Week 19 - review

There was some changes but still quite nice amount of workout too. Week 19:

Monday
Run 30
Yoga 60

Tuesday
PRD practice 1 hour 45

Wednesday
Run 45

Thursday
PRD practice 2 hours
Explosive power off skate 45
Run 45

Friday
Cookie baking for restaurant day!
Body workout 60
Yoga & Stretching 30

Saturday
Core workout 30
Upper body workout 20
Walk 60

Sunday
Scrimmage! SWEATY

Here's a couple of pictures from my walk on Saturday. That evening was all about realizing it really is summer now and that's partly why I don't care to sit on my computer writing to my blog. I rather go out and explore the nature after so many dark and cold months. Or do some great workouts out together with my teammates as we did yesterday. I will be updating my workouts - it's a useful tool for planning and keeping track.

Week 18 review - resting, week 19 on the way!

On week 18 I took it a little easier and it did me good. Those days I did workout were powerful so my body was definitely in need of rest. Now I feel like pumped up with energy!

Monday
day off

Tuesday
Core workout 30
Yoga 30
Explosive power 45

Wednesday
Jogging lightly 45

Thursday
Outdoor skating 45
Core workout 30
Upper body workout 30

Friday
Day off

Saturday
Day off

Sunday
Walking 30

Last weekend I took a timeout from Derby at worst possible time, there was some awesome games played in Gent, but my weekend was already set. Well it actually did include a tiny portion of derby in means of ordering a pair of skates for my sister! We spent some hours in Helsinki trying out different skates and after some serious boot fitting the deal was clear and a pair of Vixens are hopefully soon on their way! Outdoor wheels too and we'll be ready for a pre- freshmeant training period training! I don't know which of us is more excited. On Saturday we did some charity and collected products for families of limited means. We got three shopping carts full of products!

Three of these full! Thank you people!

Then I had two visitors for spending the evening and night with us... A friend who has lately joined Kallio Rolling Rainbows, she is one of my long-term friends who has always been super important to me, as a friend and as an example too, she's just so full of energy and life! I love it in her. Her dear friend from Belgium was visiting Finland and they made a little visit to Porvoo. She's so easygoing and fun it sometimes feels I've known her for a long time! In fact we've only met a couple of times and spent some awesome time at Boom Festival last year. We had a great evening!

Week 19 planned:

Monday
Run 30
Yoga 60

Tuesday
PRD practice 1 hour 45

Wednesday
Run 45

Thursday
PRD practice 2 hours
Explosive power off skate 45

Friday
Cookie baking for restaurant day!

Saturday
Core workout 30
Upper body workout 20

Sunday
Scrimmage!

On Saturday it smelled like team spirit!

PRD played its first public bout on Saturday! It was also our second bout and our 4th game played as a team. For me it was 11th game.



WE WON! 338 - 205!

We succeeded in doing our very best and giving it all. I'm still speechless by the efforts of my teammates and eager to do a review, but once again this week is busy. Hopefully I'll have some time tomorrow!

Last week:

Monday
Run 30
Roller skating 1 hour 10
Yoga 60

Tuesday
Day off

Wednesday
Day off

Thursday
Explosive power off skate 45
PRD practice 2 hours

Friday
Yoga 30
Stretching 30

Saturday
Yoga 30
Saturday Fight Fever - Porvoo Roller Derby P-town Brawlers (!!!!!!!!)

Sunday
Don't really know!

day off

I hurt my right foot last week and I have given it some good rest now. Feels like I've been lazy, but taking it easy does good every once in a while: I've had some crazy weeks.

Week 16 review & planning for week 17

Shortly my workouts last week:

Monday
Yoga 60

Tuesday
PRD off skate workout 45
PRD practice 60

Wednesday
PRD practice 2 hours

Thursday
Jog 45
Gym 25
Core exercise 30

Friday
Stretching 30
day off

Saturday
Something I feel like doing (I should have more of these)
Run 50
Stretching 30

Sunday
PRD Open Skate
Scrimmage 45

And this week (17) I'll:

Monday
Run 30
Roller skating 1 hour 10
Yoga 60

Tuesday
Day off

Wednesday
Day off

Thursday
PRD practice 2 hours

Friday
Yoga 30
Stretching 30

Saturday
Saturday Fight Fever - Porvoo Roller Derby P-town Brawlers (!!!!!!!!)

Sunday
Don't really know!

This week is such an exciting week! More about that after the First of May!

Week 16 - Open skate on Sunday!

Where are you skaters of Porvoo??? Come join our team! I'd love to see you skate! We all would!

I'm bringing my twin brother (who used to play hockey) and my sister (who is really interested - buy her a pair of skates size 5!). Last but not least also her husband and son! I want to hear all that little guy has to say about roller derby, he has such a great imagination. If derby gets them hooked I only need my mom to NSO, my dad to control the audio for us and then it's pretty much the whole family.

