Free as a Bird

Hey I finally got my "new old" skates repaired. Remember many months ago when I bought my bad ass skates on ebay? I had tried to wear them and it turned out that a tear in the tongue was what was torturing my feet. I had to take them to a particular repair shop as there aren't many that work on roller skates. It took me forever to get out there and drop them off, but they repaired the tongue quickly and cheaply. Last night was my first time wearing them at the rink in months.

I was excited because I knew I would have three months more skating experience from when I had worn them last. As you know, I have been skating much faster in recent weeks, but that is on my old skates. These skates have really heavy plates on them and super hard wheels, making them very slick on the wood. So I laced up and was pleased to see that the skates felt great on my feet. Of course there was a learning curve but overall, the skates felt fantastic. So smooth!

I tried to pick up my pace a bit closer to what I have been accustomed to. Whoops, not too good at braking in these skates! Have to practice that. My level of control is greatly reduced but I will get it back with time. I had some major close calls coming around the corners because I can't slow down the way I'm used to. One of the areas I felt strongest was when I was backwards skating. Just felt much more confident with the new skates. But don't feel bad about my old Chicago's, they will still get their roll on at the weekend as my outdoor skates.

In other news, I skated in the Pacific Beachfest last weekend. What a blast! I had a fantastic time. The floor on the stage was really nice for skating, and they let us skate around for a few minutes to get a feel before we began. Honestly, walking up the rickety steps to the stage was the scariest part. It was awesome to look out and see the crowd gathered to watch us. Once the music started, I just got into the zone and had a blast. Looking out and seeing my little boy in the audience was a great feeling. He was proud of his mommy. I didn't fall although I did have a bit of a close call in the middle of the Fly. Still though, didn't fall!

My Other Car is a Unicorn on Roller Skates

Yes, it's Tuesday, my very favorite day of the week! So excited to get my roll on tonight at the rink. It was so fun last week, I can't wait to build on what I learned. I am such a little speeder now, it's too cool! I get such a rush from skating, I'll go 30, 40, 50 minutes without a break - as long as the music is good.

Amazingly enough, I have even stopped drinking Red Bull before I go skating! Wait did you hear what I said? I'm not taking a stimulant before I skate anymore! This is a big deal. I used to down a giant Monster before skating back when I was a beginner. I felt it was the *only way* to have enough energy to skate all night.

I was able to wean myself down to the 8 oz. sugar free Red Bull, but this was still a needed item to go skating. A few weeks ago, I needed to be able to sleep right when I got home so I went without the drink. I was worried I would have no energy and would have to keep resting but something amazing happened - I felt even better than I did with the Red Bull. No shaky legs or super fast heart beats. No having to use the bathroom at the roller rink because I drank so much before I got there (trust me, the bathrooms are a scary adventure that I would like to avoid). This is a very positive change health-wise and also in saving money too!

In other news, Pacific Beachfest this Saturday! I guess I'm ready! I will be doing just three routines; we have to do the strongest routines and even though I know other ones, the important thing to do is what everyone knows. It should be fun and I'm sure I will be nervous as heck but it will be great to get my feet wet for my first time performing before a group.

Sorry for the gap in postings...but I don't want to bore you guys to tears when I don't have much to report...ride your hide people

Sk8 Skillz

Hi World! I know my updates are not as frequent as they once were but hey, it is what it is. Once I was a baby skater and was posting every little move I made. I've moved beyond that and it's a beautiful thing. So I will most likely be doing a weekly or bi-weekly update.

Skating at Venice Beach last weekend was a trip! What a wild and crazy world it is up there. So much going on, skating is just one tiny aspect of it all. It was fun to just watch all the madness going on around us. There was one guy who was skating while using two hula hoops and juggling limes. A little intimidating to do my moves next to something like that! Also there were only a couple other women, it was completely dominated by men. But I did my thing and all the skaters up there were super friendly. I'm so glad I went and can't wait to go again soon.

Skating at the rink on Tuesday was good; I was doing my new super fast skating and it was great. I skated the backwards skate special and had something interesting happen. I have been working on something called a mohawk turn, which is basically turning around from frontwards to backwards while in motion. The skilled skaters can do this at breakneck speed. Me, I do it only if I'm at a slow pace as it's easy to lose your balance. Anyway, so I was doing my backwards skating and this couple stops/falls right behind me. One of my friends screamed at me but I only had a split second to turn around. I did that mohawk turn so fast...and didn't fall! I was so proud of myself! I guess sometimes it takes those little things to push you out of your comfort zone and help you get to the next level. I won't be so hesitant the next time I do my mohawk turn.

Skating at the beach this weekend and the Pacific Beachfest is just around the corner!

Summertime

Summer has finally arrived in San Diego, and it couldn't be more welcomed. Finally, the blue skies and bright sunshine we have all been waiting for. It's so beautiful - and perfect for skating. I was able to get out last night to Mission Beach for a beautiful sunset skate. It was great to put in the time distance skating (just look out for those errant pebbles) and then spend some time roller dancing by the coaster at Belmont Park. There were plenty of people out enjoying the weather so I had a small audience of onlookers.

It looks like I am going to be skating in the Pacific Beachfest so I better get over feeling nervous when people are watching me skate. It's exciting! It's going to be on October 9, 2010 and I will be skating the numbers with the rest of the skaters. So I'm going to have to work, work, work if I expect to be up to speed in time for the festival. We will be doing routines 2-6 as well as the Fly. Even though I know the routines, it's another thing altogether to do them consecutively, one after another. Exhausting! But I know I can do it.

Tuesday was Adult Night at Skate World. It was a lot of fun, almost all regulars, only a handful of amateurs, so that was pretty cool. The only problem was since the weather has finally improved, it is hotter than a hen in a wool blanket inside the rink. The only saving grace is a giant fan in front of the back door where you can cool off. Of course it is totally clogged with people gasping for air at all times, so you have to muscle your way in there a bit. All I can do is put my hair up, get a drink of water and deal with it. As long as the music is on the money, it makes me forget how thick and hot the air is inside the rink.

One last note that I have been scouring the internet for cool roller skating images ever since the inception of this blog. I think it's about done; there are only so many roller skating images out there, and I only like posting my very favorite ones. At this point I am going to have to start posting some pix of myself. I am really going to try to get some pictures from my beach skating this weekend so hopefully I can post some skating pix of me next time.

Get out there and ride your hide! There's no time to lose.