sad, angry, depressed, awake, asleep, etc. I almost had an anxiety attack over a movie trailer earlier...And now that I've gone and gotten all off track I'm gonna end this and go do something that isn't sitting at my computer! DL<3!!

Dixie von D.

I was an absolute mess at practice last night. My anxiety had gotten really bad and consequently I was having a hard time focusing and skating and therefore sucked worse than I normally do. And I cannot get the hang of turning from front to backwards, which also means that I cannot do a tomahawk stop. We have a bout coming up in November and I'm really starting to feel like I won't be ready and that makes me even more anxious. What if it comes down to the simple fact that I'm not good enough and eventually get asked to leave the league?

There was one high point and that was during the one and only jam I got to skate that lasted all of 45 seconds and that was making a sandwich of the opposing jammer who is really freakin' fast and an awesome skater. If I hadn't had a teammate on the other side of me I think she'd have taken a pretty hard hit and that would've made my night.

All the girls I skate with are super supportive and most know by now that I have a severe anxiety disorder that I'm trying to treat (which is another story, insurance is giving me issues on it), but breaking down in tears on the track every few weeks is really getting old and sucks a lot. I'd love to know what people say about me behind my back.Hopefully nothing, but finding a group on non-catty women is pretty rare. I simply assume there's got to be one or two and try not to dwell on the whole thing. *sigh* I feel like such a freak.

Exercise

So, as new skater I wasn't in really good shape when I started showing up at practices. Actually I was in really bad shape and that shape would be round. And I hate to exercise, which meant that up until very recently the only exercise I was getting was on my skates. I'd been putting off trying to start adding general aerobics and some jogging and whatnot to my routine. And as it is starting to cool off I may continue to put off jogging, unless I can make it to the indoor track here and now...I hate jogging and running. A lot! More than I hate doing lunges and sit-ups and crunches, and just about every other form of exercise I can think of. So, here I am a brand new skater, overweight, out of shape, and still working to improve. Also, I do not have as firm of a grasp on the WFTDA rules as I would like to have. AND I have a bout coming up in about two months.

Even though the bout is a fundraiser/exhibition (and not say for WFTDA rankings or a regional championship; Congrats WCR!!!!) I want to be at my best for it and skate as strongly as I can. Which means I need to step it up a notch. I'm really self conscious about exercising in front of people, but when hubby leaves for work I grab my iPod, plug in the speakers, and start my own regimen of free weights, cardio, aerobics and just trying to move and get my heart rate up as best I can. I'm trying to find ways that I can train off skates that will improve my skills on skates and am determined to make this happen. Even if right now I can only do like 5 push ups, and grapevining leaves me tripping over my own feet I will get there. I don't want to look like Melissa Deal or some of the fitness models out there, but not having a gut would be nice; even making it smaller would be nice.

So here goes. At least three times a week I will devote a minimum of twenty minutes to exercising. It might be a boring jog/walk, it might be freestyle dancing in my living room, it might be a mix of free weights and aerobics, and I might try to pick up some Zumba DVDs or the Heart Attacks workout (want this one for sure!), but I will start exercising and I will get better at derby, gain some muscle, lose some fat and bust my ass getting there. Who knows...maybe it will help my anxiety too. DL<3!

Dixie von D.

Derby News Network

So Thunda on the Tundra is this weekend and I've finally managed to get everything ready and set up so I can watch live streaming from www.derbynewsnetwork.com It makes doing schoolwork bearable, but it keeps me from leaving my computer and doing housework. If you wanna check it out, go tune in, and cheer on your favorite teams!!!DL<3

Dixie D.

Fundraising bout!

So got a txt from Cannonball a few hours ago and the exhibition/fundraiser bout is scheduled to be on the 24th of November. I'm soooo there and so ready to be skating. As I mentioned I'm going to be cracking down and training harder; I did not expect to be bouting quite so soon and I need some skills to be ready! DL<3

Dixie D.

practice 9/8

Practice last night was awesome!! I threw some outdoor wheels on my skates and I am definitely feeling the difference today, but I had grip and didn't feel like I was gonna bite it every time I tried to turn a corner! I didn't skate as consistently on them but my form was better with more grip so I think they balanced out a bit. And definitely good for my endurance. I will probably keep them until I can get a good set of indoor wheels for our floor. Hopefully soon...stupid Radar stuff being on back order...being patient sucks.

