Day Forty Five: Wonderbolts Weekend Part 2

The day is finally here, my first game. I'm a bit jittery but surprisingly focused - it helps we have a lot of things to do in preparation and once we're allowed out to test the track I can put some of my tension into the floor by pounding out a few laps, jumps and the like.

It occurred to me at some point when teams have a shoutout it's often hard to understand what they're yelling, especially up in the stands. I wondered briefly what "Focus" might sound like to the crowd. And then went back to focusing before losing myself in mirth

Maybe something like "Hocus Pocus"?
Nothing untoward crossed my mind instead, I can assure you.

Fitness: We spent most of the morning skating, warming up, playing and dancing. All and all, lots of movement today.

Aikido: Ah, no. WAIT. No. Attempting to use Cheng Hsin and my one and a half Judo moves in a light hearted but determined impromptu wrestling match doesn't count. We only played five rounds anyway.

Derby: Yes. All the ridiculous things my old league said to me were washed away in the clear light of the lineups and support from the Wonderbolts. I was in the first line up, and alternating line ups with occasional double outs and I had turns jamming. I had a run as jammer, a straight from the textbook power jam, and with some amazing support from the team I clocked up an easy 15 or 20 points. Honestly, I can't remember how many scoring passes I managed, I only checked the score intermittently as time wore on as I became more embroiled in each step as it came to pass. I happy with this - possibly the best way to play would be jam by jam. I don't even know what else to say. I'm thrilled, everything that happened today let me know I made the right choice. Playing a game has helped me identify focal areas for improvement, but overall, for a first game I think that's one I can be well proud of. I had so much fun.

Diet: Some fruit for breakfast, a muesli bar and a helping of freaking out a bit. After the bout I ate several more muesli bars, a bite of subway, then we headed off to find some deep fried victory chips. Possibly a punnet of victory chips later, the evening disintegrates into beer, more chips, pre-packaged chicken meals, cocktails and something from a classy (and vaguely leaky) cask bag. Serious celebrationary energy reloading. Or something. Hell, we had one heck of a party. We'd earned it.

Sleep: We hit the sack around 3.30am, got up again at 6.30am - who needs sleep when you've had a can of victory instead? Actually, I was just having such a fantastic time all weekend that ran over my need to get any proper nap time.




What can I say?  Nothing seems to even begin to encompass the level of inclusion, fun, awesomeness and just... just... I don't know how to describe it. Ultimate warm fuzzies. This year is going to be amazing.

Even more fantastic than puppies playing grass hockey

Day Forty Four: Wonderbolts Weekend Part 1

Taranaki today for Carmageddon! Tonight we make the miles and tomorrow we play the bout. Be cool Dashie, be cool.

Fitness: Left packing to the last moment so I ran up/down the dual flight stairs several times as I was packing to get away. Plus I did three loads of washing in the morning which also involved more up/down the stairs- other than that we spent around six hours sitting in the van and only minimal running around in the intervening breaks.

Aikido: No training today

Derby: No skating today

Diet: I figure I'm not going to be able to eat much tonight or tomorrow. So, best to load as best as possible while I'm capable of still eating. Three weetbix for breakfast, a bacon/chicken/avocado sandwich for lunch and various fruits. We snacked on a little bit of everything from more fruit, rice crackers, lollies and chocolate milk in the car ride to Taranaki. Burger Fuel for dinner, just a basic chicken and cheese burger.

Sleep: What sleep? Aside from being in a strange house, in a strange bed, I was a box of nervous energy. It didn't help that I was more or less just waiting for Pow, Pixie, Special K and Peku to turn up, (which they did at 1.30am) I think I got to sleep some time around 3/30am but people started to get up at 6/6.30am. Ah well. Nervous energy will out.

Day Forty Three: Slow Systems

My mind is mush today. And by mush, I mean there appears to be almost no comedic value left. This is what happens when you spend months clearing invoices...

The excitement! It is... not noticeable.

Anyway there was some sort of catastrophic train malfunction so by the time I had gotten into Sandringham it was pretty late to be heading into Aikido. For an hour long class, I was going to be missing the first fifteen/twenty minutes. Other sports - you turn up, you make a blithe comment about the trains crashing into some cattle and you're away laughing. Protocol in the dojo is different though, and after a certain level of lateness I can't bring myself to attend. Sensei mentions punctuality a lot, and even though I don't control the trains I understand the example I set if I turn up half way through a class, especially to the beginners class. So I didn't go, and went straight to skate training instead.




Fitness: Skipped the Aikido, and had two hours on the track instead. Some of the drills we did the pack set what I thought was a slightly unreasonably fast pace. Looking back on it, if I'd been skating a bit lower it might not have seemed so fast (thoughts to myself for some minutes).

