Tuesday, March 23, 2010

What is that in my purse?



Let's see shall we...I see some breath mints, keys, glasses case, a piece of paper with someting written on it, my giant bottle of Vitamin D....no...look a little bit more in the MIDDLE.

Hint: Big Green Ball

Yes, to my surprise, I was reaching in my purse to grab the Vitamin D and what do I see but a racquetball from my exillerating game with hubby yesterday.

This little experience although seemingly insignificant to some (most) stirred up some thoughts in my little brain. I thunk and I thunk and I thunk some more about a few things actually.
  • This blog of mine here, I don't really pay a lot of attention to it. Why not?
  • My goal of this little blog was to document my journey to and experiences in living an active lifestyle.
  • How does one know when they have succeeded in such a goal? That is, when does one know that they have completed the journey to said lifestyle and transition to reporting the experiences of it? 
  • How did I manage to shove a racquetball in my purse and not even realize it?
  • Oh crap, my phone is almost dead and I can't find my charger.
I'd like to address these thoughts if I may.

Lack of attention to the blog  - Well, I just don't know why. I pay lots of attention to my other blog about losing weight. This one is actually the older of the two and yet has next to no followers and just feels rather lonely. That's not to say that it hasn't served it's awesome purpose in my life though. I'm still on the horse and riding it hard. Every month, I choose another activity to do and I do it regularly. In all honestly, I attribute some if not most of my sticktoitiveness to my monthly activity changes because otherwise I would probably get bored and quit.

How does one know when they reach the end of the journey and transition to maintaining a new lifestyle? - I never actually thought I would ever think that thought before now. Now it has me wondering.

Do we look at psychological laws of behavior modification or cognitive conditioning to answer the question? Some studies say that it takes 30 days to form a new habit. Others says it takes 6 months.

Do we consider the thoughts and feelings we experience in ourselves to make that determination? Exercising has become just something I do. I enjoy it. I look forward to it. Every day, I get excited to think about what else is on the agenda. Every month, I get a little sad that the activity is coming to an end and it's time to pick something else.

Or is there some other metric to measure the journey? Perhaps having a racquetball in your purse suggests that you do in fact live an active lifestyle. I mean, I'm willing to bet that a nice portion of the US population has a candy bar or treat of some sort in their purse. Does that suggest active lifestyle? I think not. But how many people can say they find racquetballs in there?

How did it get there? the ball that is - Well, I just don't know. I had my purse, my racquet, a ball of course, and my bottle of water with me when I went into the gym yesterday. We played for an hour (burned 679 calories), then grabbed our stuff and left. Maybe I managed to put it in there when I was going in to find my keys. How does one shove a racquetball in their purse and not realize it?

Cell phone charger - Who cares. I just get distracted easily. Oh, I know where that thought came from. I took a picture of the ball in my purse and as I was taking it, I realized the phone was almost dead then went back to look for th charger and realized that it wasn't there. How funny would it be if I took the charger out of my purse and put it in my can of balls and the ball ended up in my purse where the charger normally is? ADD much...

What do the contents of your purse say about you I wonder?


Monday, March 15, 2010

Weekend Adventures...Roller Derby practice league

Hi. So, I'm in a bit of a mood today. Just a warning I suppose. If I drop the F bomb a few too many times or insult anyone or everyone, get over it, it happens.

Sunday was the day. It was the big day. My first ever experience attending a roller derby practice league session. I was NERVOUS. Oh so nervous.
  • I'm not the best skater there ever was. Translation: I can make my way around the floor for a good hour or so without falling on my ass but am still not so good at stopping or turning or anything else.
  • I don't know anyone there so I was going all by my little lonesome.
  • I had no idea what to expect as far as how experienced one would have to be to not be laughed at and mocked all the way out the door and down the street.
Well, I got there and ended up on the wrong side of the building. Luckily though, there was another newby having the same experience so we joined effort and figured it out. Yay! First obstacle conquered. I found the place. You know when you see tattooed chicks in tights and knee high socks, you've found the right place. Finally, my kind of peeps.

Once I got in the building, I was then confused yet again. I had no idea what to do. Who to talk to. Where to go. Um? Ya. Luckily I'm not shy. "Hey, you have skates, who do I talk to being a newby here?" Done. Simple enough. Sign on the dotted line releasing them of any liability if I fall and break my face open and pay my $8. Okie doke.

Time to suit up. Oh ya. All the pads and helmet and stuff. You have to have all your own gear so it's good that I knew that ahead of time or I would have been screwed. At that point, the thoughts were going through my head. Here's a little sneak peak.
  • Seriously Salina, you better not stand up and fall over right off the bat. Get up and skate out there like nobody's business. No pusy foot now princess.
  • I hope I don't have to maneuver around anyone. Oh shit, I'm totally going to slam into someone and they're gonna kick me out.
  • My helmet is too big. God I hope I don't fall and it goes flying off while everyone is trying to skate. How freaking embarrassing would that be. Scuse me, sorry, excuse me, ya that's mine, thanks. Ugh!
  • Stop thinking of all the shitty things that could happen. Just go have fun. Who cares if you look like a retard on roller skates.
On the floor and skating around. So far so good. The track feels weird. Don't worry about the fact that I'm the slow car in the right lane while everyone is speeding past and weaving in and out and around. Honk honk, "MOVE DUMMY". Ya...that's me. Then the coach skated past me and said that I needed to be in the corner with the "beginners" after warmup was over. Duh! :)

In the corner I go. Hello ladies. I'm NEW! Like really NEW in case you couldn't tell. Wink wink. OMG, I'm such a freakin' nerd. Time to learn to stop and fall. Stop and fall. Those are the lessons today. Did you get that? We learn to stop. And we learn to fall. To fall. To FALL. Ya. Ok. You got it now? FALL! As long as we're all on the same page here.

