Roller Derby Diary

Diary of a newbie on skates.

[rollingrookie]

RARGH!

  Well, it's late and I should be sleeping but I thought it would be more productive to type out the bullshit in my head, once again. I am not sure why you guys keep coming back to read this utter garbage, but hello again, either way.   Tonight. Where to start? As we are all training together for now, mixed skill levels, tonight was a very frustrating one for me. Being the lowest skill level in the room is never going to be easy - especially when everyone around you is just getting on with things and you are left behind feeling a like a div. Granted, I should have said 'OI! I can't do this, what am I doing wrong?' but I was not in the mood, so instead, I had a bit of a cry and got myself all stressed out about it.   It sounds petty but when you really love and enjoy something so much it's hard not to have the passion. I just want, so much, to be good at this! I know it's not easy and it is totally worth the effort, time and energy because of everything I am getting back but days like today do make me wonder what I'm doing. Daring to believe I could, some day, be one of them.    Some days I feel like with a push I could be min skills past in a few weeks. Other days, like today, I feel a million miles away from that point. Oh well, in other news…  I WENT TO SEE LRG AT THE WEEKEND AND RAW HEIDI SKATED!   I am a little bit in love with her, I'll admit. I just think she's great, awesome blocker and she got lead jammer, almost if not every time! Definitely my derby hero but I added some others to my list of favourites too. Duchess, Grievous and Goregasm were all awesome.   We also went into Double Threat and I picked up some new wheels with lots of help, advice and information. has made all the difference as I am now no longer skating on Cayman's. It was definitely time for an upgrade, slightly narrower but got used to that with no issues really. I am now skating on Atom 93's and Radar 88's - pink and blacks which is pretty commemorative considering I got them at my first trip to see LRG Pink Vs Black. I could talk about that all day but I won't as I need to sleep. IT was awesome, one point in it!  Ah, the high's and lows of Roller Derby. Night guys, big love to you all! xxx

[rollingrookie]

Personal Barriers

  I have been thinking about this for a few days and even discussed with a teammate. The subject is a little difficult for me as it is something I have struggled with all my life. I have Dwaine's Syndrome. Most of you will never have heard of this but basically it means I was born without a muscle in the left side of my left eye. This means my left eye does not move to that side and when I look to the left it remains in the centre.    Because I was born with this, my parents taught me from a very early age that if I wish to look in that direction I must turn my head. Even when turning my head I have quite a significant blind spot. It sounds awfully silly and most people don't even notice unless I point it out to them. If they do they think I have a lazy eye, which is quite irritating, I don't really know why? I was, however, bullied for this in school as a child. Kids are cruel.   Something, I have recently come to realise, is that this natural oversight in my development, may cause me issues when trying to play the sport that I love, which is of course, roller derby. For example, keeping an eye on the jammer coming on the inside of the track when I am on the outside - I must turn my head all the way around causing my body to shift. I feel as though I am at risk of causing myself an injury in this stance and somehow still have a blind spot!    I let this get under my skin at the last training session, along with my recurring blister, so by the time we finished I had just had enough. I felt extremely frustrated. I, STUPIDLY, let this fester away at me instead of mentioning straight away to one of the other skaters in my league who might be able to discuss. By the following evening I had managed to convince myself I was never going to be good enough to bout with this issue and so my derby journey was ending before it had even started.    BUT… then I mentioned it to one of the girls, which is what I should have done straight away instead of sulking and being negative. She reminded me that we can overcome these things.

"We'll find a way around it, it's fine. Was that all that was bothering you?" 

  My point, as always, in a long winded way of telling it, is that we all have our personal barriers we must overcome at some point. Whether it is mental or physical there is almost always a way to overcome this if you really want to.    I have made the decision that I am not going to let this rule me, why should it? it was said to me that if we let the negativity take over then it will cripple us and just take over. I don't want that to happen to me so I have to learn to be positive and remember I can be awesome. I am awesome.  Good Day! BDR xx

[rollingrookie]

All the skating...