Anyway, my derby direction crossovers were there, going backwards sucked, and I finally survived a slalom drill that has been pretty much impossible cause I'm sliding so much. Also, one of the girls commented that I seemed much more comfortable and natural on my skates last night. Because I had GRIP! Got whipped across the rink as well and what a freaking blast! That alone makes me want to be better and better so that I can eventually start learning to jam. But for that I need SPEED!!! Any advice for increasing speed? DL<3

OH!!!! And we are looking at possibly having an exhibition bout in November!!!!!!!!! I will be ready to sk8!

Dixie D.

name?

So I'm not entirely sure if I like Dixie Disintegrateher as much as I initally did and am having issues with the length and whatnot. So I've started polling friends, family, everyone on facebook, and now here for name suggestions. These are a few that have come up. I want to keep Dixie for sure and stick with another D word or something that is both punny and kinda dangerous/cool/angry etc. Any suggestions, opinions, or other comments are welcome. Please help?!

Dixie Disintegrateher
Dixie Devastateher
Dixie Demon(ic)
Dixie Dominator
Dixie Doom
Dixie Destruction
Dixie Decapitator
Dixie Destroyer
Dangerous Dixie
Devious Dixie
Dixie D.
Devilish Dixie
Dixie Von Doom

Also, I did not check these at twoevils.org so if there are any similarities or whatnot it is coincidence and I'm not trying to gank anyone else's name. DL<3

Dixie D.

can't believe i only just realized this

So I'm awake, home alone, and have had several hours to kill before work. Down to one last hour and just now eating breakfast it dawns on me that I've just had the last 2 hours to myself and after I checked the news and the weather for the day I've just been kind of puttering around. Why the hell did I not do something useful with my time?? Surely I could fit in some strength training or cardio...duh! I HATE to exercise is any way that isn't fun, but I know that if I want to keep getting better at derby I need to do more than just skate. And I've been going for walks with hubby and doing a halfhearted bunch of crunches here and there, but I really need to work on my exercise habits. I stumbled across a training blog that might help encourage me(except what the hell is a speed skater jump? an arm twist? inverted rows? and several other exercise that I have no idea on...) and I want to get my hands on the Heart Attacks work out video, plus start actually using the weight set that I already have. And honestly, I guess this post is just more procrastinating of exercising, but I also can't exercise and eat a bowl of oatmeal at the same time either. Looking forward to practice on Wednesday, probably going to see Machete on Friday, and just trying to survive the days without anxiety attacks. Any other suggestions or advice for work outs, particularly if they're fun, is welcomed. DL <3

Dixie D.

Minimun Skills

I just pulled up the WFTDA minimum skills requirements to go over them again and send the link to a friend who is looking into starting derby (with Big Easy RG, I think) and as I scanned through the document it dawned on me that I am getting better at some of these things and can actually do some of them! The first time I looked at the requirements I wanted to cry out of sheet terror that I was never going to learn how do any of them and now I can. My emotions are running haywire and now I wanna cry again, but it is because seeing the skills list and realizing that I can do some of them means I'm getting better!!! And that makes me happy enough to cry...I'm freakin' strange...DL <3

Dixie D.

Size doesn't matter

Classes have recently started back up and being an online student really is a big help in letting me manage my time and schedule when I will study and do coursework etc. As part of the get to know you activities I've shared with many of my classmates that I play roller derby. One of the responses was that I must be a "tough chick", which I'm inclined to agree with because I think I'm a bad ass (even if I'm not). However, you don't necessarily have to be the stereotypical idea of a big bruiser bar fighting kinda girl. In fact, I'm the only woman on the team who weighs in at more than about 160 or so and even in skates I'm taller than quite a few of the girls. These smaller girls might or might not be able to knock me over, but they are generally faster than me, which means that if I don't get my hits just so they go flying by, unscathed and scoring points. Of course, there are times when I do snag a shot on someone and I'm usually pretty concerned about causing them serious injury and really don't want to see anyone hurt. I felt terrible the other day when I knocked someone down during a drill and felt bad about the jammed finger incident from a couple weeks ago as well, but everyone is fine and no grudges are being held. Anyway, I sort lost my train of thought, but what I want to point out is that you don't have to be a big girl to play derby; you'll find that being small has its advantages too. :) DL <3

Dixie D.

anxiety and practice

Forgive me if I post a lot about my anxiety these days, but it's kind of trying to take over EVERYTHING! I'm starting to feel like I've hit rock bottom and it is affecting my daily life, my work life, my interactions with my husband, and my performance at practice just to name a few (or everything).

