I’ve blogged about my resolve for the new year on a completely different website. Head over to the Things Without Arms and Without Legs website if you want to read about play, fun and burnout avoidance. I’d love to hear about your resolutions over there too, maybe we can cheer each other on as the year gets to the tricky middle bit!
So, I made an interesting derby discovery, interesting enough that I thought it deserved a blog post!
I was chatting to my sister about glutes the other day. She was telling me how whenever we get injured or hurt our glutes can shut down. It’s sort of the body’s way of saying OH FOR F$%&*%%%%% SAKE STOP DOING THAT THING YOU’RE DOING!
This can make life difficult if you a) want to keep doing the thing you’re doing or b) the glutes never switch back on again and you start using tiny muscles for things your POWERHOUSE of MIGHTY glutes should be doing.
Caty sent me an article about glutes and I was pleased to note that most of the exercises they suggest are exercises I do, or do similar ones. I thought, hmmm, interesting article, confirms that all the stuff I’ve been doing as prehab to activate my glutes is activating my glutes, HOORAY FOR DERBY BOOTY!
I thought that would be the end of it, but it wasn’t… the article planted a cool brain seed.
Ever since a really crushing fall last year, sometimes when I fall hard I can feel my glute switch off. Sometimes it goes numb, sometimes it just doesn’t feel as stable and it takes a while to get back into things. Off the track I’m working on my hips by getting horrible massagey stuff, active release and various exercises to build muscle aka natural armor. On the track my strategy has been to punch my glutes until they wake up and (if there’s space) do a few squats/sit down on my ankles.
Today I went down, felt my glute start to switch off and then I did something different. Thinking back on the exercises in the article I did some one legged squats and one legged balancing. That much more effectively targeted the shocked area and my glute came back to life faster and more evenly. One legged squats engaged a lot more muscles and I could almost feel the squat gathering up my muscles and bringing them back on line.
Yay one legged squats… and now you know, if I’m doing one legged squats on roller skates I’m not just being a weirdo. I’m also priming my butt so it can do some damage!
Good thing I keep a blog (woefully neglected the last three months) or I’d have no idea what I got up to…. please let me know if there’s anything I forgot that was interesting! I am constructing this from records, this year has been such a blur! I thought I didn’t do much this year and while there are many things I’m sad I didn’t achieve it’s good to know why I feel a little tired and have been enjoying a month or two without work related travel. There is so much value in lists.
Scrolling back through my posts I discovered I made a New Years Resolution last year. My plan was to cultivate the beginners mind. I think I did that pretty well in the world of roller derby and comics. I struggled a little bit more in the land of prose, bobbing in and out of that place like an reluctant hedgehog having a bubble bath.
Things Without Arms and Without Legs, created comics 81 through to 225. I created my first minicomic, the content voted for by wonderful readers. My sweetheart gave me a spanking new iPad to draw comics on and it has been a delight. Yay Things!
Mermaid’s Hook – print and audio
Blunt Force Trauma Delivered by Spouse, one of two thousand submissions. It appeared in This is How You Die with Grand Central Publishing. It received many kind reviews.
One of my blog posts was reprinted on the Science Fiction Writers of America website! Jealousing is the new writing exercise.
I gave Apex publications sage advice on how to survive a convention.
I drew a visual poem about The Tick on the back of a placemat… it is now in the anthology “Flying Higher”
Increased the number of letters I wrote AND posted!
Experienced the awesome that is Rainforest Writers Retreat. Wrote my best short story this year while I was there.
Launchpad Astronomy Workshop – download all the astronomy into my brain!
Participating in a month of letters. It’s good for the soul and I’ve written letters just about every month this year!
Participated in the Clarion Write-a-thon, as I do every year. I raised $300, drew comics, wrote words and created 20 units of awesome.
Participated in Nanowrimo… did pretty abysmally, but it’s got my brain rolling in new directions, so I think it was worthwhile challenging myself in a place of deep discomfort. The word count is not quite as terrible as my profile says, but it’s pretty close.
Emerald City Comicon – I worked the Rat City Rollergirls booth and we had a grand time.
Wiscon (and afterwards a water bottle was posted to me with so much awesome I almost exploded!)
Sakuracon – I didn’t attend Sakura con so much as was Totoro’s guard AND then got to don the enormous structure myself and be Totoro. Kinda completely awesome.
Norwescon – popped in and hung out with folks.
Live tweeted the Locus Awards, as is my custom… I love the Locus folks (a Hawaiian shirt chucked over my sweaty derby gear as I’d come straight from trying out for Rat City!)
GeekGirlCon – popped in and hung out with folks! Love this convention.
World Science Fiction Convention – many complex panels requiring lots of prep and my first one hour reading!… afterwards exploring Austen & New Orleans with my sister.
Orycon – many panels, lots of fun!
As Ichabod ‘Splain I was an announcer at the Big O, as well as announcing London vs Oly and Taco Kickers vs Bad Reputations
I tried out for Rat City until I was blue in the face (and a photo of me featured on the tryout page!) and finally got on to Rat Lab (Rat City Roller Girls’ new skater program). Achievement unlocked!
I played in the mightiest roller derby bout of all time! NSHOBOS vs NSOOOOO GOOD LOOKIN‘ – it was hilarious and lovely.
I think I only NSOed one tournament in 2013! The PNW Juniors Championships… I could be wrong though.
NSOed a bunch of Rat City bouts, probably NSOed my last ever Key Arena bout (sniff).
I was runner up at the NSHOBO Awards for best NSO turned skater… if I work reeeeeaaaaaallly hard who knows, maybe I can claim first place next year.
Retired from the Lightning Fists of Science (Rat City’s Non Skating Official team) so I could focus on skating & not get confused by too many hats… though as Lightning Fist Alumni I still help out from time to time and they’ll never fully get rid of me.
Lost my first toenail.
Attended my first ever Halloween Party and haunted spooky thing (there were zombies, a gorilla suit and a chainsaw… the gorilla with the chainsaw in an enclosed space may have made me scream a little). I feel like I dressed in an adequately horrifying and spooky manner.
Went to Hawaii for the first time. This is under the derby section because we stayed with two referees AND Mike head refereed a bout and I skated in it. I sliced open my knee just before the game, but three stitches had me ready to hit the track. The stitches were applied by a nurse who had been one of Birute Galdikas‘ research assistants – ie involved in pioneering research about orangoutangs!
Became a much better skater.
And that’s it for the year… and it doesn’t mention any of the people I am privileged to spend time with, met, hung out with or admired.
Phew! I’m glad I got 2013 off my chest and got a little perspective.
Now what on earth do I do with 2014…?