  Now then, in the last 3 weeks I have been involved in setting up a new league and I have become head of PR for said league alongside a full-time job, for which I commute to PLUS skating 3 times a week and training in the gym twice a week! Pretty hectic life at the moment and I am LOVING IT!    I have met some awesome people and guest skated with 2 other leagues. A couple of us have been min skills tested and have looooooooads of things crossed off now too! My new personal best at laps is 24 and 3/4, which I am extremely proud of. I am only in my 5th month of skating and roller derby, so I feel like my journey has only just begun but come so far in such a short time. I am both really proud of myself and the girls I skate with for everything we are doing.    All the hard work is going to pay off and I am filled with love for my follow roller girls and boys, for the the league and for the sport in general. I just feel as though I am complete now, like skating and roller derby were the missing puzzle piece. Nothing has ever taken over my life quite so completely.   It's quite scary being the head of a team for a new league but I have a great group of people supporting me and helping me with all the things. I know this seems like a short post for me but I don't seem have much time lately to tie my shoelace let alone write a fantastic blog for my adoring fans… although I think I have something good to discuss next time! Watch this space.

Love you guys. XX

[rollingrookie]

WOW!

 OK…So since my last post a helluva lot of stuff happened. There was some drama from the league I was part of involving quite a lot of people leaving some of their own accord, others…well not so much. I don't want to get into it really but the end result was some bad feeling and the inevitable creation of a breakaway league.    I personally think what has happened was the best result for all involved. This way, each league gets to focus on what they each need/want to without upsetting or irritating others. From my perspective, it seems this should have happened a while ago but just on better terms. There seems to be a clear split down the middle on how people wish for things to be run and I don't see why there needed to be so much bad blood.   So, I just happen to a part of the breakaway league. I have a very odd point of view right now. I am a 4 (and a half ) month old newbie. Am I still a newbie? Well, I am yet to pass my min skills at this point, although I feel I am MUCH closer. We'll get to that.   I am running the league's Twitter and getting involved with the Facebook page too. Will also be setting up a Tumblr account very shortly so keep your eyes peeled for extra blogs. It is all very exciting and nerve wracking at the same time. On one had I am sad because of the circumstances but on the other hand I am ecstatic over the silver linings!    So on Sunday I got to skate in contact drills with the other girls, first time and it was scary and super fun all at the same time. Then we worked on Hockey stops again, my favourite ever! Need to get doing them all the time. After skating in the morning session we visited another local league where I got to skate with BOYS! that was fun. They were focusing on minimum skills so I was able to go through everything from the beginning with  quite a few things being ticked off. a have things to work towards for sure but getting much closer. LAPS… I was about 2 meters from making 25 in 5. up by almost 2 laps which is a huge improvement.

Basically it was a good week. I may have ruined my foot slightly by skating on a huge blister though… Worth it.

More skating fun tomorrow and further updates to follow. Love you guys! xx

[rollingrookie]

Grown Up Roller Girl

Right then, although I haven't been able to make training for a few weeks I have been trying to make sure I get on my skates doing various things. I had a week off to go to a bout and support, then I had a Christening (for which I was a Godmother so no getting out of that one) then unfortunately training was cancelled this week due to venue issues. So, instead I helped out with some coaching, skated at a roller disco, wore my skates in the house and went to Rollerworld today with my fellow roller girls. A few things have made me feel more and more like a part of the sport and like a proper roller girl just lately and sometimes it's quite surreal. For example, assistant coaching some newbies at the university. Granted they were mostly already better than me but how is it possible that I'm giving help and advice on skating when technically I'm still a newbie myself. I was asked questions today about skates and could answer them. Full discussions about makes, cushions and wheels and I found myself talking and sounding quite knowledgeable. Not quite sure how that happened. One other thing that made my day, is a newbie skater who has just started with our league (skated before though so again probably much better than me already) telling me she has read my blog. MY blog? I hadn't actually met this lovely girl before yesterday. I didn't think people actually read my mad lady ramblings on here. Although, when I asked if it made her feel better about her skating she said 'No' so probably best off not reading it! Oh dear. In other news... WE DID A MASSIVE WIN! It was my leagues last proper home bout yesterday (excluding the intraleague in 2 weeks) and the team absolutely smashed it. We were predicted to get something like 100 to their 150 when actually the scores came in at 264 to their 71. Meaning we went up in the rankings by 12 places. Such a great feeling to be a part of that and I feel so proud of everyone involved in it. There was a great turn out and the atmosphere was just fantastic. I just love roller derby more and more everyday, more than I thought possible. Love to all the fans ;) Baby Doll Roller, over and out. xx

[rollingrookie]

Roller Skate Slippers, intake & Hockey stops.

