Rockin' and Rollin'

This week is Thanksgivukkah. These two holidays will never collide again, at least not in our lifetime. I had a couple other once-in-a-lifetime things happened last week*:

Sara (the one who made me try out for derby) and I got pierced to celebrate her birthday. OK, I've been pierced before. OK, many times. But this was the first time I went with a friend to celebrate a milestone. These are mile-marker nose studs.

League pictures were take up at the State Capitol building in the bitter cold (which was still warmer than the Derby Depot.) I really, really, really hope they turn out well. Because I organized the shoot. I wanted to find a location other than the Depot. The Capitol building offered many cool staging areas. Steps, columns, and statues were all incorporated into the shoot. The pictures should be great with all of those fabulous women starring in them.

Then there was this. I was was asked to appear on an internet radio talk show. Host Tim Manson asked me about my MS diagnosis and how it took me to roller derby. I was so nervous! But it was fun, and I think it turned out well.

http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/74223/moving-forward

I'm in the second segment, if you want to take a listen. Let me know what you think. Unless, of course, you think I sound like a dork. Then just lie and tell me it was great.

I was also interviewed for an article published on EverydayHealth.com.  Bodybuilder and fellow MS-er David Lyons writes a column for them called MS Fitness Challenge: Overcoming MS challenges on the road to fitness. And last week, he wrote about me.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/columns/ms-fitness-challenge/426/

Don't be all jealous about how hot I look in that picture. I just can't help myself.

One more interesting thing happened. I was at the gym (by itself a rare occurrence, I know), and the man on the treadmill next to me asked what I was listening to on my iPod Shuffle. We started talking about our workout playlists. And I thought I would share a couple of my go-to lady jams.

Aside--I'm sorry, what? You haven't seen Pitch Perfect? Stop reading this now and go watch it.

Oh, you're back. Wasn't that acca-awesome?

Anyway, here are a few highlights from my workout playlist, which is cleverly titled Workout. What can I say? I'm a wordsmith. A poet.

The song with the top number of plays is Know How by Young MC. I have loved this song since I was in college working at a record store. Remember when there were record stores? Remember when there were records? This song brilliantly uses a sample of the Shaft theme, creating a great beat. But it has super bonus points: it was used in the movie Whip It.

Next on the list is AC/DC's Thunderstruck. This is the ultimate crank-it-up, skate-your-jam tune. I believe that there is a law in 27 states making it illegal to listen to it below a volume of 11.

And now there are three movies you have to watch this weekend. This Is Spinal Tap is the Best. Musical. Ever.

I bring a little Girl Power into the mix, of course. Raise Your Glass by P!nk will have you singing out loud, which will annoy the other gym patrons. But you won't give a shit. If my little nieces grow up to be like P!nk--strong, tough, talented, fun--my work will be done.

I am not usually a big fan of song covers. But there are a couple of songs that, when covered, make you forget all about the original version. Among those are Ring of Fire by Social Distortion and Hurt by Johnny Cash. But when you take a song made famous by the royalty of rock and make it your own, it is going to be epic. Karen O and Trent Reznor took the Immigrant Song away from Led Zeppelin. You may have heard it during the opening credits of the American version of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. (You don't need to see that one, but check out the Swedish original.) Put this song on your MP3 player. It will make you kick it up a notch.

And there is one song that has been released this year that I can listen to over and over. If you haven't heard Harlem by New Politics, download it, plug it into your car's stereo system, and crank up the volume. It will make you happy, I guarantee.*

Happy Thanksgivukkah everyone! Have a safe and happy holiday.

* Well, maybe they will happen more than once in my life, but these were the first times they happened.

** Happiness is not guaranteed. But I'm willing to bet you are smiling.

Fresh-ish Meat

Last night, I started with the freshest round of Fresh Meat training, or FM2. The nicest part about it was that were several familiar faces that shared my same skating philosophy: train with the beginners until my skills and confidence are strong enough to skate with the veterans.

I did exponentially better than I fared on Day One of FM1. But I still got fatigued last night. The two skaters who were graduating from the Junior’s program to skate with the big girls—girls literally young enough to be my daughters—rolled circles around me.

I still can’t do a great crossover. And, I still didn’t do very many laps, let alone 27 by 5.

27 laps in five minutes is a minimum requirement for being able to scrimmage. This both measures your speed and your fitness level. It is difficult at best, impossible without mastering a crossover.

But here is what else happened last night: I got some individual coaching on how to do a turnaround toe stop. I need to break it down into the components involved. Open the door, close the door, up on your toes. Meaning you roll one foot forward, placing your other foot behind it heel-to-heel. That’s the open door. Then you bring the first foot around to close the door. You roll backwards for a moment, then pop up onto your toe stops.

A couple veterans talked me through how to work on crossovers while I am off skates. I need to practice the moves near a wall so I begin to master the weight shift from one foot to the others. I need to use the simple task of going upstairs as a training opportunity. Instead of putting my feet perpendicular to the stair, put them parallel to it and push up, crossing your outside leg to the next stair.

I learned about a ball stretcher. It’s ok fellas. Uncross your legs. A ball stretcher is a cobbler’s tool to expand and stretch certain parts of your boot.

I was having uncomfortable cramping and pain on the base of my little toe. Jane, my derby Yoda, told me she would loan me this tool that, along with a hair dryer, can make my skates much more comfortable and help lessen the foot fatigue I was experiencing. Once again, I was fighting my equipment.

As an aside, don’t search Amazon for ball stretchers while at work.

I need to break down my 27 by 5 into manageable bites. I need to get my strength and endurance up to skate 27 laps with no regard to time. I need to master the crossover. OK, maybe not master, but certainly be a crossover under-graduate. I will baby-step my way to clearing this minimum.

And this happened last night. I made some new friends. I really felt like part of the group. I was razzed and teased and included in the razzing and teasing of others. I was complimented on the Velma stickers I put on my helmet. We talked tattoos and haircuts. I felt both welcome and missed while I was off on vacation.

I didn’t leave the training frustrated or down. I walked out the door already thinking about the next practice and how to get some extra training in until then.