It was a hot day in July, we were broke and would not spend the summer in the roller rink. Whatever would we do?
Hey my children! We'll spend the time at the skate park! (yeah right?)
It was about 8 years ago I skated outdoors (aside from the flat safe tennis court). My dear friend and derby accomplice Nancy convinced me to go to Greenlake to skate. Sounds so simple.
We went to Greenlake. No I didn't cry, but I wanted to. I had just learned to skate, I had not eaten well. I was tired, hungry, scared and didn't really no how to stop much less maneuver around people on a trail. It didn't go well. Half way around I took off my skates and Nancy had to go get my car and pick me up. She was very kind about it.
Fast forward 8 years. I could fairly well skate. I never got super good. I couldn't really do transitions. I worked at them tirelessly at the roller rink. They just never clicked. I pretty much could skate forward, maneuver, t-stop, center plow, knee touch. That's it. Mediocre at best.
And now we couldn't go to the rink cause we were broke. Let's go outside!
The thought was terrifying. Yes I could skate better now but I was fairly traumatized by my last excursion. I really didn't want to go to the skate park.
The night before the dreaded park I told my daughter we would go early, before anyone else was there. Skate, fall and go home. She was pumped!
The next morning I was hoping she would totally forget about it. She didn't. She woke up, busted out to the dinning room wrapped up in a blanket exclaiming "mom you didn't wake me up!" Shit, now we would have to go.
So we went. And we didn't die. And we had fun. And we wanted to go again!
It was awesome! No I couldn't really skate on the ramps, they were terrifying! But the concrete was smooth, I could roll around them a little bit. And I really enjoyed it.
So we went again and again. Every day we went to a new park, tried out the old ones again. Everyday, sometimes twice a day. No I was not a natural, my children were, and no I couldn't do anything cool. But it felt so good to go up and down the ramps.
I started online research. Blog, videos, groups, facebook, youtube. Anything that talked about park skating, and ramps. I discovered this whole world of park skaters to feed my interests!
I looked for classes or local groups and there were none. No Chicks in Bowls were to be found in my area, and the one that actually was in my area I couldn't find online. When I did find them they were largely on pause due to the admin being in the throws of graduate school.
Then I found Elle Seven and her week long class called "Hold your Own". Which coincidentally was happening in Seattle in about two weeks time.
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
It's a whole new world!
Oh my blog-o-sphere friends, it has been too long!
I haven't maintained this blog, mostly because who reads blogs anymore!? But I do enjoy going back and reminiscing over the blogs of my past so maybe this is for when I'm old and infirm?
Things have changed. Last I saw you all my daughter was starting derby, I was dabbling in the strongman world and not skating a ton. Well like I said, things have changed.
Lets go back, back in time, to when goals were simpler. My dear daughter started derby, my son started derby, I started derby! What?!
My prodigal daughter took to her junior derby group like a fish to water. She is amazing! She skates like a beast, loves her team and league and skating is she wants to do.
My prodigal son took to derby slightly less like a fish to water, his league is full contact so it took a good year to decide he didn't mind being hit. Fast forward to current and this young man is a beast, loves hitting, and skates like he was born with them.
And me? Well let's just say things have improved. There is a whole skatepark chronicle I'll detail in another post, but it's made a world of difference in my skating and now I'm playing derby!! With actual hitting!!
Oh yes, things have changed.
I haven't maintained this blog, mostly because who reads blogs anymore!? But I do enjoy going back and reminiscing over the blogs of my past so maybe this is for when I'm old and infirm?
Things have changed. Last I saw you all my daughter was starting derby, I was dabbling in the strongman world and not skating a ton. Well like I said, things have changed.
Lets go back, back in time, to when goals were simpler. My dear daughter started derby, my son started derby, I started derby! What?!
My prodigal daughter took to her junior derby group like a fish to water. She is amazing! She skates like a beast, loves her team and league and skating is she wants to do.
My prodigal son took to derby slightly less like a fish to water, his league is full contact so it took a good year to decide he didn't mind being hit. Fast forward to current and this young man is a beast, loves hitting, and skates like he was born with them.
And me? Well let's just say things have improved. There is a whole skatepark chronicle I'll detail in another post, but it's made a world of difference in my skating and now I'm playing derby!! With actual hitting!!
Oh yes, things have changed.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Derby class
We had our first derby class today. I think only MhZ wasn't nervous. I felt the nerves about an hour before we left. KHz felt them on the way there. He has a harder time with stress and new situations, definitely takes after me!
M was excited and had no reservations. K had to be goaded into not giving up before he even started. We spent a few minutes filling out forms and talking over the bout the group had just skated in. It was all a bit confusing for M and K as they had no idea what anyone was talking about. Then we broke up into groups and started working on drills.
At the end the kids had mixed experiences. M was ecstatic about the whole thing. That's just how she is.
K was over it and ready to quit. We had a good long talk about pursuing activities that challenge and require work. His tendency to spend hours playing video games has not encouraged him to be a go getter. But by the time we were home and settled he decided he was ok with a 4 practice mandate. If he wants to try something he needs to go 4 times before he decides he is going to quit it. It's hard to be excited when you're new and struggling.
I get that.
M was excited and had no reservations. K had to be goaded into not giving up before he even started. We spent a few minutes filling out forms and talking over the bout the group had just skated in. It was all a bit confusing for M and K as they had no idea what anyone was talking about. Then we broke up into groups and started working on drills.
