This might not be for you, and that is okay!

We are currently in our 5th week of the 12 week official newbie practice. Yesterday August 30th, we started Blocking & HITTING! Up to now, we have been doing drills like: roller girl position(skate low w/knees bent & arms in front of you, bent at elbows), cross overs, controlled drops, pace lines, falling & recovery, footwork, run on toe stops, booty blocking, pack skating, smearing & swiping, sprinting and various endurance drills. Not to mention SQUATS, lunges, sit-ups...all the things I HATE!!!

I can feel my body changing...I feel stronger, and that is great! But yesterday everything went up a BIG notch. We started to block & hit each other. First we learned the correct way without our skates on. Then we put it all together with skates. That's where the real fun began! Man, I hope my bum pad gets here soon....

Each newbie was paired up with a vet. My experience went something like this...

"When I hit you, you ABSORB it with your body. And counter block me, by shifting your weight into it" (the"it" being the vets hit). OKAY!?...When she hit me, she started low & then popped upward with her whole body-- like she was going through me. Basically, she rattled every tooth in my mouth & that rattle went upward into my head and ear & rattled my brain around. SERIOUSLY! I even bit the side of my tongue. I realized that I wasn't really ready after all...insert mouth guard, so I don't have to go to the dentist after this practice.... We repeated this blocking & hitting over and over again. Then we put our skates on & did it with wheels on our feet!

Today I went to a Body Pump class (after I put ice on my upper arms & took ibuprofen). The class uses weights to help build/strengthen your arms, legs & core muscles. Yesterday's practice made me realize that I need to get a lot stronger/tougher to do this! So I am adding extra workouts to see if this will help me. From here on out, it is full on contact & each practice will build from the last. This is the real deal moment for me. Someone asked me if roller derby was staged. Nope, it's the real deal. Any hits you see out there are REAL!

"This might not be for you, and that is okay". We were told this from the very beginning & now I get it. You just don't know how you're going to feel about being hit, until well-- you are hit! So here I am...getting my ass handed to me, wondering if I REALLY can do this, and yet I want to continue on. Because it's actually been FUN-- mixed in with some body pain. Yup, strange as that is...it fits with something else they told us from the very beginning, "Please...always have fun! This is the most important thing to remember". For now, I am still having "FUN!". So, I'm putting all my doubts aside and will see what the next practice brings...