Monday
Yoga 60

Tuesday
PRD off skate workout 45
PRD practice 60

Wednesday
PRD practice 2 hours

Thursday
Jog 45
Gym 25
Core exercise 30

Friday
Stretching 30

Saturday
Something I feel like doing (I should have more of these)

Sunday
PRD Open Skate
Scrimmage 45

New hoodie!

Week 15 review

So I deleted the last post where I went deeper into Camp Niksi-Pirkkala. Typical. Thought it was a draft. Yeah. All in all, one hell of a boot camp, some sore muscles, hours of skating, awesome off skate, best people, eating, sleeping on school floor, scrimmaging, being tired and happy. Not annoyed at all about deleting the post... not at all... Not my week!

But I did pass the theory test part of driving test yesterday, yes!

And once again my week 15:


Monday
Yoga 60

Tuesday
PRD off skate 45
PRD practice 60

Wednesday
Jog 45

Thursday
Gym 45
Gym 20
RVP 30
Stretching 30

Friday
Massage 60

Saturday
Camp Niksi-Pirkkala
12-20

Sunday
Camp Niksi-Pirkkala
10-18

Scrimmage teams! Photo by Tampere Rollin' Hos

Week 15 - need to show off

You know people who post their 10 kilometer jog or their visit at the gym on facebook every time? Or people like me who run a blog concentrating mainly on their workouts and practices to achieve something? It might be half a show off as well as an actual tool for you to keep track. I could have chosen to keep a diary just for myself but why didn't I? It's because of  PRESSURE.

By making it somewhat public you create pressure for yourself and that way are more likely to keep your promises. It works for me. I plan or try to plan my workout for every week and I've noticed I keep to my plans better when I've published them and kind of promised it to myself and others. This spring has been a hassle and I'm still just hanging on to what's felt a good plan earlier but as we come closer to summer I will have more relaxed time of year again. I'll make adjustments and explore what could be new and improving for me.

Week 15 planned:

Monday
Yoga 60

Tuesday
PRD off skate 45
PRD practice 60

Wednesday
Jog 45

Thursday
Gym 45
Stretching 30

Friday
Massage 60

Saturday
Camp Niksi-Pirkkala
12-20

Sunday
Camp Niksi-Pirkkala
10-18

© Marko Niemelä

Week 14 review - achieving a goal: a motivation rush!

I have now experienced one of my long term goals to come true! It's been proved that you can achieve the title of Best Jammer after practicing roller derby really hard for a year. It's even more meaningful because it was after 8 scrimmages (of which 2 was played as a PRD team) and this 9th game was an actual BOUT! I was so happy I couldn't even realize it was true! Now I want to cry again!

If you're just starting up, you've never skated in you're life and know nothing of roller derby: you are yet to know what all you can suddenly achieve if you work hard, participate, concentrate, try harder, fall and get up, get lost and get found in the arms of your teammates. Don't be afraid to dream and aim real high!

I got some huge amount of self confidence from it and from all the words said to me after the bout. So much strength, thankfulness and it felt like a reward. Well it was a reward :D! I've worked my ass off and gone through pain in my buttocks, feet, right big toe, backache. The mental struggle was the hardest part which I couldn't have gone through without all the cheering I got from our coaches, my teammates, my loved ones and the book I read. I've worked out so that my feet have grown 0,5 size bigger and all my shoes from last summer are now too small for my feet. My underwear does not cover my buttocks anymore and finally there's no empty room in the back of my trousers. Yeah go fill those pair of jeans! I've also gotten a pair of nicely curved legs compared to my old overall round legs. Found out I have upper abs. I have balance which I've never had, I've been the type to fall from high, can't stand with one foot, no chance getting on a skateboard and stay up. Well I haven't fallen ONCE the whole winter. I can go longboarding (I WANT TO). Also I've never been this flexible. I can yoga. I can stretch my head to my knees. Things I have not been able to do before.

How does that make me feel? Like a winner! And how does winning myself make me feel? Like working harder! It pays off.

Week 14 went like this:

Monday
bodypump 60

Tuesday
PRD off skate 1 hour 30
PRD practice 60

Wednesday
PRD practice 2 hours

Thursday
Stretching 30

Friday
It's a bout time! Lihamukiloijat vs. P-Town Brawlers

Saturday
Day off

Sunday
PRD practice 2 hours

Best Blocker, Most Valuable Player, Best Jammer, c Marko Niemelä 

Thanks Marko Niemelä for the awesome pictures you took! They will take me to the exciting moments over and over again...!

It's a bout time!

I am prepared! And it feels good.
PRD is prepared! That feels even better.

