Words of wisdom

It's been a pretty good week overall, I've learnt some things and this is what they were:

First up Vanessa and I went for our weekly roller skating session at Emu Plains and we bump into Ivy again which was cool. Both Ness and I are getting more comfortable on skates which is good but no doubt we'll get a reality check when we start the fresh meat course and realise how much we need to learn hehe. Without being too cocky I started weaving between the little kids like a jammer would (more like how I imagined they would) and didn't stack it or injure any kids which was a plus. I tried skating in the proper derby stance and yep it's still a killer on your legs and backside. My feet of course started hurting again but the pain wasn't as bad as it has been in the past so I'm hoping this is a sign that the pain will start decreasing with each skating session. We also came across a husband and wife who were decked out in all the proper safety gear. The husband gave me my first good bit of advice for the week - I was wearing my wrist guards the wrong way around. Feeling like bit a goose I swapped them around and would you believe it they fit so much better! For those who don't know the correct way to wear your wrist guards it's like this

This past week I've exercised almost daily which is a major improvement for me. I've hit the gym to do more cardio and weights and some jogging outside. I took onboard some advice my cousin Mark gave me when I first started all this - set yourself an hour each day to do some training or skating or basically anything to do with getting into roller derby. make sure you do it EVERY DAY and after about 2 or 3 weeks you wont even think about having to do it, you will just do it :) Funnily enough the more I exercise the more I want to do it so I think he may be onto something. One thing I've noticed is the brief attempts at jogging I've had so far have been quite enjoyable once I get over gasping for air by the end of it. I put my iPod on and switch off from the world for a bit. The more running I do the more helpful it'll be for both indoor soccer and roller derby. Mark sent me some podcast links on going from the couch to running 5km's. I'm going to give it a go, I'll let you guys know how it goes.

Thanks to Mark I now have another goal, this one won't be until 2012 but something tells me I'll need that long to be ready for this. Mark's doing the Warrior Dash in 2011. It looks tough but also a load of fun, it reminds me of that cool show Gladiators that used to be on TV

My last bit of advice comes courtesy of GodJilla Sold Separately a kick arse blocker from the Newcastle Roller Derby League. When I went to my first roller derby bout she was in the side that versed the Western Sydney Rollers. Unfortunately they hammered the WSR's but I didn't forget GodJilla or her partner in crime The Cramp. They were brilliant in defence knocking the WSR's down like bowling pins while protecting their jammer from the WSR blockers. I sent GodJilla a message and after gushing like a little fangirl I asked her for some advice and she was cool enough to give me some so here it is:

The best tips I can give anyone is:
- falling is a good thing, you a pushing your limits
- have your skates on as much as possible - balance is everything
- abuse what you got - learn your centre of gravity and smash everyone elses

I'm also the queen of cheap talk - love the intimidation (nothing mean, just a bit of 'is that all you got').

I'm sure you will be fab, but don't put yourself into a box. Every good blocker can jam - Every good Jammer can block.

 

So there you have it folks, hopefully there was some useful bits in there. Until next time, I wish you and your loved ones a safe and Merry Christmas :)

Pain, pain go away

I have a new best friend and its name is Radox. I discovered this little gem after reading some roller derby magazines and some people recommended using it after training. For the most part it's working pretty good. For those of you involved in the stock market here's an inside tip: buy stocks in Radox because I have a feeling I'll be going through a lot of them over the next year hehe.

I broke my record and went skating 3 days in a row. I'm happy to say I feel a bit more confident on skates. The extra skating has bit of a downside; my body is freaking aching especially the arches of my feet and my lower back. I'll skate for a while, the pain comes so I sit down for a bit until it goes away, then start skating again and so the cycle continues. From the skaters I've spoken to and what I've read the best way to get rid of the pain in my feet is to keep skating. It should stop after a couple of months. Some other things I'll be doing are trying to lose some weight as I know all the extra weight doesn't help and turning to my friend Radox.