Last night I was really anxious the entire way to the rink and it didn't want to go away. A few laps to ease in helped me out, but after a while I got all ramped back up again. I've found that if I get really nerved up I'm less effective as a skater and in those circumstances I feel like it is best if I sit out for some drills because I don't want to end up hurting myself or someone else due to a lack of focus and/or skills. And actually I did knock into one of the girls last night during a basic skating drill, but it was less anxiety and more I suck going on. She was OK, I was OK, everything was good, but after I hit her and thought I hurt her (or that she was mad at me) I skated a few more slow laps and all I could think about was how I hope she's not hurt and if I were better I could've avoided that and omg what if she hates me now...aaaaggghhhh!!!!

Anyway she's fine, I'm fine, it's all good, although last week when I smashed one of the girls into a wall she jammed her finger. We were laughing over it last night and I asked if she'd like me to give her a better injury next time. She opted to pass. LOL I love the rough and tumble aspect of things and I'm getting over being too worried about hurting people who are like half my size. One of them actually skated into my head last night...literally. I shoulder checked someone else and got caught up in a traffic jam that resulted in me taking knees and she was right behind me when it happened and on my knees I hit at stomach height for her. Personally glad for my helmet cause I think a ribcage to the brain has got to hurt; of course, helmet to the ribcage can't be awesome feeling.

Still improving on my backwards skating and still hoping for new wheels sooner than later. I did score some cheapie bearings off of eBay for less than $5 and considering the ones I currently have are old and rusted these will have to be better...Also, our former asst. coach showed up to check things out last night. I may have mentioned feeling like he disliked me in previous posts and whatever, but he did comment that I have made a tremendous improvement, along with the rest of the girls so that was a nice thing to hear.

And in order to help with this anxiety hell that I'm currently going though I made an appointment to try more meds to get me fixed cause as much as I hate pills, I hate talking about it to a therapist even more. Besides, roller derby will save my soul!!! DL<3

Dixie D.

8/25/2010

Last night's practice was a short one as we were having a meeting afterward and needed to leave a bit early to get there. It was also pretty low key due to the meeting and because a bunch of the girls got new wheels and skates and goodies and whatnot and our coach brought them to practice. So everyone was playing with new toys and what not. I'm probably going to be switching back to rental skates for a short time as the wheels on my skates are pretty much completely bald and I lack grip and control to an extent that I'm no longer comfortable skating at high speeds or doing several drills that require me to have an extreme amount of maneuverability. *sigh*

And in order to get new wheels I have to get new bearings. Turns out that my current set up has micro bearings. Wonderful...I'm feeling extra frustrated at this point and last night really wasn't even feeling it at practice. I pretty much screwed around and accomplished almost nothing, although I'm still working on my backwards skating and can start to see some improvement. Eventually I will get there, but I think I need to get my anxiety under control and that will be a huge help as will improving my equipment as I have the funds to do so. Otherwise, it's practice and more practice. I'm trying very hard to stay positive and not get discouraged.

On another note we are working towards our nonprofit status and are trying to start organizing fundraisers and whatnot so if anyone has any advice that may be useful please share and I will pass it along to the girls! DL<3

Dixie D.

Thoughts of a newb

Taking a look back at all of my practices thus far I can see that I am improving and getting better, even if it is happening far slower than I care for it to be happening. I'm already over my fit about Wed. night and looking forward to next week although really hoping new wheels are in before them. If not I will be cleaning my current set so they shine.LOL I keep dreaming about myself going out and exercising more when I'm not skating. I think my body is trying to tell me that I need to get my shit together and do it! I'm not sure about my goal of actually losing weight before the cruise, but I am shooting for having gained some muscle tone and losing some of the flabby soft parts. Inches lost due to muscle and not flab are just as good as lost weight for me. And my hubby did comment the other day that all the skating is doing wonders for my (his words not mine) already cute butt. LOL So, in order to be a better skater I need to start getting my exercise on, focus on areas that need improvement, and get over my anxiety issues. Although to be honest when I freaked out the other night and the girls were so supportive it helped, even if I do still feel like a loser when I panic like that. DL<3

Dixie D.

