teh weekendzar

so for eleventy billion reasons that I don't need to go into (read: laziness), I didn't go to the gym on Friday.

Yesterday I did a LAST CHANCE WORKOUT before assessments.  A bunch of us went to this little roller rink that is usually deserted.  I wanted to try out my wheels again and my new toe stops, both of which rule.  As I expected, my hamstring started bugging me (GODDAMMIT) but what can I do at this point? Not much.

So now it's Sunday and I didn't want to go to the gym today either (especially since Maverick was at a friend's house - that right there is prime nappin' time) but I went.  I HOPE THE POWERS THAT BE ARE HAPPY.  But, fortunately, my least favorite machine (the assisted dip/pull up) machine was broken, so I had a legitimate reason not to use it YAY WAHOO.

And now my right knee hurts for some reason.  I CAN'T WIN.

Tomorrow evening is my assessment, we'll see what happens.

hrapy birfday roy

Today is Roy Underkill's birthday. He's 41.  When I met him, he was 25. Yipes.

Because of that, I am going to the gym right after work, rather than later tonight.  He took the day off from work so he can be home when Maverick gets off the bus.

well, that's interesting

More fun with Kyle last night.  As I was doing some weight machine that involved my arms, I looked at myself (I was right in front of a mirror) I was surprised/shocked/flabbergasted to see that my right shoulder was much higher than my left.  Freakishly higher.  Like, I thought my shirt had bunched up higher.

Kyle said he'd noticed it before, and also commented on the fact that I had no idea where to hold my upper arms, which apparently means I'm a lot more flexible.  Who knew?  He said that there's a strength/flexibility tradeoff, which may or may not have something to do with my shoulder issues in the past.  He also commented on how unless you actually pay attention to how you move and stuff, certain muscles will compensate in movements and strengthen, while others atrophy.  Apparently this is starting to happen with my right shoulder.

Then he had me try to do bicycle crunches on a bosu ball.  Good Lord that was an exercise in futility/hilarity. I could go for about half a second before I fell off.  I have no balance.

other summarizy stuff

(Maverick did awesomely at his tournament - 112, 96 and 102 for his three games.  Plus, the tournament used his book average (his average last year),which was a 65, so he did phenominally.  We'll find out in a few weeks how he did overall.)

Tonight is another appointment with Kyle.  I do a much better workout when there's someone standing over me telling me what to do.  I can't slack off.  Apparently at any point from now on I can do my followup measurements (it's been six weeks since I started the PT).  I really don't feel any different.  We'll see what happens.

so how did I start this anyway?

so I don't recall if I ever mentioned how I got into this whole roller derby thing in the first place.  I did at my normal, everyday blog which I never update anymore, but I'll go into it here, too.

It was July 7, 2008.  Roy and Maverick and I decided to go out for dinner, but we didn't go to the place we usually go, which is this little diner that serves really good food really cheap - we went to Famous Dave's.  We got there and I ended up sitting within viewing distance of a TV showing one of the local-ish sports channels.

And they showed this film clip bit.

Usually we have to tell Maverick to stop watching the TV in restaurants, but this time it was me. 

I have to figure out a way to do that.  I'd roller skated a lot when I was a kid*, and was really good at it, but hadn't been in years.  I really need to figure out a way to do that NOW. NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW.  The roller skating, the hitting, the attitude....it spoke to me in a way I hadn't been spoken to in years.

So I get home and Google "Rochester Roller Derby".  And lo and behold, I find a Craigslist posting.  There's a league forming!   If you're interested, come to XYZ rink every Wednesday. 

So I pull my old garage sale skates from the garage and go to the rink on Wednesday.  It was the rink's Adult Skate night, so there were lots of other people there, but we were able to do a pace line, weave through it from back to front.  I hadn't been on skates at all in years, and not seriously in probably at least twenty years, but it was like riding a bicycle.  It all came back to me.

