Second lesson of the day: Powerade is actually quite good at helping said charlie horses caused by dehydration. I am still a little tight in the calf but was able to power through that little hitch in my giddy up.
And now that we've cleared those little lessons in hydration up lets get onto why I am feeling good tonight...
I started the practice tonight feeling way off on my skates and thought "crap...what's wrong with me?". It was going to be a very long and ardous practice indeed if I didn't figure out my problem. I felt like I was really wobbling on my skates and I did not care for the way they were gliding beneath me at all. After about 3 laps around the track I realized what my problem was: my trucks were too loose.
Now, the truck are the hickey-ma-doos that your wheels are attached to...and they need to have a little give to the left and the right so you can turn. After my little outdoor session this weekend I came home and realized that the front truck on my left skate had worked itself way loose. I tightened it back up some with my handy-dandy skate wrench but then thought that I would go ahead and loosen all the trucks on my skates a turn or two because I have heard tell that most derby girls keep theirs a little loose in order to cut a little sharper on turns. Well...it turns out I was completely not ready for that much give yet. Maybe one day, but not today.
So the first order of business was to have Mouth give them a once over for me and he tightened them up some all around and after that my glide felt much more normal. Whew...that made for a much easier night!
Tonight there was another slab of fresh meat out there with me tonight, well actually there were two. That was great in several ways which I will delve further into as my blog continues.
Fresh meat #1, Mel, was very nice. I didn't skate too much with her though as she is an avid in-line skater so she was brought into the pack for most of the practice.
Fresh meat #2, Karen, was also very nice. I have to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed having her with me tonight because she was so wobbly on her skates it helped to point out to me just how much I have improved in such a short time. It's hard to see and feel like I am improving when I am only able to really compare myself to the team at large because I still suck big ones in comparison. But having Karen out there was a nice mirror on my own improvements.
For instance, I realized I am much more confidant in my stopping since day one. I still can't do the t-stop to save my life (but I can plow stop pretty well!) but I am not relying on crashing into the walls to stop myself anymore. I am also much more confidant picking up speed as well. And while I still need to improve a lot, my stride is a lot closer to what it should be as well as is my leg extension. That felt really nice to be able to see that I am getting better already...a much needed boost to my skater self esteem!
The first half of practice Mouth had us doing endurance stuff. Holy shnikeys did I ever have to grit my teeth and just push through some of that! Scooter pushes are the devil...and I did a ton of those tonight...but man am I ever going to have rock hard thighs from those bad boys! (Side note: scooter pushes are when you basically squat down on one leg and use the other, pushing off and out to your side, to propel yourself in a looping circle. It burns the shit out of your thighs and your ankles!)
Me doing scooter pushes:
Then we worked on our derby squat (to steal Bunny's description: imagine doing the "hover" over a filthy toilet to pee). Wide legs, bent deep at the knee, butt tucked down, back straight, eyes forward, pressing outward and down at the heel so you don't roll...also a real thigh burner. Luckily I am very good at including lower back extentions (thanks Sarah!) into my workouts so they really don't make my back ache like it does some of the other girls.
We also did some lateral work...like walking squats from right to left and back. I also did it while crossing my feet over one another...harder than it sounds while on 8 wheels, I assure you. That is something that I feel good at and enjoy doing.
Now, the part of the night that really left me feeling accomplished was when doing the scooter pushes Mouth explained to me how to get on edge when turning. Up until tonight, when I have done drills that involved me turning in a circle such as scooter pushes and even while doing my laps I have felt as if I had to kind of drag the toe of my inner foot around. Like it just wasn't fluid. It felt awkward and it slowed me way down. Finally I spoke up about it. I wasn't sure if it was me or my skates causing this...turns out it was me. He explained to me how I had to really lean and sort of (for lack of a better way to describe it) hang my foot over and to the side of my wheels in the direction in which I wanted to turn. Finally...the light clicked on and I got it! It really wears my ankles out, as they still need to strengthen up a lot, but I felt like I could now keep my speed on a turn and not feel like I was going to careen out of control. Yipee!
Then we really put that new skill to the test by weaving around some cones. I certainly didn't nail that drill but I did alright. I gotta say...that one left me feeling really good. Knowing that just a few short practices ago I could barely go straight without falling down to being able to effectively weave around those cones tonight kicked huge ass! (still smiling here!) The only downer during that drill was that poor Karen fell onto her ass hard. She's kind of skinny so the poor dear doesn't have nearly the natural built-in cushion I am blessed (eh?) with to help pad her landing. She went to the bathroom to 'blow her nose' right after and I honestly think she went to have a little cry. I feel awful for her...she really knocked her booty a good one. When she came back I did my best to encourage her that she was doing well (and she was!) and we stopped weaving and went back to some more derby stance work and lateral drills but she had had enough and ended up leaving shortly thereafter. I hope to see her again on Thursday but I won't be holding my breath...she looked really discouraged.
After that I went back to weaving and Mel rejoined me. Then Mouth spread the cones out into a zig zag pattern to weave around. That really worked my ankles! It's funny, my right leg seems dominant and stronger than my left in 99% of the drills but during the weaving I was definatly more comfortable utilizing my left as the leader. Odd.
I ended tonight with the rest of the girls doing core drills (crunches legs flat/legs bent/legs straight up in the air, planks, side crunches, and supermans...where you're flat on your tummy and lifting your legs and arms out) before calling it a night.
I feel good tonight. Now, don't get me wrong, my muscles are giving me what-for over the beating I gave them, but I feel really good. Tonight was the boost I so deperately needed to keep my ass at it. I am looking forward to Thursday!
And ya know what? Mouth was kind enough to go easy on my quads so no broccoli tonight! Woot woot!
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