The adult group separated and I joined them. I was so very happy to find that they were working on basics that I could jump in on. We did some pack drills, which is weird, I kept wondering how hard this would be on a banked track, and I didn't realize how much talking happens in flat track. I figured the banked skaters talked as much but I guess I never noticed being so far away from them in the center field.
It was fun and hard and sweaty. I felt good about the whole thing, challenging but not demoralizing.
At the end the kids had mixed experiences. M was ecstatic about the whole thing. That's just how she is.
K was over it and ready to quit. We had a good long talk about pursuing activities that challenge and require work. His tendency to spend hours playing video games has not encouraged him to be a go getter. But by the time we were home and settled he decided he was ok with a 4 practice mandate. If he wants to try something he needs to go 4 times before he decides he is going to quit it. It's hard to be excited when you're new and struggling.
I get that.
Girls night out!
MhZ and I had a girls night out to our first bout together! Well technically she had been to bouts when I reffed with TTRB but she was young enough that she doesn't remember.
We watched Carnevil of Jet City vs Flash from Bellingham. M was hooked and chose her favorite skater Obi-Quiet #55.
At halftime we got her autograph on M's new Jet City hoodie.
M was super excited and I think Obi was too. It was both of their first autographs! So freaking cool. M wants to make a poster for her next game we go to. In derby skaters and fans are what it's all about!
Tomorrow is her first derby class!!!
We watched Carnevil of Jet City vs Flash from Bellingham. M was hooked and chose her favorite skater Obi-Quiet #55.
At halftime we got her autograph on M's new Jet City hoodie.
M was super excited and I think Obi was too. It was both of their first autographs! So freaking cool. M wants to make a poster for her next game we go to. In derby skaters and fans are what it's all about!
Tomorrow is her first derby class!!!
Friday, February 19, 2016
Double duty
I had a double class on Thursday. Crossfit and Endurance class. This was my first back to back class and things went well.
During crossfit we worked on the clean and jerk for the strength portion. I maxed at 85lbs. I believe this is actually lower than the previous week's clean and jerk. I've been putting in a lot of extra workouts which sometimes are not giving me enough rest time. Some weeks it's no problem, but this week I was really taxed.
It's sometimes disheartening to see my numbers drop, but at this point in training it really doesn't matter. I'm not very strong so 10-15 pound differences are not that impressive but it's all relative. I of course want to lift heavy and fast. But that does not work well and is foolish. So I'll take the lighter days in stride.
After crossfit we had an endurance class, which is less intense but longer duration. We ran near mile loops with light exercises in between. I'm the slowest runner in the class, no shocker, and lagged behind everyone else making three full laps during the 40 minute period with farmer walks, ring rows and walking lunges. It felt good either way. Thankfully I am one of those rare birds who actually likes running, even though I am slow at it.
An a random side note I wore my reflective running jacket. It was dark and we run parts of it in the road. I didn't realize when I packed it that I had not actually worn it in several years. Sadly I have gained about 50lbs since I last wore it. I technically was able to zip it up, but it fit more like a crop top, on a sausage. Hot.
During crossfit we worked on the clean and jerk for the strength portion. I maxed at 85lbs. I believe this is actually lower than the previous week's clean and jerk. I've been putting in a lot of extra workouts which sometimes are not giving me enough rest time. Some weeks it's no problem, but this week I was really taxed.
It's sometimes disheartening to see my numbers drop, but at this point in training it really doesn't matter. I'm not very strong so 10-15 pound differences are not that impressive but it's all relative. I of course want to lift heavy and fast. But that does not work well and is foolish. So I'll take the lighter days in stride.
After crossfit we had an endurance class, which is less intense but longer duration. We ran near mile loops with light exercises in between. I'm the slowest runner in the class, no shocker, and lagged behind everyone else making three full laps during the 40 minute period with farmer walks, ring rows and walking lunges. It felt good either way. Thankfully I am one of those rare birds who actually likes running, even though I am slow at it.
An a random side note I wore my reflective running jacket. It was dark and we run parts of it in the road. I didn't realize when I packed it that I had not actually worn it in several years. Sadly I have gained about 50lbs since I last wore it. I technically was able to zip it up, but it fit more like a crop top, on a sausage. Hot.
Comparing years
Since starting back in with weights and running, a few things have changed.
Since the demise of my athletic shape over the past 4 years I have, not surprisingly, gained weight. Quite a lot and quite annoyingly. I've found it ridiculously hard to lose any weight the past year with dieting.
Apparently the day you turn 40 your metabolism goes to shit. But I shifted focus from weight loss to muscle gain to great results! I'm realizing that while I was much trimmer, I wasn't nearly as strong as I thought I was.
I went back and viewed my blog entries during my peak excising years. My squat was at 175, I believe I was benching just barely over the bar, and deadlifting a mere 105lbs. As I recall I could push press about 45lbs and that was it. I never did the clean and jerk, I'd never heard of the snatch, and overhead anything was really just with the bar.
I remembered seeing this woman at the YMCA who was back squatting 65lbs from an over head press. I thought it was totally crazy. Little did I know about weights back then. And this was when I was taking classes at my first crossfit gym.
I think this is a good indication how crossfit boxes vary from place to place. While we did a lot of body weight and moderately weighted exercises, but very little time with us using the barbell.
