Back In The Saddle Again…

We're ba-ack! It's the beginning of a brand-new season and I can officially be called "veteran" (w00t!). That's a proud moment: when you realize that against the odds of injuries, illnesses, and pure exhaustion, you actually made it a whole year. To be honest, though, this past season really flew by.

I can't believe we're at it again! This year we have 19 newbies. Last year I started with some 8-10 ladies; I don't really remember how many because some of them dropped out right away. I heard the number 50 being said quite a bit. I'm not sure if that's truly the number of active skaters we have or not, but that's basically enough for three teams (14 rostered skaters x 3=42).

Yesterday we moved into a new home. It's this really big warehouse that has a very similar floor to the Gardens. The two main differences are the dirty, dirty floor (which will be cleaned on Saturday) and four beams right in the middle of the floor, but once we find some padding for those it'll be no problem. Our bouts will still be at the Gardens, but it's nice to have a place that is truly ours. If I remember I'll snap some pictures with my camera tomorrow.

I've decided that this year I'm going to try to lose some of this extra weight. As much as I want to be that big, brute blocker, I'm not built like that. I have this tiny little frame and I was well overweight when I first started derby. I'm still overweight. It affects my speed, agility, endurance... everything. *Cue sad trombone*

Last year I started derby weighing about 160 lbs. Yes, I'm telling the truth, I have no shame. I really didn't lose much because I "compensated" for the exercise by overeating. I would get home from practice at 11pm and eat a huge meal. This year I'm not allowing myself to eat after practice (I can have a protein shake), and I'm just really watching my portion sizes throughout the day. It's already working. I started this year at 155 lbs., and today I was down to 145.5. That might seem like a lot in a short amount of time, but I gain and lose very easily, and I feel great! My work pants are falling off!