Week One…

Last week was my first full week of practicing with the vets. Whoa, what a freaken learning curve!!!! Mondays are just dedicated to teaching NewBees basic skills and I sucked bad that night mainly because I didn’t eat or drink very much water during the day. Big mistake. Huge…. I have to go shopping now… wait… sorry, lapsed into movie quote mode. Come Tuesday I had learned my lesson and rehydrated, but then subjected myself to 30 min of off skates conditioning led by Artemischief. The most amazing kick ass 30 minutes of work out I’ve gotten in years, BUT, oh my, can I die now please? Thursday was a power practice from 6 to 7 that I couldn’t make, but I really enjoyed regular practice from 7 to 9. On Friday I went to visit our coach Romo at her derby store Rockstar Skates and bought some laces, new ball bearings, and toe guards to protect and dress up my skates a little. Sunday brought the All Star Traveling team practice. Advice to those who are new to derby… when you switch out your ball bearings, you go much faster. In fact, they are so much faster that I fell backwards again and hit my tailbone… again. I’ve never hurt myself so badly that I wanted to throw up until yesterday. The pain that shot through my body did not go away until I took one of Kyle’s pain killers left over from his hernia surgery! But there’s more!!! Not only did I fall, but the muscle next to my right shin was balling up and starting to pop out. I was only an hour in and really embarrassed that I couldn’t finish. What I was feeling can only be described as like a Charlie Horse, but on the front of my leg. Because I was skating faster I was leaning forward and gripping for dear life with my toes therefore overworking the muscles in my legs. Chewblocka was awesome though and could tell I was in a lot of pain and told me to stay off skates for the rest of the day. So I went home with my head hung low and all embarrassed that I couldn’t finish.

Because I didn’t know what to expect in practices at the begining of the week my anxiety levels shot through the roof. What if there aren’t any other NewBees there? What if I’m the slowest one? What if I suck so bad that they all talk about me behind my back? What if…what if… Hello!!! It’s my first week and nobody expects me to be perfect. Compaired to the other girls I am the slowest and also the least in shape, but that’s not why I’m doing this. I’m not there to compare myself to other people. The vets have truly been so amazing with encouragements. One point in Tuesday’s practice I thought I couldn’t go another inch and as Trippity skated by she said, “Come on you can do it!”. It was just what I needed to get my head back in and finish strong. Downtown Dallas and the Foreclosure both offered words of comfort when I was last to finish yesterday in a drill. That’s why I’m there, support and empowerment to finish strong! Thanks ladies and yay derby!

I'd also like to send a quick thank you to Kyle. He's been so sweet and supportive through my anxiety, mood swings, and freak outs. Thank you love and I appreciate everything so much!!! xoxo

Love for Derby…. I'm 30!!!

At the beginning of our relationship, Kyle made it very clear that he is NOT a fan of Valentines Day. The poor guy got dumped twice by different girls on this sappy sweet day and has never forgiven it. I figured since my birthday is three days before and if Kyle showers me with love and affection during that time, I could agree to not do the V day. So tonight instead of going to a restaurant and getting tons of candy and flowers from my hubby, I will be going to my first ever practice with the ladies of the derby.

Speaking of my birthday….. I had an absolute blast for my 30th! I took the day off on my actual b-day, Friday the 11th, to sleep in, get a hair cut, and go to dinner with my sister and Kyle. The next day we slept in again, had a huge breakfast cooked by Kyle, and then off to a bout. I helped set up and get ready for the sold out event, but had asked if I could watch the bout with my friends. They agreed and I am so thankful they did! It was the M-80s vs. The Rebel Skate Alliance and because it was the playoffs everything was kicked up a notch! It seemed a lot more violent and exciting! I was so glad that my friends got to see a bout that was awesome till the end. After the Rebel Skate Alliance won we hightailed it out of there to commence the birthday celebration at my friend Cat’s house. I was totally blown away by all the preparations. There was a litany of homemade salsas, guacamole, chips, pulled pork sandwiches, Cat’s awesome homemade pickles, and the cherry on top, a nacho cheese fountain. Oh my!

Thank you to all my friends that went to the bout with me and for also celebrating at Cat’s house. A special thank you to my friend Cat that threw me the best party ever and also to my husband that made my celebrations go from one day to two! Love yall!

I’m an Arch Rival Roller Girl!!!!

I was so nervous last night that I showed up at the rink an hour before we had to be there. I found myself literally walking in circles at home… have to get my stuff together, no clean the kitchen, no get my skates, no change clothes, no wait… where am I going? So I left an hour and 15 minutes before I actually had to be on the rink. Once I walked through the door my anxiety level dropped from “I’m going to lose my mind”, to “I’m so crazy nervous”.

We warmed up and had a powwow with Romo where she told us what was going to be expected of us. I fell with grace, plow stopped with awkwardness, and skated as fast as I could. The one thing they really wanted to see was our passion, so that’s what I gave them. I pushed myself hard and made sure I was sweating! One saving grace was that we were running over time so they had to skip the hopping drill. Thank you Lord! That was the one thing I was really freaked out about because my tailbone is still pretty tender. If I had fallen on it again I might have thrown up. But, we didn’t have to do it so I was in the clear!

I want to thank my sweet husband for all of his support and being so excited for me when I saw my name on the list. When I told him I made it he ran around the house yelling that I was a roller girl and popped some sparkling wine for me. It’s a moment in our marriage that will forever stay with me. Thank you also for the support from our friends and family that let me know they were behind me. It means so much to me to feel that love so thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Me after tryouts flashing my tryout number!

Postponed :(

I haven’t posted lately to tell you if I made the league or not because tryouts were postponed. I had all day to work myself up and then was let down by the weather once again. It didn’t even get bad until later that night. My mother in law calls it divine intervention; I call it a pain in the butt. Oh well, better safe then sorry….I guess.

So tryouts are going to be the same time and place next week. Come Monday I will be all sorts of nervous and crazy so I might not post again until I find out on Tuesday if I’m in or out. In the meantime I will be visualizing (per my sister), squatting and lunging (per Kyle) and trying to sit still at work (per my boss).

Tailbone update…
My tailbone has gotten much better, but is still very uncomfortable. I don’t think it is broken, but it is really hard to sit in the car, on the couch, or at work without squirming for hours. Thankfully I don’t have to sit for tryouts. As long as I don’t fall on it again I’ll be alright. Honestly I think it’s helping me stay low and forward while skating because I’m too scared to fall backwards again. Thank you for your concerns and please pray that I don’t drive myself mad with nerves on Monday!