I was actually one of the stronger girls in my first crossfit gym and I am one the weakest in my current gym. And that's with significant improvements from years ago. I cannot express enough how good coaches make such a difference.
Now I bench 85 at 3 reps, Deadlift 135 at 5 reps, push press 100 at 1 rep.
This revitalization of this blog will be to chronicle some of my daily ventures but primarily to track and obsess over lifting weights, getting stronger and increasing my numbers.
Oh and since dieting is off the game plan (I have a meal plan, but not a low calorie type) and I've been focused on weights I have lost weight. Its slow, consistent, and my goals are much more realistic. So there's that too!
Since the demise of my athletic shape over the past 4 years I have, not surprisingly, gained weight. Quite a lot and quite annoyingly. I've found it ridiculously hard to lose any weight the past year with dieting.
Apparently the day you turn 40 your metabolism goes to shit. But I shifted focus from weight loss to muscle gain to great results! I'm realizing that while I was much trimmer, I wasn't nearly as strong as I thought I was.
I went back and viewed my blog entries during my peak excising years. My squat was at 175, I believe I was benching just barely over the bar, and deadlifting a mere 105lbs. As I recall I could push press about 45lbs and that was it. I never did the clean and jerk, I'd never heard of the snatch, and overhead anything was really just with the bar.
I remembered seeing this woman at the YMCA who was back squatting 65lbs from an over head press. I thought it was totally crazy. Little did I know about weights back then. And this was when I was taking classes at my first crossfit gym.
I think this is a good indication how crossfit boxes vary from place to place. While we did a lot of body weight and moderately weighted exercises, but very little time with us using the barbell.
I was actually one of the stronger girls in my first crossfit gym and I am one the weakest in my current gym. And that's with significant improvements from years ago. I cannot express enough how good coaches make such a difference.
Now I bench 85 at 3 reps, Deadlift 135 at 5 reps, push press 100 at 1 rep.
This revitalization of this blog will be to chronicle some of my daily ventures but primarily to track and obsess over lifting weights, getting stronger and increasing my numbers.
Oh and since dieting is off the game plan (I have a meal plan, but not a low calorie type) and I've been focused on weights I have lost weight. Its slow, consistent, and my goals are much more realistic. So there's that too!
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Life is good!
Another year, or two, and new places, people and goals!
I've come back to this blog because I have something to say about all my new pursuits! I tend to be rather obsessive with my interests which translates to needing someone other than my husband to talk to about it.
What I've been doing lately; Running! Crossfit! Weightlifting and once again Derby! Well sort of.
I started back up with running a few months ago and am at my nice and boring 3-5 mile range. Slower pace than my previous running career, but it's still early on. I'm only running 2-3 times a week as it's no longer my main focus.
Crossfit! I had dabbled in crossfit before, I liked it but had different pursuits in life. Now crossfit has become a big part of my daily life. I'm going 4-5 days a week and doing great.
I am extremely lucky to have a remarkable group of trainers. They strongly focus on weight lifting and in particular Olympic lifts. This is different than the previous gym in that they did not focus on lifting nearly as much.
With the new crossfit gym my lifts have far surpassed any of the lifting I did several years ago and has cemented my love for weights.
In addition to crossfit I attend a local gym to get in more weight lifting time focusing on powerlifting. I loves it!
And finally Derby has come back around. The kids have finally expressed an interest in derby! We have been skating off and on, more on lately, and are starting a drop in derby class this Sunday! Whoop whoop!! I'm hoping to get more skating in and help out as a referee. Pretty much reffing for my children's derby league is the end all be all of my derby existence.
It's soo good to be back in obsession land!
I've come back to this blog because I have something to say about all my new pursuits! I tend to be rather obsessive with my interests which translates to needing someone other than my husband to talk to about it.
What I've been doing lately; Running! Crossfit! Weightlifting and once again Derby! Well sort of.
I started back up with running a few months ago and am at my nice and boring 3-5 mile range. Slower pace than my previous running career, but it's still early on. I'm only running 2-3 times a week as it's no longer my main focus.
Crossfit! I had dabbled in crossfit before, I liked it but had different pursuits in life. Now crossfit has become a big part of my daily life. I'm going 4-5 days a week and doing great.
I am extremely lucky to have a remarkable group of trainers. They strongly focus on weight lifting and in particular Olympic lifts. This is different than the previous gym in that they did not focus on lifting nearly as much.
With the new crossfit gym my lifts have far surpassed any of the lifting I did several years ago and has cemented my love for weights.
In addition to crossfit I attend a local gym to get in more weight lifting time focusing on powerlifting. I loves it!
And finally Derby has come back around. The kids have finally expressed an interest in derby! We have been skating off and on, more on lately, and are starting a drop in derby class this Sunday! Whoop whoop!! I'm hoping to get more skating in and help out as a referee. Pretty much reffing for my children's derby league is the end all be all of my derby existence.
It's soo good to be back in obsession land!
Monday, January 27, 2014
Backwards
Oh backwards skating, how you have a eluded me! But no longer.
My life has a step stone or maybe building block system going on. I can't move forward easily without the base or the stones that come before.
I want to skate. But I need to do something with my kids. I want to do something with my kids, but we need a common activity.
And enter the world of skating. We've been going twice a week, about to become three times a week. The kids have skated about 6 times now.
