As some of you may know, I have been doing the Roller Derby Workout video. I discovered that they have a whole eight week long challenge posted on Facebook! Unfortunately for me, I missed the beginning of it by exactly eight weeks, down to the bloody MINUTE, but hell, I’m gonna do it anyways.

Each week, I will post specifically about this challenge I have accepted including some helpful vegetarian variations to their meal plans and also, the weekly “homework” each Friday.

This weeks homework consists of questions about food habits, our local derby (MNRG FTW), you as a derby girl, and most exciting of all, it asks you to take a before picture to have so you can revel in your glorious results eight weeks later.

I am super excited.

And terrified.

While I will be following the meal plans, I’m gonna keep drinking my beer. But don’t worry, I drink a few beers maybe every two weeks. I will account for it on my meal plan. I just love my damn beer!!!

Tomorrow is my first day. I hate cooking, so hopefully I’ll have some help on that front. I’ll also have to stop eating out everyday. While I count my calories, I know that this whole challenge will help me discipline myself. Its for my own good.

I’m doing this so I can be stronger, faster, and more agile at derby, but I am also doing this so I can be proud of myself. When I look in the mirror, I want to see the person I see myself as on the outside too.

So follow along, folks. Should be an interesting experience.

So, practice has been pretty awesome.

We’ve done our first ever time trial runs… as many laps as possible in 2 minutes and 25 laps as fast as possible. Mine, unfortunately, were 9 laps in 2 minutes and 25 laps in 5 minutes, 50 seconds. Ouch. I have a lot of work to do.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about my health and weight. I’ve considered the reasons why I want to lose weight, which is probably something people generally don’t do, which often leads to unhealthy weight loss methods. While yes, I’d like to look super hot to the guy I have a mad crush on, I’m much more interested in looking hot for myself. It may sound vain, but really, it’s all about self esteem. 

The other day I was looking at these gorgeous designer dresses online and realized that they probably don’t even make those dresses in my size, nor would they look nearly as awesome on me. That said, no, I don’t want to be super model skinny nor am I setting unrealistic expectations for myself. Ultimately, I wanna be able to wear whatever I damn well please (and look awesome), be stronger and above all, be healthier.

There are a lot of girls on my team that are all different sizes, from big and curvy to thin and straight as a line. That’s the awesome thing about roller derby, is that every woman can fit in there if she’s got the passion that derby requires. It’s where her true persona can come out, the one she can’t always show when she’s at work or wherever. If we’re not there just to skate, we’re definitely there because its an outlet for us to express ourselves. 

This idea on roller derby being a way for women to truly feel like themselves not only invigorates me, it also frustrates me. As a person, I’m really not at all afraid to be myself. I’m very forward, I’m passionate, I’m friendly, and I’m tougher than a lot of women. I like all of that about myself. Thinking about who I am and how I choose to express myself, whether it be through my clothing, my music, my beliefs, my conversations, my tattoos, whatever, its all me trying to be the person I see myself as. And this is something that absolutely everyone does, whether they realize it or not. So even more, I am driven to reach that place where I feel like my exterior reflects my interior.

This whole philosophy I have on self expression is something I could go on and on about, but I’ll spare both you and I the trouble and cut that topic short, for now.

But anyway, to achieve the results I am working towards I’m adopting a special roller derby diet and I ordered Roller Derby Workout with the Heart Attacks yesterday! 50 minutes of badass derby burnin’ on DVD. I’m superrrr excited. I will be sharing my progress here along with my derby exploits, as they will be exclusively connected.

Hooray for salvation by roller derby!

I haven’t posted in awhile, and I sincerely apologize for that.

BUT

I have new stuff to talk about. Roller derby stuff.

So we’ve started the Debu-taunts practices finally! The first day we did dry land training. Lots of running, jumping, bending, stretching and believe it or not… puking. Yes, Hanna Belle Lector and Tiki Torture live up to their murderous names. I don’t believe that all the Debs that were at that first practice stayed, which made room for some of the ladies on the wait list. Training is tough because we have to be tough. That’s what roller derby is about, not frolicking about in tutus and fishnets on roller skates. These women are athletes.