Last night was not so excellent

So after last week being rather spectacular I was looking forward to having a really excellent night @ practice. Oh and forgive any typos; my mother-in-law's laptop and I aren't friends and I have the keyboard to be a bit wonky and too small. Anyway, things started off pretty well although this whole skating backwards thing is starting to frustrate me a lot as is skating in a non-derby direction and trying to do crossovers going that way. I'm not so very good at it...as in I can barely crossover going derby direction and non-derby just hasn't clicked for me yet. At any rate things were going OK until I lined up for a slalom drill. Despite my inability to control my speed worth a damn last night it wasn't bad until my partner and I took off to slalom through the pack. We're coming back around a turn about to catch up and start weaving when my wheels just spun right out from underneath me and down I went. I did have the sense to let go of Becky so I didn't take her down with me, but I hit and hit hard. I also twisted my left knee (again!) in the process. And this time it hurt bad enough that I ended up sitting out for the majority of the rest of practice, which sucked. I was already frustrated and having a hard time because I feel like I should be making better progress than I have been, but to have fallen again because I lost control really fried me. I know that part of it is because of my very slippery wheels (that I forgot to clean because I was putting brakes on my car), but I cannot blame it all on my wheels and I know that my skating ability and skill, or lack thereof, is also an issue. *sigh* At any rate I as doing OK hanging out and watching with my ice and some ibuprofen, encouraging the girls as they skated by and rockin' out to our playlist for the night. But sitting and watching is not something I do well and after a while I was just feeling frustrated with myself and an anxiety attack was brewing. Now I hate having anxiety attacks, they exhaust me and as far as I'm concerned they make me look and feel weak. I don't do weak. I forced it down and fought it for a while, make jokes about the push and pull drill that I missed out on being a good thing cause I outweigh my teammates...all of them...LOL, and laughed off my knee and said I would skate a bit more that night maybe. I looked down and saw the hummingbird tattoo I have on my arm with the dates that my granny was born and died and it made me sad cause I miss her and cause I wish she could see me skating. I know she'd be proud of me and this time of year is hard with the anniversary of her death coming up. That was the final straw and tears I had been fighting just started pouring down my face. Just in time for one of the girls (April I think) to ask if I was OK. And there was no way I was getting those tears under control before I looked up to answer her. I hate letting people see me cry or get upset. I absolutely hate it. My parents used to call me names when I cried or got upset and would tell me that I was too sensitive. So I just quit letting people see me cry. I managed to yank myself back under a small semblance of control and explained that I was just frustrated and annoyed at myself and missing my grandmother and Meagan and the others were really encouraging and commented on much I have been improving. No one can expect any more out of me that I've been giving...they don't know the standards I've been known to hold myself to...Hell I've been thinking I'm not giving enough. So I felt a little better and went out for one more drill cause it would let me get in a smidge more skate time and because I felt like I had to prove to myself that I could do it. So I did it. I didn't have a whole lot of success in this particular drill of trying to jam through a pack or block the jammer that was trying to get through the pack, but I was out there. I did notice that after I fell and hurt myself I was a bit shaky about getting back out there and I know that it was due to the fall and my wheels being so slippery wasn't helping, but I was trying. And then I sat and chatted for a bit with Jen and Angela who weren't skating at the time and went home when practice was over. I still feel kinda crappy about my performance last night and my knee is sore this morning, but nothing I can't handle. I think I'm going to start wrapping it with an AC bandage and see if that helps and try to find some good strengthening exercises. I will not give this up. I might bitch and whine sometimes though. DL<3

Dixie D.

Scrimmage @ practice

So last night was my first night back after a week long break imposed due to family being in town. There was enough drama that I think I should've skipped and gone to practice though. LOL At any rate practice last night was fantastic!!! I'm starting to work my way into shape, although that could be accomplished faster if I had a steady work schedule that allowed me to have a set routine and my skating skills are improving. I live in WNY and having grown up in TX am very used to everything being air conditioned. I'm starting to think that Yankees don't believe in a\c!! So no a\c, three hours, and lots of skating. Even I was feeling kinda wiped by the heat after a while. But the rink owner was handing out popsicles at the end of practice cause he's a cool guy like that! I still can't go backwards worth a damn, but I have started to figure out the motion behind it and had it kind of going for about 20 feet before I lost it again. Also we played several scrimmages last night and when our coach picked teams he numbered us off 1 and 2 and from what I can tell was trying to put weaker skaters and stronger skaters equally on each team, but it was still cool when he numbered me a 1. It was like middle school only waaay more fun! I planned to only skate two or three then let one of the girls who doesn't have a helmet yet borrow mine and skate but she was like nope I'm not up for a jam yet. So I skated five jams in a row and to be very honest was about ready to puke after they were done. Granted, a month ago I couldn't have skated five jams in a row so yay me! Once I get wheels that are a bit grippy I will try jamming, but for the moment I'm having an absolute total blast being a blocker!!! It's what I'm good at and while I need to work on my speed, which I know will come when I'm not sliding across the floor on slippery wheels I scored a couple of nice hits on an opposing jammer several times. Shoulder checking people into a wall is awesome! As is whipping someone around your back when you realize that she needs to go outside, but is grabbing at your inside hand. If my arms weren't so long there's no way I could've pulled that off. We also had a hellacious spill at one point that involved someone checking my jammer and me getting caught up in the midst as I tried to avoid hitting her and taking a hard fall on my hip. I don't think its going to bruise though. What made me really laugh is that I hit the floor hard and went oh shit I think I'm done and then found myself up and skating to catch the pack. Our coach, Pistol Pete, also commented on both my blocking skills and my improvement overall as a skater so knowing that I'm getting better and that it shows made my night. I can't wait til next week and wish I had the funds to make all of our practices every month, but for the moment that's out of the question. Hopefully things will change after the first of the year though...or sooner!!!!!DL<3!

