Saturday 18th October 2014
The floor at training was horrible today!! We train in a sports centre, so the floor is usually pretty good to skate on, but due to the bad weather, it was slightly wet and slippery in certain places. A lot of the advanced skaters couldn’t make it because of flooding, so we had more room, but had to cordon off a section of the hall. I hit a couple of wet bits and slipped over a few times, so didn’t go as fast as I usually would.
This was the first session we were actually taught backwards skating and I found that having worked on strengthening my legs, I was a lot better at this. I still need to work on getting my speed up though because I was still a little slow (and not just because of the wet floor).
We then learned how to cut the track, also known as laterals. This was really hard as you have to turn your legs and feet to the side, but keep your body facing forwards. This was really fun and I’m sure it’ll be really useful for when I am able to skate in bouts like the advanced skaters.
Next we went over the crossovers we learned last week. This was really really super hard on the slippery floor, so I went very slowly but still ended up on the floor a couple of times.
I don’t feel I got the most out of the session this week as I found it hard to concentrate and due to this, fell over lots. This was probably (hopefully) just due to lack of sleep. I was also scared of hitting a wet patch so went slower than usual and didn’t really push myself. Hopefully I’ll have plenty of time to rest next week as I’m sure I won’t want to exercise after the half marathon tomorrow.
Yes, you read that right...
On the 19th October 2014 I was silly enough to run a half marathon having not gone for a run or trained for running a long distance since before I joined fresh meat. I was still training for and playing in hockey matches every week as well as working on the muscles I needed for derby, but I had been focussing so much on derby, I sort of forgot about the whole running thing...
I lived. I completed the half marathon (don’t ask me what time I got because I really can’t remember now). I ran 13.1 miles without training...
HOW?!?!
Derby.
By going to training each week, I kept my fitness up, because derby isn’t easy. If it was easy, everyone would be able to do it, no training required, but that is definitely not the case. The muscle strength and fitness needed to skate and learn new skills for two hours, using muscles my body isn’t used to using, is what pulled/dragged/carried me over the finish line.
Now I am NOT suggesting you all start signing up for half marathons without training, but I merely want to share with you the AMAZING improvements to fitness and strength derby can bring. This sport helps to develop and improve muscle strength and fitness so much that even though you may hurt the day after practice, you know that you are getting stronger, faster, fitter.
Keep training, keep improving and most importantly, enjoy yourselves as this sport we all love helps your body and mind develop into the best you can be!
Until next time,
Bambi