When I got home, I wrote in my blog: "I AM HOT AND I AM SORE AND I AM SWEATY AND I AM GETTING BLISTERS ON MY FOOT BUT HOLY PINK AND PURPLE FLYING COWS** THAT WAS THE MOST FUN I HAVE HAD IN ELEVENTY BILLION YEARS."

And out of such humble beginnings, Queen Kicktoria was born.
_______________
*A lot.  Before I got a pair of roller skates, I would stand on Fisher-Price cars and use those.

** I wrote that way because my mom reads my blog and she gets weird about me swearing.  It should read OH MY FUCKING GOD".

okay

so all of the no people who read this blog probably remember the entry where I talked about going full out Sprinty McSprintenheimer on the gazelle machine for two minutes and being all HELL YEAH I AM AWESOME, only to remember that for the WFTDA thing I have to do 25 laps in 5 minutes.  Here is a linky link to that entry.

So Sunday I did kind of a half-assed workout (my elbow bugging me so I skipped the assisted pull-ups, Vinny was working with someone in the stretching area and I wanted to avoid him so I skipped my crunches), but I decided I would try the full out Sprinty McSprintenheimer on the gazelle for the full five minutes.

And I did it.

And then my heart exploded.

Whee!

So I realized that my Sprinty McSprintenheimer routine is a form of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training).  Perhaps I should do a little more research into that.

Anyway, my tryout for the league is scheduled for February 1. It's essentially a formality, and I know I will pass it with ease, but I'm still a little nervous.  I want to completely crush the 25 laps in 5 minutes, and I'm still a little nervous about how my leg will react. (And my new wheels.  They are kind of slick and I'm worried I will lose control and crash into the wall.)  But we'll see what happens.  I also got new toe stops, big honkin' blue ones that, from what I have heard from other skaters, are awesome.  I didn't have them last Sunday so I couldn't try them out, but I am thinking I might try to go out to one of the rinks this week and get accustomed to them.

miscellany

so it's Friday and therefore my regular usual go to teh gymzar night.  It's bright and sunny outside and the parking lot here looks dry and I so so so so want to put on my skates and go around.  But first I'd need to put my outdoor wheels on, since, like, my skates have no wheels on them right now (I am in the midst of cleaning my bearings).

plus it's probably about ten degrees out. (checks the news website) well, 36.  Hm.

a bunch of people are congregating tomorrow morning to skate, but I can't go 'cause that's when Maverick bowls.  Did I mention he bowls?  He's pretty damned good, too.  Eight years old and his average is in the high 80's.  Roy is a bowler.  His high game is something insane like a 287 or somesuch.  I usually end up in the 110's and have to stop after one game because my hip hurts too much.  Sigh.

bodies are weird

As I have said a few times previously, my weight has remained fairly constant for the last two years or so - between 168 and 173.  But today I'm wearing a skirt that I wore to my 15th high school reunion, when I weighed 160.  So I guess it's the whole "muscle is leaner than fat" thing.  Or something.

It occurred to me a few days ago that when I went to that reunion (in 2006), two of my classmates were pregnant with their first child.  In 2009, both classmates gave birth to their second kid.  Meanwhile, Maverick is steadily approaching his 9th birthday as an only child.  When I was a kid I was all "yeah I'm gonna have at least two, possibly three kids" but when it came time to think about having #2, I was like "Um, yeah, I like what we've got going here, why rock the boat." 

So! Kyle on Tuesday. He had me doing endurance/agility stuff (stepping up and down off a high step, making sure that the foot that touches the ground is the one that goes up first.  Keeping track of that shit is HARD).  At first I was STOMP STOMP STOMP GALOMP but then he's like "step lighter" so I complied. 

Then I watched Biggest Loser. Whee.

it's tuesday, not monday. three day weekends throw me off.

So I went skating yesterday afternoon.  The rink where our league practices was open, so I took Maverick.  A few other league chicas brought their kids too, so we all hung out and skated and watched our kids skate and climb around on the big jungle gym thinger.