Dixie D.

Non-Derby Direction

This post is entirely not related to roller derby at all and has more to do with my current state of mind. For the last few days I have been increasingly anxious and wound up feeling and can't pinpoint why. Yesterday my cat got underfoot and hubby stepped on his foot and he cried and hubby hollered. Colt is fine, J is fine, and I...well I started hyperventilating and very narrowly missed breaking out in tears for a full on panic attack. I'm tired of the constant knot in my stomach sick feeling that always shows up when I'm feeling anxious. I'm tired of the disjointed, disconnected feeling I get. I'm tired of living this way. I'm tired of my mental issues creating, compounding, or interfering with other issues in my life. I don't like having physical problems because I can't keep my head on straight.

I've tried pills and meditation and exercise and a myriad of other things that are supposed to help me cope with GAD. Pills cause god awful side effects in other areas of my life that I'm still reeling from months later, I cannot shut my brain off long enough to meditate properly (which is part of the problem), and I've noticed to real difference with the exercise other than having lost some weight. Yay for that! The fact remains however, that I am at a loss for what to do because I can't find something that works without having other problems. And if there are aide effects then I get all anxious and worked up about those because they can and do affect my marriage and I really don't need that. I'm just fed up, frustrated, at a loss, and feeling really depressed cause I don't have a fix for my problems and I feel like I shouldn't have these problems because I should be better adjusted and whatnot. People have always said I was "sensitive" and that I would grow out of it. Obviously, there's something else wrong with me, but people just assume that a mental disorder that's not serious enough for "radical" treatment just means you're over sensitive and that you just need to "get over it." I'm so sick of people making such incorrect, off-base assumptions when they don't know me or the hell I go through when my anxiety level ramps through the roof. I just want to be normal...

Derby rambling

I'm off skates for a bit as family is in and we're supposed to be doing things and being sociable, but today nothing seems to be going on. And there is skating tonight and I soooo want to go. Usually I'm not there on Sunday nights because hubby wants to spend the evening together which is fair. I'm not going to ignore him for derby and I'm not going to expect him to come sit at practice and consider that as the two of us spending time together. Not even right. But right now I'm just srsly jonesing to skate and feel the need to share. The way things are going I was slated to not go on Wednesday coming up like normal but if nothing is going on I may see about going anyway. I want to skate and get better and show that I'm improving. And I would like hubby to come to a practice some week when I've gotten a bit better. Although having him there will probably make me a nervous wreck.LOL DL<3

family and roller derby

So some of my family members seem to think that I'm crazy for playing roller derby. Hubby is supportive and my parents think it's cool. My favorite aunt doesn't mind that I play, but she's worried about me getting hurt. That's what pads are for I tell her. I have people wanting to see video of practices cause they live far away. I think if they were closer they would come watch...not sure how I would feel about that. When I told my father in law that I was doing this, he looked at me and very calmly said that roller derby wasn't appropriate and that I shouldn't be doing it. Now for this to come from the man who goes deer hunting and squirrel hunting with me and has told me that I can do whatever I decide I want to do without reservation it was a bit strange. My mother in law had no idea what caused the odd response so we chalked it up to him not wanting me to get hurt and left it at that. I rarely bring up skating when he's around. I mentioned to him recently, though that I had been skating for a month or a little over and look I'm fine. He just looks at me and then looks down at my legs to see if he can spot any bruises. I have one by the way and it's almost gone. lol Nothing else was said, but I'm hoping maybe he'll relax about it and once we start bouting come and watch. I'm going to his and my MILs 4th anniversary party today though so off to get ready. Anyone else have a family member who reacted in a way that seemed to be completely off kilter for them? DL<3

Dixie D.

