Days of Hands

There was no practice Sunday since many of the girls attended a derby boot camp in Arkansas.  Instead, Mo and I got a big group together for open skate.  Her ex and her three kids, my cousin, a ref (Justa Prick) and his son came out and we all had a blast. 

We mostly just messed around, but I can feel my endurance and stamina growing bit by bit.  I’m getting more comfortable with speed too, which is thrilling!  The best comment I overheard:  one little girl to another, as I skated by in my striped knee socks, “She’s a professional skater.  You can tell by her socks!”

Monday would have been scrimmage practice, but the coach wanted to share some of the things that had been covered at the boot camp.  I was expecting an hour or so of drills and then keeping score for the rest of the time.  Instead, we had a full-out high intensity practice, and Mo and I got to participate with the seasoned skaters.  That was thrilling and humbling at the same time.  We worked on whips, pulls, pushes, edging and crossovers, and then got a little new-girl session on different starts.

I fell pretty hard several times in the same way, and I’m a little stiff and sore today.  It’s not nearly as bad as I had feared it would be, and I take that as a sign that I’m being whipped into shape and should continue to push myself.  There’s another boot camp this weekend, this time with the famous Texecutioners, and I look forward to seeing what our team mates bring back from this one!

I’ve been trying to incorporate derby-related exercises in my every day activities.  When watching TV, I hold a deep squat for the length of the commercial break.  I do the same thing when post marking the outgoing mail at work.  I do lunges when I walk around the office and at home I use my 25 pound critter as a weight.  We also play a stretching game that he thinks is hilarious.

I picked up some of those resistance bands, and love how you can use them for every kind of exercise imaginable.  I love that they were inexpensive and take up almost no space, and I can tell they are doing some good.  I’m still working on strengthening my ankles, so I use those bands for awhile every day or two.

Tonight Mo and I are meeting up for dinner and Open Skate, and have a list of derby skills we’re going to work on.  I’m looking forward to the whole evening!

(And yes, I was actually able to find some thigh-high stockings that are striped like a barber’s pole…  what luck!)

I’m still all nervous that at the last minute I will not be able to use the name I have chosen, but I’ve shared it with some of the girls and it’s catching on.  My family loves it, and there’s a lot of room to play with a theme in my boutfits. 

So without further ado, allow me to introduce myself.  I’m Sweeney Quad: The Demon Skater with Fleet Feet.  I’ll be the one sporting the number 186, which is the address of the barber shop on Fleet Street.  Also, my little boy is now affectionately known as “Meatpie”.

Now please excuse me…  I’m off to search for barber pole striped socks.

Verdict on the new skates:  perfect!  I really promise that I’ll get photos soon to share.  And new skate goodness is best when shared…  Mo got her new skates two days ago and Mary is shopping right now.  I think I’m going to order a huge bunch of skate laces for all my friends for the holidays.

I took my cousin Sarah to the open skate last Wednesday and I think I hooked her on skating, if not derby.  I wasn’t trying to recruit a future roller girl, but I’m enthusiastic about it.  She’s wanting to go skating with me as often as possible, and I’m trying to figure out a regular schedule for skate dates.  It’s awesome having her along, and I love her excitement.  And she’s pretty good too! *wink*

Practice last Sunday was the same stuff again for the most part.  The same falls and stops with a different roller girl leading us.  Lucy Deuce had said she would test me on my stuff while the other girls practiced, but she either decided I wasn’t ready or she forgot.  Mo is of the opinion that she just forgot, and in order boost my confidence I’m going to go with that.  Maybe next week I’ll get to learn something new, or test on something old.

Monday night was tons of fun!  I met Mo before practice for some pizza and chit chat.  We got set up and watched the girls warm up and drill, then did our best to take stats during the scrimmage.  Mary joined us and we all sat together helping each other fill out the score sheets.  We also discussed everything from new skates to new names, and there was much hilarity.

I was on the phone with Mo through my whole lunch break today and we’re planning to meet up for open skate on Thursday since she’s busy on my usual Wednesday skate night.  It’s going to be rough waiting an additional day until I can skate again, but I’ll have a derby friend with me and we’re already planning what we’re going to work on.  I’m pretty sure we’re going to be partners in crime from here on out…  we just seem to complement each other so well.

I can’t wait to get home tonight.  I’m going to put my skates on and just roll around the house to get my fix.