ECDX Recap

Holy shit ECDX was incredible. I don't tend to get excited about a lot and in fact, I'm pretty sure my face probably only let on that I was a smidge above bored, but on the inside - SENSORY OVERLOAD. From the minute we pulled up, it was like I was transported to some kind of Disney show based on a derby girl boarding school crossed with Girls Gone Moderately Wild. Oh hi chatting with Suzy Hotrod at check in... Oh hi jam coaching IM Pain... Oh hi being told by Miss Fortune to "stay relevant in the pack". At the pool sipping a beer at 3pm... watching high-level derby at 3:02. All in a days work, right?

If you ever start to feel your derby spark wane, a trip to ECDX is what the doctor ordered and if that doesn't do it, just quit now. Something about being around all of those incredible skaters makes you want to put on your skates and not take them off the whole weekend. It sends you back home with your fire stoked and your foot primed for kicking ass. For me, it reminded me how much I have come to love this game in such a little time. I hope that the excitement I brought back translates into energy that I can put into co-captaining my incredible team because it takes that love of the sport to keep going.

Along the weekend I picked up a few more derby idols because, can one have too many?

Vicious Van GoGo (R)
All rights reserved by Dave Wood Photography

#1 Vicious Van GoGo (Texacutioners) - At first I wanted to hate on Texas because I really like Montreal, but Vicious Van GoGo has won my derby heart with her incredible footwork and ability to find holes in the pack. She has zero hesitation when she needs to move fast and infinite patience when she needs to let her blockers do some work. Also, she smiles the entire time, people.

#2 Soulfearic Acid (Wheels of Justice) - Like everyone I was ridiculously excited to watch Rose City take on Gotham. I was also really bummed when Scald Eagle went out with an injury her very first time taking the track because I think it would have been a very different game - not that Scald Eagle is that incredible (I mean, she is), but because that WoJ jammer rotation is ridiculous. Soulfearic held it down against Gotham. I'm pretty sure the girl never even got winded despite jamming 3/5 jams. How often to you see Gotham attempt to make huge hits and completely miss? Hardly.

Smack Daddy (L) & Lil Mama (R)
All rights reserved by Frightmare DCRG

#3 All of Wheels of Justice - See above. Watch bout. See score. "Peg-assist".

#4 Smack Daddy (Montreal Roller Derby) - Ok, I feel like a cheater for this one because she never even had skates on the whole weekend, but wow. I heart Smack Daddy. She could have her own "hey girl, meme".

#5 The Pool - Even for those who capital L-O-V-E derby, sometimes you need a little break. At ECDX? No problem. Exit rink two, walk out door, cross parking lot, jump in pool. It's like magic, people. Twenty minutes out by the pool and you are ready for 3 more hours of derby watching. It's that simple.

The pool at the Sportsplex at ECDX. Not unlike being in an episode of The L Word.

So I'll see you next year, right?

p.(mfing)s. I managed to lose another pound before ECDX so I failed just a little bit less.

So much stuff.

To the eight or so people who care, I have SO MUCH TO TELL YOU.

First, where the hell have I been?! Well, life kicked me in the teeth and shanked me while I was down. Things in the personal world have basically sucked and all of that suckiness lead to a mental meltdown that allowed me to start 27 blog postings, but not finish one. My brain convinced me that I suck at life so bad, that what the hell is the point? I'm not sad, y'all. Just telling you how it is.

Moving on... I failed. Yes, the dreaded failure. I did not make my goal of 50lbs lost by ECDX (insert wahhh wahhh wahhh noise), but did however make it to 33 and I am damn proud and still going. Thirty three pounds lost puts me .8 pounds lower than the lowest weight I have seen on the scale since I was about 18. Even more importantly than the fact that I finally broke through this godawful plateau, is the fact that I did it while facing some tough life challenges - a time when I would usually eat for comfort and I didn't! You could piss directly in my Cheerios today and I wouldn't even care.

Lastly - and maybe most importantly - I was asked to be co-captain of my team. ME! Me of only skating one year! Though let's be honest, I'm pretty certain this has less to do with my track skills and more to do with my passion for derby, my big mouth, and propensity to run shit. I just hope I do a good job for my team because I love them hoes!

Ok, enough updates for now. Tomorrow I head off to my very first ECDX with stars in my eyes and skates in my bag. I somehow managed to snag a spot on the Antiks v Riedell team AND become captain. If you'll be at ECDX and you see me wandering around or shouting trackside, please come say 'hi'. I only bite if you want me to.

19 down...

... and 31 to go until my first goal. And looking at my 'roller derby saved my soul' booty ECDX countdown, I am down to 88 days. Let's look at the stats, shall we?

So far, I have lost 19 lbs in 31 days so that is an average of .61 lbs per day. At this rate I will only lose 54 more lbs in 88 days (don't I wish). To meet my goal, I only need to lose an average of .35 lbs/day or 2.5 lbs per week.

Okay, so I say I "only" need to lose 2.5 lbs per week, but the reality is that that is A LOT. I've been cruising right along so there could easily be a plateau in my future. I hope not!

While I am checking in, here is a recap of what has and has not worked in the last 31 days:

What has worked:

• MyFitnessPal on my iPhone - This has been a godsend! Everything is so simple to enter - I mean hello!, you can scan the barcode on foods.
• Jogging with help from Personal Running Trainer on my iPhone - Jogging, I still hate your face, but you're so good for my butt! I have never been a good runner, not even when I was thin all through elementary, middle, and high school. I'm pretty sure I have NEVER continuously jogged a mile, but I stumbled across this program on my phone that let's me listen to MY music and tells me when to walk or jog, I'll be doing it in no time. Plus, my endurance has made marked improvements so far.
• Eating at home - I love to eat. Love it. But it is so easy to rack up calories the second you leave your house. I'm not a good planner so I'm not going to sit hear preaching at you to pack your every meal everywhere, but eat at home as much as you can and it will help.
• Not drinking - I wasn't a huge drinker before, but I would have some wine a couple times a week. I realized that I would rather eat those calories than drink them.
• No sugar. See my previous post, but sugar just makes me want to eat everything. I haven't gone all Atkins or anything, I still eat bread, just no cookies, brownies, ice cream, etc.
• Eating an early dinner (no later than 7) and only having one healthy snack after then if I really need it. (Note: This works for me because I weigh myself every morning so I feel like I am giving my body a chance to reset overnight and give an accurate weight).

What has NOT worked:

• NOT tracking my food - I had one not so great week where I didn't track and I gained. I was lucky to catch myself and get back on track without damaging my bottom line (pun intended).
• 6 small meals - I'm sure everyone has heard that they should eat 6 small meals to keep their metabolism up, not get hungry, etc., and I know a lot of people who this works for, but it does not work for me. I do best on 3 squares and 1-2 snacks. On any given day I spend about 1/5 of my calories on breakfast, 1/5 on lunch, 2/5 on dinner, and 1/5 on snacks (sometimes lunch and dinner are switched). This ratio seems to work well for me.

Overall I feel really good about my progress, but today I sit at a weight that is tough for me. It seems to be the weight where my body gets comfortable and doesn't want to budge. In fact, I've been at this weight 'point' something for a few days until hitting point zero today. I've broken below it many, many, many times, but in my adult life have not stayed under for more than 6 months once when I was 25. I feel different this time though. My head is in a different place and I have my fingers crossed for tomorrow!