Round up, Roll Out

Long time no post!! Wow there's been so much happening since I was last here! Valleys Roller Dolls have really started to take off and the girls are so enthusiastic I've been like a proud parent.  To be totally honest with you all, it hasn't been smooth sailing but we're getting there and word is getting out!  Personally, this month has been about trial and error alot for me, I've mastered a few things - including telling my brain to STFU when its making me over think things - and I've learned a hell of a lot too both about derby and myself, letting go sometimes is a good thing!  


As you may know, I've gained a bit of a rep for being a skate boot killer - after lots and lots of research (ok and badgering of various derby peoples to whom I'm forever grateful) it turns out that I'd simply chosen skates that were not suitable for me.  People had raved about the DA-45 plates and Suregrip skates (me included) but the padding in the boot was causing me to have to lace them so tight to my feet that the lace holes would give out (although why SG don't use metal eyelets all the way up their boot is beyond me.....), also it looked as though the short mounted plate was not doing me any favours (we all know I'm very good friends with the floor yeah?).  So, after having a rather cathartic clear out of some of my 'old life' things that really needed to be out there being used, and gaining some early birthday monies I bit the bullet and ordered the Antik MG-2 skates.  Due to the customs/shipping thing (yeah, I ordered from the US - Fast Girl Skates had too good an offer not to and I've always been blown away by their service) I only got them the day of our last session before Christmas so I can't give a brilliant review on them yet but what I can say is OMFG! They've made a total difference - yeah it took a little while to get used to but I could have cried with happiness (yes, I sound mental I know).  Ok, the Heartless wheels weren't for me so they've been replaced with Poison Slims but I am in absolute love with my skates :D I can't wait til our next session!  Oh yeah before I forget, thanks a bunch to the wife Rhayfen for deciding we needed to play queen of the rink the day I get my new skates, bambi much!?

I've also been working on something which was spawned from total derby laziness - I decided that maybe it would be a good idea to finally do something with the two years of college/uni training I did and actually do some pattern drafting/designing! HA! Betcha didn't know I could do that did ya!  I can't reveal much at the moment as I'm working on something I'm hoping to release for 2012, nothing too fancy but its a babystep and babysteps lead to bigger bits of awesome! 


Til my next post, which I won't leave so long in doing!


TTFN!

Egg-citing!

We'd had a bit of time off due to Easter so it was good to be back on my wheels today. I'd not been slacking though, promise! I have been going to the gym and doing my She'za exercises (she's trying to kill me, I'm sure of it!) and sorting NSO stuffs so I can get my geek fix lol.

I had a complete tard moment this morning and not only forgot my water bottles but also my shiny new Prodent Tech mouth guard - stupidity at its finest eh! Luckily I still had my old mouth guard in my case, phew! So, skates on, pads on (maybe should have brought the bigger helmet to go over the braids but c'est la vie) and off to warm up and stretch. A few stopping drills to start off with an I scoot into the middle to have a quick recap on t-stops. I did hear Jen call out I was to be brave today and not sit things out so I quickly got back onto the track. We started out with a weaving through the pace line drill, fairly slow as we were a proper mixed ability group today. I was glad it was slowish as I'd not run this drill before so was a bit nervous going into it. I watched some of the other girls get down the line as quickly as they could, its all about lateral movement and I know I can do that so with a bit of PMA I was off. I got through it ok and learned that my left lateral is stronger than going to the right and that I need to work on controlling my speed, other than that I was pleased for a first go. To mix it up a bit it was then decided we'd have a double pace line and run the same thing again but going through in twos with your partner - slightly more tricky but again I think I got the hang of it :) A quick water break and discussion on whats happening with the actual A & B teams (members etc) and we were told we'd be focusing more on plays and things we need to learn a bit more which is all good. We'd been wondering what was happening with the teams as its all been a bit hush hush while people were being watched and plans were being made but it was all announced this morning and it seems there were a few surprises, again all good. I am very happy to have been marked up as a B* (B team but not ready for bouting yet as has a few things to work on first), this has given me something to push and work harder for.

Anyways I digress, so drills. Upon having 'cascading/waterfalling' explained to us there were a couple of blank looks, myself included. So 'the vets' (as I'm going to refer to them from now on, they're not exactly veteran skaters but they're a damn sight better than most of us so its sticking) put it into action and asked us to split into groups of 4 to have a go. As we were down on numbers we had 2 groups of 4 and 2 of 3. It was a heck of a lot easier than it sounded, ker-ching, another mini achievement. From there we went on to mini scrim split into team red and blue. We got to practice the different positions with it being explained to us what each position should be doing and why - uber helpful!! It was nice to get more involved with the mini scrims too instead of hanging back, I still need to work on my cardio fitness, I know that and its not going to come overnight but I was keeping up as best I could and doing the best job I could, which included me remembering to whack on the plow stop to avoid back blocking :D

All in all a very positive session, I've got to figure out why my foot went totally dead on me (first time its happened in the GT-50s), maybe the knee pads were too tight, who knows? Also going to look at maybe getting some smaller but nicely padded knee pads, recommendations welcome!