Lesson #1: Stop Pizza. No, not stop for pizza. The pizza stop. Also known as snow plow. Get it? Like a slice of pizza. Gah! Oh my buns are burnin' after that one. Yaow!

Lesson #2: T-Stop. As in, balance on one foot while dragging the other one behind you. You want me to balance on one foot while rolling on wheels under my feet? Seriously? Um....ok. I actually picked it up pretty quick. Well, I was able to do it on one foot but disaster struck when I attempted the other side. Let's move on, shall we?

Lesson #3: Never never never NEVER do the toe drag stop. Bad! BAD! Never!

Lesson #4: Knee drag fall. Balance on one skate while dragging the toe (not the toe stop) behind you until you softly land on a knee and slide to a complete stop.

Lesson #5: 4-Way Stop/Fall. Similar to Lesson #4 but instead of resting on your knee, you tuck your leg under you and land on your hip. Now, my guess is this is where all the nasty bruises will eventually come from. Looking forward to that post I bet. And pictures?

Lesson #6: Cross-overs. Oh lordy lordy lordy. I can't figure these damn things out for the life of me. But, I got a couple tips and can't wait to practice them. I'm gonna figure it out if it kills me. Turn your upper body and head in the direction you want to turn. Look up and to where you intend to go. Wherever your eyes are looking is where your body will follow. Look down and you're going to fall. Bend your knees. Bend them. Bend them more. Practice standing in your skates and stepping your right foot over your left. Okay, now go try it in motion. Warning! You are going to fall. Get over it.

By the end, I was good and tired and felt like I learned a lot. I feel even more like I have a lot more to learn and practice before I can hang out with the pack and do the real drills. More to come.

I don't have pictures of the actual practice because no one went with me to take pictures and I was a little busy to take out my camera and snap some self-portraits. But I do have a couple crappy snap shots from roller skating the night before at Skate King.




Did I mention that I think I'm in love? I think I might just be in love. Or maybe it's just a crush. Either way...

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Punk Rope. GO TIM!

You haven't forgotten about the Punk Rope have you?

Tim is getting some kick ass publicity again. First Martha Stewart, now this.

http://wcbstv.com/video/?id=139737

8 days until my ACSM exam when I will become a Certified Personal Trainer and then comes Punk Rope to Seattle. Yay for you Seattle!

Monday, March 8, 2010

And the Activity for March is........

ROLLER DERBY!

Big suprise right? I mean, I've only been talking about it for a couple few months now. Yes, I know I said I was going to focus on running, what with the 5K coming up in April and all. But...but....well....I just don't wanna. Does that make me bad? Lazy? Disappointing? Truth....I DON'T CARE! Ha. How ya like that? Suck it. Naaa. ;)

Okay here it is. Here's how I'm feeling about the running thing. I don't like it. I have yet to find any enjoyment out of it. I gave it a good effort. I know there is a lot more to running than just jogging a couple minutes on the treadmill though so I'm not totally giving up on it. I guess, I'm just putting it on the back burner for a bit. It's just boring to me. Yawn! I just can't get into it. Maybe it's me. Maybe it's just boring. I don't know. With the way I'm feeling right now, I need something kick ass to spend my time doing. I need some serious stimulation and running is just not going to cut it.

So here's the plan. Want the plan? Hold your panties, here it comes.

Near where I live, there are only a couple roller rinks so options for skate times are limited.
Thursdays: 6-8pm Derby Practice League, 8:30-11pm Adult Skate at Skate King in Bellevue
Fridays:     7:30-11 Open Skate at Skate King in Bellevue
                 There is also skate time available at Pattison's but it's R&B and I'm just not into that scene so...
Saturdays: 12-5pm Afternoon Skate and 7:30-10:30pm Evening Skate at Pattison's West in Federal Way
                 1-5:30pm Public Skate and 6-10pm Retro Skate Party at Skate King in Bellevue
Sundays:   4-6pm Derby Practice League

The plan is to hit the Derby Practice League on  Thursdays and Sundays for sure. If I still have anything in me after Thursday's Derby Practice, I'll also head over to Adult Skate at Skate King. Then I'll skate either Friday or Saturday but probably not both. Gimme a break people, that's three or four times every week already. And don't you dare forget about all the other crap I do every week. Need a reminder?

Cardio 5-6 days per week includes elliptical, treadmill, racquetball...at least 45mins each time
Swimming 1-2 days per week
Weight training 2-3 days per week

Then I occassionally do some yoga or go for a hike or for a walk or hit a kickboxing class or something else that sounds fun. Since it's starting to get nicer outside, I will probably add tennis and golf back in to my activities too.

Anyhoo...

Now I'd like to talk about something absolutely imperative to Roller Derby. A "Sweet Jesus, what did she say her name was?" Roller Derby name. Hubby and a couple friends have been trying to help me come up with something just awesome. Here are some of the contenders at the moment.

Strawberry Bitch Cake
Spankerchief
Spanky Pants
Punchy Bruiser
Carmen Through
Bess B Sorry
Hellena Half Pint
SinSister
Sara McCoffin
Carnie Evil
Emma Biter
Curly Sosueme
Cruel Bella
DeeDealwithit
Elle Slapya


Care to weigh in? Votes? Other ideas? What do you think?