Try and Try Again…I Busted It Rollerblading But That Won’t Stop Me

It has been said that you should do something that scares you everyday. Well…maybe we don’t like to be scared everyday but at least get out of your comfort zone. What do you do?

As a fitness pro and former athlete I am always encouraging people to cross train for body balance and lack of boredom.

Just because you aren’t good at something the first time or even second time, don’t give up. Rarely people start off as golfers being amazing or heck even able to make contact with the ball and not throw out your back. How about learning to ride a bike. I’m pretty sure you fell down a few times.

Many years ago (in college), I wanted to learn to roller blade. I had skated a few times at my hometown skating rink on roller skates and wasn’t great so thought maybe roller-blading would be easier. I purchased some inline roller skates and had to take back as the surface I had available was just be an asphalt road. WAY to bumpy and did not make for a smooth ride. I wanted to try again so bought some in grad school and found a few places to skate with had the protective wrist pads & helmet. Fast forward to my mid-twenties and I had access to a sidewalk 1.5 miles in length along the Mississippi River in Memphis so I would skate a little more. It was a decent surface but concrete and you had to just deal with the slight bump you would feel every crease in the line they draw for water drainage / separator line for less tension and cracking. When I was training for the San Francisco marathon I knew I needed another option for cross training that used different muscles. Roller-blading was the answer as it’s lateral training and great for balance. It rested my running muscles mostly and helped my hip muscles be strong and injury free. The most I did is when I was on a phone call which was a great distraction as I did 7 miles. I basically did several laps at a park 25 minutes from Downtown Memphis called Shelby Farms. There’s no way I would be on the phone now as I’m too busy looking for road hazards.

Now, 30ish years later from that first thought of adding roller-blading to my athletic agenda I finally live where there are miles and miles of smooth surface just behind my house. I can do 20 miles or more if I wanted (I DON’T!). I limit to 4-5 miles and only once a week. Since I now have to motivation and the right surface I decided to switch out my wheels and bearings. I had first started back mostly going out on tired legs in late afternoon when I had ran 4 miles that morning.

One day, only the second time with the brand new wheels I decided to go early in the morning with fresh legs. My legs felt great and my confidence was boosted so I went a little faster. One point later I checked my smart watch and it said my fastest was a 4:30 mile pace. Well…wouldn’t you know with only 1 mile left for home that without warning all of a sudden my right wheels stopped. That leg was flying in the air and I was slammed to the ground. My guess was that a small twig snagged my wheel. I was looking but didn’t see it. I was wearing a helmet but not all the other protective gear. I went from the right side of the trail to lying on my left hip on the left side of the trail in the grass and tending to my palm that was bleeding and my large abrasion on my left femur bone. Wouldn’t you know that the only person coming my way was a frequent runner on the trail I have seen many times. He came up and asked if I was okay. What do you say to a runner that has one arm amputated from the elbow down that says “It could be worse!”. It’s all perspective folks.

I had to get up and within 90 minutes go teach 2 fitness classes and give one massage. My body hurt more as time went on. I decided to document with pictures and next up order protective gear. Some might say just give it up your almost 50 years old, it’s not worth it. No way!

I decided I needed to order wrist, elbow and knee guards but how would that help my butt and hip area? Speaking with my husband I searched padded shorts and found some. They aren’t sexy as you can see in the pic and video below and I might need to wear a little longer shorts since gravity might be taking effect as seen from the pics. It’s not all best photo shoots here. Here’s proof I busted it. I still have a small bruise 8 weeks later. 2 weeks ago I had to cup the area to help move the fascia around a little and improve movement and healing.

The point is, are you doing what you can to keep your exercise routine fun and consistent with a little bit of flavor or risk? For goodness sakes don’t be one of the old peeps that are injuring themselves doing pickle ball. Ease into it!