TTFN and thanks for reading

xx

starts and stops

Hope you've all been having a lovely Easter (however you celebrate it) and enjoying the fab weather here in Wales. For a change I'm not too far behind but may forget a few bits due to a fab BBQ courtesy of my derby wife and her hubster.

So Saturday comes around again and despite having a bit of an 'iffy' tum the night before I know there's 3 sessions with no skating coming up so I'm determined I'm going. After an interesting bus ride into the city with Rhayfen we meet up with Jinx and RG to complete the journey to Eastern Leisure. Track went down, kit went on and warm ups ensued. As Rhayfen was taking the training session today we knew we'd be in for some fun and games (or evilness, depending on her mood) however we were shorter numbers this session as (I assume) people were making the most of the sun/holidays. One of the games she decided to start with was 'surprise' - basically everyone skated as a pack with the 2 jammers behind and when the whistle was blown the pack would single knee drop and stay there. The jammers then had to get through (fast feet) race each other back around the track and back through the pack, first through was winner. Fab fun and I didn't fall on my turn jamming - ok so I caught a wheel with my shin but I'm a klutz lol. After that she went on to do some pack games so I seized the opportunity to practice skating one footed and crossovers which are coming on rather nicely now.

Once we'd all re hydrated ourselves (it gets warm in that hall anyway so add heat and you're melting!) Rhay asked if there was anything we'd like to practise - silence....however when she then posed the question "so if I were to say right we're doing min skills now, you'd all pass?" ideas soon flowed. We separated off into groups depending on what we wanted to have a go at, I figured it's time to conquer those T Stops. Unfortunately Rhay couldn't demonstrate as she'd still got her outdoor wheels on and was sticking to the floor however she described more than adequately what we were aiming to achieve and set us all off one or two at a time so she or Drew could advise. First attempt saw me totally fluff it, undeterred I went straight in for a second try. Actually being able to get my foot behind me was a big achievement let alone planting it on the floor, but this time I managed to drag 2 wheels out of the 4 for a short distance. Drew advised me to bend at the knee more before starting the stop so off I went again, still dragging the two wheels but it was a start and as Rhay said it was a step up from what I was doing before :D Secretly I was soooo happy, it sounds kinda sad but it's defeated me for absolutely ages and now its starting to click!

More hydration and more games, this time 'Sausage'!! Basically whole hall tag with Rhay as 'it', you get tagged you lay down and become a sausage, you only become free when 2 other skaters lay either side of you to become your bun - hilarious to say the least!! It was pointed out that it was a fab communication exercise too as we had to shout out for buns! lmao!! A few other games later and a bit more practice on the T Stops and I actually managed to land a couple with all 4 wheels down - result!! Cool down, stretch and we were out!

Now on the way out of the centre the eagle eyed wifey notices an MP, "shall we go and hassle him?" my reply, "hell yeah" and so myself, Rhay, RG And Grazed all explain about how popular roller sports are becoming and how there is nowhere adequate for us in the Cardiff area, 10 Min's later and we're told someone will 'get back to you' - we shall see!

I won't bore you with the rest of my bank holiday weekend, as fun as it was for me, it probably wont be as interesting for you. I will however finish with the fact that I hit the gym again today and with the walking to and from clocked up 9 miles, not too shabby :)

Til next time and leaving you a very warm and happy roller girl in training

xx

All systems GO!

Well, well, well dear readers looks like something may have clicked into place - I'm not sure how or why but my attitude has changed. Not only am I approaching all things derby with an 'I can' attitude but I've also joined my local gym. This may not sound like a big thing to you but to someone who spent most of her academic life dodging exercise and who sometimes still have to force herself to walk into the village for mundane things, believe me, its a big thing.

Admittedly I still have to look at my diet, and remember to take my meds properly but its rung one on the ladder, right? I'm hoping to talk to a dietitian locally, I am terrible for not eating properly and this whole thyroid thing really doesn't help so I figured it'd be best to get some advice.