Aikido: oops.

Derby: It hasn't really sunk in that my first game is in... oh, one and a half days? Anyway, after the warm-up we went through more strategies - I love the heavy focus on strategy. Developing quick feet isn't going to help me a whit if I have an empty head. Plus, I skate. I skate as much as I can. My individual skills will develop without too much drive from the coaches, although they are very useful to have around to ask technical questions. We wrapped up gently to assist refocusing the team and had a bit of a positive projection for the game. I liked how it was all done - I admired the soft skills I saw tonight. They can push and be blunt when they need to, but when someone needed a hand reached out to them, it was already there. In case you can't tell, I got a case of the warm fuzzies. I'm really looking forward to Saturday - it'll be interesting to see how everyone comes together. I have to admit I kinda assume we'll win, I just wonder how much I'll contribute...?

Diet: I had a nectarine on the way out the door and then a stack of tea and biscuits for breakfast. I was quite late into work again and that sort of ruins me as I'll get stuck into a big pile of invoices and then it'll be lunch time before I think about stopping to get some fuel. I met with my brother at Food Alley and ordered some pho beef noodles from the Vietnamese place (not as good as the pho in northern Vietnam but still quite nice), then more tea and biscuits for afternoon tea. Chocolate milk after skate training - it wasn't too demanding as far as trainings go. Then I had some pre-cooked chicken when I got home. No need to go into why that filled me with rage. Hint: there was plenty of food in the freezer / fridge.

Sleep: I slept in, but only mildly (7.20ish) but that really ruined my get-to-work-on-time timetable. I forgot to reset my alarms because I turned on the later one on Wednesday - fail. It's just gone 11pm now, but I have the day off tomorrow and only a few things to do. I don't want to sleep in too late though as I'll need to still be in full sleep cycle to get up at 7.30am on Saturday...


Whoop! Taranaki tomorrow. My first real game on Saturday. Flying with the Wonderbolts. Did I mention I never expected it to happen so soon?

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee......... (girlish squeal)

Day Forty Two: Driftwood

God knows what happened. I've continued to drift into a holding pattern, and part of me finds it immensely lazy that I'm putting almost no effort into achieving any goals. Another part of me is fiercely vying for more rest time so my muscles are actually usable at some point rather than just being in a constant state of fettered exhaustion. It's probably not a good thing. 

Although it's as easy as falling in a hole.

If my legs do fail, it'll probably be when
I'm carrying important files.

It's difficult I guess because a lot of my time is already dedicated to 'training' of one form or another, then once you fluff out the week with sleep, work, social obligations, washing, crap like car maintenance and a little bit of 'me' time, I'm probably left with about seventeen seconds. I'm impatient as all hell though, and willing to put in the effort to start seeing results sooner. But when? When am I going to find time and space to fit it into my timetable? And if I did, would my legs just go on strike until I offered them more favourable work conditions? 

Quite possibly. Who knows. I'm just feeling the bite of time at the moment - I have a million things to do and I'm off to Taranaki with the Wonderbolts on Friday - I am actually just looking forward to some time away! 

Fitness: Nothing today. Probably a good thing as I believe my legs are still pretty miffed (I mean resting) from last night.

Aikido: No training

Derby: No skating. I idly thought that I should take my skates into work regularly and hit the streets at lunchtimes. But then it pissed with rain all day today anyway. But every flat surface inspires a piece of me to sit up and go, "Hmm, if I had my skates..." followed by "That security guard would attempt to chase me off..."

Diet: I was into work about midmorning, but I'd had a plum and some tea/biscuits for breakfast around 10.30am and then it was lunchtime quite quickly from that point so I didn't have any weetbix but made myself a mammoth sandwich instead (gasp, but I'm out of hummus!). I had a punnet of blueberries for afternoon tea to tide me over until dinner at Cassette 9, which consisted of pizza, garlic bread and beer. As much as I'm not exactly proud of such a dinner I also don't feel bad about it either. I feel sorry for people on diets who make themselves feel bad for enjoying a night out with friends because of things like this - either don't feel bad or don't have friends. 

Sleep: I awoke at 7am despite having gone to sleep just past 1am and knowing I could sleep in as I had pre-arranged a late start. Guess my body knows when it's meant to be awake these days, which is a good thing... I rolled over and sort of managed a mix of resting and napping until 9.30am when I made a go for work, feeling pretty refreshed and ready to face the day. It's just gone 11.30pm now but I've been yawning since just before 9pm. I can't seem to get enough rest this week, which normally isn't an issue. I can only assume it's partly due to the mounting anticipation of this weekends' game, but I'm not consciously feeling the stress at the moment so it's hard to judge. Probably is though. Nothing else is really bothering me.

