Roller Skating!

Jess, Jen, Jenna & I

A little over 3 weeks ago, I asked a few friends to go out to dinner and roller skate in Jackson, NJ.  Little did I know that would turn into a new obsession with fitness for me. Jessica, Jenna and Jen joined me on a Saturday evening.  After having dinner at my favorite Asian restaurant, we headed over the Jackson Skating Center.  We got on line, rented out skates and rolled around the rink for 2 hours.  We had so much fun, even though Jess and Jenna ate it pretty hard on the rink.  We watched some of the regulars dancing on their skates and moving around the rink effortlessly.  I was completely impressed by their talent.  I found out they were doing something called "shuffle skating".

One of the "refs" kept telling us we should come back for adult night.  Unfortunately, adult night is once a month event on a Tuesday evening and by the time I get out of work, I wouldn't be able to get there.  That got me thinking...I could go on another night when there was open skate.  That Monday, I was looking at the schedule and made the decision to venture back to Jackson on Wednesday by myself.  It worked with my schedule.  Wednesday came and I was excited to get in my truck and drive 40 minutes away to try skating again.  When I arrived at the rink, I was a little nervous for many reasons: 
#1 I was by myself at a place I didn't know anyone 
#2 I haven't REALLY roller skated since I was about 14 
#3 I don't know what the hell I am doing!

Regardless, I paid to get in and rent skates.  I inquired about lessons immediately and got the name of a coach.  I then went to the skate rental booth, got my skates, I laced up, took a deep breath and made my way onto the rink.  My legs were shaking as I skated around slowly, concentrating on my form and balance.  I think I went around 2 times before the same "ref" who invited me to adult night came around to me.  He kinda of laughed and said, "You look nervous."  I said, "Ya think?".  He started to ask me what my biggest fear was and I said, "Falling on my ass."  His response was very kind and helpful, telling me I need to relax (sure easy for you to say!), keep my knees bent, try not to focus too much, if I was going to fall bend my knees more and put my hands on my legs.  Solid advice, BUT when you're deathly afraid of falling and breaking something...it's not what you are focusing on.  He had overheard me asking about lessons and said he didn't think I really needed them.  That made me feel more comfortable.  Needless to say, I started to loosen up a little and get more comfortable.  I skated that night for over 2 hours and started to fall in love with this new form of exercise.

I returned to the rink on Friday that week.  Friday nights open skate is from 7:30 PM - 11 PM.  I skated for 3 hours without even realizing I was out there for that long!  When I returned my skates, I made the decision that I wanted to own a pair for myself.  Rental skates aren't the greatest and even if I was only going to skate once a week, having my own would be better in the long run.  I went to the manager and purchased a pair of black (of course) Riedell speed skates.  These were recommended because I said I wanted to learn how to shuffle skate.  My skates were not in stock, so it would be about 2 weeks before I got them.

Over the next 2 weeks, I went to the rink every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evening to practice.  The same ref who was "helping" me my first night alone continued to encourage me and tell me I was getting better.  I was so excited.  I kept thinking, "I am making progress and that is really good."  Last week, I asked Jessica if she would come in for a few hours on Tuesday evening so I could go skating on adult night.  She did!  And I was able to go and skate without the little kids I had become extremely afraid of.  I met a few people who had been skating for 40 years!  They were helpful and encouraging.  One man told me I had good balance.  I am so critical of myself, I am watching all of these people do things I am not capable of and beating myself up only to realize all of the have been doing this a hell of a lot longer that I have.  The biggest thing every experienced skater has told me is that I need to relax.  Ummmm, do you know me?  I am not that good at relaxing and you want me to relax while I have 8 wheels on my feet trying to move around in a circle on a wood floor without losing my balance and falling on my ass???????????  How was I going to do that?  

My New Skates!

