marathoner turns derby girl?

yesterday i did something i never thought i'd do...i tried out for the roller derby team! a couple years ago, i convinced my very good friend jennie to run a marathon with me and now she convinced made me try out with her.

the last time i skated was probably when i was 12 years old, about the same for her. who knows what we were thinking when we decided to do this because our skills were probably about as good as a 12 year old or worse! we got to the rink an hour earlier to practice a bit. i think we held on to the rail our first time around! it was so hard. not like i remembered! i could not even turn nor stop. it was horrible. i was determined to get better because i was an excellent skater back in the day, or so i'd like to think.

after several more circles around the rink we got a little better. and by that i mean we were no longer losing balance and crashing into the walls. oh yes, i crashed into the wall a few times. once i went right into it trying to stop, i hurt me knee really bad. i sat out for a few minutes but went right back out there.

we then met the girls on the team. they made us feel very welcomed. told us what to expect in the assessment they would be giving us. everyone was super friendly. they put is in line, jennie being first and me second. they made us do a number of things like skating in a scissor position, t-stops, cross t ( i think that's what they called it) skating w/one leg, hopping, etc. things we've never tried much less were ready for. we tried as best as we could but in the end we didn't make the team. it was a great experience. had a lot of fun in the process and met some pretty awesome chicks.

i had so much fun i think i will be practicing all month in order to try out next time--on my own free will of course! jennie was happy to hear that. of course we haven't done any of the pushing and shoving yet and i am almost positive that is where i will want out! will keep you posted!