Schedule Madness
Feeling very scheduled at the moment. The next week is going to go fast. I am hanging on to my Google Calendar for dear life. It's great that it's Friday, don't get me wrong, but it feels less like a break than usual.
My next week or so:
Tonight I’m sending Tyler off to hang out with people and claiming the apartment for girly time with my Heather. I am excited for girly time. Possibly after it I will know how to use a hairdryer!
Tomorrow I’m out the door before nine for skating workshop, then having a sweaty brunch with the girls, then showering and heading over to the arena to help set up the floor for the derby bout, where I’ll spend the evening. I would love it if people came out, but it sounds like I’m kind of their volunteer monkey for the night so I can’t promise I’ll be around to hang out.
Sunday I have some things to do for work and then there's Open Skate in the evening.
Monday will be open skate (the blessedly child-free edition) again, in lieu of practice.
Tuesday Tyler and I are heading down to DC for the evening.
Wednesday is a minor deadline at work, but the evening I get to myself.
Thursday is practice at the indescribably fabulous Shake’N’Bake Family Fun Center.
Friday More minor work deadlines. I actually don’t think I have evening plans yet. Bets on how long that lasts?
Saturday is another Drills&Spills and then Jess and Heather’s Glow in the Dark Party, for which I am psyched.
Sunday more open skating, because
Monday the 2nd is the first test for Roller Derby.
There are three tests before you can be drafted onto a team and eligible to bout. This one (Yellow Star*) will earn us the chance to practice blocking, hitting, and getting hit. I don’t want to be that worried about the test; It’s mostly things I feel confident on, though the snakeline drill could be a killer depending on how fast they go. There are a couple things on the test sheet I don’t know what they are or (obviously) how to do them, and I get the feeling no one is going to teach them. That is just not how this works.
Last night’s practice was a little bit eye-opening that way. I didn’t expect to be babied, I didn’t expect them to nerf everyone’s practices for us, but I did think the coaches would give some thought to the fact that there are six girls there who just made the league. I was mistaken on that count. At one point they looked genuinely puzzled when we couldn’t practice jumping while going backwards on one foot. (No exaggeration. That was literally the drill.) I’m not complaining: we used the time to teach ourselves how to skate backwards. I can kind of skate backwards now! Almost! A little bit!
Overall, after my first skills practice (the one Monday was exhaustion endurance practice) I feel good about this whole endeavor. That’s despite starting practice by falling on my ass pretty spectacularly while trying to get on the rink. (There’s a little unmarked ramp up onto the rink, I was looking at the girls stretching, didn’t see it, didn’t adjust, went dramatically ass-over-teakettle. I was greatful to be wearing protective gear. Consolation: Jilli apparently did exactly the same thing not two minutes before, while I was in the bathroom.) There are some things I’m unexpectedly good at. A lifetime of skiing is coming in handy; I’m ahead of the curve on balance, slaloms, jumps, and edge-based turns. Unfortunately I also drop my upper body when I crouch to go fast, and I’m pretty sure that comes from a deeply-ingrained desire to soften my impact against the ice-covered hill.
I’m clearly a beginner. No one’s giving me crap for that, everyone is very supportive. I just have to keep repeating this for my ego. No one’s going to teach me and no one’s going to look out for me, so it’s feeling really important to set limits for myself, to curb my expectations. I’m not going to be lazy or scared or let myself take it easy, but I’m also not trying to get myself hurt. I keep reminding myself I can skate off and re-lace or take a drink when I need to. I can scale the drills back to my skill and strength level. That won’t be okay forever, but right now I’m a beginner; I have to give myself time to build strength.
Building strength. Yar. Must. Get. Stronger.
In the week or two leading up to tryouts my body let me know I wasn’t doing something right, and I’m pretty sure it was food. Tyler got me a book on sports nutrition and I’m trying to figure out what I need. I feel like such a novice. Right now I’m trying to eat something protein-rich after practice and some kind of breakfast consistently. I’m tracking everything I eat online for a week, which should give me some idea what I need to tweak going forward. I think I will discover I’m not eating nearly enough protein for someone trying to build muscle. Which is what I need. Muscle. A lot more of it. I’ve been trying to do at least five sets of ten squats a day. Based on last night’s practice, I need to ad some kind of daily core workout to that; my abs are not doing what I need them to right now. I’m thinking crunches and squats every day plus pushups and lunges on days when I don’t have practice should be good. Maybe? I don't want to overdo it, but I need to be stronger soon.
So that’s... Lots. I think at one point I had a ‘post only a mother could love’ tag - I think that’s about right. Short version: Life is hectic and good. Work is busy but manageable. I’m turning a lot of my brain over to trying to learn how to be a jock. I’m tired and happy.
Tyler, by the way, is amazing. I’ve been consistently exhausted and busy lately, and he’s just so damn great. There was hot pizza and salad and a Marilyn Monroe dvd when I got home last night. The dishes keep getting done while I’m out or asleep. Today he’s spending part of his day off at the laundromat getting all our stuff clean. I am well taken care of.
*You get a white star for passing tryouts, a yellow star when you can get hit, an orange star when you can scrimmage, and a green star when you're draft-ready. Were I more a tattoo person I would strongly consider getting each one inked on as I made the cut.
