1. tryouts were saturday
2. i fell 2 laps into the 20 laps in 5 minutes drill. (this drill is important. if you can't pass it, you can't play roller derby.)
3. as i was getting up, i immediately fell again
4. i almost lost my mind and considered quitting right then and there. no more derby. fuck it.
5. i remembered how much money i'd spent on my skates and how i've told everyone that i'm totally going to make the league no problem
6. i hurled myself to my feet and kept skating
7. i made 24 laps in 5 min even with 2 falls!!!!!
8. i did the other stuff basically fine, i guess
9. sunday i got an email saying that i'd passed tryouts!!!!!
i will give tryouts a full write up soon -- just wanted to give a quick update. hooray for me.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
she got low
my right foot is really fucked up. i bled through my sock on thursday. before i went to the rink, i constructed an elaborate structure of band-aids and moleskin to attempt to cushion the inside ankle area of my right foot. well, it didn't uh, work...i tried to tuff it out but finally i couldn't stop my eyes from tearing up. i sat down and took off my skate and lo and behold, BLOOD. shit, i was distressed to see blood but i was secretly glad i wasn't getting upset over trivial pain. deathany (how is that for a rad rollergirl name) came to the rescue with her arsenal of medical supplies and wrapped up my foot properly with some stretchy foam tape and some regular athletic tape.
deathany's repair work allowed me to sort-of skate until about 9:15. shit, it hurt like hell though, i'm not gonna lie. loosening my trucks has made it possible to REALLY lean into turns. also, it has made it possible for my right (outside) boot to REALLY cut the fuck into my ankle and cause a horrific bleedy blister. rad.
it turns out that a lot of people have this same problem, especially with riedell r3's. r3's are great skates to get as a rookie but since they are not real leather, they don't break in at the pressure points. you see a lot of skaters with r3's also wearing these ankle bootie things. [not recommending this brand, just for illustration and shit.]
anyway it hurt like hell to keep skating on thursday night. weird thing is though, it hurt worse to STOP skating. the pain really rose to the surface as soon as i'd sit down to take a break. but skating normally for me at this point involves a lot of hard leaning on my right (outside) foot, and i didn't want to damage that already rough-as-hell spot any further.
so i decided to practice something that i suck at -- skating on one foot around the turns. going around the turns, i would lift up my outside foot and balance/lean totally on my inside foot. shoot, i was like miss wobble from wobblytown at first. it's hard to put all of your weight on your inside foot around the turns without your outside foot acting as a training wheel. it's very counter-intuitive. i gotta say, though, after a couple dozen laps, i started to feel a lot more confident about putting all my weight on my left foot. every couple laps i'd do a lap or two with regular crossovers...and all of a sudden i was able to push off from BOTH legs!!! finally! i think i may have finally mastered crossovers. we'll see for sure on thursday.
man, it's so hard to explain this stuff in uh, typing, cuz i am not even sure that i know what my legs are doing at this point. crossovers are hard to do well and i think that i've gone through a 4 or 5 step learning curve with them so far. (there are probably 19 more steps till i'm really rad at them.)
here's a rough draft of how i kinda learned them. i'll get more specific after skating on thurs...it's hard to think about this stuff while sitting on the couch.
1. take the smallest possible steps with outside foot, just kind of put it next to inside foot
2. same thing but lean in more
3. let inside foot slide towards the outside as much as possible before picking it up and stepping in forward
4. concentrate on bending outside knee to push off in order to gain speed during turns
5. concentrate on bending inside knee and pushing off after bringing it forward
the gap between 4 and 5 took a long time for me
anyway, check this out. looks like a good overview of basic skate technology.