This past Sunday was our first on skates and it was a blast. Lots of falling and laughter, but we worked hard. We were split into two groups based on our skating level, then we did a series of exercises and drills. My group (the lesser experienced) had a ton of fun. We worked on skating on one foot while weaving in and out between cones, snowplowing, getting up from a fallen position and my absolute favorite part: pushing each other around from behind around the track. THAT was fun. Then we did a whole group one. Basically, four teams of roughly 8 girls all line up in a row and the person in the back would have to push the other seven girls around the track once, then she had to skate up to the front of the line and the next girl would push. My group managed to get through the full rotation before the other groups despite falling on top of each other twice. By far that was the best part. Everyone frantically trying to get up and back into line to keep going, having a ton of fun but still working hard. That sort of thing is why I want to be a roller girl.

I’m feeling more and more confident about myself. Even though I still kinda suck, I am feeling more at home in my skates. It feels so good to fly around a track and push yourself hard to get better, thinking of skating around the track at the Roy Wilkins with the MNRG someday. Tryouts are this May/June. I hope I’m ready!

Well, I almost ended my derby career early today. For the second time in a month I almost got hit by a car on the same damn street corner. Seriously, people DO NOT pay attention in Uptown.

I’m sure it didn’t help that my mind has just been somewhere else today. While I’m going through the motions of daily tasks like hefting boxes about and recording serial numbers onto planograms, I’m in a far off place, somewhere in the future where everything just falls into place finally. I’m waiting for so many things right now… things I don’t have control over. I HATE not being in control.

I was going to go meet up with my fellow Debs this evening at Skateville. The family who owns it is SUPER awesome, but I HATE THEIR WOOD FLOORS!!! But I didn’t have a ride out there, plus my brain trying to project myself into the future where I’m an amazing roller derby girl on one of the MNRG teams, I’m tattooing in my very own tattoo shop AND with the love of my life (yeah, I’m a fuckin’ romantic. what’s it to ya?), so I’m pretty much exhausted.

I heard from Eva Longwhoria that there is a skills test practice with the Skate Pauli Boys on Sunday. Not only am I a fan, I really want some practice with other people! Unfortunately I work, but I will do everything I can to be at that practice. I <3 Skate Pauli Boys. They’re super awesome.

And here’s a player highlight for the occassion:

Johnny Pocket Rocket.

Super talented Jammer/Pivot and as a bonus: super fuckin’ cute.

Today was an interesting day. There was some sad moments, some funny, some discouraged, and some uplifting.

Being a single lady has taught me some things. I am feeling more empowered to do the things I really want and I’ve been pushing myself hard to achieve my goals. I realized today that you should never look within others for your own happiness, because true happiness only lies within yourself. Your dreams, your interests, your loves, all of that makes up a whole world of passions and excitements. It makes life meaningful.

I received some news today that bummed me out at first. Initially, I felt hurt and even more than that, lost. But then, a thought crept into my head. I remembered that I had promised myself to not let anything get me down. To “Keep Calm and Carry On”. There’s so much I love in my life that I can’t let one thing ruin everything I’m excited about just because I choose to be sad about it. So, instead of feeling like shit the rest of the day, I went and skated.

On the rink, I was feeling discouraged by my skate comfort level. My heels are very narrow but my feet are wide, so I need more support in my heels to make my skates fit better. After about 30 minutes of skating, I plopped down on a bench to air out my pads and take a quick break while I searched for heel inserts on my iPhone. I was feeling pretty down and was considering going home for the night for some much needed rest when Faye Tality appeared out of nowhere and asked if I was Magpie, one of the Debu-Taunts. She invited me over to skate with some of the other Debs, that I hadn’t noticed in the corner of the rink practicing around cones. Talking with them and practicing some crossovers was wonderful, I felt so much better. There’s nothing like teammates to lift you up when you’re feeling down.