My next week or so:
Tonight I’m sending Tyler off to hang out with people and claiming the apartment for girly time with my Heather. I am excited for girly time. Possibly after it I will know how to use a hairdryer!
Tomorrow I’m out the door before nine for skating workshop, then having a sweaty brunch with the girls, then showering and heading over to the arena to help set up the floor for the derby bout, where I’ll spend the evening. I would love it if people came out, but it sounds like I’m kind of their volunteer monkey for the night so I can’t promise I’ll be around to hang out.
Sunday I have some things to do for work and then there's Open Skate in the evening.
Monday will be open skate (the blessedly child-free edition) again, in lieu of practice.
Tuesday Tyler and I are heading down to DC for the evening.
Wednesday is a minor deadline at work, but the evening I get to myself.
Thursday is practice at the indescribably fabulous Shake’N’Bake Family Fun Center.
Friday More minor work deadlines. I actually don’t think I have evening plans yet. Bets on how long that lasts?
Saturday is another Drills&Spills and then Jess and Heather’s Glow in the Dark Party, for which I am psyched.
Sunday more open skating, because
Monday the 2nd is the first test for Roller Derby.
There are three tests before you can be drafted onto a team and eligible to bout. This one (Yellow Star*) will earn us the chance to practice blocking, hitting, and getting hit. I don’t want to be that worried about the test; It’s mostly things I feel confident on, though the snakeline drill could be a killer depending on how fast they go. There are a couple things on the test sheet I don’t know what they are or (obviously) how to do them, and I get the feeling no one is going to teach them. That is just not how this works.
Last night’s practice was a little bit eye-opening that way. I didn’t expect to be babied, I didn’t expect them to nerf everyone’s practices for us, but I did think the coaches would give some thought to the fact that there are six girls there who just made the league. I was mistaken on that count. At one point they looked genuinely puzzled when we couldn’t practice jumping while going backwards on one foot. (No exaggeration. That was literally the drill.) I’m not complaining: we used the time to teach ourselves how to skate backwards. I can kind of skate backwards now! Almost! A little bit!
Overall, after my first skills practice (the one Monday was exhaustion endurance practice) I feel good about this whole endeavor. That’s despite starting practice by falling on my ass pretty spectacularly while trying to get on the rink. (There’s a little unmarked ramp up onto the rink, I was looking at the girls stretching, didn’t see it, didn’t adjust, went dramatically ass-over-teakettle. I was greatful to be wearing protective gear. Consolation: Jilli apparently did exactly the same thing not two minutes before, while I was in the bathroom.) There are some things I’m unexpectedly good at. A lifetime of skiing is coming in handy; I’m ahead of the curve on balance, slaloms, jumps, and edge-based turns. Unfortunately I also drop my upper body when I crouch to go fast, and I’m pretty sure that comes from a deeply-ingrained desire to soften my impact against the ice-covered hill.
I’m clearly a beginner. No one’s giving me crap for that, everyone is very supportive. I just have to keep repeating this for my ego. No one’s going to teach me and no one’s going to look out for me, so it’s feeling really important to set limits for myself, to curb my expectations. I’m not going to be lazy or scared or let myself take it easy, but I’m also not trying to get myself hurt. I keep reminding myself I can skate off and re-lace or take a drink when I need to. I can scale the drills back to my skill and strength level. That won’t be okay forever, but right now I’m a beginner; I have to give myself time to build strength.
Building strength. Yar. Must. Get. Stronger.
In the week or two leading up to tryouts my body let me know I wasn’t doing something right, and I’m pretty sure it was food. Tyler got me a book on sports nutrition and I’m trying to figure out what I need. I feel like such a novice. Right now I’m trying to eat something protein-rich after practice and some kind of breakfast consistently. I’m tracking everything I eat online for a week, which should give me some idea what I need to tweak going forward. I think I will discover I’m not eating nearly enough protein for someone trying to build muscle. Which is what I need. Muscle. A lot more of it. I’ve been trying to do at least five sets of ten squats a day. Based on last night’s practice, I need to ad some kind of daily core workout to that; my abs are not doing what I need them to right now. I’m thinking crunches and squats every day plus pushups and lunges on days when I don’t have practice should be good. Maybe? I don't want to overdo it, but I need to be stronger soon.
So that’s... Lots. I think at one point I had a ‘post only a mother could love’ tag - I think that’s about right. Short version: Life is hectic and good. Work is busy but manageable. I’m turning a lot of my brain over to trying to learn how to be a jock. I’m tired and happy.
Tyler, by the way, is amazing. I’ve been consistently exhausted and busy lately, and he’s just so damn great. There was hot pizza and salad and a Marilyn Monroe dvd when I got home last night. The dishes keep getting done while I’m out or asleep. Today he’s spending part of his day off at the laundromat getting all our stuff clean. I am well taken care of.
*You get a white star for passing tryouts, a yellow star when you can get hit, an orange star when you can scrimmage, and a green star when you're draft-ready. Were I more a tattoo person I would strongly consider getting each one inked on as I made the cut.