I've got a couple of things in mind for the bout today! Those are

- remembering my theme for peacefulness and breathing

- trying a bit harder than I feel I can

- smaller call offs for efficiency

- concentration

- communication

When I come to the pack of opposing blockers I can see a meadow with a couple of cats jumping around in front of the pack. I desperately want to join that meadow.

I'm prepared with this image in mind

Week 13 review - body & mind

Last week has been all about building confidence. I've only read the two first sections of the book Mind Gym but the preparation started before I even opened the book. I liked to hear from Tigre Force that helping your jammer as a blocker also builds the jammers confidence by making the pass easier. It helped me realize I feel disappointed in myself if I don't make points. Setting different goals will help with that, it's not always about getting the points but eg.
- getting the lead (don't mind if the other jammer is right behind you)
- if you don't get a lead, you'd be able to catch the other jammer as fast as possible
- Calling the jam off at the right time, communicating with your bench

Or even lower goals (on which I've been concentrating on the last 3 scrimmages)
- staying low = staying upright and on the track
- taking hits = leaning towards the hit, or absorbing momentum from the hit
- not turning your back for the opposite blockers for a back block

If you've got some killer jammer goals for a starting jammer, please comment! The more experience I get and the more I improve the higher goals I can set in the future. Of course there's always the dream goal to keep me going, but goals per jam or a bout (BOUT MENTIONED, more about that later).

The strategy off skate was also otherwise really good. Tigre is such a wonderful person! For the first 5 minutes it was really hard not to giggle all the time from excitement. I'm such a child sometimes! She was great and it was nice to ask questions and talk about strategies and hear her advice. I think we're starting to be at the point where we can actually create our own strategies and game plans. Which is so neat! We just need to take the step and do it as a team. Of course we have basic strategies, but soon for more advanced ones. Can't wait, I love the strategic part of the game too!

Here's what I did last week:

Monday
Run 35
Mixed workout:
squats, chest press, abs, back
yoga and stretching 30

Tuesday
A guest coach! Tigre Force from HRD:
PRD strategy off skate 1 hour 30
PRD practice 60

Wednesday
PRD practice 2 hours

Thursday
Bodybalance 60
Run 35
Upper body gym 20
Core exercise 30

Friday
day off

Saturday
Scrimmage in Turku (YES! How lovely to go see those wonderful people again!)

Sunday
PRD practice 2 hours

AND here's the highlight of this week!!!!!!!!!

Week 13 - hello you!

I had a wonderful Easter holiday! Friends, chill out, sleeping, running, baking, cooking, workouts and... PLAYING! The whole four free days were exactly what I needed. We played together with Kotka Roller Derby (Eagle City Derby Roses) against Kallio Rolling Rainbow team C. They totally kicked our asses with some 100 points but it was educating and fun anyways! Time just flew by! We had a practice with KRR too before the game and it was just the perfect warm-up for the game.

I've noticed a little something in my own playing mood lately. The better our opponents are keeping me behind their wall while I'm jamming the worse I feel about myself. To be honest I feel like shit. Like a worthless jammer making no points at all. That's a dangerous feeling that can only bring you down more. Our coahing ref posted a blog post to our information group that helped me a lot and I printed it right away. Click here to read it too! I also ordered the book mentioned in the interview, Mind Gym. It only came in post this week and I haven't had time to start it but today I will.

The heading of the interview mentions mental toughness. Handling your feelings and mind might be familiar to people who have competed earlier, maybe played some sports with serious goals. As I've stated in here before I've got no experience in team sports and now I need to state I also lack experience in competing. Now that our team is actually able to play and compete it's a new aspect we need to handle. Suddenly I feel the pressure and don't know how to handle it. I like challenges, love to improve my skills and don't mind losing, but I wan't to have feeling of success. So I'll be digging into the book and will get some more tips how to manage my feelings.

Week 13 planned:

Monday
Run 35
Mixed workout:
squats, chest press, abs, back
yoga and stretching 30

Tuesday
PRD strategy off skate 1 hour 30
PRD practice 60

Wednesday
PRD practice 2 hours

Thursday
Bodybalance 60

Friday
day off

Saturday
Scrimmage in Turku (YES! How lovely to go see those wonderful people again!)

Sunday
PRD practice 2 hours


What have I been eating lately:

Favourite of them all!

Week 11 & 12 review

I've been busy enjoying the upcoming spring and Easter holidays and I'm planning to continue it till tomorrow! Here's a quick view what I've done the last two weeks with my training.

Week 11:

Monday
Yoga 60

Tuesday
X-fit 50
PRD practice 60 (I was a jammer ref trainee)

Wednesday
RVP 30
Yoga 30
Stretching 30
PRD practice 2 hours

Thursday
day off

Friday
Scrimmage / practice in Kotka 3 2 hours

Saturday
Yoga 30
Stretching 30

Sunday
Run 35 (5,4 km)
PRD OPEN SKATE!!!
Scrimmage 1 hour

Week 12:
Monday
Hurt my lower back on Sunday so I had a day off

Tuesday
A day off due to my ill lower back
Motivation discussion 60
NSO 60

Wednesday
Back to practice: PRD practice 2 hours

Thursday
Bodypump exp 30

Friday
Day off

Saturday
Practice and scrimmage with KRR in Pasila 4 hours

Sunday
Run 40

Bodypump 60

Someone should maybe do an inventory for sportswear

IT'S BEEN A YEAR!

