It was the BEST of practices, It was the WORST of practices...

Last night was my second practice with RCR, and it was awesome! I did not perform the way I wanted to, but there was SO much improvement over Sunday, I really amazed myself! My ankles were a little sore from Wednesday night's skating, but after I skated a bit they warmed up just fine. The real problem was that I am sick. I have a pretty tough chest cold. The constant congestion makes breathing tough, and since my body is fightin it hard, I am coughing up a good amount of mucous. YUM. So, keeping that (and the general cloud that can come over one when one has a fever) in mind, the following was a fun and great practice for me. We did about 45 minutes of just plain conditioning at the start. Lunges from one end of the rink to the other, push ups on the wall, dips off the bench, squat jumps (starting at a set of 10, then holding for 10 seconds, then working down to 1 and holding for one second. WHEW!), a few great stretches, some pilates leg exercises, tons of ab work. I wasn't sucessful with all of it, but had a great time anyway. I partnered up with another new gal, Jessica, who is sweet and funny- we laughed our way through it all. Then came time to gear up. took a little longer to find gear this time because I was not the only Fresh Meat. finding gear for 5 girls is significantly tougher than finding it for only one! Then, Genius that I am, I put on my skates before my kneepads. The kneepads have a sleeve that goes around your leg and is then secured by tightly wrapping the elastic. So... I had to take off the skates that i had just meticulously tightened, (I cannot WAIT to buy my own skates- the rental ones suck.) put on the knee pads, then the skates all over again. Finally, after elbows and wrists were padded and guarded, I was ready to put on my helmet and go! Oh, but WAIT! Someone had totally messed up the straps on the helmet! GREAT! Warm-up laps are almsot over by this point, and I am not even geared up. I got the helmet fixed, and skated down to the opposite end of the rink to join Fresh Meat Training already in progress, carefully avoiding speed drills going on. This I could do, I thought, as I joined the other girls in small laps in skater position (crouched down low to protect the back). Unfortunately, my ankles did not want me to do it for long... I had to take way more breaks than I wanted to because of the ankles and the congestion, but Adam (A-DAMN REF) was patient and just encouraged me to do what i could. Then we moved on to T-stops, something I was just not getting (I plan to practice it a bunch on Sunday). Then Orangyna came over and took over for Adam, and we got into knee drops. This was the same fall I learned on Sunday, but it finally clicked for me. It took a little while before I'd just let that knee drop, and even longer before I was doing it smoothly and without trying to catch myself on the floor with my hands, but I got it. Some of the other girls who were not quite as new moved on to double knee drops and touch and go's. Hmm.. maybe in ano0ther week or two. We then attempted crossovers, which really unnerved me. I am finally comfortable with skating with both feet, and you want me to lift one up and cross it in front of me?I did try the required once, and almost fell. then Alisha (Demalisha Durga) came over, held my hand and helped me practice lifting my foot for a second at a time as I skated the lap. that was good, and she said a great first step in learning to cross over. Once I get it, she said, I'll be able to speed up much more comfortably. By this point, I really could not breathe, so I sat out while they practiced skating close in a pack. Then I got up and practiced my skater position a little more, and we all went to watch the girls scrimage. I tell you, some of those gals are just great! Raven Darkhold, my closest friend thus far is just the best Jammer of all Ive seen. I got my new skater package- with rules and forms and stuff- which I have yet to look at, and then we came home. My bed was so comfy and inviting!!! OH- almost forgot! For all you blood and guts enthusiasts, I did sustain my first (VERY minor) injury. During one of my knee dorps, I caught myself with my hand at the wrong angle and hurt my hand a little. Hurt pretty bad last night, but much better this morning- only a slight ache. :-)