After completing last weeks induction I popped back today to do an hour on my own using the exercise bike, treadmill and rowing machine. All in all, including walking too and from my house I managed to clock up just over 8.5 miles which I'm rather pleased with. I've also had a chat with the trainer at the gym and he's going to go over a weights routine with me so I can alternate weights and cardio through the week. I have to admit, as hot and sweaty as I got and as much as I had to encourage myself today, I left there feeling damn good! Although I also left feeling damn hungry lol - still steak, peas and a jacket spud soon saw to that ;)

Hows THAT for PMA!

Ttfn

xx

Anger - one letter short of Danger!

First off, apologies! I can't believe I let it slip so long between blogs! There's been a lot going on but on the same hand not a lot going on, don't worry all will become clear!

I missed 3 or 4 of our training sessions as I managed to pick up a lovely spring cold, I hate being ill and a lot of the time I refuse to acknowledge the fact I am ill and just carry on regardless, I don't 'do' ill! However, being bunged up and grumpy does not make for a productive Emilie and I especially didn't want to spread the cold to other team members so I behaved and stayed away. Instead I used the time as advised by a fellow skater to 'derby train my brain' and watch bouts, read up on rules and the like and recover.

My return to training happened to coincide with the fabulous She'za Payne coming to take us for a special training session. On the car journey up we were all panicking and decided that we were going to die after this session - although Up Ya Jonsey was reassured by Rhayfen that she wouldn't let her die as she was a very selfish person and required Jonsey to stay alive so she could get home lol. I was kinda nervous but also quite looking forward to the session too. After meeting She'za and Effin Elle we were asked what level we were - unfortunately I wasn't allowed my own special needs level so was put with the beginners lol The track went down, and the ladies took an off skate warm up then on to skates, this is where I started to unravel - my confidence had disappeared totally. After doing the right leg push sticky skating we went onto some single leg skating, and that was me off. If you've been following me up to now you'll know that my lack of balance is whats been throwing me for a long time and I felt so embarrassed that I couldn't do it that, after stripping my skates and pads off, I disappeared to the toilets and cried my heart out. Stupid huh? In all honesty I felt like I didn't belong there, if you can't do the simplest thing then how on earth are you going to manage anything else!? I got very angry with myself and was in danger of throwing the towel in.

So, I composed myself and after a big hug from the fab Hellcat Harri and a word with Dotty Destruction I redressed and got to work on the NSO stuff instead - what can I say, I'm a stats geek and like to get my nerd on! I continued to watch the session and pick up tips for stuff to work on in the future. At the end of the session I thought there'd be no harm in asking a couple of questions so I approcahed She'za and asked if there was anything I could be doing to help with my balance problems - she was lovely and explained a few exercises I could work on and also that I should develop my core as its key to becoming a good player. I took all of this on board and decided maybe I wasn't quite ready to quit yet - as was said, different people develop at different speeds, don't compare your ability to others just concentrate on doing the very best you can and things will click into place.

And so we come to yesterdays session - a few team members were missing due to the big WFTDA Anarchy in the UK bout weekender so some of the Tiger Bay Brawlers came to train with us and Rhayfen assumed the position of coach. In a bit more of a positive mind frame this gave me the opportunity to try my wheel set up on the Eastern Leisure centre floor (for the more curious of you, I've just switched it so my pusher wheels are on the left on each skate). After doing some warm up laps and stretches, we were 'treated' to sit ups, push ups and planks - thanks, really you shouldn't have! lol. A quick drink as it was so warm there and I went off to practice plow stops with RG Bargy, then on to cross over practice which I've more or less got licked now I just really need to stop looking at my feet! This did highlight for me that my toe stops may be a little too low as I was catching them every so often on the floor. From here we were all told to skate one footed, no matter if it were for 2 seconds or 30, just go as long as we could. Time to give it a bash, it was literally 1 second before my other foot wanted to go down. Not to be defeated I kept at it then Hell Neenio from TBB came alongside and explained something that Judge Redd had mentioned to me before about shifting your weight and making a line so you knee is kinda between your boobs when you look down - I guess it kinda clicks more when someone demonstrates it. I know I need to bend my knees more, its something I always get picked up on so I made sure I did this and put the advice in to practice - and now I've figured out how I used to teach myself things I went and did this over and over and over, trying not to favour one foot over the other (although my left was winning). My right foot always leans inwards whenever I try to balance on it so I figured I better try and sort that out and by the end of the session I had it cracked! Not for a huge amount of time but I've gone from not being able to skate on one foot to being able to glide about half of the straight :D I'm going to keep at practicing this and my next obstacle - turns! I WILL DEFEAT EACH SMALL SKILL ONE STEP AT A TIME, y'know PMA and all that ;)

I close with a little video I made as a kinda training aid, my wife Rhayfen demonstrating how she turns, enjoy!