"Damn it if I'm not a dangerous player in a year from starting!" - me 13th September 2012.


Shorty H was born a year ago when I attended PRDs practice only to try out what couple of my really close and dear friends were doing in the evenings. I remember how hard it was to try not to fall with the skates and my skating really sucked. I could do some ½ hour and my feet were killing me. I thought it to be a mission impossible to become even somewhat airy skater and sometimes I still feel it. After the first practice I loaned my friends skates during her long walk in Spain for a month and then decided to become one of those awesome girls attending the practice week after week with such enthusiasm that made me feel there was something about those people. It's only now I realize what that was: a team, my team. The best freaking girls Porvoo has to offer! Not only the skaters becoming players but our coaches and refs too.

Here's the first derby related picture of me in our Open Skate in April 2012.



Everything started rolling and we did some serious groundwork with basic skills. I had never skated in any way, I had no balance and all in all no idea how those quad skates worked or how my body was to work on them. At times I felt I wasn't going anywhere but I kept on showing up to the practices even if I sometimes felt I was left behind. I wasn't a fast learner - actually it took me a good while to learn even crossovers and you know why? Because of FEAR. Fear of falling, fear of failing, fear of anything I could think of. I got a little something attending an international boot camp in Helsinki after only 9 times on skates. The international coaches pushed me to cross those lines and it stuck with me. Of course it wasn't like an immediate turn to a a brave person givin' it all but it was a push towards it. The next big push came in September at the USA boot camp when I started this blog. I'm not that afraid to try new styles and tricks as I used to be.

Here's an example. Outdoor skating in May 2012 even if I didn't even know how to stop. That didn't stop us! :D



So as I said I should be a dangerous player after a year. I've got some serious work to do still but the results after one year of practicing are showing something. I've got balance. I can skate. I can learn more.
I CAN PLAY!

Loads of love to all of you who made me start this!

Week 11 workouts n' stuff

I feel like exercising my brain out! And at the same time I have a nasty flu. Great going?

PRD went to X-fit class on Tuesday and it was surely 50 minutes well spent. It was not full on exercise for the whole 50 minutes as we went the basis through well enough to get our performance right. But when the workout was on it was full on monkey business! It was competing against your own muscles and endurance, time and weights and the most powerful enemy: your will. It hurt in muscles I haven't been using in a long time or maybe never. Somehow I still felt quite powerful and the idea of making it to the goal kept me going. It was a full body workout in a small and active package! I definitely want to go again - and will go right next week.

The same night I forgot my mouthguard at home so there was no scrimmaging for me at the practice. Instead I got to be a jammer ref trainee with light tasks such as calling the lead, calling of the jam if the jammer called it of, only trying to look for penalties which was not at all that easy!.Actually already the whistle was a thing to learn. I tried to watch for penalties but many times the situation passed because I was uncertain of the call, really recognizing penalties is not easy. It was an eye opening chance for me as a jammer too: forearms, backblock, cutting: all that became clearer from the inner track point of view. Also I wasn't that serious ref, I smiled and enjoyed running along with my jammer, it was actually real fun to try it out! Thanks for the support, whistle and tips, Sid :).

Hey there was a pick-up scrimmage last Sunday in Helsinki! There was 50 or so players participating and it was an awful lot of fun. That though was the day when I caught the flu and became quite tired in the end of the game. There was some diamond moments in that scrimmage, to mention my favorites:
- Lining up as a jammer with Tsubutex and she hit me down right after the jam starting whistle! Somehow I saw it coming and it was so cool!
- A handshake between me and an opposing male jammer, initiated by him. That really got me confused.
- A booty sticking out from a wall when I was approaching the wall, I slowed down for it and hit the booty and made a hole for myself.
Thanks to everyone who participated, cheered and gave support for a jammer trying to figure how to do it!


Week 11 planned:

Monday
Yoga 60

Tuesday
X-fit 50
PRD practice 60 (I was a jammer ref trainee)

Wednesday
RVP 30
Yoga 30
Stretching 30
PRD practice 2 hours

Thursday
day off

Friday
Scrimmage / practice in Kotka 3 hours

Saturday
Yoga 30
Stretching 30

Sunday
PRD OPEN SKATE!!! DON'T MISS!