Riedell quad skate basics
wish me luck with my stupid foot.
deathany's repair work allowed me to sort-of skate until about 9:15. shit, it hurt like hell though, i'm not gonna lie. loosening my trucks has made it possible to REALLY lean into turns. also, it has made it possible for my right (outside) boot to REALLY cut the fuck into my ankle and cause a horrific bleedy blister. rad.
it turns out that a lot of people have this same problem, especially with riedell r3's. r3's are great skates to get as a rookie but since they are not real leather, they don't break in at the pressure points. you see a lot of skaters with r3's also wearing these ankle bootie things. [not recommending this brand, just for illustration and shit.]
anyway it hurt like hell to keep skating on thursday night. weird thing is though, it hurt worse to STOP skating. the pain really rose to the surface as soon as i'd sit down to take a break. but skating normally for me at this point involves a lot of hard leaning on my right (outside) foot, and i didn't want to damage that already rough-as-hell spot any further.
so i decided to practice something that i suck at -- skating on one foot around the turns. going around the turns, i would lift up my outside foot and balance/lean totally on my inside foot. shoot, i was like miss wobble from wobblytown at first. it's hard to put all of your weight on your inside foot around the turns without your outside foot acting as a training wheel. it's very counter-intuitive. i gotta say, though, after a couple dozen laps, i started to feel a lot more confident about putting all my weight on my left foot. every couple laps i'd do a lap or two with regular crossovers...and all of a sudden i was able to push off from BOTH legs!!! finally! i think i may have finally mastered crossovers. we'll see for sure on thursday.
man, it's so hard to explain this stuff in uh, typing, cuz i am not even sure that i know what my legs are doing at this point. crossovers are hard to do well and i think that i've gone through a 4 or 5 step learning curve with them so far. (there are probably 19 more steps till i'm really rad at them.)
here's a rough draft of how i kinda learned them. i'll get more specific after skating on thurs...it's hard to think about this stuff while sitting on the couch.
1. take the smallest possible steps with outside foot, just kind of put it next to inside foot
2. same thing but lean in more
3. let inside foot slide towards the outside as much as possible before picking it up and stepping in forward
4. concentrate on bending outside knee to push off in order to gain speed during turns
5. concentrate on bending inside knee and pushing off after bringing it forward
the gap between 4 and 5 took a long time for me
anyway, check this out. looks like a good overview of basic skate technology.
Riedell quad skate basics
wish me luck with my stupid foot.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
roller skate line dancing
At open skate on sunday night, something strange happened.
There i was, skating in a circle as usual, when
THE LIGHTS WENT OUT
THE BLACK LIGHTS CAME ON
THE DJ PLAYED SOME SONG
then
NEARLY EVERYONE IN ALL OF SKATE-LAND STAMPEDED TO THE CENTER OF THE FLOOR (almost knocking a bewildered ROLLERKID right on her ROLLERFACE)
then
EVERYONE STARTED DOING THIS SYNCHRONIZED LINE DANCE THING to some hip hop song. It was dark so it was hard to see the steps but it looked more Electric Slide than Soulja Boy. It was one of those songs that tells you how to do the dance, IN THE SONG. (is there a name of that kind of song? DanceStructions?) God, I wish i could remember the song but all the songs at skateland kind of meld together in my head. I think it had the words "Left" and "Right" in the song. Does this sound familiar to anyone? If so please let me know in the comments so I can learn the steps for next time.
Gotta split -- but I'm gonna post later about the fascinating subject of ADJUSTING YOUR TRUCKS. later doods
There i was, skating in a circle as usual, when
THE LIGHTS WENT OUT
THE BLACK LIGHTS CAME ON
THE DJ PLAYED SOME SONG
then
NEARLY EVERYONE IN ALL OF SKATE-LAND STAMPEDED TO THE CENTER OF THE FLOOR (almost knocking a bewildered ROLLERKID right on her ROLLERFACE)
then
EVERYONE STARTED DOING THIS SYNCHRONIZED LINE DANCE THING to some hip hop song. It was dark so it was hard to see the steps but it looked more Electric Slide than Soulja Boy. It was one of those songs that tells you how to do the dance, IN THE SONG. (is there a name of that kind of song? DanceStructions?) God, I wish i could remember the song but all the songs at skateland kind of meld together in my head. I think it had the words "Left" and "Right" in the song. Does this sound familiar to anyone? If so please let me know in the comments so I can learn the steps for next time.
Gotta split -- but I'm gonna post later about the fascinating subject of ADJUSTING YOUR TRUCKS. later doods
OW MY FEET
my right foot is in trouble. i have a WICKED blister on the bottom of my foot. I had to stop skating for a while on Sunday and basically paint most of the bottom of my foot in Liquid Bandage. (Maximum Bastard had some in his bag. Wait, i mean Magnificent Bastard. I can never remember his name. Doesn't Maximum Bastard sound better? Glad you agree.)