Now they can skate fairly well on their own and they like it.
I get fun/exercise, they get fun/exercise and we both get an activity to do together. So nice.
Backwards skating. Same theme here. I need to be able to do transitions better. But I need to be able to handle skating backwards to do the transition and stop backwards.
The kids need help or at least encouragement skating. And I skating backwards, at first slowly as they are still getting their balance, helps to do just that. And thus the skating backwards skill is born!
I spent most of last night skating backwards. It was the best I've ever done. And a lot of time doing transitions and spinning ,slowly, in circles. And practicing stopping backwards. Apparently the kids are my key to all success.
My life has a step stone or maybe building block system going on. I can't move forward easily without the base or the stones that come before.
I want to skate. But I need to do something with my kids. I want to do something with my kids, but we need a common activity.
And enter the world of skating. We've been going twice a week, about to become three times a week. The kids have skated about 6 times now.
Now they can skate fairly well on their own and they like it.
I get fun/exercise, they get fun/exercise and we both get an activity to do together. So nice.
Backwards skating. Same theme here. I need to be able to do transitions better. But I need to be able to handle skating backwards to do the transition and stop backwards.
The kids need help or at least encouragement skating. And I skating backwards, at first slowly as they are still getting their balance, helps to do just that. And thus the skating backwards skill is born!
I spent most of last night skating backwards. It was the best I've ever done. And a lot of time doing transitions and spinning ,slowly, in circles. And practicing stopping backwards. Apparently the kids are my key to all success.
Friday, December 27, 2013
the long path home
And as usual the easy 'won't it all be great when?' bit didn't really happen. Life did not work out how I wanted it too. New curve balls were thrown and my plans did not pan out. A few things did happen.
I quit my league. That was hard, technically I'm still a volunteer, but I'm fairly well retired. Its not the same as before and with my derby spouse retiring I just can't see going back. But there are always needs for refs in the req leagues and I will likely find myself there sooner or later.
For right now I'm just working on getting back into shape. I've been dreaming about skating lately. How amazing it feels, how easy the transitions are in my dreams. Soon we'll be back at the rink, skating and socializing. It's only a matter of time before the reffing comes back.
My brother in law has moved in with us. He has schizophrenia and needs to live with family. It's a good change but not without complications. But he helps out where he can and one aspect which I foresee to be very important is that he likes to go to the gym. Which means I go to the gym. This is a good thing.
I've been running daily, lifting weights couple of times a week. I feel it all coming back. The drive. My runs are still short and slow, but they are daily. My lifts are light but get heavier each time. It's a long road back, but I've started and the good stuff is not so far away.
I quit my league. That was hard, technically I'm still a volunteer, but I'm fairly well retired. Its not the same as before and with my derby spouse retiring I just can't see going back. But there are always needs for refs in the req leagues and I will likely find myself there sooner or later.
For right now I'm just working on getting back into shape. I've been dreaming about skating lately. How amazing it feels, how easy the transitions are in my dreams. Soon we'll be back at the rink, skating and socializing. It's only a matter of time before the reffing comes back.
My brother in law has moved in with us. He has schizophrenia and needs to live with family. It's a good change but not without complications. But he helps out where he can and one aspect which I foresee to be very important is that he likes to go to the gym. Which means I go to the gym. This is a good thing.
I've been running daily, lifting weights couple of times a week. I feel it all coming back. The drive. My runs are still short and slow, but they are daily. My lifts are light but get heavier each time. It's a long road back, but I've started and the good stuff is not so far away.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
All good things
have begun. Today I; ran, lifted weights, woke up at 6am, ate normally, fed chickens, sent kids to school, plan on cleaning up, plan on spending time with my family in the evening and going to bed at a normal hour.
These are all good things.
This months goals:
Get back to running 3-4 miles 4 days a week
Lifting 3 times a week
Eating 3 normal meals
Go skating twice
These are all good things.
This months goals:
Get back to running 3-4 miles 4 days a week
Lifting 3 times a week
Eating 3 normal meals
Go skating twice
Monday, July 29, 2013
Why hello there!
Oh how the time does pass!
Life has been as usual a whole lotta work, a big bunch of bull, and not enough sleep.
Derby has been nil, running has been slim, weights have been slimmer, and I have been struggling to keep it all going.
But my eye is on the prize and I am but 5 weeks out from my new life. Everything changes next month (Sept) and my life will become good again!
Day shift. This is what it's all about. Right now I am on 4 nights, Fri -Mon. That means 3 nights a week, for about 2-3 hours I see that guy I married. Sometimes on the weekends between sleeping and working I may see him in passing. It's kind of lame.
I do get to spend a lot of time with the babies and this is a really good thing.
But day shift is coming. Day shift means a whole lot of things. Waking up the same time everyday. Not feeling like a zombie because I worked late at night and then got up early to take the kids to school. Getting regular sleep. Eating normally.
Day shift also mean seeing my man EVERY NIGHT OF THE WEEK!!!! Yes that's right.
Day shift means I won't be going back to sleep in the mornings when school starts up in the fall. Oh and did I mention my youngest will be going to school 5 half days a week? Oh yes and what will I do with that time? I will be running, I will be lifting, I will be awake and getting back into awesome shape!
And this means I won't be sacrificing one of the few nights a week I have to see my man to go to derby. This means I can go to derby, almost every week, and skate, and ref and get back to life I once new.
