Vast improvements

Last week, the fall Debs session started up. We met and went over paperwork and the by-laws as well as rule number one (don't be a douche). There was socializing and hanging out with people which was nice. I haven't seen most of these women since June.

Today we had our first on skates practice. I'll admit to being nervous about going back to derby practice. Skating by myself or in a group isn't that difficult because there's no one standing there yelling at me about what I'm doing wrong or telling me to push harder. It's also considered bad form to do derby drills at an open skate. I knew that some girls had been skating over the summer and others, like myself, hadn't had time to do such. There were also new girls, who were probably going to run the spectrum of ability.

Before going to practice, I pulled out my skates and put back on my indoor wheels. I adjusted my toe stops, which I've been meaning to do since about May, and put in new laces. I think I was nearly bouncing with excitement. I got there with enough time to get my gear on and skate around the concourse a few times. We have practice in two main places; the Roy, where the MNRG bouts are held, and the Xcel concourse. I like them both for different reasons. As I was skating around, I heard my name shouted out and looked over my shoulder to see one of the skaters trying to catch up with me. It greatly amused me that I was going so fast that someone had to catch up. This wasn't exactly new but it still felt awesome.

As practice started, we divided up into where we thought we should be placed. As much as I'd love to say I'm really comfortable in my skates and should be moved up, I know that I'm not. There are still things I struggle with but I'm not going to die on my skates. After doing a brief introduction (I did get a little bored and distracted towards the end of that; there are a lot of us!), our 4 groups set out to our various stations.

I'm happy to report that the coaches I did talk to were all very pleased with how much I've improved. I know that I feel so much more confident on my skates. Something recently has clicked that tells my brain that I AM a roller girl and can do this. It's really two things. One: out at ren fest, we've also had it somewhere that you can buy soap from a derby girl and that's never been me but this year I can say that! Two: all of us are being recognized as athletes in the by-laws. I've never considered myself an athlete but leading up to the start of practice, I've started to challenge myself with physical activities. I'm working on being able to do 100 push-ups in a row (eventually that'll even be 100 "real" push-ups and not just knee push-ups) and I've done some ceilidh dancing. I've invested in a jump rope to work on cardio and well, jumping.

Right now, I'm sore and I know that not only tomorrow but that the next day are going to be sore ones but I'm loving the fact that I got a hard work-out and that I'm getting to know my fellow skaters more. It fills me with all kinds of warm and squishy feelings.