Wednesday night I arrived at the rink and guess what?  My skates came in.  I was so excited, I haven't felt that happy in a very long time.  The manager handed me the box and explained I may need to make some adjustments.  I don't know anything about roller skates at all, so I was going to need help.  The staff at Jackson Skating Center has been very helpful.  I laced up and got on the rink.  The new skates felt so much better, less bulky, faster and easier to maneuver around.  I did need to tighten the trucks up a little bit. I skated for an hour and a half WITHOUT STOPPING!  That whole relaxing thing wasn't happening too much though.  The "ref" (who's name is John I found out) came up to me on the rink about 10 minutes before they were going to close.  He started a conversation and we rolled around the rink.  After about 5 minutes, I realized that I was doing much better.  I turned to him and said, "This is much easier to do talking to you."  He responded, "That's why I am talking to you." And he laughed.  I wasn't focusing on what I was doing and I was relaxing.

Friday night! I arrived at the skating rink.  I brought my headphones, I had a thought.  Maybe if I listened to music I liked, I wouldn't concentrate on what I was doing as much.  It worked.  I skated for 2 hours straight, weaving in and out of the kids I avoided for the past 2 weeks.  I was gaining speed, balancing better and just having fun singing to myself.  I passed John on the rink and said, "This is so much easier with good music!"  He told me I was a completely different skater with it.  Proud moment for me.  I was doing really good!
 
This past Monday, I gave the roller skating coach a call to set up a private lesson.  I was scheduled for 4:15ish on Wednesday.  I am so excited about my roller skating lesson. I met the instructor for the first time and she corrected a couple of things I was doing wrong. I told Diana (the coach), that I wanted to learn crossovers and ultimately shuffle skate.  She had me rolling and balancing on one leg.  I was not doing so good the first few times, but as I skated around the rink more, finding my center of balance and lifting one leg at a time as I was rolling, it started to get easier and easier.  I turned to her and said, "You're prepping me for crossovers."  She laughed at me!  I was right though.

I met a two young girls who are doing acroskating, it's like figure ice skating but on roller skates! They skated around with me and were helping keep my mind off of what I was doing. My appointment was before the little kid class and I was allowed to stay on the rink and I practiced some of the things Coach Diana went over with me.  I took a break after about 2 hours of being there to eat my dinner, I have been ordering my meals from Coronatos Clean Cuisine.  The manager of the rink was kind enough to let me bring my meal inside instead of eating in my truck.  I sat with one of the acroskating girls, getting to know her.  She is a sweet 17 year girl who is already in college and has a heart condition.  I enjoyed my conversation and when I finished eating, I laced my skates back up and got back out on the rink.  She joined me to help me practicing, giving me some tips and talking again.

I am a sweaty mess

I skated Wednesday night for about 4 out of the 5 hours I was at the rink.  It's the longest amount of time I have spent out there.  Roller skating at the age of 39 is definitely not something I would have thought I'd be doing.  The reality is, I have gotten back on a good routine of weightlifting, spinning, sleeping and eating.  6 weeks ago, I was trying to add extra cardio into my plan but I couldn't bring myself back to the gym to do it.  I have a limited amount of time in the mornings to workout and at the end of the day I was not motivated to go back there to use the cardio equipment.  I didn't want to cut my calories back to offset my diet plan.  I was at a loss and I knew I needed to either do more exercise or eat a little less.  Roller skating has allowed me to get extra exercise, be around new people and make friends AND HAVE FUN.   

Adam, Jess, Jenna, Alyssa, Kaeli & I

I spend 3 nights a week driving to Jackson to do something I am quickly falling in love with.  There is a cool subculture associated with roller skating.  The people who are regulars are very friendly and helpful.  It seems like they want you to enjoy the sport as much as they do and will help in whatever way they can.  I am determined to shuffle skate by the end of the summer.  I might even venture to a couple of skating rinks in Camden and Newark on the recommendation of people I have been talking to.  The bottom line is I have found a new way to do cardio and have a lot of fun.  You should join me one night.  Who knows, maybe you'll fall in love with skating like I have.

"Don't dream it, be it."