Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Hey Baby Wanna Sit on Santa's 25 Laps?

Today is a great day. I'm completely spent, but in an I-know-I-Gave-Everything-I-Had way, and that's awesome.

Today Annie and I are the new girls. We warm up with everyone else. We do laps with them, and Vera calls out different things to do, like sprint or quick feet. I just skate. I keep skating. I don't have to stop to stretch my feet, catch my breath, or drink water. We do our stretches, then practice begins.

We run drills with the vets today. This is always fun. We do one on one booty blocking. I skate in front of a girl and try to stop her going around me while she pretends she is trying to get past. Then, I try desperately to get around her while she effortlessly prevents my progress. When we're all the way around the track, we get back in line and shuffle around so we're paired up with someone different on the next go round.

Here's the best thing about one-on-one blocking, beside the fact that we get some contact: the vets coach us through it. I learn so much.

"Now look behind you. See where I'm coming from. Cut over in front of me. Use your booty. Swing your hips this way. Remember you can control where I go. Use your plow to slow me down "

"Okay, I see you coming up on my right, so keep coming and then use your quick feet to try to get around my left. Keep your arms down. You don't want to get a penalty."

It's this that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. I feel like the girls really want me to do well, and I'm so glad I chose the Outlaws.

At the end of practice, we do five laps each way. Already worn out, the first five laps really take it out of me. Going the other way, however, is murder! I didn't realize how strong my left leg had become. Now that I compare it to my right leg, however, ugh. By the third lap, it's killing me. Vera sees me struggling and comes to skate in front of me bin a repeat of our first practice together, she skates backwards in front of me shouting word ls of encouragement. With her help, I make it the rest of the way.

Just when I think i can go no father, practice is over.

Until . . .

I hear Mandy and Vera have a discussion whether Annie and I should attempt 25 laps in 5 minutes. I zip my lip. I would absolutely love to test my mettle, but there is an extremely loud and wussy part of me that would also love to not pick up my legs anymore today.

They decide to go ahead with the laps. I am equal parts sickened and thrilled by this. Actually, I'm more thrilled than sickened. I don't know when the skills test will be offered, but it will not be much longer I'm sure. I'd like some indication of how ready I am.

Annie and I get to the track. A couple of the vets join us. Jamie pairs with me to cheer me through. The whistle blows. I sprint as fast as I can. Five, six, seven laps. My left leg, the one I lean on during turns, lodges repeated protests. I continue.

Eight, nine, ten laps. Yay! Before this practice, I would have predicted that I could only do eight laps total. After doing the ten laps at the end of practice, I felt sure I could not skate more than that. Here I am, though, ten laps in and still going.

Eleven, twelve, thirteen laps. I alternate between whimpering and roaring. I slow down for half a lap, then gather my strength for another big push. My periods of "rest" (a relative term) get longer as I run out of steam.

"30 seconds, ladies!"

"aaaaaighhh!". This is me yelling as I make my final push.

The whistle blows. I collapse into a four-point. Mandy says I need to skate another couple of laps to cool down. I honestly believe she is kidding. She isn't. She skates over to me and together we go a couple of times around the track.

I got 17 laps, which exceeded my own expectations. Mandy says that we will work on crossovers over the next couple of weeks and that will increase my speed and make the laps easier on me.

I'm sure that next time I will get 21 laps, and the next it will be at least 25.

Bring it.