Hai Guys!   First things first, laps; week 13 = 23 ('n a bit) in 5. New PB but only by a little bit, they are creeping up, ever so...s l o w l y... but MOVING ON!!   I have started wearing my skates in the house, as suggested by one of the leagues refs, coach & general awesome skater. I mean, seriously...skates on 2 out of 8 wheels kind of awesome. Show off. Any way, it was said that just training on a Sunday is not enough to be a great skater, this, I did know. Hence training in the gym and mid-week skatey times wherever possible, which unfortunately is not as much as I would like at the moment. So I have been wearing my skates in the house like slippers whenever I can.   Most of the big roller girls and boys were at a scrim with another league this Sunday, so we had twice as much space this week, which was lucky because it was also intake week and the newbies are totally taking over! Myself included. This week was simultaneously both the same and different as last week in the sense that my mood started one way whilst in training and ended up completely different by the evening. The bonus is this week I went from feeling shitty during the session to feeling pretty good about it a few hours later.    I had to mention Hockey stops. This is one of the things we learnt this week and has just become my favourite stop. I want to practice it over and over again. When watching people carrying out these stops I previously looked at them and thought "no way will I ever be able to do those" and then it was broken down and actually, you know what? Really not that difficult. I'm not saying they're easy or i'm good at them but the thought of doing them over and over again makes me grin. Whereas, the thought of trying to perform a T-stop repeatedly, makes me grimace.   No training on Sunday for me as I'm off to a bout with friends for fun! Although, I do get to assist with a student training session, on Saturday, as part of a course we are running at the local university. More time on 8 wheels for me...wwwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! :D Happy days!

Mucho Amor, Baby Doll Roller xx

P.s I HAVE NEW CUSHIONS TO PUT ON MY SKATES!! ...sorry...

[rollingrookie]

The End of the World...

...or not, as the case may be! 

  So, Sunday was my 12th official week of the intake and we had our skills assessments. I only managed 22.5 in 5 and I failed my rules test by 4 marks. I felt ok at the time and as the day went on I got more and more grumpy about it. The problem was, I had set myself a goal to try and pass in my first intake and it felt so close, yet so far. I had never skated before starting 3 months ago, so realistically, I shouldn't be so hard on myself.   In my mind, I felt like if I could do this, I could do anything. What I realise now, is that was too much pressure to put on myself. I will get there eventually whether it's in 6 weeks time or 12 months time (I really hope it's not that long!) but the most important thing to remember is to enjoy it.    Basically, although I was a grumpy arse on Sunday it helped me learn that even though I can't do things now, I just gotta keep on trying and be the best I can possibly be. Literally practice makes perfect. After all I didn't pass my driving test until the fourth go, which just happened to be the most surreal, random attempt - but that is a story for another day!   In other news, I jam-timed for a friendly scrim last night, which was super-awesome fun. I ended up making myself dizzy watching everyone skate, refs and skaters alike. it was both extremely exciting and terrifying at the same time, to think that (hopefully) one day I'll be skating with these girls!    One of the best things was getting the opportunity to watch some of my own league skate that I haven't hadn't time to previously, as well as watch other skaters and how they interacted with our girls. I'll admit there were times when I was so engrossed I almost forgot to keep an eye on the time...slapped wrist for me. I have been to bouts before but usually I'm behind a lens.   Actually cannot wait for our next home bout - I'll be bout reviewing, so putting use to my ramblings!

Any-who, to sum up the incoherent babble above; NSO'ing is fun - do it more, it will help you learn, be patient with yourselves and finally... BE POSITIVE! The last one is the most important, did you get that?  Sunday feels too far away.  xx BDR xx

[rollingrookie]

Fitness & Skating

  Today I wanted to talk about fitness in roller derby on various levels. As I have mentioned before, I started skating as a fun way to get fit without having to go to the gym. Anyone that knew me pre-derby will testify to the fact that I was not a gym-goer, or generally interested in any kind of sport. In fact, when discussing the gym and derby with my Dad recently, this is how the conversation went:

Me: "Sorry I'm late, I was at the gym." Dad: "I never thought I would hear you say that" Me: "I like the gym, it helps me with the sport" Dad: "I definitely never thought you would be interested in sport!" 

This is one example, I could provide quite a lot more. 

