1/2/11

I had FUN skating last Friday!!  Kylie and I went early to skate during session before practice.  John the Thurmonator was there and pulled me around for a while.  This was really fun of course, but also good because it got me used to going faster, so I was more confident on my own.  I then joined in Friday practice.  Friday practice is technique day, and there are inlines and quad skaters there.   All in all, I skated for almost 2 hours on Friday.  I felt much stronger, tho I’m still terrible, and I have a little more confidence.

After having a great time on Friday, I was super psyched to attend an outdoor skating event with the Hill Country Inline Club on Saturday.  They planned a fun scavenger hunt and get-together at the Williamson County Regional Park.  The info says skaters of all levels are welcome, Kylie and I are in! 

On the drive over, I am still feeling confident from skating the night before.  However, as soon as I pull up, my confidence quickly erodes.  First of all, there are *BAD ASS* skaters everywhere.  Then, if you are not on skates, and have no reason to think about skating, the area looks totally flat.  As a new skater, I step out of the car and immediately notice the following:  the parking lot slopes in, it’s slightly uphill toward an asphalt loop, then the sidewalk is both uphill and downhill toward the tables and playground.  Not good.

I’m content to get Kylie setup and watch her skate off with her buddies.  Lucky for me, the Thurmonator is hurt and not skating, so hopefully I can just hang with him and no one will ask about my skates.  That lasted for about 10 seconds.  Thanks to pressure from my dear, kind, patient, and encouraging friends, I finally go and put on my skates.

As I step out of the mom-mobile (SUV) with my skates on, I immediately realize I’m terribly sore from skating last night.  The muscles you use for skating you don’t really use for walking around so I didn’t notice it beforehand, but my legs feel dead and completely unresponsive.  I start rolling away from the car, which is kinda funny except that it’s also embarrassing and terrifying. I look “uphill” toward the loop, then “uphill” and “downhill” toward the tables and I would really REALLY like to crawl back to the car and take the skates off.  The Thurmonator is patiently letting me hold onto him while I steady myself, which was for most of the time that day.

Thanks to John I make it to the edge of the loop to watch the kids skate in from the scavenger hunt.  (Kylie wants you to know her team won)  I wedge my skate in a crack so I can quit rolling backwards, and I’m noticing the loop is downhill then it curves around and is uphill on the other side.  I mentally cross that off my list of things to do that day.   If I could have made it back to the car by myself, I would have.  John is talking to some of the skaters, I have a skate wedged in a crack and am trying to figure out how to get back to my tennis shoes, when Kasey Felter offers to roll around the loop with me.

As much as I don’t want to, I realize I will never do it if I never try.  (WWDRD?)  Kasey is the daughter of legendary Coach Sonny, and has likely been skating as long as she’s been walking.  She holds out her arm for me and we start rolling downhill.  Which is actually barely downhill but pretty scary as a new skater.  For some reason I’m not sure of yet, skating on asphalt outdoors is much scarier than skating in a rink.  One reason may be that there is no rail nearby for me to stop myself with and/or hold on to.  In any case, I feel completely off balance and out of sorts.  We somehow manage to make it around the loop, ie: Kasey is pulling me most of the way, then we start coming back toward the other skaters, downhill.  I ask Kasey if she thinks she can stop us.  She drags her foot, then we call on John who steps out and lets us run into him, which was actually pretty funny.

At this point I am mentally and physically exhausted.  John helps me make it to the picnic tables and I’ve never been happier to sit down.  Lucky for me, Kylie is ready to play on the playground, so she gets both our shoes out of the car.

The Hill Country Inline Club is a really fun bunch of folks and Kylie and I are going to become members.  I’m looking forward to the day when I’m not embarrassing myself and can join in. 

12/30/10

I am WAY behind on blogging because Christmas is a busy time for mommies!  Yes, I swallowed my pride and went to Friday speed practice.  In all, I have been to two adult skate nights and two speed practices.  I can briefly summarize as follows: humiliating, humiliating, humiliating, humiliating.  Let me clarify a previous statement.  Speed skating looks easy but it is actually very very VERY hard. 

After talking to the other skaters and watching my kids’ progress, I think it’s going to take me a year before I’m halfway decent.  I’m not particularly prideful, but sucking for a year is a big commitment.  On the bright side, John the Thurmonator said that since I’m a woman, the other skaters will be a lot more patient with me.  Yay!!  I’m not a feminist:  I like it when men open doors for me, and I really like it when men carry stuff for me.  If being a woman buys some tolerance of my suckiness, that’s just fine.

Everyone on the speed team has been SUPER supportive, patient, kind, etc. of my endeavor into their world.  Still, this is REALLY going to be a test of my resolve.  I'm not giving up, but I understand why people do.

12/11/10

On Saturdays, Texas Speed Team practices at Playland Skate Center at 8:30am.  AM.  On Saturdays.  L  What’s with these early morning times and skating people?  At the meets, check-in time is usually at 5:30am.  AM!  WTF?  Anyhoo...  Al Tinsley, who caught me “skating” last night, glides over to me and asks where my skates are.  I explain it’s a secret, I need time to figure out how to skate, etc.  Al promptly skates over to Coach Sonny Felter, and lets him know that I have skates stashed away somewhere.  Wait…  I don’t know how to skate yet...

Sonny is a legendary skate coach and barks at me “you better have those skates on at Friday practice!”  There’s something about the way Sonny speaks, with that coach voice, that makes you just do whatever he says.

