Book reports

So recently we've reorganized our ref group and divided up duties. One of the duties I've taken over is rules training.

I'm not the smartest, most experienced, or most knowledgeable ref we have. And I don't have to be. Creating a curriculum, teaching and organizing is really not about being the best, it's about gathering information to provide to others.

That being said I actually have done a lot of training over the years. I worked in emergency veterinary and did a majority of the training of the front office staff.

The information we needed to understand utilize was for the triage of emergency cases, internal medicine, oncology, radiology and surgery. This involved having a basic knowledge of all of these disciplines and how to ask the right questions and relay the right information.

This is actually fairly complicated as an animal's life is on the line. I learned how to do this confidently and accurately and then taught it to the rest of my staff all the while under stress and chaos of a busy work environment.

So training on rules should be a piece of cake. Well a lot of it is. A lot of it is not particularly complicated. But, like in any discipline, there are the caveats, the tricks, the weird situations and the obscure writing of the WORD rule set.

The rules are pretty well laid out. They are in plain English. But they can be kind of a bitch sometimes to understand.

This is where the experts come in. I don't have to be the best, I just have to bring in the resources of the best. Understand them and see the places where I don't understand.

Last night we had our first rules training with the league. Able and myself presented the basic differences between WORD and WFTDA. We did fairly well only coming up with a few scenarios where we weren't sure the answers. Fortunately I was able to text my local Enforcer and get most of them.

The hard part was not the information. It was being up in front of group, giving my "book report" like a kid back in high school. I'm trying to understand and teach a subject that I am just learning. I'm not going to get anything perfect. And that's ok.

But I couldn't help feeling like I was the unpopular kid at the front with the cool kids laughing and thinking I'm some idiot who shouldn't be up there.

New levels

I've been pretty hit or miss with the blogging of late. Our ref group has been going through some restructuring, which has been a bit stressful. But we've finally got things sorted and are making significant progress.

My skating has been taking a back seat to the hubbub and so has reffing. My endurance has tanked and track time minimal, but things are turning around.

The past couple weeks I've been getting on my wheels at least 2 times a week and usually 3-4. I'm lazy, I'll fully admit that, and often the hour before practice is filled with "I don't want to go!". But I'm working out again, staying with the diet, and rolling consistently.

Today I really felt it pay off. I don't know that my speed is in anyway improved, but my skating otherwise sure has. All of sudden I got that lean, the angle you get when gracefully gliding and not pounding through. Yeah graceful, that is exactly how it felt today. I have no idea how it looked, but that's how it felt.

So there is this whole thing when you skate on a rink where you are going in a slow oblong circle. What I was not getting before was how my body needed to be angled. I had finally gotten to the point where I lean a little in, but I did not realize I need to lean, ever so slightly, forward too.

Also I feel more stable and it's because I'm finally thinking about using my leg muscles during cross overs. Instead of them sliding around and my feet catching up, I'm tensing my legs to control it. It feels fucking fantastic!

Oh and I can skate both ways. Now that I have the lean thing down, I can crossover the other direction smoothly and comfortably. Drunken sailor's are kind of my favorite thing!

Still on the short bus

And that's freakin just fine! The important part being that I'm on it.

Had practice. Did the whole thing, except for 20 minutes to chat with a league mate.
Which is still really good!

Did all the drills, not well!

Am super freakin sore!

Feeling crazy f-ing faster!

Month 7 don't worry about the time off

Wow I am always so blown away at how much the time away doesn't slow me down.

Yes it does effect my endurance, but that is so fleeting. Last Saturday my lungs felt like they would bleed after 10 minutes. My salivary glands were working on over time. It felt awful. But today, I felt great!

We have this really good coach, like shockingly good. Her name is Eva, or at least that's her derby name. She's one of those coaches that watches you and really focuses on what you need.

Honestly she probably knows more about what is going on with me and what is going n with me in derby than anyone else. Not because she's a friend, but because she is a coach who takes the time.

It doesn't take much, but the five minutes she spends let's me tell her and tell myself what I need. We have great coaches, but she is by far the most effective and the most impressive coach for me.

When you have this many ladies who join a sport, a non-professional sport, you need someone who is watching and calling you on it. And she supports you in the plain and simple way you need it.

My goal from last week was to do the warm up worm by end of October. I knew I wouldn't need that long. Just some carbs and a couple of times skating. And it was true. I skated the worm great, did hip and arm whips, which I have never really done before, totally easy by the way. I did half of an endurance drill, which I stopped due to an injured skater. I'm on sports med so I work with the injured skaters.

Basically skating was great. I got a good workout and could have done about ten times more. It really doesn't take much to get back on track.

Month 7 Back in the saddle

I started this journey with tennis courts, hallways and all ages open skates.

Well it's rainy fall so the tennis court is out of the question. And the hallway is a little too small these days. But there is always room for the open skate!

Took the kids and hubby to open skate today. We each took a turn with the kids. They made it one lap and were over it. And then David and I took turns skating while the other watched the kids.

I use the time skating with so many children as time to work on speeding and slowing, dodging and skating low and slow. It really is a good workout.

I lasted much longer than I did at last nights practice. I love how each day is a significant improvement at this stage.

If you ever have to take time off from derby due to injury or just life, don't worry. When you come back the catch up time is quick and honestly you may find you are a lot better than when you stopped.

Month 7 Starting over, again.

So it's official. I have been skating for 6 full months and am now starting my 7th.

Things I have learned are; how to skate, somewhat fast (for me), ok crossovers and semi ok reffing skills.

The past two months have been crap for me doing consistent skating and my endurance has tanked. Also I've been crazy diet person and lost a bunch of weight (yeah!) but have lost strength because of it. Losing weight is hard work!

Anyways so today is my first real day back on skates. I've been to a few practices here and there, but my heart ache and frustrations have really taken their toll.

I felt like I did back when I would start working out. My lungs would hurt and my glands would salivate. My muscles felt weak but not tired. I would do a few pretty fast laps and be totally winded. My body is relearning how to use that oxygen and carbs.

But from here it really only takes a few short weeks of pushing to get back to where I was. And I still have the advantage of being a better skater, so it's really not back where I was.

So the plan, with the blessings of my family, is to spend the next few weeks hitting a lot of practices and open skates. I just need hours on wheels. Some people start out in good shape and get better. I haven't been in good shape in years so it slips away very quickly.

Anyways. Back on track. Again.

Week 29 We lost one.

Today Harry Situation died.

It was an end to nearly a month of worry and sadness.

Rest peacefully Nicole we all miss you terribly.