  I have come to realise that fitness training and roller derby go hand in hand. I am wondering how far I would have come had I not have been encouraged to go to the gym. I am lucky however, my PT is on the league, meaning she knows how I should train for the sport. Also - she's awesome, but then, I suppose I'm slightly biased. She's always telling me that 'imbalance causes injury' and helps me with my posture!   Don't get me wrong, I still hate running...I have improved a great deal on my 5 minute warm up, but I still hate it. Now, I can't seem to muster the motivation to go to gym by myself. Personally, having a PT works well for me, but not everyone is as de-motivated as I am. Either way, I would recommend extra training to all skaters!   In other news, today was week 11 of my training, we did laps and, even though I was feeling really ill from toothache and being sick in the night, I managed to get a personal best of 22 and 1/2! I was really hoping to only have to do my training once but I don't think I'll be achieving this goal. All I need to do at this point is up my laps to 25 (2.5 more) and take and pass my rules test! So close... oh well.    Finally, I think I have cracked the blister issue once and for all. Lacing techniques are well worth a look at for any issues with your feet/skates! 

On that note, I leave you!  xx BDR xx

[rollingrookie]

Whips, Transitions and Travelling Dollies

  Well, hello there! I'm a little overdue with my posting, so, please do forgive me.   Since our last catch up, I have been on my first league road trip for an away bout which was one of the most fun days I have had in recent memory. I got to combine 2 loves, roller derby and photography.    Training the following day, however, was interesting, as I had a few drinks with all the roller boys and girls and was not quite feeling my usual energetic self the next morning. Where I enjoyed learning to give and take hip/arm whips. Luckily for me, we didn't have laps!    We started off paired up and then switched to all being on track and trying hip/arm whips from whomever we passed. Unfortunately our coach attempted to give me a rather strong arm whip, of which I was not quite prepared for, ended up unstable and landed flat on my face. It winded me but as always I got back up onto 8 wheels.   The most frustrating part of that session, was that I had an excruciating blister on my right arch. This blister returns week after week, no matter what I try, to alleviate the irritation and I even try to skate through it - which ends up making it much worse.

  How can something so small force me off my skates!?

  It seems, so far, the only thing (discovered today) that can make a difference, is how I tie my skates. I have started loosening the middle section and tightening around my toes and ankles. It has been suggested I try actually lacing them up differently, so I'm going to try that over the next few weeks and will report back soon.   This week we had to change venues for coaching and lets just say the floor is not my favourite. We were working on transitions, which I was quite pleased about, as they are not one of my strengths. So far each week I have tried to work on one specific skill. First it was balance, then crossovers and after that, skating backwards. I have managed to get a basic handle on each one, just from putting the extra time in at mid-week skates with some of the other girls. 

"Whilst waiting for other newbies to kit up at the start of your training session use the time to work on your weaknesses"   This is something that has been said to me by many different skaters and refs, it has been a key part of my training! It also makes a huge difference having extra time on skates away from coaching to work on your weaknesses and I would recommend this to any newbies (or all skaters really)   I am pleased to say that If I get my laps and do my rules test in the next couple of weeks, I have been informed, I'll be able to move up to level 2 at the end of my 12 week training. I am ecstatic about this! I have never felt like I am good at anything, but to be told how well you are doing, repeatedly, by various different people makes it sink in...eventually! Don't worry though, I'll still be writing the blog (in between training, free skates and working out down the gym with my favourite PT!) and even though I am pleased with myself I am still striving to be better and better.

  There's no time to stand still in roller derby... 

Over and out for now, fellow fresh meat. xx

[rollingrookie]

Crossovers, Laps & Cushions

Hi Dearest Readers!

