DDG Derby! U

Yes, I know, I have been awful at writing and just as awful about getting active lately.  I have been working a lot of overtime and I know it shouldn't be an excuse, but I tend to be a bit lazier the later it gets. 

With that being said, I received the worse beat down over the weekend that I have ever experienced in my life!

As I may have mentioned previously, I have started roller skating occasionally.  Honestly, I am not looking to become a derby girl any time soon, or ever for that matter, but I would like to at least take advantage of the encouragement and advise that my amazing league of girls (and guys) have to offer. 

With that being said, I finally saved up the cash and bought myself a new pair of skates. I got them in the mail about a week and a half ago and got to try them out on the rink for the first time last Wednesday.  I went to the open skate at Riverside arena before practice so that I would have some Derby friends there to help show me some more beginner steps to take.  I have to admit my feet sure did hurt, and my legs were screaming after about an hour.  But I smeared on some Tiger Balm and kept on going. 

By the end of the night, a friend and fellow Stat Army member convinced me to do DDG's Derby! U the upcoming weekend.  Why not? Worse that can happen is that I learn what else I need to work on and make a fool out of myself in the process.

Thursday night left me running around town looking to get knee & elbow pads as well as a helmet.  Thank goodness I had randomly decided to buy a mouth guard previously so I didn't end up with a big bulky one! Friday I got to bed nice and early, and by Saturday morning I was up and running around like a fool.  I got a good breakfast of yogurt and bran with some craisens, got my water bottle filled and all of my gear packed, while Mikey graciously scrapped all of the ice from my car windows. 

Upon arriving to the Masonic Temple in the frigid weather, I found my fellow Stat Army friends and settled in for the unknown. There was a brief introduction and then it was into gear and onto skates.  We skated around and warmed up, were shown some brief stretches and then it was on to the basic skills.  It was very encouraging to know that many of the people in attendance were just as new to skating as I was.  Unfortunately, one of the participants managed to get tripped up and had to take a trip to the hospital in an ambulance.  Just another good reminder why its important to learn the basic skills and wear the proper safety equipment.

The girls with the DDG are fantastic at offering up tips and advise as we were skating around learning our new skills.  If there was ever anything I was having trouble with (T-Stops, Plow Stops, stops in general) one of the girls would skate up, watch me, and then offer their own personal advise on how I could correct what I doing wrong, and if it didn't quite click the first time, another girl would be there soon to offer something else.

Just about the time that I thought my thighs were going to give out, we were finally out of our skates and eating lunch.  After lunch came two sessions, one on Health, and one on Skate Equipment & Maintenance.  Both workshops were very informative.  And that was day one.  I could only imagine what would be in store for us on day two.

Sunday I was up, and not quite as well organized as the day prior. I got to the Masonic and found out we'd be doing off-skates exercises first. And boy was I unprepared!  It has been a few months since I had been dedicated (in the most relax sense of the word) in going to the gym. I have to say, the exercises that they led us in that morning, made me doubt I was going to be able to skate at all. After the rigorous (my words) workout, had an overview on what the skills test involves, and then we got back on our skates to work on what we had learned previously.

I do have to admit that when they started going over more advanced skills, I snuck out of the pack to get cleaned up. Those that participated in Derby U were welcomed to stay and watch some of the DDG girls have a scrimmage, and I was already signed up to work the penalty box. Lunch was again very welcomed and very tasty. And I have another awesome shirt added to my collection.

By Sunday night I could feel my muscles screaming out, and I tried to ice my sore knee a bit.  What really surprised me however, was how bad my abs hurt come Monday morning. I could barely move! If anything this was definitely the kick in the butt that I needed to get myself back in gear and working on losing some of this excess weight, I have been fighting with for so long.

Thank you Detroit Derby Girls for the wonderful opportunity, I look forward to doing it again in June and seeing how I have come along on my skating.