Scrimmage 1 hour

Week 10 review - too cold to get me out running

I haven't had a decent jog for a while and those degrees of -10- -25 really don't encourage me to get out for a run. I know people do run in frost but not me, not this winter. I want to have a smile on my face the next time I go out running. Well I haven't been jogging on the treadmill either due to lack of time before workout classes. But there's good news too! I've again gotten on track with bodypump. Many weeks I've just skipped the class because my timetables have been a mismatch. Now I had the chance to go TWICE and I feel stronger already! After Sundays class I felt like a winner, it was after the pick-up scrimmage in Helsinki. The next day I had gotten a sore throat, I don't know if it's from Saturday when we went to see Cirque du Soleil and I felt a bit cold. The show Alegria was beautiful and the music was fantastic! Definitely worth seeing.

Here's my week 10:


Monday
walk 20
yoga 60

Tuesday
PRD practice 60

Wednesday
PRD practice 2 hours
(1 hour skating, 1 hour muscle workout / stretching / blabbering)

Thursday
Bodybalance 60

Friday
run 30
bodypump exp 30
walk 20

Saturday
run 30
walk 20

Sunday
HRD pick-up scrimmage @ Pasila
Bodypump 60

My new training shoes!

Excitement and happiness in one awesome derby packet

                                              

Last Saturday we headed to Tampere for PRDs second scrimmage. That picture is taken in autumn 2011, now there was snow and we drove around the city nervous and excited. The nearer we got the more excited we felt. It always seems like an awful lot of time before the game gets going but the moment you're warming up on the track with your 10 teammate hits you in a moment. We had screaming moments in our locker room and last minute preps. Suddenly we were on the track and line-ups ready to get started. This time I was going to mainly jam and I did too. I went out blocking twice and it felt good too - somehow after adjusting your mind to jamming also helps when e.g. bridging: you're more ready to get through and in the front. Tampere Ho-Bits were awesome! They seemed to have a great time, good spirit, loads of beautiful smiles! A huge high-five for that!

All in all knowing your player position was a comfort and made playing easier. I tried to keep my eyes and ears to our bench and it worked out really well. There was a couple of times when I did not hear it all, being in the opposite side of the track from our bench. It was a game that showed I've got some serious work load to do but also I felt I can do it. I was doubting to play as a jammer after Turku. Maybe it was good because now I've tried to improve those skills and worked on my weak points. There's a long road ahead of me but at least I know what road I'm on. You feel me? Starting roller derby from point zero with no experience in any skating is an effort itself. To become good is a huge step and you never know how long it's going to take.




Run and push, off you go! I got two penalties for cutting but otherwise I felt it was the first time I actually could keep my eye on cutting. If someone hit me out of bounds I finally made the effort to check who it was and more importantly is she standing or did she fall. I think it was a brain click: I finally got it into my head to check it. Also recovering from a hit isn't that slow for me anymore and instead of dropping into a full fall I might just drop to one knee and be able to see the game and the initiator. Simple newbie improvements like that, it's not easy! Another thing I've tried to brainwash into the game is bluffing. Somehow I haven't brought it to game before, maybe it's the new situation or the excitement. This time I actually bluffed a couple of times and really felt how it helped my game. If I'm not the most agile and fast I need to use that to my advantage. The third moment of awesomeness I had was when I played time and sat on the other jammers lap. It was wonderful moment of relax in an awesome lap. I enjoyed it so much!

Compared to our first game our pack work from jammers point of view was put to a new level! They made holes for me and just let me push my way out. Amazing. Can't wait to play with them again!

Plans for week 10:

Monday
walk 20
yoga 60

Tuesday
PRD practice 60

Wednesday
PRD practice 2 hours

Thursday
Bodybalance

Friday
run 30
bodypump exp 30

Saturday
run 30

Sunday
HRD pick-up scrimmage @ Pasila


Jani Haikonen, thanks for the photos of me jamming :)

Week 9 review

PRD played its second scrimmage ever and won! I thought winning would feel different and maybe it slightly does but mainly I feel happy to have played again. I've written my feelings down and will get more deeper into those - maybe tomorrow ;)

Here's week 9!

Monday
day off

Tuesday
PRD practice 60

Wednesday
PRD practice 2 hours

Thursday
Bodybalance 60

Friday
run 15
Bodypump exp 30
RVP 30
yoga 30
stretching 30

Saturday
scrimmage @ Tampere

Sunday
PRD practice 2 hours
walking 30
(~1 hour discussion of the game)

Look at the happy brawlers! I love them!

Thank you Jani Haikonen for taking the picture!

Week 9, here we go!

Time to reflect what I learned from the more experienced players in Pasila over a week ago. It was a mixed scrimmage with nice big rosters so we had time to suck in the info in between the game too. Me and our lovely coach Killmore were in the team white, she doing the line-ups and me jamming. Other PRD girls were playing in the black team. I also got to be a captain for the first time ever! As a newbie the captains meet was really interesting as well as seeing it in action, well I called for a timeout only once, but it was good to get some perspective from that too. It's not easy: rather often you have to be able to explain what happened on the track even if you weren't on the track when it happened and more importantly with a language that will be easy for the referees to understand.