Oh yes my friends, the world is coming back and it's just a few short weeks away.
Life has been as usual a whole lotta work, a big bunch of bull, and not enough sleep.
Derby has been nil, running has been slim, weights have been slimmer, and I have been struggling to keep it all going.
But my eye is on the prize and I am but 5 weeks out from my new life. Everything changes next month (Sept) and my life will become good again!
Day shift. This is what it's all about. Right now I am on 4 nights, Fri -Mon. That means 3 nights a week, for about 2-3 hours I see that guy I married. Sometimes on the weekends between sleeping and working I may see him in passing. It's kind of lame.
I do get to spend a lot of time with the babies and this is a really good thing.
But day shift is coming. Day shift means a whole lot of things. Waking up the same time everyday. Not feeling like a zombie because I worked late at night and then got up early to take the kids to school. Getting regular sleep. Eating normally.
Day shift also mean seeing my man EVERY NIGHT OF THE WEEK!!!! Yes that's right.
Day shift means I won't be going back to sleep in the mornings when school starts up in the fall. Oh and did I mention my youngest will be going to school 5 half days a week? Oh yes and what will I do with that time? I will be running, I will be lifting, I will be awake and getting back into awesome shape!
And this means I won't be sacrificing one of the few nights a week I have to see my man to go to derby. This means I can go to derby, almost every week, and skate, and ref and get back to life I once new.
Oh yes my friends, the world is coming back and it's just a few short weeks away.
Friday, May 3, 2013
Spring Suggestions
Spring challenge has been a serious bust. I've not gotten anywhere the miles in I wanted. But honestly I don't think I really thought this one through.
It's ok, I'm running fairly regularly and that's enough. I'm getting to more practices and my home gym is finally back in functioning shape. Summer is coming and life is getting really good.
It's ok, I'm running fairly regularly and that's enough. I'm getting to more practices and my home gym is finally back in functioning shape. Summer is coming and life is getting really good.
Monday, April 22, 2013
I love a good plan!
Four miles again today and I think I'm hitting a pattern! Now I just need a plan. Everyone loves a training plan. And a training plan that gets you back towards the great shape you used to be in is the best.
Running. This is my biggest push right now. I need the endurance, I need the negative calories, and I really need to feel my body move. Once I'm back to regular 5 and 10 mile runs I'll be happy. Until then the push to meet my spring challenge is really important. I know I won't make the frequency part of the challenge. But I know I can make easy 5 mile runs by next month.
Weights will be slow for a while. Right now a weights session renders me incapable of walking normally much less running. While I'm focused on the running, weights will only be once a week and on Fridays. I start my work weekend that day and trying to do anything active while working is pretty difficult. I can hobble around work and rest up to get back to running by Monday or Tuesday.
Skating. Wednesday nights with my babies! The kids are being indoctrinated to the life of the roller rink. Thankfully they don't need me to hold their hands anymore so we all get to go out and have fun! I'm focusing on spins, transitions, skating backwards and turn around toe stops. This is my biggest challenge on my fourth year of skating. Time to finally get this shit figured out.
Food. I'm so back and forth about this part. I'd like to lose a bit, get back into most of my clothes. But I'm not sure how far I want to go, or how strict I want to be. Eating paleo-esque always seems to be a good choice, and maybe add in some brown rice or whole grain items from time to time. I'm trying a new route with food this time around and it is once again foreign territory.
And thankfully summer is coming, which makes all of the above a lot easier. Biggest goals is to keep it going through winter.
Running. This is my biggest push right now. I need the endurance, I need the negative calories, and I really need to feel my body move. Once I'm back to regular 5 and 10 mile runs I'll be happy. Until then the push to meet my spring challenge is really important. I know I won't make the frequency part of the challenge. But I know I can make easy 5 mile runs by next month.
Weights will be slow for a while. Right now a weights session renders me incapable of walking normally much less running. While I'm focused on the running, weights will only be once a week and on Fridays. I start my work weekend that day and trying to do anything active while working is pretty difficult. I can hobble around work and rest up to get back to running by Monday or Tuesday.
Skating. Wednesday nights with my babies! The kids are being indoctrinated to the life of the roller rink. Thankfully they don't need me to hold their hands anymore so we all get to go out and have fun! I'm focusing on spins, transitions, skating backwards and turn around toe stops. This is my biggest challenge on my fourth year of skating. Time to finally get this shit figured out.
Food. I'm so back and forth about this part. I'd like to lose a bit, get back into most of my clothes. But I'm not sure how far I want to go, or how strict I want to be. Eating paleo-esque always seems to be a good choice, and maybe add in some brown rice or whole grain items from time to time. I'm trying a new route with food this time around and it is once again foreign territory.
And thankfully summer is coming, which makes all of the above a lot easier. Biggest goals is to keep it going through winter.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Running and derby!
Oh and both running and derby have made a solid come back! I've been able to run 4 miles easily with the stroller (when I can actually get out).
I'm trying to do a spring challenge. March was 3 miles 3 times a week. Easy. April is 4 miles 4 times a week. Not so easy. The miles aren't bad, but trying to find 4 days to run is not easy. May is supposed to be 5 miles 5 times a week. Yeah, pretty unlikely. But we'll see.
Derby has been good too. I've been skating with the kids once a week and made a few practices. I won't skate in the next bout, but I will likely get to skate in the following if I can make enough practices. So nice to be back on skates!
