I was pretty sore up until Wednesday when i ventured out and did a little bit of form practise at rollerama. no derby girls to chat to so i didn’t stay long and came back on thursday.

thursday was awesome. met a lot more girls and had lots of good chats. it’s become pretty obvious that most of us are as nervous and unsure as everyone else which is kinda reassuring.

I spent most of the sesh just skating around and trying to plow stop, which now i can kinda do. not that well but maybe enough to get me over the line… i’m really not sure.

this brings us to sunday. it wasn’t hot this week which was a plus but we started with jumps, i don’t think i was too warmed up because i was the first girl to stack on my first jump no less. but after that i found something resembling a rhythm sorta. i over heated like i tend to do and needed to take my helmet up and drink more than most people. SO WEAK ! i feel like i constantly need to apologise to the instructors because i feel like i’m going to pass out. hopefully as my fitness improves i will be able to handle the heat better… or maybe i just need to cut my hair ._.

after the jumps it was falls. i think i’ve improved on these a little. just need to practise the 4 point falls a bit more. need to be more compact… like i’m in a bloody great nutshell.

after falls it was stops. t-stops are alright and plow stops are getting there unbelievably. more practise this week required but i’m feeling more confident for a change.

after the stops it was pace weaving. i could feel my eyes widen and mouth drop at the thought of moving round the track weaving in and out of people. i was almost literally shitting myself. but once we got going it was alot easier than i thought. the hardest bit was actually staying the right distance from the first person in front.

then came the “air traffic control” where basically once person stood at the end of the track making signals. each signal related to a skill. eg) arms left = strafe left/lateral movement, arms down = double knee fall, arms up = jump. we all lined up and got ready to go. i was first in my line and for some reason when the whistle went i just started going… i was however way to early and was taking part in the instructors demonstrating. i didn’t realise till half way down that no one else in fresh meat was with me. i felt like the biggest douche… so i skated to the end turned arnd and sheepishly returned to the front of my line. OMG HOW EMBARRASSMENT !!!. most definitely the biggest faux pas so far. i just hope people just think i’m just an idiot rather than an arrogant idiot.

after that disaster it was endurance while practising our cross over form in the anti clockwise direction (normal derby direction). it was all fun and games until we changed direction.. i can not cross over going clockwise. probably the thing i will need to practise most this week.

all in all i left the session feeling soaked to the bone in sweat, still cringing but also feeling a little bit better about my abilities. i know next week i’ll be a nervous wreak for the white star assessment but right now, tonight, i’m going to kick back and pretend everything’s going to work out fine.

it’s going to be a week full of skating me thinks, on any day i’m physically able to.