Maverick, as I think I've mentioned, is 8 1/2.  He's been skating for about a year now, and does pretty well.  He doesn't coast as much as he probably should, but that's most likely because his skates are crappy.  (When I was his age, I was a skating fiend.)

Tonight is my last night of scheduled Death Paces.  I think I will stick with Kyle.  My leg didn't do too badly on Sunday, and I think if I just keep up on stretching and strength training, I will be okay.  My (I am not a doctor) theory is that since I was a tub of inactive goo last year, my leg freaked out with all the sudden working of the muscles.  Now that I'm doing it on a regular basis, I should be okay.

Plus I just really can't justify the time/money commitment.

So, on to derby-ish type stuff.  I got new wheels and tried them out on Sunday.  They are Heartless wheels, Chasers on the inside and Vanish on the outside.  They were kinda slick at first but I got used to them fairly quickly.  However, they don't really feel any different than my Fugitive wheels, or my Tuner wheels before that.  I'm sure they make a difference, though.

okay

so since Kyle called in sick on Tuesday we moved Death Paces to Saturday AM.  Which kinda sucked, because after I was done I was so drained that I slept most of the afternoon.  Whoops.

He had me doing new stuff (step stuff and a different kind of leg press and bicycle crunches and arm stuff).  Whee.  So I got home and slept, like I said.

So I think I've said, or if I haven't, I have been off skates since around Thanksgiving, to give my hamstring a chance to calm itself down.  Anyway, I went to practice this morning and....

it didn't horrifically suck.

I wasn't doing anything big and all-out and whatever, and my left leg made its presence known, but I wasn't gasping and crying in pain or whatever.  We'll see what happens.  Our tryouts are the first week of February, so there's still a little time.  We'll see what happens.

okay

so last I left off, I was going to go in late on Tuesday, which I did.  Puttered through my routine, stopped doing leg curls when my calf (of all things) started making itself known, and stopped doing assisted pulls when my elbow started hurting. Stupid elbow.

Rode one of the bikes for my cardio because I wanted to watch TV.  Thought about American Idol but ended up going with Biggest Loser.  Good Lord I would punch Jillian in the mouth on a daily basis if I was there. (But that's probably the point - rage is a good motivator.)

whelp

Kyle left a message on the answering machine this morning - he had to call in sick so he won't be able to put me through Death Paces tonight.  He said to call the club and try and figure out a time to reschedule. We'll see what he's got.

This actually works out for me because I can go in later than usual tonight and see Maverick off to bed.

it's been a few days

So lemme think.  Friday was my usual routine.  I did leg curls and my hamstring DID NOT BOTHER ME AT ALL.  KNOCK ON WOOD.  So that was exciting.  Then, I did my cardio.

I'd just gotten the DVD of our last bout, and when I watched it I couldn't believe how fucking SLOW I skated. Good Lord, I was watching myself yelling (well, not really, but you know what I mean) "SKATE FASTER, SKATE FASTER!" but I know when I was in the moment I was going as fast as I could.

So, I went on what I think is called the gazelle machine?  It seemed to replicate skating motions.  Anyway, I set it for half an hour.  I'd do a minute going as fast as I could (stride rate over 180) and then two minutes with a stride rate of 130.  I kept uping the time I went fast until I could do a full two minutes with a stride rate over 180.  Since a jam is two minutes long at most, that's the fastest I would ever need to skate in one chunk of time.

Except then I remembered that part of the WFTDA (Women's Flat Track Derby Association) requirements is that you have to be able to skate 25 laps in five minutes.  Crap.

So that was Friday.  Saturday I ate too much.

Sunday I was all set to go to the gym, and then I got horrendously, horrendously, horrifically pissed over an e-mail exchange I was going through, and I got all consumed in my rage and pisseditude.  I started throwing together stuff to go to the gym - packing a change of clothes, since I figured I'd wear my gym stuff there.  Then I realized I probably shouldn't since I was gonna wear shorts and it was cold out, so I changed into civilian clothes.

