Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Apologies for the sudden post overload. I seem to have been overcome with inspiration to write lately. Last year was bit of a disaster for me and after getting bogged down in the negativity of all those injuries and constantly worrying about whether I'd pick up a new injury whenever I put my skates on I decided to sit down and examine where I currently was and where I wanted to be with derby.

At the end of last year I was pretty devestated that I didn't even get to scrimmage once at training last year. Considering I only had one training session at Corporal level before injury left me spending two months on the sidelines it's no surprise I didn't get to scrimmage last year so this led to my first change for the year. Instead of constantly living in fear of injuries I decided to focus all my energy and nerves into making this year my year. I know I'm not going to suddenly became an amazing skater, skating rings around everyone else, I will however skate outside my comfort zone and continually push myself plus I'll enjoy my time on skates this time around. Call me an eternal optimist but I'll still wear either my black or white Liverpool jersey to training and have the other coloured jersey in my bag on Sunday's JUST in case I get the tap on my shoulder to say I can finally join in on scrimmage :)

Changes outside of derby will have an impact on derby this year. First up I got offered a new job with more money so it meant I could quit my second job so no more working at night. The first thing I plan on doing is joining up for the beginner speed skating classes on Thursday nights at Skatel to improve my technique and speed. Next up I read this awesome blog post and reading the muscle imbalance section I realised last year that 99% of my exercise was derby related so to fix the imbalance I signed up to the gym where I'll be doing weights and cardio work to go with the training sessions I have with Suzie just to break it up a bit.

A problem I've had for a while is that I skate with my knees pointed inwards which of course causes the pain that runs down my right leg. My other problem is my ankles tend to roll out. Cherry gave me some tips at the end of last year to try and correct it and I've had to work continually at it to stop both of them from happening. When I skate I don't realise I'm even doing it. While I was going through some old pics to try and find some for BioniKate's interview series I could see it clear as day that I skate with my knees pointed in. Even now when I'm walking down the street I try and walk the way Cherry showed me to, I think it's helping.

I know it's early days but even just the first chance skating more positively and not constantly thinking about picking up another injury has made a difference. I know I'll never skate without some sort of soreness but I'm feeling better physically than I have for a long time. I'm actually enjoying myself and seeing how far I can push myself. It's the feeling I've been searching for for so long and hopefully long may it continue.