Happy One Year Derbyversary to Me!

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Photo Credit: Mark Sheehan

With all the extra hours at work, and the vacation immediately following, I got very fall behind on my write once a day goal. I also completely missed my first year derbyversary!  Derby becomes so much a part of your life, that we celebrate the moment we entered it. We use it as a chance to reflect on the year passed. I could write about how nervous I was, how much I fell, etc. Instead, here are the things derby has given me this year.

  1. I no longer hate my body.  I’m not saying I don’t have days where I do. And I’m not saying I’m completely over it (a brief time where I looked at score mistressing made that clear). But it’s not the overwhelming thought process it used to be. I’m not even yo-yo dieting now! Which is the first break in the cycle since at least college. Do I want to eat healthier? Yes. Do I need to start hitting the gym more? Absolutely. But my goal is to treat my body better, not to make it fit a mold. I want to be healthier so I can be stronger on the track. (And secondarily, run with the Doctor and/or survive the zombie apocalypse).
  2. I can be athletic. I’m into computers. I didn’t do sports until derby. Every time I go hiking I end up with a bruise at best (this past vacation I tweaked my ankle three times on a 4.5 mile hike). I’ve flown over the handles of my mountain bike on the “easy trail.” But you know what? Strap 8 wheels to my feet and tell me to turn left and I can actually do it. I can stay upright. I can come in the middle of the pack as far as speed goes on my team (the B-team, not the league as a whole).
  3. I don’t run into shit. I actually have fewer bruises now that I play derby. Why? Because I’m more aware what’s going on around me. I used to have bruised hips, thighs, and shins all the time from running into cabinets and furniture. Now, I rarely do that (unless alcohol is involved).

With as much as I’ve learned from derby, I have some things I really need to work on in the next year too.

  1. Eat less processed crap. Pre-derby, I ate mostly natural foods. Now with two derby schedules (my husband plays too) we eat out a whole lot more. Not to mention the junk I eat/drink at after parties. Not friendly to your body or to your wallet. This coming season I’m going to cook lots of chicken breast to have on hand for after practice. And I’m going to try to eat at least a protein bar on the way to after parties so I don’t eat a ton of pizza.
  2. Cross train. Quite simply, right now I don’t. This is an express train to injuryville. I need to make my whole body strong so I can hopefully prevent injury.
  3. Balance.  I neglected a lot of my non derby friends this year. And for that, I am sorry. I am working to find that derby-work-life balance and bring it into harmony. I need to not put all things derby first.
2 Responses to “Happy One Year Derbyversary to Me!”
  1. Beattie says:

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