Posted this 'tomorrow' as internet failed - Steve Fry is right people - we put up with some atrocious service. 

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!

Day Forty: Waiting To Catch Up

Whoa. Again with the auto-save failure, but aside from that I rounded off the day with a highly demotivating headache. Probably highly avoidable if I'd had more sleep on Sunday night and drank significantly more water on Monday, but neither of those things happened.

Computers. Sigh.

Yesterday was going to be low key anyway. I was still pretty shattered from the weekend, had cleared entirely too many invoices at work and if I was going to do anything when I got home, it was going to involve placing things in the bin. Nothing exciting.



A brief summary! If I can remember back that far...

Fitness: Rest day! I needed it too. Not surprised I had a headache frankly, it's just a pity they take such a heavy toll on me when I get them.

Aikido: No training

Derby: No skating

Diet: Weetbix/banana breakfast, three toffee pops, tea, mammoth sandwich for lunch (yes, they do look delicious, don't they?) lamb chops, mashed potatoes, omelette and salad for dinner, and fruit salad and yoghurt for dessert. I wanted to point out as well that I actually record 99% of what I eat, I'm not snacking on various things that I don't list. I used to snack considerably more but since I've made an effort to eat more meals (breakfast and lunch especially) I've found I don't so much any more. It never really looks like much looking back on it.

Sleep: I can't really remember, but likely, not enough given I crashed and burned like a champion on Monday night. Napped between 6 - 7.30pm, then went back to bed after family dinner night around 10 / 10.30ish. Slept terribly, but I got up around 7am still feeling like garbage. Normally I can sleep off a headache but they seem to be learning ways around that.



Good to get this rubbish sort of day out of the way. The days just keep stepping up this week so I need to be on top of everything - now I should be reasonably well rested, here's hoping everything comes together nicely.

Day Thirty Nine: And Then I Made Pancakes

Today was just all shades of summer, I wouldn't ask for more on a daily basis otherwise after three days I'd be all, "Nooo! It's just too much for one person to cope with."

Whenever I say "No" with more than one 'o', this is what I'm actually thinking.

Hmph, I've only just remembered we meant to tighten the suspension in my car this evening, but when I got home I desperately needed some food, which lead to needing a nap, which then meant it was sometime around 10pm and then I needed pancakes. This is why I couldn't cope with repeated instances - I'd just start to fall behind on essential tasks. I'll find some other time this week to look at the car. Maybe Friday.



Fitness: Today consisted of four hours of skating, then two hours of pooling. I can't say swimming really because I can't remember swimming any more than a few meters at most. Anyway we did 25 laps at the rink (untimed) but it would have been under five easily, but not too much else other than simply the extended period of time spent skating was too arduous, except for the jumping which my legs refused to play the game for as it was past the three hour mark and I was asking for them to power spring - they came back with a definitive, 'hell no.'. They weren't happy with the laps straight after that either but they held out. Then we had a short break before heading out to Westwave for hydra slides and water walking. Having never done water walking before it was highly entertaining and surprisingly demanding (compared to what it looks like) and then some spa and sauna time. It has been entirely too long since I last went swimming, but looks like it may become a more frequent occurrence.

Aikido: No training today.

Derby: Four hours of skills, agility and a little endurance thrown in there to keep us lively. Finally! My legs and feet have come back to me (metaphorically...) actually I think I found them at the end of the public session yesterday when I started attacking the cones with no appreciation for my limits to see what I could do. I packed it in straight afterwards yesterday, so today was the first day of having shaken off my funk and just had a lot of fun when we went through all the transition drills. Thank you, feet! It's also good to have found how to reset them if they start to give out on me again.

Diet: One might think I could have laid out some more jumps if I'd had breakfast before heading into training. Then because we were going swimming I didn't want to eat something straight before hitting the water, but had a chocolate milk straight after training. Came home and had salmon and carrots, passed out temporarily, woke up and decided I had to have blueberry pancakes and yoghurt for dessert. In retrospect I should have taken some fruit with me when I left in the morning. I thought I'd have time to go to the supermarket instead, oops, not so.

Sleep: Woke up at 8ish, probably could have done with another thirty minutes or so. I had a power nap from 8.30pm till 9.10pm as I wanted to do a few more things before going to sleep but I couldn't even keep my eyes open. It's just 11.45pm now, I need to have a quick shower and then that'll give me just shy of seven hours, but after my nap earlier I think that'll all balance out. We'll see, I'm sure everything will all work out this week.



Argh. I meant to tidy my room this weekend. Place is still a damn tip. I've given myself three weeks to make this place less of a disaster zone and I have doubts it'll be enough (laziness and a severe lack of spare time in which to do so play equal parts)