I'm trying to do a spring challenge. March was 3 miles 3 times a week. Easy. April is 4 miles 4 times a week. Not so easy. The miles aren't bad, but trying to find 4 days to run is not easy. May is supposed to be 5 miles 5 times a week. Yeah, pretty unlikely. But we'll see.
Derby has been good too. I've been skating with the kids once a week and made a few practices. I won't skate in the next bout, but I will likely get to skate in the following if I can make enough practices. So nice to be back on skates!
The slow road back again
It's kind of a never ending pattern. Get in shape, get derailed, get out of shape, get back in.
I'm slowing dragging myself back from the land of derailment.
I had to make some evaluations about my derby career and home life. Challenges that have been getting to me are parenting, family time, social time, hobbies. I love derby, I love how I feel when I am reffing. But it's takes time away from my family, and honestly, away from my down time.
Having young children in grade school is turning into a much bigger time commitment than I was expecting. I'm not prepared to just set my son loose in a school and not be there enough to know what is going on. I want to make sure I'm there to pick him up everyday, and go to every event.
I was the youngest of four children. That basically means I was lucky my parents still remembered my name. My mother went back to work when I started grade school and my father worked long hours. They had a hard time getting me to any school activities and relied heavily on my brothers making sure I made it to school and back. This is not a pattern I intend to repeat. So school and my kids is big focus.
Then there is the work thing. I work full time, night shift, on the weekends. My husband and I have pretty much agreed that having one of us with the kids and paying the bills is of primary importance. But this means I never see him except for a few hours here and there when he's home from work in the evening three or four days a week. He works long shifts so is often not home until 7 or 8pm. Adding in derby seems like just one thing too many.
It seems as though the obvious solution would be to quit derby and spend the little time I do have hanging on the home front. But this is the fallacy that so many of us fall into.
When I started derby it wasn't because I wanted one more "thing" to add on my plate. Sure I can stay home and keep my self busy and entertained with movies, crafts and cooking just fine. But what I was missing in my life was a social activity that kept me moving. Interaction, learning, physical movement. Those are the things that I don't have enough of in my life.
The people I work with are friends no doubt, and I've made friends through my son's school. But those are mostly obligatory interactions. I don't know how many of those would maintain my social life should I stop working or going to that school. Not because we're not truly friends, but once someone is out of your daily loop, it's hard to get together. People are busy and kids just make them busier.
I need to be a part of something voluntary, social, fun and challenging. So while the temptation to retire from derby is there amidst my full schedule, I know the most important thing I can do, more important that extra sleep or snuggle time with my man, is to get out there and live my life. So the slow crawl starts, going to practice, going to the roller rink, getting back into the gym, getting back to me and my life.
I'm slowing dragging myself back from the land of derailment.
I had to make some evaluations about my derby career and home life. Challenges that have been getting to me are parenting, family time, social time, hobbies. I love derby, I love how I feel when I am reffing. But it's takes time away from my family, and honestly, away from my down time.
Having young children in grade school is turning into a much bigger time commitment than I was expecting. I'm not prepared to just set my son loose in a school and not be there enough to know what is going on. I want to make sure I'm there to pick him up everyday, and go to every event.
I was the youngest of four children. That basically means I was lucky my parents still remembered my name. My mother went back to work when I started grade school and my father worked long hours. They had a hard time getting me to any school activities and relied heavily on my brothers making sure I made it to school and back. This is not a pattern I intend to repeat. So school and my kids is big focus.
Then there is the work thing. I work full time, night shift, on the weekends. My husband and I have pretty much agreed that having one of us with the kids and paying the bills is of primary importance. But this means I never see him except for a few hours here and there when he's home from work in the evening three or four days a week. He works long shifts so is often not home until 7 or 8pm. Adding in derby seems like just one thing too many.
It seems as though the obvious solution would be to quit derby and spend the little time I do have hanging on the home front. But this is the fallacy that so many of us fall into.
When I started derby it wasn't because I wanted one more "thing" to add on my plate. Sure I can stay home and keep my self busy and entertained with movies, crafts and cooking just fine. But what I was missing in my life was a social activity that kept me moving. Interaction, learning, physical movement. Those are the things that I don't have enough of in my life.
The people I work with are friends no doubt, and I've made friends through my son's school. But those are mostly obligatory interactions. I don't know how many of those would maintain my social life should I stop working or going to that school. Not because we're not truly friends, but once someone is out of your daily loop, it's hard to get together. People are busy and kids just make them busier.
I need to be a part of something voluntary, social, fun and challenging. So while the temptation to retire from derby is there amidst my full schedule, I know the most important thing I can do, more important that extra sleep or snuggle time with my man, is to get out there and live my life. So the slow crawl starts, going to practice, going to the roller rink, getting back into the gym, getting back to me and my life.
Friday, August 3, 2012
That went by quick!
It's been a whirlwind couple of months and here we are already in August. Where have I been? Where haven't I?
Here's a recap:
Surgery! The lump on my next was a benign thyroid cyst. Sadly it blew up and made it difficult for me to swallow solid food. Lame! They drained it, gross, then it came back a few hours later, and the docs decided it would get the axe. In for surgery and out on bed rest for a week.
