Battling the elements
I ventured into West Bumfuck to Alpha Ridge Park yesterday to skate on the outdoor roller hockey rink and enjoy the kick-ass weather. Nice warm day, not a cloud in the sky, a bit of a breeze... perfect.
Okay, yeah that kind of weather is actually pretty brutal when you're trying to skate in it. The heat translated into me being sweatier than all-be-damned, so much so that my pads were sliding down my limbs like I'd greased myself up; the sun beating down turned the shadeless concrete rink into a griddle; and the breeze became a pretty stout headwind when it was funneled into the valley where the rink sits between two massive earthen mounds which I believe are covering several thousand metric tons of garbage. Yesterday's session in that torture chamber tore my ass up.
I got a lot out of it though. The polished concrete was extremely slick even with my outdoor wheels, so I really had to engage my whole body to keep my balance. Skating into the wind was rough, but whenever I felt like it was starting to push me backwards, I just dropped down lower and solidified my stance. I was thrilled when I figured out that I was comfortable in that position and strong enough to propel myself forward while remaining in a squat. Once fighting the wind wore me out, I switched to practicing falls. The toe guards really were a good investment. Next up I think will be new kneepads. The Target ones are holding together fine, but I'm really beating the crap out of them.
It's tough to tell just how far I'm coming along in my basic skills. Without being able to go to practices and get feedback I'm just judging myself against where I used to be back in December. I know I've improved from where I was, but I don't know by how much, or what else I can do to get my skills where they need to be. Hopefully I'll be able to get this all sorted out next Wednesday at the skills workshop.
Anyway, Sunday's the season opener and I'm totally chuffed. My boss and his daughter are coming up for it again so we've been discussing derby at length during morning shifts for the past few weeks. We're both eager to see the fresh meat and get our cheer on for our Speed Regime girls. Actually, I'll probably be cheering my head off for everyone. I'll be hoarse by halftime.
Those five broken legs on the league do worry me though.
Okay, yeah that kind of weather is actually pretty brutal when you're trying to skate in it. The heat translated into me being sweatier than all-be-damned, so much so that my pads were sliding down my limbs like I'd greased myself up; the sun beating down turned the shadeless concrete rink into a griddle; and the breeze became a pretty stout headwind when it was funneled into the valley where the rink sits between two massive earthen mounds which I believe are covering several thousand metric tons of garbage. Yesterday's session in that torture chamber tore my ass up.
I got a lot out of it though. The polished concrete was extremely slick even with my outdoor wheels, so I really had to engage my whole body to keep my balance. Skating into the wind was rough, but whenever I felt like it was starting to push me backwards, I just dropped down lower and solidified my stance. I was thrilled when I figured out that I was comfortable in that position and strong enough to propel myself forward while remaining in a squat. Once fighting the wind wore me out, I switched to practicing falls. The toe guards really were a good investment. Next up I think will be new kneepads. The Target ones are holding together fine, but I'm really beating the crap out of them.
It's tough to tell just how far I'm coming along in my basic skills. Without being able to go to practices and get feedback I'm just judging myself against where I used to be back in December. I know I've improved from where I was, but I don't know by how much, or what else I can do to get my skills where they need to be. Hopefully I'll be able to get this all sorted out next Wednesday at the skills workshop.
Anyway, Sunday's the season opener and I'm totally chuffed. My boss and his daughter are coming up for it again so we've been discussing derby at length during morning shifts for the past few weeks. We're both eager to see the fresh meat and get our cheer on for our Speed Regime girls. Actually, I'll probably be cheering my head off for everyone. I'll be hoarse by halftime.
Those five broken legs on the league do worry me though.