geesh

so when we started the season, our team had eighteen rostered skaters.

Three of those skaters are pregnant (or recently gave birth).
Three of those skaters started the season injured.
We've since lost three more skaters to injury (one broke her arm last night at practice).

THAT TAKES US DOWN TO NINE AVAILABLE SKATERS.

Guh.

It's weird going to scrimmage night and seeing the deep, deep benches of the other teams, and we're there with our five, or six, or seven skaters who are able to show up on that given night.  (On the other hand, apparently skaters on the other teams are complaining that they're not getting enough skating time, and we're like, "okay, three jams in a row and then I'll take one off and then go back in", which I actually don't mind, and by "actually don't mind", I mean "LOVE".)

The other teams keep asking us if we want to borrow players, and we haven't, and honestly I hope that continues.  We have a good, tight knot of skaters and we work really well together.  Our practices are tight and we don't have to wait for all the little conversations to die out to hear our coaches and captains talking.

Anyway.  Last night was pretty good if you overlook the part where my teammate broke her arm.  I concentrated on agility - getting up on my toe stops, concentrating on being on only one skate at a time at any point.  Someone suggested a new way for me to get out of a cluster of opposing blockers, and if I can get it to work (i.e., not fall over), it should be pretty awesome and completely legal (I did it once, the blockers kinda looked at the ref, and he was basically like "shrug, she didn't do anything illegal").

In other news, the wart on my heel is turning into a crater.  It's fascinating in a revolting way - I was examining it with a pair of tweezers last night, picking out wart bits and seeing how far I could stick the tweezers into the hole (at least 1/4").  It doesn't hurt anymore, which is awesome, so now I can get back to doing plow stops.

So!

There's this whole controversy arising now about Oly recruting ringers for their team right before the regionals deadline.  Here's what I posted on my league's Yahoo group about it:

"I just keep thinking about the skaters that get cut from a team's roster to fit the ringers.  

"They work their asses off for the whole season, blood and sweat and tears, work hard with their teammates.  They train, they learn, they become a unit with their team.  They work and work and work and get that spot in Regionals.  

"Then they're told 'Hey, guess what?  Y'know this thing you and your teammate just spent months and months working towards? Well, we really want to win it, and we don't think you're good enough to get us there.  So we're replacing you with someone else.'

"As for Atomatrix, she said it herself: 'I'm taking a spot that someone else deserves.'"

----

 So yeah.  That probably says more about me than anything else.

(also - I read a comment one of the skaters who was cut wrote, which was basically like "This will just inspire me to WORK HARDER DON'T FEEL PITY FOR ME", which I understand, but I would totally not be that way at all.  I'd probably want to set fire to the practice space or something.)

various items

so, I now can officially say that I've thrown up during a practice.  Whee?

Monday's team practice warmup (when this happened) wasn't necessarily *harder* than usual, but it was more relentless (and I *guess* I pushed myself harder?)  Anyway, I felt better afterwards, finished up the practice and can cross that off my bucket list.

I think my skate boots are *finally* broken in, because all the trouble I was having with my toes in the last few months has vanished.  Yay!

In other news.... going back to this, skating has been okay with it except for plow stops.  For whatever reason, I end up putting a lot of pressure on my foot RIGHT WHERE THE THING IS when I plow stop, which makes for derpy-looking plow stops (as evidenced by Monday's practice, where I would do these lame plow stops in the pack and my teammates would have to grab my shirt and pull me back to stop me).  Anyway, yesterday I had a follow-up appointment and my dermatologist did a little digging around with a razor and was like "hm, now it seems more like a wart, and it's pretty deep" and then suggested treating it more aggressively and I was like "YES LET'S GO AGGRESSIVE" and I got LASERS SHOT AT MY FOOT.

DERMATOLOGIST: Do you usually take acetaminophen or ibuprofen for pain?
ME (in my head): I SKATE IT OFF.

After the anesthesia wore off (she said it would take an hour and a half; it took ABOUT FIVE MINUTES), I can now barely put any weight on my heel right now without it really really hurting.  Four ibuprofen fixes it, but every six hours I have to take more.  It'd better be better by Thursday, 'cause I got scrimmage.

wheeeeeeeeeeeeee

So last night was league scrimmage night.  Our home teams divided up and prepared to play.

One team had about thirteen skaters.  The other pretty much had its full roster of twenty.

OUR TEAM HAD SEVEN.

AND WE KICKED ASS.

We were communicating.  We were sticking together.  We let each other know where we needed to go.  No one complained about having to skate multiple jams in a row (I think at one point I did four in a row, then sat one out, then jammed).

God, I love my team.

so an update of sorts

So let's see...big news?  Any?  I got food poisoning last week (food poisoning really sucks.  Who knew?) and missed the first home team practice of the season.  We scrimmaged on the 9th and I think I did ok.  Had practice on Monday and I almost puked during the warm up; so what else is new.  I've found that I sweat a lot more profusely than I have in the past; apparently this is not a bad thing.

The corn on my heel doesn't seem to be getting much better.  Plow stops really frickin' hurt.  I have a follow up appointment on Tuesday; I'll have to ask my dermatologist for some suggestions.

We're coming up on league elections again; no one has really stepped forward and it's REALLY REALLY HARD for me not to go "well.....I suppose I could run for vice president..." NO, QUEENIE, NO.  Just....NO.  I can't handle the extra time/stress/whathaveyou.  I've done my part.  Someone else needs to step forward.

Our team is very short-staffed this season; we have two pregnant members, one who just gave birth about a week ago, one who's recovering from ACL surgery, one who's got foot problems....anyone else out?  Hrm.  At any rate, the other home teams seem to be hovering around 15-16 members. We have ten.  BUT WE CAN DO IT.  WE WON THE LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP WITH THAT MANY PEOPLE.  At the first league scrimmage NO ONE complained about having to do multiple jams in a row.  We are a great unit together and I'm very happy it's home season again.

and thus beginneth the home season

we had a league meeting tonight and then about half an hour to practice.  I'm very happy to be back with my  home team compatriots - even though sooooo many of us are either pregnant or injured.  It was a tough practice - my hair was dripping with sweat and I thought I was gonna puke - but I got through the planks and the hip touches and the dolphins and all that.  Yay me.