Liquid Bandage is this clear gooey stuff that smells like airplane glue. (meaning, DELICIOUS!) It comes in a little bottle with a little brush, nail polish style. it creates a layer of fake skin over your blister. at this point i am thinking about making a pair of socks out of liquid bandage.
Also, I keep ripping my tights. I realize that ripped tights are very punk rock. However, I would like to have my tights not fall apart. Why even bother with the tights? To explain, let's take a minute to remember Rollerskating Outfits I've Known.
1. First time skating - wore jeans. no pads. fell on my knees/ass several times. Hurt to wear pants for like 2 weeks and had bruise the size of my ass on my ass. Nunca mas.
2. Jeans and kneepads. Fell on my ass a few more times but at least started to learn how to fall forward. That was good. Bad: HOLY CRAP WERE MY JEANS FRICKIN GROSS UNDER MY KNEEPADS. if there is one thing i hate it is having my meticulous jean-washing schedule thrown off.
3. shorts and big-ol tube socks. i have these cool puma blue and white tube socks that go right up to my knees. i figured they'd be a good derby steez. i was right! and i get to show off my great gams. oh wait. my gams are actually somewhat mushy and blindingly white (sometimes with a lovely blue tinge from all the bruises!) Yeah, so I'm a little self concious, DO YOU WANT TO MAKE SOMETHING OF IT Plus, since it's winter (and i am a total wuss about the cold) i have to wear regular pants, and then change at the rink. This is unacceptable because I am clumsy and invariably end up dumping the contents of my pants pockets all over the floor. Also, it's unnacceptable because I hate putting my jeans back on when I'm all sweaty at the end of the night. This might work better in the summer, though.
4. THE CURRENT LOOK. black tights, black tube socks with white stripes, and shorts. Looks pretty good and i don't have to worry about having busted legs.
Here's the problem. My knee pads fasten with velcro. The velcro catches on the tights and rips them. I look punk rock for a few minutes and then my tights basically self-destruct. Maybe that is what happens when you buy 2 dollar tights.
Anyway, to buy: liquid bandage and tights. in bulk.
Liquid Bandage is this clear gooey stuff that smells like airplane glue. (meaning, DELICIOUS!) It comes in a little bottle with a little brush, nail polish style. it creates a layer of fake skin over your blister. at this point i am thinking about making a pair of socks out of liquid bandage.
Also, I keep ripping my tights. I realize that ripped tights are very punk rock. However, I would like to have my tights not fall apart. Why even bother with the tights? To explain, let's take a minute to remember Rollerskating Outfits I've Known.
1. First time skating - wore jeans. no pads. fell on my knees/ass several times. Hurt to wear pants for like 2 weeks and had bruise the size of my ass on my ass. Nunca mas.
2. Jeans and kneepads. Fell on my ass a few more times but at least started to learn how to fall forward. That was good. Bad: HOLY CRAP WERE MY JEANS FRICKIN GROSS UNDER MY KNEEPADS. if there is one thing i hate it is having my meticulous jean-washing schedule thrown off.
3. shorts and big-ol tube socks. i have these cool puma blue and white tube socks that go right up to my knees. i figured they'd be a good derby steez. i was right! and i get to show off my great gams. oh wait. my gams are actually somewhat mushy and blindingly white (sometimes with a lovely blue tinge from all the bruises!) Yeah, so I'm a little self concious, DO YOU WANT TO MAKE SOMETHING OF IT Plus, since it's winter (and i am a total wuss about the cold) i have to wear regular pants, and then change at the rink. This is unacceptable because I am clumsy and invariably end up dumping the contents of my pants pockets all over the floor. Also, it's unnacceptable because I hate putting my jeans back on when I'm all sweaty at the end of the night. This might work better in the summer, though.
4. THE CURRENT LOOK. black tights, black tube socks with white stripes, and shorts. Looks pretty good and i don't have to worry about having busted legs.
Here's the problem. My knee pads fasten with velcro. The velcro catches on the tights and rips them. I look punk rock for a few minutes and then my tights basically self-destruct. Maybe that is what happens when you buy 2 dollar tights.
Anyway, to buy: liquid bandage and tights. in bulk.
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