Day Forty One: Still a Foal

Somedays I think I need to remind myself I'm still just a derby foal. Not even a yearling yet, I still have six months to go before I hit that mark. Rushing ahead to take the jumps all the big horses are leaping is... well admirable in a sort of suicidal way I guess. One of the girls pointed out that sometimes I reminded her of a pony that just hadn't quite found it's hooves yet. That would be about right.

Faster than your average bear... but not a bear
I don't really know where I was going with that.

Admittedly, I want to be the best damn yearling I can be, so that really means busting some walls and pushing all my limits as a foal so that I start off my second year rolling at full speed. I don't want "But I'm new" to be an excuse, but I am, so there's a whole bunch of things I still need to figure out. There are nine games and two boot camps inbetween now and my yearling status, on top of training, public sessions and outdoor skatepark adventure times. Oh, the insanity.... Who knows. Maybe all this mindless devotion will be worth it. Did I mention previously I was going to pour everything into Derby for the year, and see what happened then? Well, that's what's happening. My Wonderbolts will train me as hard as I can take it, I'm sure.



Fitness: Gotta love Tuesdays. Two and a half hours of Aikido and two hours of skating. I can't really fit much around this sort of schedule. I'm just lucky if I get anywhere on time.

Aikido: Beginners class is actually a nice warm up for the evening, and it's interesting to see how people progress and assess if they will stick with it. Martial arts are attractive in their own way, but ask for years of training in return to get anywhere substantial. Fortunately, I've shaken off my casual disregard for the traditional fantasy and remembered to be a bit more respectful and adhere to the protocol again. I'm stoked that derby ended up being at 9pm, it's a brutally long, hard day but it means I get to go to a regular Aikido class. We did some sword work (good, because I haven't swung a sword for a while) and then some work on mental focus. If you look/focus at the completion while you are still in the middle of the act, you're likely to fumble the act. All it takes is putting your mind in the right place and bam. It all just happened. This was just to help with our iriminage throws, which is great, because I used to suck at them and now I'm just middling. I can't wind/concuss people with them like Sensei can, but I can dump people on their arses quite uncomfortably. Also Sensei used me to guide the beginners in rolling sideways. I have always thought highly of my yoki-ukemi so having them acknowledged as text-book enough for the beginners to use as a visual was quite nice! Guess we all gotta be good at something, right?

Derby: By the time I hit the rink, I was still feeling an aftermath of the weekend (who knew one could exercise to excess...), dregs of a headache (seriously? more neurofen) and just general over use of my quads. But our strategists are back! So my body got to rest a little as I engaged my only slightly hurting head to absorb information like a sponge thrown in a bucket of water. Of course we had to get through the Endurance first (sprinting, then jumping? then more jumping? Oh... sorry legs, c'mon, one more leap...) but as much as I'm enjoying learning the strategy I have mild concerns I will mind blank on the track during my first few games. On the flip side my teammates are fairly relaxed and I am really looking forward to playing with them. With such strong pivots and support my maiden game is going to be a cake walk in comparison to what it might have been.

Diet: A plum before I leapt out the door, weetbix/banana breakfast at work, tea, half a biscuit, Renkon (whenever I end up in Parnell it's sort of a tradition) sauce-katsu on rice, chocolate milk (between/after training) and salmon for dinner. Oh, perfectly cooked salmon. I'm eating it right now and it's delicious. 

Sleep: Nothing like getting home at 11.30pm, needing a shower, dinner, and... I hate to say a 'rest' before going to sleep but you might know what I mean. Some "me" time. I told my manager I was coming in late tomorrow (Wednesday) because I'll be staying late (Bitchin' Bingo) to balance it out. No point rushing out the door when I need a bit more kip. It's 12.15am now, I still have some salmon to finish and maybe an episode of the Simpsons.



All and all, I thought my headache running over would just be a kicker but it's finally all cleared up and I feel great again. Woop! This week is going to go from strength to strength... Bring on Carmageddon and Swamp City!