Long time no post!

Sitting here watching Dawn Harper crush the women's 100m hurdles. Distracted by athletics once again.

It's been a while since I last posted! I've been thinking about blogging these past couple of days. Not sure why or where or how reliable I'll be with the blog, not because I don't want to blog, but simply because of the lack of time and the lack of ideas for topics.

What have I been up to that has taken up so much of my time? Well, it should be no surprise. Roller Derby! I began coaching a full contact junior team, I pulled myself from the ECRG All Star roster, I got a new job, and I've begun exploring new hobbies. 

The name of my junior team is the "Executies". I coach along side Mamaskatrixx, who is one of THE MOST incredible women I have ever met. I'm very inspired by junior derby. It's so much more exciting than watching adult derby. They skate harder and with more passion. Their game is a lot faster and their nimble and flexible enough to pull off moves one can only dream of pulling off. This team has quickly turned into my favorite part of my derby career. To be able to pass along my knowledge of the game while learning new techniques from younger skaters is the most amazing and gratifying feelings.

As far as removing myself from the All Star roster, well that was due to a few things. I've been dealing with knee issues for quite some time, and this season has been the worst. I tore my medial patellofemoral ligament in my right knee (now now this is nothing new!) and it's given me more grief than ever this season. I felt it was only fair to the others that I drop from the roster and focus on healing. However, I didn't focus for long enough. I returned back to derby after two months of being off skates and jumped straight into full contact again. During our last bout of the season, my knee cap slid out of place and pulled right back in, but my knee swelled to epic proportions and I couldn't walk for days. Needless to say, I'm refocusing on the healing. I'm returning to skating without contact next week. I also experienced a bit of burnout, which I assume doesn't help the injury.

I also started working for Symantec! I left the doughnut business and took a job as a Sales Development Executive (fancy, huh!) I now have killer health insurance and a M-F schedule. It feels nice to not come home covered in flour and sprinkles every day, but I do miss the heavy lifting. Symantec is a great company to work for! Plenty of room for growth, wonderful co workers, and free gym membership and fitness classes! I now take Yoga, 3 times a week! 

Last but not least, I've been exploring new hobbies. I've learned that I'm quite the little nature bug! I've been camping, hiking, and exploring river paths close to my home. My team mate, Medusa, is going to take me backpacking (for my first time) in September! I can't wait. I've been looking at backpacking equipment and reading articles on backpacking adventures. I love the feeling of reconnecting with nature and bringing out the survivalist in me! 

It's basically been a nice ride, these past months. I'm growing and changing, but my love for the sport of derby keeps getting stronger and deeper. I'm coming up on 6 years of playing! This season I'm really focusing on my mental game and my teams (I forgot to mention, I am putting a lot of time and energy into our B team right now! I love it!) I've begun my pre season training and have been slowly changing my diet in an effort to maximize my performance. So far, so good. 

I hope to post more during this pre season. I'm just not quite sure what to post about. I have tons of ideas floating around in my head, including:

tracking my training/diet

goal setting

hiking/camping adventures

and a special project I'm working on, 29 before 30 (just you wait! It's not what you think!)

Maybe I'll even link my instagram and give you all some better photos of what's going on in my little world. 

Until next time (whenever that may be), I leave you with this:

"If you go as far as you can see, you will then see enough to go even farther." - John Wooden

Trading in the star for a stripe/How to deal with allergies

It's true, I'm trading my star in. It's been a nice run as a jammer, but it's time to expand my game. For the past few seasons, all I've really known is the jammer star. Don't get me wrong, I've gotten to play in the pack PLENTY since joining Emerald City, but mostly…I jam….and I jam like a freight train. On travel team, when we go around and tell each other our goals or say our mantras, I hear some people saying "Block like a jammer and jam like a blocker!" I never say it, but I like to think I embody that mantra pretty well. However, I feel that my game has been shifting a bit. So now I'm going to go from this:

Taking a massive hit from Lethal Whoopin of Lava City Roller Dolls in Bend, OR

…to this:

Notice my amazing photoshop skills…I'm for hire btw! lol

I'm very excited to learn a new role for my home team. I've been told that I'm a pretty intimidating force on the track. I'm excited to bring this intimidation to a new position. Don't get me wrong, you'll still see me donning the star every now and then. But for now, look for the stripe! 