See what I missed?

I get to the gym and realize I have packed a pair of jeans and I am wearing a pair of jeans.

I was so pissed that I just went home.  I did go sledding later, and trudging up the hill in full winter gear was cardio, right?  And I actually managed to pull my 65 pound kid up the hill on his sled for more than a fair amount of footage, so that's something, right?

RIGHT?

Friday

so tonight's my gym night. I'm actually looking forward to it.  Scary.  My sister commented yesterday how I like being busy, and going to the gym satisfies that need.  Could be. 

onward and upward

so this morning was another "maybe I'll get up early and go to the gym and elliptical" that just didn't pan out.

I am prefacing the following statement with the biggest KNOCK ON WOOD I can come up with.  So,

KNOCK ON WOOD

When I was working with Kyle on Tuesday, he had me do these hamstring stretches that involved bending from the waist, keeping my back as straight as possible, while holding a large (sized) barbell with a small (maybe 10 pounds?) weight on it.  He had me do this a few times.

Since then, my hamstring has hardly given me any trouble at all.

KNOCK ON WOOD

I miss skating.  I haven't skated since the night before Thanksgiving.  Partially because I want to give the hamstring a rest, partially because the only time I'd be able to skate now is Wednesday nights at the Adult Skate Night at the rink where we practice, and Sunday mornings.  I do like to spend some time with my family, so I stay home Wednesday nights, and Sunday mornings I go to the gym.  Maybe I will go to Adult Skate night next week.

indeed

so I met with Vinny (had his name spelled wrong) and was initially very discouraged.  A setup of Kyle and Vinny meant basically a deal of more scheduled trainer time (which, when you put roller derby practice back in, meant that I would be out 6 nights a week) and more money.  But then I talked to Kyle yesterday during my Death Paces and he said he wouldn't be offended if I stopped going to him, and I really do need to get this thing fucking taken care of, so once my 6 sessions with Kyle are up (I have two more), I will go to Vinny.  I can put my extra training later in the night, so I can be around when Maverick is awake and all that.

He's having me do a food diary, which I am officially starting today.  For the past two days, it's been something like this:

Breakfast: coffee and Greek yogurt
Lunch: Lean Cuisine entree
Afternoon Snack: anything in the house that is not nailed down
Dinner: Roy's chicken fettucine alfredo
Evening Snack: anything in the house that is not nailed down

I need to work on those snacks.

So yesterday was more Death Paces with Kyle.  He had me do a few different things, arm presses and bicep curls and bicycle crunches and other stuff that sort of became a blur.  Between exercises he will have me jump on an elliptical and go for X amount of time keeping my pace above Y number.  He told me my endurance was definitely improving, which suprised me.

(Here begins the long introspective part.)

I never would've thought that it had, unless he'd mentioned it.  I don't pick up on subtle change.  Sure, I can add more weight to a machine, but it doesn't occur to me that it means I am getting stronger.  I never would've realized my arms are getting stronger if I hadn't thought "Oh gee I should try doing a pushup" and then being able to do ten bent-knee ones where I couldn't even do one before.  I don't notice that my clothes are getting baggier until I'm able to pull my jeans down completely without unbuttoning and unzipping them.  I'm not sure what that means.

(And thus endeth the long instrospective part.  I guess it wasn't that long after all.)

Then it was cardio time.  Put me in front of network reality TV and I will elliptical until my feet fall off.  Seriously.  I was watching Biggest Loser (without sound; I didn't have an FM receive to get audio) and was *transfixed*.  It was like "gee, that trainer lady looks like she yells a lot" and the next thing I know 40 minutes have gone by.

Maverick is going to a friend's house after school, so that gives me a little time to run to the gym and do some more cardio.  Whee!