  As the subject suggests today I have 3 things to talk about in your general direction so get comfy as it's gonna be a long one! Firstly, crossovers are my new best friend, I seem to have them now out of nowhere. I think I have already told you this so I wont bore you.   Now then, LAPS! My nemesis. Think back to when we first met... I had just done my first 5 minute laps and was feeling bloody disheartened at my 15.5. Then I re-did them the following week and bettered myself by 2, up to 17.5 laps. The next chance I got to do them I only improved by a quarter of a lap which I found distressing to say the least. What if I would stay at that pace and never get any better? Then, a couple of weeks ago something clicked and I seemed to be able to crossover. This seemed to make all the difference and I could feel myself whizzing round that track! Now all I needed was the chance to try it out!   I can tell you're dying to know what I can get now but just hold your horses, I'll get there! Our coaching session was almost done on Sunday and we got to play The Australian with the new newbies. If you are unfamiliar with this game (as I was up until yesterday) you have 2 teams and skate 2 laps, starting from a sitting position, one by one as a relay. After my first ever go at this I knew I had to do my laps this week.  "Please Miss, can I have some more?" More laps, that is.   So I asked if we had time and guess what, we did! We got to play one more game of The Australian and then we did laps. Now, bear in mind there were around 10-15 skaters on track at this point. Most were only 2 week old newbies! (So proud of them for giving it a go by the way!) I am sure you understand the difficulty this caused. I couldn't use my diamond technique that well and kept getting stuck behind groups. Never the less, I managed to up my laps by 3 and a quarter (to be precise) and 5 and half since my first attempt.    Now just in case your math is as terrible as mine, that means I got 21!!!  I literally lay on the floor cheering to myself. I have never felt so awesome in all my life so can you imagine how I'll feel WHEN I finally get my minimums. (Notice I said 'when' and not 'if!)   AND I haven't even gotten to my new cushions! Thanks to my Derby big sis, I was skating on blue and red (standard R3) cushions. Reds closest to the boot and blues closest the track. This made my boots super manoeuvrable and edging is now one of the most fun things ever! It's amazing how much of a difference 4 little coloured bushings can make. I cannot recommend trying different things on your kit more. I know it gets said a lot by almost all skaters but I didn't quite appreciate it until I actually did it! Sorry if I have bored you and thanks for reading! Much love from the Baby Doll Roller (nearly a toddler >_< )  xx

[dollyrockits-blog]

Right then, if you’re reading this you are probably already interested in this fantastical sport. It has been 8 weeks since I walked into my intake day with the Dollies and I haven’t looked back since. I wont lie, there has been a few moments of doubt that I could do this and even some tears of...

[rollingrookie]

This is me :)

[rollingrookie]

All The Skating!

Hi Guys!   Today was just the best! Notice the excessive use of exclamation marks!! I have lots of news since my last post. Firstly, wait for it... I AM NO LONGER CROSSOVER'S BITCH! I went to a free skate/Roller Disco on Friday with a newbie friend and something just clicked. I found myself doing crossovers. Don't ask me how but I went from not doing them, to doing them. I must have looked like a loon on skates because I could not stop grinning from ear to ear. To hear "Get you, with your crossovers!" over the noise that is pop music and noisy children just made my week.   Today was another first too, outdoor skating! Sketchy is an understatement. I had many issues to overcome but I managed it all without falling on my ass! Patchy pavements, fallen twigs and seeds and THE BRIDGE. This bridge, my friends, is not friendly for new skaters. I tried various approaches; toe stops, side stepping even slow skating whilst holding on to the sides. I managed it going over and I managed it getting back though which is a good thing. A great thing, even! Once I relaxed a little and stopped tensing it was much easier. The nice flat pathways were nice and the time just flew by.   I am hoping to have good news about my laps next week as I can now crossover and have worked on my diamond skating today, fingers crossed guys! Still a ways to go but can't believe it has only been 8 weeks since I first put skates on!   I have also been asked to write a guest blog for the Dolly Rockit Rollers so keep an eye out :D Much Love. xx

[rollingrookie]

Fresh Meat

I am no longer the newest newbie! That's a good feeling. Sunday was intake day so I put on my bright and shiny space leggings all excited to meet the new newbies. All 20 of them! I couldn't believe how many showed up, there was so many more than my intake week, which was only a mere 7 weeks ago. That's a scary thought!! The groups were split into old newbies and new newbies (are you still with me here?) so one group was on the track and the other was in the middle. It worked quite well and it was really interesting to see them doing all the off skate training that I did, what feels like a lifetime ago! I had a really productive day too, we started off with laps, I got 17 and 3/4's. Only a quarter more than last time but still, could be worse, could have been less. I was ok with that as it was super hot in there! After laps we worked on our stops, it was nice to be able to re-visit some things at this point because prior to Sunday I couldn't even bring myself to attempt T-stops and now I can *almost* do them. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly you learn things on skates. We also tried blocking each other on skates. That was super fun too because it was like a little taste of what it will actually be like to actually be in a jam. One of the best things about Sunday though, was the on skates cool down with the new newbies. Two reasons; firstly, watching them and thinking in 6 weeks you could be where I am or likely further along and secondly, I could skate around them! There were so many of them and they were obviously going at a calmer pace so I actually needed to skate by people. For once I wasn't the slowest on track! This makes me happy. Baby Doll Roller, signing off for another week!