But enough complaining, I have some good news. Ness and I went skating on Saturday morning at the roller skating rink and not only do we find some other beginners we come across 2 skaters from the Western Sydney Rollers Lil Miss Payne and Pollywanna Hackher and I admit I'm a little starstruck. When I grow up I want to be a good blocker just like them. Jammer's may get all the glory but blockers are where the action is! My aim is to become a mobile brick wall, none shall pass (due to my big backside hehe). I'd love to one day take on Suzy Pow who is the best jammer I've seen in the few bouts I've been to. Anyway back to reality...Ness and I get talking to the other beginners and tell us about the next intake for fresh meat (beginners course for roller derby) in January. Lil Miss Payne makes her way over and asks us if we're interested in joining, I have to control myself from almost screaming out HELL YES! So we get told to meet up with her on Sunday to fill out the forms which we ended up doing. So from the 11th January we'll officially be fresh meat! Even better the 3 girls we met on Saturday will also be starting on the same date.

I'm excited and nervous as at the same time but it's given my something to focus on. So in preparation of getting my backside kicked on the 11th January I'll be skating in the morning's before work then hitting the gym at night. I'm also doing lots of squats, lunges and balancing on one leg to get used to one day doing a crossover. The easy part was signing up, now the hard work and pain really begins.  

Listening to Silverstein. 

It's building up...

Hello once again, I hope you're all well on this warm Sydney night.

It's been a pretty interesting week. I've discovered a few new things about myself. First up last Wednesday I had a shocker of a day at work. I had my PT session at the gym at night. As much as I love my trainer Joe in the way that he pushes you all the way, I just wasn't in the right frame of mind to have a session with him. Usually this is the part where I'd stay at home and knock back a few beers or buy ice-cream. This time I didn't, no folks I went to the gym instead and had a good cardio session by myself while listening to Silverstein on my iPod to keep me going. Could it be some of my bad habits are changing?

On Thursday I watched Rocky. Yeah you can't understand Stallone for most of the movie but I can totally relate to starting to train and being completely rubbish and building to the level required to reach your goal. That movie and Million Dollar Baby are pretty inspirational so too Whip It of course! Don't worry I won't be shouting Adrianne repeatedly at the top of my lungs at the end of my first roller derby bout haha.

I planned on going to the beginners roller skating class on Saturday morning, as I was getting ready I started throwing up and feeling crap. No I didn't have a hangover and no I'm not pregnant, thankfully it was just a 24 hour bug I picked up. I was pissed off though as I wanted to go to the class.

On Sunday I headed to the roller skating rink at Emu Plains and see two roller derby women skating amongst all the little kids. They come over and talk to me. One of them has already been in five bouts for the Sydney Roller Derby League and her friend is taking the fresh meat course with the Western Sydney Rollers. My skating was a lot better this week and I didn't stack this week either YAY! Lauren the skater for the SRDL asked me if I had any questions or show me some moves. She showed me the correct stance and boy was it a killer, it's like being in a permanent squat it kills your backside and legs. She showed me the correct way to fall, ways to stop and lots of other little tips. So far all the roller derby skaters I've met have all been great, they're all nice and happy to help out all beginners.

On Monday I got up early and went for a run with my neighbour Monika. First the pain come back in my feet from Sunday's roller skating, my shoes filled with water due to all the rain we copped the past week, then I got blisters on both heels so it was EPIC FAIL!! Later that night I had indoor soccer and was crap as my blisters burst so I couldn't run. I bought supplies and managed to tape up my heels to help with the blisters so they've been better the last couple of days.

Some things I'm working on, I still haven't implemented more exercise apart from what I'm already doing (except for Monday's disastrous running attempt). I'm hoping the good weather holds up so that I can go roller skating in the mornings at the car park down by the footy fields to get more practise in. Also I've been lazy most mornings and hit the snooze button on my alarm so that I don't get out of bed in time to get some exercise done in the morning. Feel free to kick my arse people, I really need to change this lazy attitude and get my butt out of bed and moving.

Also I've set myself some goals to keep me going:

Firstly I'm going to start the fresh meat (beginner) course with the Western Sydney Rollers in January! It's not compulsory to know how to skate but I want to be comfortable on skates at least a little. So this is a big step towards my roller derby dream!

Next up in my attempt to lose weight I've set myself the goal of losing some weight before the Soundwave festival hits Sydney on the 27th February. I want to wear my And you will know us by the trail of dead shirt to the festival but I don't want it to be so tight that it looks like it's been spray painted on me.

So folks feel free to kick my arse if I start straying, you have me permission :)

Listening to the best band in the world And you will know us by the trail of dead.