Welcome back, not-so-fresh-meat! :)
The off-season for me was a time of stressful and emotionally draining stuff going on with family and friends. It seems like it was the off-season for a year, not a couple of months! Needless to say, with all the stress, I gained weight instead of losing it. I hardly exercised at all. I went to as many open-skates as I could, and I would be sweating and panting within just a few minutes! I knew I would be in for it when the first practice hit....
Just after Christmas, I came down with what was probably the flu. It's still clinging to me, even now. I spent the two weeks before practice not moving from a chair, and just watching tv because I was sick! Not exactly good prep for the start of the season! Yikes!
Thursday, January 6th. 7pm. Roller Kingdom.
I'm running late. Freaking out and thinking about how I've blown the off-season and now have two months to pass my level 2 tests. Major sore throat and coughing going on from the plague that won't end.....
I get there and everyone is already doing jumping jacks with Nikki Roxx......
Hour one: punishment that I deserve with an intense workout by Nikki Roxx
Hours Two and Three: endurance skate practice
- My nemesis: shopping cart drills (push a partner around the track for three minutes, then let her pull you for three minutes/repeat)
- 25 in 5 (25 laps in 5 minutes)
- pace lines - sprint to the front
- knee drops/get up with running start
About halfway through the skating portion of practice, my body started to physically give out. My back had a huge cramp that went down into the back of my leg. Then my legs started to get wobbly because I was so tired. It's always a dilemma to drop out of the drill and stretch, or suffer through it. I went as long as I could and then just skated around the outside of the circle... My goal at that point was to just keep moving, even though I was embarrassed. I didn't want to sit out. I wanted to prove myself worthy to be there, but I had to stop when I pushed past my limit... I didn't want to get hurt because I was too proud to take a break and let my body rest! Those shopping cart drills just kill me; I have to figure out a way to beat them!
xoxo
Atari