[rollingrookie]

Bout Day!

As there was no training last week, I wasn’t going to write a blog entry but I thought I would write a short one about my first bout day! We had no newbie training this week because there was an intraleague bout in it’s place. This was the first one I had been able to make since I found out about this sport, I was gutted to miss the last bout as the girls won! So, my league has 3 teams within it and 2 of them were playing each other on Sunday. I was drafted in to help out…standing on track rope to stick it down, making and selling cakes and I even took a few photos. Well, 1113 to be precise but who’s counting? It was amazing, all the girls that could make it, including the newbies, got involved. Dj’ing great music, taking stats, working the merch stall, there’s so much more than just the jams! The atmosphere was incredible, everyone who went seemed to have a great time and it is such an honour to be part of a brilliant community. I have always said that one of my favourite things about Roller Derby is how great everyone is to each other and Sunday could not have proved that more. Unfortunately there are no funny stories of me falling on my arse but there’s a fundraiser tonight for the league and skates aren’t the only thing that make me lose my balance! (Link below for anyone interested in seeing that!) I’ll report back in a few days time, after the first intake day since mine!

https://www.facebook.com/events/538239896223592/

[rollingrookie]

Good Days and Bad Days

  Well, Sunday was definitely one of the latter. I started off feeling rather grumpy and emotional and it just carried on right through the day. I couldn't get my balance right, meaning no skating on one leg and as we were doing edges this did not help me very much. I ended up getting very frustrated with myself and shedding a few completely unnecessary tears.    Luckily though, I had my people there to sort me out! Our Newbie Coach for the day just happens to be my PT and she is just the best at encouragement and support. I was with fellow newbies, who have been through it all before, to tell me it's ok to get fed up now and again. There were even some 'qualified' dollies doing some extra training with us who gave me a comforting smile when needed.  Derby girls and guys are seriously just the best!

  Then, at the end of the session, as it was week 6 for some and week 12 for others, we had to re-do our 5 minute laps. I was dreading it, I convinced myself there was no way I could match, let alone beat my already pretty lame score of 15.5. it seemed this crappy day was about to get worse...so I was taking my time, the 5 minutes both dragged and sped by somehow.    "Times up!" was shouted and I felt like death, though not as bad as last week. Convinced I had gone at a snails pace, after the constant "Inside!"'s from the Machine of a man (who I'll come back to in a moment) I was sure it was going to be bad news, then I was informed I had hit 17. 5 laps! Now I know, it's not something to shout about but at this point I was ready to dance, ignoring the fact that I felt like my legs may disappear from beneath me at any moment.    Somehow I had increased by two laps! Now, that, I was pretty pleased about. Finally, to top the day off we had a BP meeting in the pub so that was pretty much all I could ask for!

Oh yes, before I forget, THE MACHINE MAN GOT 29! Honestly...I mean talk about putting the rest of us to shame! 

[rollingrookie]

Blog Virginity

  Hello there, are you sitting comfortably? I don't really care, so let's get on with it... This is the first entry to my 'Fresh Meat Diary' although, I imagine I will keep this up, if and when I make the team. I am a little late really, as I should have started this on week one of the intakes - but shit happens and here we are at week 5 (week 4 for me after missing a week for holiday times)    So far we have covered the basics of the rules, how to fall, how to stop, diamond technique ... yadda yadda yadda. Jump to this week, which has been the most interesting of the training so far, in my opinion. This week we learnt jumps and hops and then I had my first experience of 5 minute laps.

The minimum requirement is 27.

  Sorry, maybe I wasn't quite expressive enough in that previous statement.

THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENT IS 27 LAPS IN FIVE MINUTES!!!

  That is no mean feat. So I am sure you are just dying to know my number? No? Well, I'm going to tell you anyway, 15.5. The .5 makes all the difference in my eyes. Once I had skated solidly for 5 minutes, I think my heart had packed up its bags for a holiday and invited my lungs along for the ride.   I definitely had a feeling of inadequacy at this point, as the fella I had just counted for, achieved his 27. Now most of the ladies there were on around 24, 25, 26 even and they had completed this hellish test before. But not this guy! I think he is a machine in a human coloured shell.

Anyway, I have taken up enough of your time for now. Hope you enjoyed reading my first post, there'll be more in the coming weeks!

Baby Doll Roller, Signing Off