I’m really looking forward to skating with them at practice on January 9th. They’re such an awesome group of girls and there is already such a sense of camaraderie between them, and we haven’t even had our first practice yet. Even though certain things in my life aren’t that great right now, I have these awesome girls and derby to fall on, and they’re there to catch me with open arms.

Still sore in the rear, but can’t wait to skate again! I had a dream last night that the Gotham roller girls were having a bout in a park by my house. I am in awe of beyonslay. She’s amazing. I can’t believe how hard she hits! No wonder I had a dream about them. She is officially my favorite roller girl.

Ok, seriously? Beyonslay is AMAZING. I hope I can learn to hit that hard. Lord knows I can take a beating, but I wanna dish it just as heavily too!!!

Finally after having my skates for roughly a week now, I was able to get on a rink and try them out. I took a trip to Skateville after work and could NOT wait to finally get some skating in on my new super sexy Riedell’s. However, I did not make it one full rotation without falling on my ass. HARD.

Now, if you’ve skated with me recently, you know that I don’t really fall ever. While I know its part of the learning experience and I have encouraged my teammates and other girls I skate with to push themselves to that next tier of skating they want to achieve, regardless of falling, its still frustrating when it happens. Don’t get me wrong, whenever I fall I have a good laugh about it, because really, people falling over is pretty much always funny. But I feel a sense of discouragement when it happens.

I have realized that I have placed extremely high expectations for myself that aren’t realistically within my reach quite yet as far as skill level goes. I always want to go faster, have more control, and have my feet stop screaming at me in intense pain from breaking in the new skates. I know that at some point I’ll be able to move as quickly as any of the other girls on the MNRG teams, but knowing that is a possibility makes it really difficult to put up with my current skating abilities.

All in all though, I keep reminding myself to be positive and remember that even taking on the challenge of being a roller girl is in itself something to be admired. I’m in awe of how awesome roller girls are, they’re athletic, powerful and determined. So I will keep striving towards that. I worry that I won’t be ready for tryouts in June, regardless of the fact that I have plenty of time to prepare AND I’ve got the Debu-taunts to help me as well. I feel lucky that I even have the chance, whereas other things in life are not so easily attainable. But like I’ve always said, you can have anything you want if you really want it bad enough.

I will be skating on Tuesday night at the Rollergarden from 9:30 to 11:00PM. Hope to see some familiar faces!

I know lots of you have been waiting by your computers to read my next update (or not, but it never hurts to pretend!). I will not disappoint, for I have great news. MY SKATES ARE HERE!

Yes, that’s right. I have my skates sitting next to me at this very moment and they are lovely. Sleek black leather, sexy purple wheels… I love them. I have spent about an hour today rolling around in my kitchen, which has the largest flat hard surface in my house. Even though my kitchen is probably only about 8 or 9 feet long, I already feel so much more confident in my skating. Damn those rentals making me feel insecure around the other derby girls practicing at the Rollergarden! I am a derby girl, hear me roar, bitch!

The current issues are these:
1. I cannot skate until Sunday on a REAL rink (not my mini rink kitchen) because of work and Christmas.
2. My new skates hurt my feets. This is because:
    a. They are not broken in yet.
    b. I have not heat molded them yet either.
    c. Dirty Larry forgot to put one of my insoles back in. :)
    d. My stupid feet are so freakin’ wide!

Hopefully all of these issues will be resolved soon. I will be bringing my skates with me tomorrow to work and skating on our giant floor for as long as I can get away with AND hopefully I can find time to finish Christmas shopping and heat mold my skates after work.

And with that, it’s picture time.

Ok, yes I know this is a mega nerd pose, but my mom wanted me to do it. And who says no to their mama?

AND HERE THEY ARE!! I know its a shit picture but I’m exhausted and I’m too tired to compose a decent shot of them. Don’t worry, there will be many many pictures to come. This is, after all, a roller derby blog.

