Not quite Roller Girl

I don't think I've talked about this before on my blog, but I really want to try and play roller derby, and I've been dying to for years and years. It was kind of exciting when the movie Whip It! came out, because I was hoping this would bring the sport more mainstream. I always loved roller skating as a kid, but haven't really been on quad skates for probably 20 years. I bought some inline skates when I was like 20 years old, but never really liked skating on them as much as I remembered loving my quads as a kid. Anyway, I've been yapping to my hubby about wanting some old-school quad roller skates for like 5 years now and for my most recent birthday he actually bought me some! They are black with hot pink wheels and I love them! That being said, I feel the need to admit that my birthday was in February (I turned the big 3-0) and I'm ashamed to say that I hadn't used them until tonight. Well, it was winter and it's not like there's an indoor skating rink around the corner or anything, but once the warmer weather came around, I still put off trying the skates. I think I was feeling a little wary and uncertain about whether or not I would still enjoy this past time, and probably a little scared of how difficult it would be again. On my way home from work today I stopped by a skateboarding shop and picked up a helmet (I suspect it may come in handy), intent on breaking in my roller skates after dinner. So my hubby and I, and our pup, headed over to a community rec centre in the evening where the parking lot was empty and spent some time skating...well, what my hubby was doing is considered skating, but I'm not sure if you would actually call what I was doing skating. Perhaps it's more accurate to say that I was shuffling on wheels. I'm going to be honest...I was kind of pathetic. My younger self must have been dying of embarrassment inside! I think I need to start with working on my balance while wearing the skates before I even start trying to actually skate. Maybe I should just wear them around the house to get used to manoeuvring in them? Maybe I need to work on my core muscles a little more too. Either way, I'm determined to become proficient at roller skating again.

Which brings me back to the original goal I stated. I want to play roller derby! A couple months ago I caught wind that a new roller derby team had been organized in the city where I live and it would be so wicked awesome to be a part of that. Unfortunately it's probably a prerequisite that a person can actually skate, so I guess I have some work to do first. However this turns out for me, it was fun being out on my quads again and I can't wait to start seeing some progress. Once I can actually skate with some speed I'll have another great workout option.