Running. Not much with the lump and surgery. I'm finally able to get back to running with all the time off. I'm sadly back just this week and it's a slow slow process. Like I'm up to 1.6 miles. I'm adding .4 (the loop in front of my house) to each day until 2 miles and then will increase a full mile each wee,k to give me time to readjust. I want to get back to 5 miles 3-4 times a week by the end of August.
Derby. I had to skip out on a game due to recovery and I had to work! I missed two full weeks of work. No bueno paychecks. But's coming along. We have our championship bout in three weeks and I have to say I'll be glad for a break. Last year we still had bouts on our off season and this year we will not.
Work. I've been working 4 shifts a week. Which is pretty brutal with having little kids. I work the night shift and get off anywhere between 2am and 5am. And my shifts are opposite my husband. So we have no days off together and see very little of each other otherwise. It kind of sucks. But starting this week I go back to 3 nights a week which means I'll have 2 days off a month with my man!
Kids. They've been serious troopers. Letting me chill while I recover from surgery and letting me sleep in on the mornings after my night shifts. Summer is quickly coming to an end, which I will very much miss. But the school year will have it's own benefits.
Crafts. I finished a few sweaters that were in perma-freeze during my recovery. They turned out awesome and I'm working on a few more already.
Cooking. Has been coming along. Trying to cook real food that the kids will eat is not always easy with my work schedule. I think I'm doing well when I make dessert a couple of times a week. Good benchmark!
That's pretty much been life lately. I'm going to try and start sharing photos more and make the blog a bit more interesting. Thanks for tuning in!
Here's a recap:
Surgery! The lump on my next was a benign thyroid cyst. Sadly it blew up and made it difficult for me to swallow solid food. Lame! They drained it, gross, then it came back a few hours later, and the docs decided it would get the axe. In for surgery and out on bed rest for a week.
Running. Not much with the lump and surgery. I'm finally able to get back to running with all the time off. I'm sadly back just this week and it's a slow slow process. Like I'm up to 1.6 miles. I'm adding .4 (the loop in front of my house) to each day until 2 miles and then will increase a full mile each wee,k to give me time to readjust. I want to get back to 5 miles 3-4 times a week by the end of August.
Derby. I had to skip out on a game due to recovery and I had to work! I missed two full weeks of work. No bueno paychecks. But's coming along. We have our championship bout in three weeks and I have to say I'll be glad for a break. Last year we still had bouts on our off season and this year we will not.
Work. I've been working 4 shifts a week. Which is pretty brutal with having little kids. I work the night shift and get off anywhere between 2am and 5am. And my shifts are opposite my husband. So we have no days off together and see very little of each other otherwise. It kind of sucks. But starting this week I go back to 3 nights a week which means I'll have 2 days off a month with my man!
Kids. They've been serious troopers. Letting me chill while I recover from surgery and letting me sleep in on the mornings after my night shifts. Summer is quickly coming to an end, which I will very much miss. But the school year will have it's own benefits.
Crafts. I finished a few sweaters that were in perma-freeze during my recovery. They turned out awesome and I'm working on a few more already.
Cooking. Has been coming along. Trying to cook real food that the kids will eat is not always easy with my work schedule. I think I'm doing well when I make dessert a couple of times a week. Good benchmark!
That's pretty much been life lately. I'm going to try and start sharing photos more and make the blog a bit more interesting. Thanks for tuning in!
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
May challenge recap
So the May challenge went really well. I did not actually make the total challenge falling short by two 5 mile runs. And I am very ok with that.
Sadly the last week of the challenge fell during my preparation for tournament, being sick, going to 4 night shifts from 3, and finding a thyroid cyst. So two missed runs are more than ok. And I did a few long runs that more than make up for the missed 10 miles.
Anyways the challenge got me back to my running shape. My plan now is to run every other day and do whatever distance I feel like. If I want a 3 miler, then I'll do a 3 miler. But I hope to keep most runs in the 4-7 distance. Yeah for goals and yeah for accomplishments!
Sadly the last week of the challenge fell during my preparation for tournament, being sick, going to 4 night shifts from 3, and finding a thyroid cyst. So two missed runs are more than ok. And I did a few long runs that more than make up for the missed 10 miles.
Anyways the challenge got me back to my running shape. My plan now is to run every other day and do whatever distance I feel like. If I want a 3 miler, then I'll do a 3 miler. But I hope to keep most runs in the 4-7 distance. Yeah for goals and yeah for accomplishments!
Saturday, May 26, 2012
It's not a toomah
Or at least I hope not.
Been fighting the "not getting sick" fight all week, running my miles, working the night shift and going to derby. Finally after a sore throat afternoon I figured it was time to take a break. I had 3 days off before work and I wanted to finally kick whatever this cold/flu thing was.
So three days of lying around (yeah!) come to an end and I prepare to hit the sack early again. But while brushing my teeth I notice a weird lump on my throat. Fast forward 24 hours. I saw the doctor and got a mixed bag of news.
I have allergies! Yeah, the "I'm not getting sick" feeling was just allergies. Take one claritin and call it good. That's a relief, I was getting tire of almost being sick.
Second news is I got a goiter. Well not really. It's likely a cyst on my thyroid. Not uncommon, but as it popped up so quickly I'll need to have it aspirated to make sure it's not thyroid cancer. Which yes is freaky. But in the land of cancer, apparently thyroid cancer is the one you want. Easy treatment and excellent prognosis. My mom had it and she's still kicking around.