Cars: Mater plaster on my knee

This was the first time I was lined-up just mainly as a jammer. In the second period I did go to the track as a blocker once but otherwise I jammed. I had goals that I set to myself so that I wouldn't be disappointed:

• to learn from the more experienced skaters
• to communicate
• to succeed even once

Already from Turku I had learned to take care of the after math:

• drink loads (water too)
• eat magnesium
• stretch properly

But these are the things I marked to be important to keep in mind after this mixed scrimmage:

• learn how to take hard checks and hits --> lean towards the incoming hit
• improve your stance further, be aware of your body positions
• communication: track players vs. bench
• player position: learning and improving during the game
• position on the track: prefer inner and middle
• slow down when approaching the pack from behind
• working with the bench, timing when to look at the bench
• easy points before calling the jam off

And how did I succeed? Well I told you already I got hurt a little. It was in the second period when I hit my right knee, left shoulder, left fingers and my head. I fell by stumbling to another skaters legs when she fell. After that I didn't go on the track anymore, I was just shaky and white, probably from the hit my head took. There was also a star moment in the first period when communication failed and I got some cool hits from black blockers, hits like I've never experienced. That was a precious moment in learning. So I started the jam and somehow miraculously got the lead. When I returned again to the pack I got hit over and over again until couldn't handle the situation anymore. I was watching our bench but saw no sign of calling it off and at the same time our players on the track yelled the right thing: to call it off. So this raised a question in my mind that's worth pondering: who is it you need to listen? As a jammer I've learned to watch the bench and do as the bench tells me. This new situation led me to understand that yes, in some rare occasions (like in this one, when our bench didn't realize I had the lead) you should use your own brain.

Anyhow, I did have my moments and a couple of OK jams. Worth mentioning that I had ZERO penalty!

This week sketched, I'm not sure of Friday yet, I've had some dizzy and weak feelings yesterday and today.

Monday
day off

Tuesday
PRD practice 60

Wednesday
PRD practice 2 hours

Thursday
Bodybalance 60

Friday
run 15
Bodypump exp 30

Saturday
Scrimmage @ Tampere

Sunday
PRD practice 2 hours

Week 8 review - hours slipping by

I didn't post my plans for last week because I simply didn't have time. I'm starting to get tired of saying it damn it, but hey being busy must mean I'm about to accomplish something? Not only something but loads of things! Like I've only less than half an year of my Leo Club presidency, I'm almost done with PRDs accounting for last year, I've only got four theory lessons for driving school and some 12 driving lessons. And we have our first bout coming up!

Last week:

Monday
yoga 60

Tuesday
PRD practice 60

Wednesday
PRD practice 2 hours

Thursday
day off

Friday
running 20
bodypump exp 30

Saturday
running 25
RVP 30
stretching 30

Sunday
day off

pair of blues (hohoho)

Porvoo Roller Derby 1 year!

PRD turns 1 which means I've been enjoying this sport and it's lovely members for 11 months now. I remember going to my first practice just to try out, only out of curiosity. I had no intention starting and ditching my runners career but instead I found myself skating more and more and running less. Oh I don't regret that! I've come quite far - not to talk about our league! After a year we've started scrimmaging and have our first bout ahead of us. I'm crazy about our team members and just can't wait to start the party tonight with them!

Everyone enjoy your derby people!

Week 7 review UMPPALUMPPA JEJEJEJE

WARNING: this is only a short review Shortys style... BUSYBUSY week (as always, I'm sorry for my self not to be able to bla bla bla everything a thousand time here! I wanna!)

Weekend was a blast! I purred and purred... And got a little hurt. Still my uppermost feelings are wonderfully happy! Scrimmaging in Kallio Rolling Rainbows maakuntascrimmage gave me important lessons. There were also more experienced players among the teams who totally took the game to a new level. There was spirit, talent, enthusiasm! They embraced us new players and gave the best support both on the track and bench. It was my third scrimmage and I'm slowly getting the hand of it. I played mainly as a jammer. It was great to get into your position and trying to improve every time on the track.

Last week dear readers:

Monday
cross-trainer 25
yoga 60

Tuesday
PRD practice 60

Wednesday
cycling 20
Bodypump 60
yoga 25

Thursday
Bodybalance 60

Friday
HRD practice 2½ hours

Saturday
KRR practice 3 hours
KRR mixed scrimmage 2 hours - Captain
KRR Intraleague bout 2 hours - NSO

Sunday
day off


Sneak peak to my little injuries and new hair! Swollen and open wound on my knee, nice bruise on my shoulder and a hit to my head that somehow caused my hair to get shorter three days later??? 