I've never really played pivot. I did a few times when I first started playing roller derby back in Oklahoma. But the position didn't mean much…in fact, I've never given any thought to the importance of the position before moving to Eugene. Pivot means a lot more than what I thought it initially did. It's a pretty big role on the track, pivots aren't just another blocker. There's a lot to consider when playing this role like, what the other team is doing and how to counteract, where to position on the track to get an optimal view of the game, working on plays and strategy, communication with team mates, and all around knowing when to play O, when to play D and when to play both. This is just what I've gathered of the position so far, but I'm sure there is a lot more. 

My initial plan is to watch a ton of derby and pay attention to what the best pivots in the sport are doing. One of my team mates also recommended calling out where blockers are on the track while watching derby. What are they doing? Is it effective? Where are their jammers? I thought about creating derby watching assignments just to aid with the research of this role, like analyzing one bout a week. I'm also interested in who the best pivots of the sport are…tell me, who do you think the best pivots are? What do you see them doing?

Aside from being super excited about playing a pivotal role (heh…get it?) I've been dealing with some pretty nasty allergies. I recently received one of these bad boys from my team mate Krazy Kurlz:

…I must say, I was pretty nervous to use this thing. When Kurlz texted me about bringing me a Neti Pot, I got a little anxious. I watched a demo video on youtube and thought "no freakin' way!" Burnadeath had this to say about the Neti Pot:

"I find it reminiscent of drowning at the Jersey Shore. But it helps me."

Kurlz brought it to practice for me last night, and all the way home I had gave myself the most epic Neti Pot pep talk. A lot of "Frank, if you can take massive hits from Lotta Leadpipe, and skate on a broken toe for half a season, you can pour some salt water down your nose!" When I got home, without any hesitation or second thought…I proceeded to "Neti Pot". I read the directions very carefully, mixed the warm water with the solution…and slowly bent over the sink and began pouring salty goodness in my sinuses! At first I didn't quite have my head tilted forward enough, so some of the solution went in my mouth (and made me gag a bit), but once I got the hang of it…it was smooth sailing! 

The Neti Pot is awesome! I used it again today and managed to flush out a GIGANTOR neon greenish yellowish mucus blockage (the size of my palm!) I had to stop neti potting and stare at it for a good two minutes. That thing was HUGE! I can't believe something that huge existed in my sinuses. I can certainly breath a lot better (although I'm still a little congested). I did miss practice tonight though, because last night I was struggling to breathe. I don't recommend derby when you can't breathe.

So yeah, Neti Pot…Frankie approved! Thanks Kurlz! 

When the going gets tough...

Taken right after the HARDEST workout thus far. I puked in my mouth at least 5 different times…I guess I'm too proud to just puke during a workout.

During my workout today, I kept asking myself, "when is this going to get any easier?" I pushed and pushed. I cried a little during (yes during) my dive bomb push up set, threw up in my mouth multiple times, and raced to catch my breath the entire hour and a half of my workout! I finally came to the following conclusion: 

The workouts shouldn't get easier. If they are, then you aren't working hard enough! 

It's true! Every workout that I've done has gotten harder and harder. Sets get larger, distances get longer, and endurance…well…you get the idea! So what keeps me motivated? Well, lots! My team, my pride, my dogs, my heroes. I'm motivated by a lot! I have the support of so many, and I want to not only make myself proud, I want to make everyone else proud as well. What motivates you?

I watched my team play the BEST BOUT I've EVER seen them play last night…and I'm more inspired than ever before to be the best athlete I can be for my team:) Stay tuned for the first "Derby Inspired by….DERBY!" interview! It's going to be a doozy!