Training for tomorrow

After taking a few days to come down from last Friday's sanguine derby high I can discuss the bout in just a little more detail.

As usual, Ophelia Fracture stole the show by running circles around the opposing the team, including a remarkable 23-point jam. Toxic Sugar earned quite a few oohs and aahs for taking out some of the Quad City jammers.

I myself had a night of personal bests. After having a dismal performance at the Studio 13-sponsored scrimmage --also against the Quad City Rollers-- where I averaged a pathetic 1.3 points per jam, I improved drastically to an average of 5 points per jam at Friday's bout. I even notched 14 points during one jam. I still have a long way to go as a skater but it was rewarding to see some improvement, at least stats-wise.

Yes, experience/more practices factors in heavily but I also finally managed to get a grip on my nerves that helped a lot. I kept my cool and tried to think positively in the hours before the bout, and performed so much better for it. I was relaxed and far more focused than I have been at previous competitions, which I attribute to knowing what to expect (i.e. prior bout experience), reading up on how to manage pre-show jitters and just feeling more confident in my own abilities as a skater.

Other accomplishments? Apparently all those Saturday nights spent attending open skate at the recreation center weren't for naught. I've gotten the hang of backwards skating and I have finally made some progress on T-stops (I'm much more of a plow-type girl).

Also looking to a four-hour practice this Sunday with a few of the Minnesota Roller Girls and I am very excited to announce that the Old Capitol City Roller Girls have accepted an invitation to take on the PVRG Flyin' Squirrels on their home turf in Appleton, Wisconsin on Saturday, December 5th!