Success

So I got toe stops to replace the dance/jam plugs whatever they were. And now I can stop! I got all my padding and gear. I'm less worried about bricking myself! So I hit the floor last night and am noticing some improvement in my endurance. 20 laps wasn't so bad, although I didn't do the 15 following or finish the 10 and 5 after that. It wasn't all endurance issues. Cause somehow I've managed to skate for weeks without pads and be pretty much OK. Last night I fell and twisted my knee wrong...managed to do it twice so this AM it has been kinda stiff and sore and definitely swollen but not too bad. Second time I stopped was gunk on my wheel almost taking me out repeatedly. Took out one of the other girls during a drill and that was fun. Fell once not too hard and faceplanted trying to get back up from said fall. I laid in the infield laughing my ass off at myself. Also, met another one of the skaters on our team who suffers from anxiety issues like I do! The anxiety part is not good, but I'm SOOOO glad to know I'm not the only one that might freak out! It made me feel tons better knowing I'm not alone. Ummm...IDK what else I had for this post cause practice last night rocked...Oh I ruined a brand new pair of tights on a fall. I was pissed cause I just bought them! Grrrr!! I need cute tights in my big(plus size and trying to be proud of it!) Getting used to the super fast not much grip wheels but still want something softer for now. But I'm broke so I'll stick to my purple speed freaks and either get used to them or just eventually get new wheels. Whatev! Off for a nap and stuff and spending time with hubby DL<3

Dixie D.

More Practice and More Anxiety

So my skates showed up and last night was the first time I got to ride them...it was like starting over from scratch because they are SO different from the rental skates. I still don't have pads and my new skates don't currently have toe stops. Difficulty ensued. I'm pretty sure that one of our coaches thinks I'm an absolute fat-ass moron who shouldn't be there and that doesn't help. Of course, I could be wrong and a lot of the time I am about things like that because I always assume that people don't like me. Bad habit I know.

Suffice to say that I was almost in tears several times last night and I hate myself a little bit for it. I'm tired of my crazy trying to ruin my life. All the treatments I have tried only made things worse in the long run though. Are there any others out there who fight major anxiety/panic disorders and have had issues getting it together? Is it just me? I cannot be the only big girl who has ever had issues, but I might be the only one who has it this bad...IDK.

Ordered toe stops for my skates that I'm praying will arrive before next practice and hoping that I can pick up at least part of my pads before then as well. Went for a walk/jog with hubby earlier today and I'm exhausted. But I'm slowly getting into better shape. It's just going to take time and I feel like I don't have enough of that. Also, drooling over new wheels because the rock speed ones that came with my skates are too slippery for the tile we skate on. Unfortunately I don't have the money for new wheels so if anyone has ANY suggestions for giving them a bit more grip I would love to hear them. Srsly hoping to get my rebels for x-mas!!! But...yeah...that's been about it. Anxiety over my size and weight and skills and everything that I'm not great at. Oh...and my legs hurt today from working on a backwards drill. LOL DL<3

Dixie D.

Skates!

My skates arrived yesterday and I have to say that I think I did pretty good. They aren't the Sure Grip Rebel Invader that I REALLY, REALLY want. However at the price of less than $30 and in almost new shape I think a pair of Rock Speed Freaks in the (apparently) discontinued purple flame design is a good deal. The wheels are still new enough that I can see the grooves on them and despite some signs of rust the bearings spin well enough for now. New laces are $2.00 at my local Walmart and the little toe plugs won't be too much to replace. If I can get several months out of them while I save for the Rebel Invaders that'll be fine with me. And once that happens I'll slap some outdoor wheels on this pair and be all set. Next on my agenda is acquiring protective gear from Suburban Blend which will hopefully occur soon cause I know that the longer I skate without any padding the more my risk of injury grows as I put myself out there week after week. Luckily, when I learned how to skate as a kid I also learned how to fall and don't have anything more than a few minor scrapes and bruises.
Also, the article in the local indy newspaper finally hit print and I can't find a paper copy anywhere! But here's the web link! I'm the tall, goofy one on the end wearing a Pink Floyd shirt. I hate having my picture taken...*grumble* DL<3

Dixie D.

Progress

Yay for progress! If it would happen faster I'd be happier, but good things take time...or so I've heard. Patience is NOT one of my virtues. My blood sugar got wonky on me at practice because I didn't eat well enough apparently and I missed out on a chunk of things, but I did notice that my form is improving and my back muscles are getting stronger and not hurting. And...this made my night...I'm starting to figure out crossovers!! I'm not consistent and I feel like I might fall over doing them, but I'm going to blame part of that on wearing crappy rental skates! LOL I really need to start pushing for endurance and going harder and faster and I think changing my eating habits and upping my exercise levels outside of practice will do that. And for the commenter who appears to be my derby twin (hi Bash!!) I can't get up without using my hands either. One more thing to work on. Gotta get those core muscles toughened up! Hopefully my skates will arrive by next week and I can start monkeying with them to get a set up I'm happy with. Any advice from the veteran skaters out there is always welcome! DL<3

Dixie D.

