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.