My name, for the sake of this blog, is Red. I am a 31 year old retired roller derby girl who has fibromyalgia. This blog will chronicle my health as I attempt to get back in shape so I can skate derby again, while trying to pinpoint exactly what in my life causes me to live in constant pain.
I will start with derby: (disclaimer: if you do not know what roller derby is, or how to play, I will not be explaining it as there are many places online to find that. I suggest you search for "roller derby" and your city's name as chances are there is a derby league near you) I am now a coach, teaching potential derby girls how to skate, and the basic skills they need to play Roller Derby. I love coaching, but the last couple months I have missed how my body reacted, my strength, and how much fun I had skating and playing roller derby. Years ago, when the Rat City Roller Girls were skating their first season, girls from the Throttle Rockets and DLF used to come into the bar I worked at. They sang roller derby and talked to me about how amazing this "new" sport of Roller Derby was. I was intrigued, and talked a friend into going with me to a bout. I was hooked. But there was NO WAY I could ever do that! I'd never played a sport in my life! My hobbies at that point were drinking, karaoke, drinking, dancing, did I mention drinking? I started volunteering at bouts- tearing tickets, directing traffic... chances are if you went to a Rat City bout their 2nd, 3rd, & 4th year, I talked to you on the way in. I was a "line nazi" making sure everyone knew what they could and couldn't bring in, making sure the season ticket holders knew what line to stand in, etc. I also got to see every bout for free. One day, while working the door, I met another volunteer who I will refer to as G. we hit it off and ended up getting a drink during half time. Turns out her new boyfriend was a former one of mine from high school! Small world. She also skated with a group called Potential Fresh Meat (PFM) that trained derby girls to try out for Rat City. I figured, why not check them out. So the next weekend I caught a ride with G to Lynnwood Bowl & Skate and strap on some skates for the first time since I was 18. I was awkward, couldn't stop without crashing into the wall, but I didn't fall and it was a hell of a lot more fun than I'd had in a very long time. So I decided to hit a PFM practice to see if I could hang. It was hard work. I learned how to fall correctly- over and over and over. That's probably the only thing I really learned that day, since I couldn't do those fancy stops and cross overs the other girls were doing. But the coach was extremely helpful, and the Rat City girl who was there gave me hope. You see, she had been there before, not a year before.
It was while skating at a PFM practice that I learned of a new roller derby league forming in Everett- about 20 minutes north of where I lived. g had decided to check it out, as well as several of the PFM girls I had met over the previous weeks. Long story short, I joined the Jet City Roller Girls a few weeks later.
To be continued...