Anxiety hits harder than any derby girl ever could

So I've recently started practicing for derby and had been doing very well about getting out and exercising and trying to build my endurance when not at the rink. However, the last practice was incredibly difficult and very hard on me and my out of shape fat ass. It inspired feelings of inadequacy that I thought I left behind when I left middle school. It reminded me that I am fat and out of shape. It made me freak out and almost panic in front of the entire team about not being good enough. It made me not want to workout at all this week(my allergies aren't helping either!) Practice is tomorrow night and I'm already nerved up about going.

It figures my freak out fit comes after I've purchased skates..lol Roller derby is something that is supposed to help me deal with my anxiety and body issues and here I am fighting it still. Over roller derby no less! *sigh* This is incredibly frustrating to me. I don't want to give up. I keep saying I won't give up. I push and push, but I feel like I'm not progressing and that I'm fat and don't belong. But it takes time and I have to remember that it takes time and if I keep at this my anxiety should ease up and I will find that I'm getting better. In the meantime, there might be some anxiety related derby rants going on.


Dixie D.

Gear

So I've already mentioned the ideal pair of skates that I want and am leaning towards 187 pads and a good CPSC rated helmet. I also want to get toe guards and more athletic style clothing that will be comfortable for skating in that I don't have to be concerned about permanent rink stink or getting destroyed while I skate. I don't think I'm missing any absolute necessities here and have actually made an Amazon wish list to keep up with anything and everything I want and/or need. Wheels, bearings, pads...if I can find it on Amazon and it might be cool/useful/necessary/wanted etc. it's going on my list so I don't lose track of it. If anyone has other suggestions for items that I may be missing, let me know!

Dixie D.

Practice with Tuesday Hula

OMG...so last night at practice one of the QCRG skaters came down. She ran the entire practice the way they do it for a full endurance run. Suffice to say that my fat ass is fat and slow. LOL After a while I started getting really anxious because it was like being in school again where I was the worst player out there and always teased and picked last. Except the girls weren't picking on me; I could just remember that feeling so strong and my anxiety levels crashed through the roof especially as I kept skating until I couldn't breathe and had to stop and not being able to breathe will ramp my anxiety up even higher. Sometimes the anxiety thing is a no-win sitch.

Anyway after the 30 minute warm up that left me feeling puky and gross for a while I finally managed to get my stomach under control and headed back out on the floor for a few more drills. I feel like overall I didn't skate for more than an hour, but the whole time I was out there I was pushing hard, but I feel like not hard enough just because I'm sooo slow. Honestly I cannot go any faster and maintain my footing or a good stance. I know with time that this will improve, but it was still hard last night to see everyone absolutely skating laps around me. I wanna give a huge shout out to Jenga for being so encouraging ,especially during the cascade drills that were really fun, but exhausting all the same. Also, pretty short haired girl in the purple top who's name I cannot remember. When I started feeling really down ya'll both were awesome. Looking at getting a pair of cheapie skates off of eBay until I can afford the expensive pair that I want. I figure they've got to be better than rentals.

OK, so back to practice. Tuesday is amazing and awe inspiring and I really want to be like her. She's strong and fast and skates like she was born with wheels on her feet. I think seeing that and then comparing my own bumbling skating skills was a bad idea, but I did it without ever thinking about how it would affect me. Duh...We did serious endurance training and even some of our stronger girls were running hard and feeling pretty wiped so that made me feel a tiny bit less sucky. Wall sits aren't too bad, except they cramp my toes into my skates and make them hurt, but skating off the wall after holding that sit for a couple minutes is rough. Eventually it left me a bit shaky and I did fall, but it was nothing major. I need to work on my recovery time getting back up from falls though. Also, exercises for strengthening my back as I'm finding that after an extended amount of skating in a low derby stance I start to ache and it makes me want to straighten back up and skating straight gets you knocked on your ass in derby. And that was about it for me because as much as I want this I'm simply not in the shape I need to be in for it. Which means I've got to keep pushing and not let my anxiety get to me the way it did last night. I still can't get the skating backwards thing, but no worries there because eventually if I keep trying enough my feet and my head will figure it out and think oh that was easy what took so long...*shrug* Anyway that was my night and it gives me a lot to really work towards and improve upon and I know I'll get there, even if it's not happening as quickly as I'd like for it to. Any advice and suggestions are more than welcome cause this derby newb needs all the help she can get.