                                                   
             

Full track practices ahead!

PRD is quite excited to have been invited to HRD's and KRR's practices today and tomorrow... Just a tad excited, just enough to already dream about falling to the full track.

only a tad

Okay a bit more than a tad! Today 2 ½ hours of practicing, skating and listening, hopefully learning!

And luckily just when we might think it's over, we can go to sleep only to wake up into an 8 hour roller derby session! I say:

Then after the 8 hours tomorrow, I'm gonna be all like this:

Thank you for reading! I'll post about the feelings during next week! Smile out!

Week 7 - it's all good

I've broken the edge of stress this week. Monday and Tuesday flew by me like I was watching from the outside. Today I feel better despite the fact I've not actually accomplished any of the task I was meant to. I've actually just collected even more stuff to do! But hell, to the same sack of unfinished business.

I'm having my second driving lesson today! The theory lessons are dull but the first driving lesson last week was so much fun. It's gonna change right after we drive in actual traffic with actual cars on the road. Still fun fun fun! Costly fun!

This weekend is one of those kick-ass super weekends that should last for a week. We've been invited to HRDs practice on Friday and then to a practice, mixed scrimmage and a bout by KRR on Saturday. Inhale, exhale, coolio. So how about a full track practice on Friday and Saturday?? Time to skate like hell! How about getting to know new people and letting out some excess energy. Yesyesyes. We'll be home for the night just to wake up after couple of hours for some more, KRR is hosting a practice, we're playing in a mixed scrimmage and finally I'll nso at the last game. Penalty box blocker timer it is, I've done it once and it's gonna be good.

Monday
cross-trainer 25
yoga 60

Tuesday
PRD practice 60

Wednesday
Bodypump 60

Thursday
Bodybalance 60

Friday
HRD practice 2½ hours

Saturday
KRR practice 3 hours
KRR mixed scrimmage 2 hours - Captain
KRR Intraleague bout 2 hours - NSO

Sunday
day off

Week 6 review

Hungry. This weekend was full of delicacies: cupcakes and cake on Friday, some quiche too and salad. Then to a late supper with a dear friend on Saturday, delicious appetizers (beetroot & chèvre, calamari, sausage) and lovely creamy mushroom risotto at Ristorante Como in Helsinki. The final touch at a 2-year birthday party yesterday where we enjoyed various cakes (savory and sugary) and other all time favorites like meatballs and squeaky cheese! Here comes Monday and the food fests are over (except for the obligatory bun of the day).

That bodypump on Friday surely got me sore. I had a 1½ months break from it and now I'll try slowly returning it to my schedule, hoping that spring season will give me more hours a week. I did stretch afterwards and a little on Saturday too but had to skip the stretching lesson at ladyline and hurry to see my little brother, and folks too! On Sunday I did some yoga after a walk and felt already more relaxed, then attended bodybalance and did some serious muscle opening there. Today there's no sign of soreness! I'm ready for more, but have to wait till Wednesday.




Week 6 review:

Monday
Cross trainer 15
Run 15
Yoga 60

Tuesday
PRD practice 60

Wednesday
jog 30
PRD practice 2 h (40 min discussion)

Thursday
Bodybalance 60

Friday
cycling 15
Bodypump exp 30

Saturday
cardio-circle 20 (4 min cycling, 4 min cross trainer, 12 min running)
RVP 30
stretching 30

Sunday
walk 35
yoga & stretching 25
Bodybalance 60
Yoga & stretching 30

Week 6 - more steps

This is such a busy week! So no blablabla for me today, just hard planning:

Monday
Cross trainer 15
Run 15
yoga 60

Tuesday
PRD practice 60

Wednesday
PRD practice 2 h

Thursday
Bodybalance 60

Friday
Bodypump exp 30

Saturday
RVP 30
stretching 30

Sunday
Bodybalance 60
Yoga & stretching 30

YES! EAT THIS! MMM

Grow up! Week 5 - review

New week! New attitude! Here's a picture of me 10 months ago. I had skated for two weeks, about 4 times. FOUR TIMES! And I felt like learning all the time and also I got more skills every time I put those skates on. Now that I remember those days I recall I had to take skates off many times in the middle of the practice because my feet got so sore. I remember tumbling, training how to fall, stop and skate. Basic stuff!

Me at the Open Skate 12.4.2012

We as a league have taken a huge leap. We have had our first FTPs and I am already in the team, a team that scrimmages. Somehow we have waited for this for so long that now that it's happening, I can hardly understand it. I am not only practicing to play but also playing. And for some reason I thought I'd be ready right from the start? Nope, this is where I begin! So no more "damn I sucked" but rather "hey what did I learn, what can I do better next time?" It's no news for me that I'm impatient, it's just hard to handle sometimes. Also now that we are learning more advanced stuff it takes a little longer to take it in and bringing it into action. Too bad patience has never been my thing, but I'm gonna go for it now.