Much love and Happy Holidays, my friends!

Trip to Derby 4 All is complete!

Dirty Larry didn’t have the 265 boot in stock in my size, so I decided to try on some other boots for a fit comparison rather than wait for it to come back into stock. I tried out the 126 boot, its really pretty similar to the 265, but slimmer in the ball of your foot. All in all its a decent boot, especially for the price which falls around $215. However, though I have wider feet, I have slim heels so the 126 gave me a little bit too much room to wiggle in.

So, next up was the 965 boot. These boots have a little more room in the ball of your boot area, and a little bit less in your heel area. The great thing about them though is the plush padding around the ankle area, which offers some extra support and comfort. They’re also heat mold able, so its super easy to create a custom fit. Even just tossing them in your oven to warm them up and slipping them on will work. This model also forgoes the velcro cinch strap around the top of your laces that the 265 and 126 have in common, instead featuring a leather flap with velcro that completely covers your laces. While I didn’t like that the velcro comes in contact with your laces and threatens fraying, they’re still a great choice to prevent a lot of breakage in your laces. These boots are a little more pricey than its counterparts, coming in around $365, but the extra support and comfort are really worth the extra cash.

In the end, I opted for the 965 boot. Just wearing that boot alone was more than enough to convince me that they would take me where I wanted to go and give me more confidence in stability on the rink. My mother, who came along to buy my pads for me for Christmas/my birthday, reminded me of my damage prone ankles so in the end the 965 boots were a must.

Along with the boots, I FINALLY decided on the wheels I wanted after being reassured that slim wheels really weren’t as slim as my mind had made them to be. So, I went with my original choice of the Atom Omega 2.0 wheels, which feature a hollow core and a 93A hardness, perfect for the Roy Wilkins. I don’t like flex in the hubs very much, so these were a great choice for me personally. While normally I would’ve gone for an aluminum hub, I feel these will not disappoint. Not to mention Dirty Larry skates on these and recommended them, and to me, there’s nothing like talking to someone who uses a product to make you feel good about using it yourself.

As far as plates and bearings go, I went with PowerDyne Thrust for now and the ABEC-9 bearings. I will update my plates in the future, but already throwing down $100 extra bucks for the boots was gonna hurt. The PowerDyne thrust plates are made of a durable nylon with metal trucks and will run you around $50. The next upgrade is the PowerDyne Triton ($90), which are the coveted aluminum material, but they are heavier. When I do upgrade from the nylon plates, I’ll be considering the PowerDyne DynaPro ($130), which are a lighter-weight aluminum. The difference between nylon and aluminum is that the aluminum tends to last longer and has a lot less flex than the nylon.

After all the skate talk was done with, I was fitted for pads. I highly recommend the 187 pads for your knees. They’re not pretty, but boy are they nice to fall on. I spent a good fifteen minutes when I got home running and jumping and landing on my knees. It literally feels like you’re falling on a memory foam bed. I also upgraded to Triple 8 hired hands, which are a pain to get off but they’ve got the protection you’re gonna need without worrying about them sliding. I had initially decided on Triple 8 elbow pads, but Larry steered me towards a brand I hadn’t heard of yet called TSG. The Triple 8 elbows tend to slide down your arm and you spend more time on the track readjusting them than focusing on the bout. TSG is a similar construction, but I felt they were more form-fitting than the Triple 8’s. The two elbow pads are the same price at Derby 4 All, so in the end I took home the TSG’s.

Lastly was the helmet, which was by far the easiest. I picked out a purple Triple 8 helmet with a sweat saver lining and we were ready to go. The skate total came up to $475, after the discount and the pads and helmet came up to $145 for a grand total of $620. All in all, a little bit more than I had wanted to spend, but I couldn’t be happier with my choices. The only bad thing is that my skates won’t be ready until tomorrow at the earliest, so no skating with new skates tonight!

And now, for some pictures!

My new boots and…..

New helmet!

Yay!