Dixie D.

Practice, exercise, and research

I want to practice. I look forward to it. I can't wait to skate and get this excited bundle of nerves feeling every week cause I know I get to skate that day. I love it! Even if I am using rental skates and I do kind of suck compared to some of the others. I'm not terrible, but I do have major endurance issues and I already feel like using the rental skates is holding me back. But I show up every week and bust my ass, (even if I do argue with our coaches!) and I will improve and be as good as Cannonball and the others who have been doing this longer than I have. It's simply not in my nature to give up or quit.

It is in my nature to get whiny and/or pissy on a regular basis, particularly when I'm working on something difficult or frustrating or simply annoyingly boring. Two of those things are things we've been working on in practice: skating backwards and jumping.
I never learned to go backwards and I'm having a hell of a time doing it now. I've seen others do it. I understand how they're doing it. I can''t get my feet to do it. They won't even move like they're supposed to so I can turn from front to back. It sucks and I'm debating spending some quality time @ the ice rink because I can always apply skills from ice to wheels and it will help me stay in shape and it's fun. LOL
Jumping I can do. Landing the jump? Not so much. But that part is mostly in my head because I did manage to land a jump at last practice only to fall the next time I tried it and the mental block on that one snapped up so fast it made my head (metaphorically) hurt. I think as my skating skills improve that block will naturally fall, but until then it is going to drive me bonkers. Also, wearing pads will help, although I generally have decent form when I do fall. I know all about falling cause I'm a klutz! And I'm ready for practice again!!!

Exercising has never been my thing. Which means that after I quit playing sports as a teenager I quit exercising. I'm in pretty lousy shape. Derby is motivating me to change that and I'm smart enough to start out kinda slow rather than just throw myself into running miles at a time. The added bonus to getting in shape is that my husband will walk with me when we are both free and that means extra time spent with him. We have silly conversations about what we'd do if we had an infinite amount of money. Even though I'm not pushing super hard I've already started to notice an improvement in my endurance during skating and it can only get better with time. Maybe for variety I can throw in some weight training here and there, even if it does bore me to death. It might help with my jumps. LOL Any other good exercise suggestions would be welcome also.

While I'm not at practice on my rentals and exercising to get myself in better derby shape I'm researching things like gear and skates and reading up on rules and doing as much as I can to prepare myself for when we actually start playing bouts and whatnot. I think I've found my skates, have definite ideas about knee, elbow, and wrist pads, and know about helmets and a mouth guard is easy. Now I need to move on to really learning the rules. I know how the game is played, of course, and I have a basic grasp of the rules, but don't necessarily know enough about penalties or other aspects of the game. Also, I will be checking out strategy for all positions and training for all positions. I will probably focus on being a blocker for a while, but eventually would like to be skilled enough that I can jam if need be.

Roller derby is taking over my life!

Dixie D.

Numero Uno

I'm sure my post titles will become more or less creative as time passes, depending on the day. But for now this is post number one. I started skating when I was kindergarten or first grade during the monthly parties @ Skating America. I was never one of those kids who did crazy tricks and I could not (and still cannot) skate backwards, although I'm working on it.

I did actually play derby though. We formed pick up games that lasted until the rink owner realized what we were doing. The rules we played by were wrong I'm sure and we didn't know what a penalty was, but bouncing one another around and off of the rink was a blast. Hearing "Centerfold" every 5th or 6th song...not so much.

Now I'm all grown up and (still) towering over a lot of my friends and family and when I caught wind of the derby resurgence I was hooked. I searched the web for all the info I could find and eventually decided my little town needed derby. At the time, it didn't agree and nothing came of it. A year or so later here we are finally starting to get a small league off the ground, courtesy of a couple of awesome ladies who decided it was gonna happen!!! I've survived my first two practices without pads and with rental skates and am ALWAYS ready for more. Also, this is motivating me to get my butt in shape and my husband is walking and jogging with me which has the added bonus of giving us extra time to spend together.

Hopefully as our league progresses and my skill grows I'll have more to share, but for the moment I'm going to focus on acquiring my first set of skates which will be the first set of skates on this page. In red leather, with black wheels and toe caps. And a good set of pads which I should be able to get my hands on at our local skate shop, owned by our coach. Yay!!

Dixie D.