Last week was so busy and it shows in my workouts too, I wish the driving school would be over already.

Monday
yoga 60

Tuesday
PRD practice 60

Wednesday
PRD practice 2 hours

Thursday
day off

Friday
yoga & abs 30
walking 45

Saturday
day off

Sunday
PRD practice 2 hours

Upgrading Vixen take 2

Upgrade 1:

- Atom Juke 93A wheels

- Independent bearings (Abec-5s)

- Soft cushions

(- New helmet)

After upgrade 1

Upgrade 2:

- Friends for Atom Juke 93As: pushers Atom Venom (Poison) 84A (lighter green)

- Suregrip RX Toe Stops (mixed to go with our team colors)

- Green toe Guards

- New laces (I'd love red&blue laces too!)
(- New TSG Force III Knee Pads & TSG All Terrain Elbow pads)

After upgrade 2

So the game stats came from the scrimmage last Saturday... DAMN I SUCKED! I feel powerless. It feels nonsense shouting at myself to try harder but I'll have to try. OKEY sucked is a too powerful a word to use. But I was just worse than I had imagined, that's all.

New TSG knee pads

What happened on week 4? It's week 5 already turning into weekend!

CRAZY WEEK, damn! Working, two evening meetings, practices and drivers club lessons. To come: more drivers club lessons, work, friends birthday party, brunch, my godsons birthday party, practice and hopefully some sleep at some point. Anyway, I have a spare moment for my beloved blog, hi you!

This day has been awesome. I'm quite often really happy when my days are filled with things I like to do, even now when my bank account is hungry for some euros. Hey it's Thursday already so lets finally finish up last week, shall we! Week 4:

Monday
Yoga 60 (note: I reached my head to my knees FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!)

Tuesday
passed the new unofficial minumum skills written tes
PRD practice 60

Wednesday
baked cookies with teammates
PRD practice 2 hours
drank beer with teammates

Thursday
bodybalance 60

Friday
RVP 30  I just couldn't!

Saturday
Scrimmage (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Sunday
Practice 2 hours (:D you should have seen my tired ass going round the track!)

Nope, I'm not over Turku yet. Here's my breakfast on the Sunday after the game, before the 2 hour practice they invited us into. This was at Naantalin Aurinkoinen and the saleswoman was the nicest ever! Almost a total recovery from the game day before... ALMOST! We failed to stretch after the game and maybe slipped into beer drinking before having some water time. Some magnesium would have been great too. And more stretching. One more thing to the list "what we learned in Turku".

JOO well there is life after Turku as well. To prove it I took that picture below. Yep. It's a bruise I got at some practice this week. Quite painful. I had my knee pads too loose, my own fault, and then fell sliding so that the pad went off from that point of my thigh. At yesterdays practice I fell on my skates, wheels hitting my bum in the same-exact-spot-where-I-already-had-a-bruise! That was a nice thing to show for Nina Erwes,  IirisDoris Dee and Indy from HRD... WHY do I ALWAYS have to fall so many times under pressure?? Couldn't I just skate gracefully? Maybe some day, pretty please?

I'm tired. Yawn. How will I survive the theory lessons at drivers club? The room will be filled with 39 almost 18 year old young sparkling people and me. Can't wait to get a cup of hot chocolate and daze the lesson away.

Lost n' found

PRD did good! We're happy, excited and longing for more! We lost the game, but found ourselves happy to the top, cheering and partying. That is because although we lost we also found out we still made a pretty good match. The first period was quite even but then it got out of hands in the second period. That is quite normal for teams starting to scrimmage, at least that is what I heard. But still we made points and didn't get totally wiped out. Our team spirit was high, we were supportive towards each other and no one had a mental breakdown.

PRD loves DRRG

When it comes to my own playing it didn't go as well as I imagined...  I was ready to be super agile, fast and furious, to block everyone trying to pass me, to score millions and millions of points and just leap through the pack. In fact I took penalties, was late too many times in my moves and unable to forecast. I also got stuck in the pack, went to the box for stupid mistakes, fell like a bambi and at some point felt quite miserable. But every time I got back to our bench the cheerful supporting atmosphere ran over me and no setbacks made me miserable after that. Sometimes I even got through the back, actually blocked and did good stuff. Most importantly I learned a lot, for example:

- bridging correctly, reforming the pack

- trying to anticipate the jammers next move when blocking

- confusing the opposing jammer in jam start when jamming

- team work, pushing my teammates

- figuring out their strategy for the game and adjusting to it

During the evening and night we found out how great all the derby people in Turku were. They made us welcome, they took us to dinner, then they drank beer with us, had a great after party, gave us beds to sleep in, took us to their practice and we enjoyed the hall with a full track. They were loud and hugged us, never gave up cheering for us. I miss everyone already!