Anyways, it's probably not cancer. Not a toomah. (In my best Arnold voice)
Been fighting the "not getting sick" fight all week, running my miles, working the night shift and going to derby. Finally after a sore throat afternoon I figured it was time to take a break. I had 3 days off before work and I wanted to finally kick whatever this cold/flu thing was.
So three days of lying around (yeah!) come to an end and I prepare to hit the sack early again. But while brushing my teeth I notice a weird lump on my throat. Fast forward 24 hours. I saw the doctor and got a mixed bag of news.
I have allergies! Yeah, the "I'm not getting sick" feeling was just allergies. Take one claritin and call it good. That's a relief, I was getting tire of almost being sick.
Second news is I got a goiter. Well not really. It's likely a cyst on my thyroid. Not uncommon, but as it popped up so quickly I'll need to have it aspirated to make sure it's not thyroid cancer. Which yes is freaky. But in the land of cancer, apparently thyroid cancer is the one you want. Easy treatment and excellent prognosis. My mom had it and she's still kicking around.
Anyways, it's probably not cancer. Not a toomah. (In my best Arnold voice)
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Finishing week 3
This week was lame. I got all my runs in, and all the miles. But the long run at the beginning of the week and Sunday's supposed to be long run was plagued with the side ache/ab pain again.
I persevered and made the minimum five miles. I wanted to enjoy my kid free morning running a good 9 or 10. But I gave up after five and my abs wouldn't let up.
I'm starting to think maybe my slow runs are messing with my form. I never seem to have this problem on speed, hills or runs with strollers. Hmmm.
Anyways week three was finished up and onto week four. I'm really really glad this is almost over. I'm tired and want to take more than 2 days off. Also I'm looking forward to running 3-4 times a week instead of 5. Way easier to fit into my schedule.
But I am so very glad I did this challenge. My legs now feel like 5 miles is no big thing. 10 miles is a nice easy challenge and running with a stroller is great. The hard work has paid off and is no longer hard work to do!
I persevered and made the minimum five miles. I wanted to enjoy my kid free morning running a good 9 or 10. But I gave up after five and my abs wouldn't let up.
I'm starting to think maybe my slow runs are messing with my form. I never seem to have this problem on speed, hills or runs with strollers. Hmmm.
Anyways week three was finished up and onto week four. I'm really really glad this is almost over. I'm tired and want to take more than 2 days off. Also I'm looking forward to running 3-4 times a week instead of 5. Way easier to fit into my schedule.
But I am so very glad I did this challenge. My legs now feel like 5 miles is no big thing. 10 miles is a nice easy challenge and running with a stroller is great. The hard work has paid off and is no longer hard work to do!
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
The worst and the best
Monday was my long run day. The hubs was at home with the kids, I wasn't totally wiped from work, la la la. Well it ended up the worst 9 miles of my life. I got the most awful side ache. It started at about mile 2, and it was so severe I actually had to stop completely.
I ran and walked trying to work around it. Which wasn't working. Finally I got it to a point where it hurt but I could keep running. And it was hot. I ran too late in the day and the heat (only about 75-80) combined with the side ache made the whole run miserable. I probably walked at least half a mile of the whole thing. So freakin lame.
Side aches really bug me. Each time I get them I think that maybe this it. I'll get a side ache every run and my running career will be over. I know it sounds a little ridiculous, but when they seem to come on for no rhyme or reason it's hard to be rational. Fortunately there were some clues that indicated this would not be the case.
On Sunday I started adding in weights. I didn't do very much, but I did a smidge of weighted ab exercises. And the rest of Monday and most of Tuesday the ache continued to hurt. Side aches don't do that. Side aches are crampy little bitches that make you stop running, not twingy muscle pain that lasts for days. So the verdict is, I strained my ab muscle. Lame, but ok!
I took a day off, which was remarkably frustrating, and tried again today. I was very nervous and almost bagged the whole run. But... It was absolutely awesome! No pain. Yeah! And I was sooo much faster than I have been!
Me and my girl took off in the jogging stroller, which strangely I've come to love more than running solo, and made great time. I felt so strong and so much fast than I have been.
Yeah running!
I ran and walked trying to work around it. Which wasn't working. Finally I got it to a point where it hurt but I could keep running. And it was hot. I ran too late in the day and the heat (only about 75-80) combined with the side ache made the whole run miserable. I probably walked at least half a mile of the whole thing. So freakin lame.
Side aches really bug me. Each time I get them I think that maybe this it. I'll get a side ache every run and my running career will be over. I know it sounds a little ridiculous, but when they seem to come on for no rhyme or reason it's hard to be rational. Fortunately there were some clues that indicated this would not be the case.
On Sunday I started adding in weights. I didn't do very much, but I did a smidge of weighted ab exercises. And the rest of Monday and most of Tuesday the ache continued to hurt. Side aches don't do that. Side aches are crampy little bitches that make you stop running, not twingy muscle pain that lasts for days. So the verdict is, I strained my ab muscle. Lame, but ok!
I took a day off, which was remarkably frustrating, and tried again today. I was very nervous and almost bagged the whole run. But... It was absolutely awesome! No pain. Yeah! And I was sooo much faster than I have been!
Me and my girl took off in the jogging stroller, which strangely I've come to love more than running solo, and made great time. I felt so strong and so much fast than I have been.
Yeah running!
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