12/10/10 ~ Take the skates out of the house

John Thurmon offered to give me pointers during session skate after Friday practice.  John T is a super nice guy, but he’s also a *BAD ASS* skater, and I’m dreading making a fool of myself in front of him.  John T is widely known in the skating community, is especially feared by the outdoor skaters, and even skated with Debbie Rice for almost 10 years.  In other words, John giving skating pointers to me is the equivalent of an Olympic athlete teaching someone to do a somersault.  Seems like he’d have better things to do…

John has a super funny story of skating with Debbie in the Athens to Atlanta Road Skate event.  Debbie “sat on,” or drafted off of, John while setting her record time in this prestigious outdoor race.  If it were the Tour De France, Debbie is Lance and John is that poor nameless team member who Lance drafts off of for 99% of the race, until right before the finish line.  For those of you who have seen John T, I’m sure you agree that he looks like he’d be fun to draft off of.  J

Lucky for me, John’s expectations are really low so he was impressed that I could even stand up on the skates.  I have been attending practice with my daughter for more than six months and I have been watching intently, studying technique, and picking up pointers.  Having said that, the single most important tidbit I gathered was while watching session skate with John recently.  He pointed at a guy and said: If that guy would just relax, he’d skate a lot better.  That advice is so true, I am relaxed, focused and determined.  I wouldn't say I'm quite "skating" yet.  I putter around slowly with John, and after about a 1/2 lap I turn to him and ask "when do I get my nice ass?"  All in all, I was on the floor for almost an hour and a half ~ puttering around slowly but still, I'm out there.

I had purposely waited to crack open my skate bag until after the other speed skaters left practice.  My plan is to give myself a couple of months at session skate and at home, to get used to having these things on my feet, and gain balance and confidence.  However, one of the other speed skaters, Al Tinsley, came back to pick up his son and saw me skating around.  Surely Al can keep the secret.

12/8/10 ~ Skates are hard

Thought for the day: speed skates are hard.  They are hard to put on, even harder to get off, and while they’re on, they are simply hard.  I’m sure there is a reason for this, since Bont skates are what all the pros use.  But wouldn’t it be nicer to feel like your feet are cocooned in marshmallows?  I think I will add this to my LONG list of patent ideas:  “Marshmallow Brand Speed Skate Inserts.”

Side note: I come up with patent ideas all the time.  My husband, Dr. James, actually has a handful of patents that are both hard to pronounce, and have no practical application.  My patent ideas, on the other hand, have broad appeal and I think would make us rich.  James strongly disagrees and to date, has not helped me patent anything.  My patent ideas include, and I can’t give too many away: a motorized widget to turn my hanging plants.  Or: an attic fan powered by a solar panel.  They actually have that last one, but I did think of it on my own.

12/7/10 ~ Skates are here!

I see an ominous yet cool looking blue box by my front door this afternoon.  First of all, that was NOT five days.  Ok, maybe it was.  Secondly, I prayed to God for a weather related disaster somewhere between China and Austin to delay my skates, but to no avail.  (Yes, Made in China.  Note: Bont is NOT an American company so it’s not like any American jobs are lost by the manufacture being in China)  There’s no turning back, I purposely told several people for peer pressure purposes, and it’s working.  I ask myself, What Would Debbie Rice Do?

She would put the skates on and skate, that’s what!  So I put the skates together and put them on.  I have a new determination and focus, and standing up and scooting around is not as hard as it was before.  By the way, or BTW as the kids say, I’m making dinner.  Short story short, several near-disasters were somehow magically averted.  I was able to get boiling water from the range to the sink without pouring it on my daughter, who’s always underfoot; I carried breakable plates to the table; and I carried drinks ~ all while wearing my new Bont Jet skates.  J

I had the skates on for a couple of hours tonight, and no, I have not yet left the house.  My goal is to first get used to having these things on my feet.   Second step = leaving the house. 

12/3/10 ~ I didn't say I skated

I forwarded my blog entries to my pal Debbie Rice hoping to impress her, because she’s a *ROCK STAR SPEED SKATER*. And I probably won’t impress her with my skating, so maybe I can impress her with my blog.  J  She seems amused and says “might I ask, where did you skate for 10 minutes if you didn't leave the house???”  This is a reasonable question coming from Debbie who has been skating as long as I can remember, like 30+ years, and who could probably win another world title while skating backward.  I re-read my sentence and I never said I skated, I said it was a terrifying 10 minutes. 

Luckily when I put the skates on a few days ago, I was on the carpet.  One lesson I have learned from skaters is that if you feel unstable, crouch down.  I therefore spent the first couple of minutes in what can only be described as a barely upright fetal position.  I then take a deep breath, reach up, grab the kitchen counter, and stand up.  Wow, it never really occurred to me how weak my ankles are!  They are wobbling side to side and my skates are wobbling back and forth.  All together this is a confusing feeling.  I tenderly scoot along then onto the kitchen tile floor.  BIG mistake!  The wobbly side to side and back and forth motions are now multiplied by like 1000%.  My kids are laughing and pointing.  My 7-year old daughter tries to hold my hand to help.  I’m terrified I’m going to fall and crush her so I bark “DON’T TOUCH ME!”  I manage to get from one end of the kitchen to the other, while holding on to the counter, and decide that’s enough for my first day.  Surely this won’t be so hard when I have my own skates, and hopefully they are on back-order and I have like 2 months to mentally prepare.  While I’m writing this, Debbie emails me the fedex tracking number for my skates and they will be here in 5 days.
:(