DIY roller skate toe covers

Cost: potential for as low as $10
Time: 2 hours

If you have roller derby venues like ours, some of your floors may be rougher than a cat licking sandpaper. This can be devastating on beautiful leather skates. I used to heavily tape my toes to protect the leather from the abrasiveness of knee falls, only to cover them with more tape as it wore down. It created a bit of a problem because I also like to take apart my skates. Having to tear layers and layers of encrusted hockey tape was not only annoying, some of the leather finish of my boot came off with the bottom tape layer.

I was never a fan of the snouts or single straps to help protect my skate from getting scuffed, because the materials weren’t thick enough. Our rough floors and skating outside had me burn through them quickly. When I changed my roller skate plates over a year ago, I came up with a DIY solution for toe stop covers, which I have been wearing with no need for tape or replacement since I first installed them.

You’ll see from the photo that it’s made from a belt and in three separate pieces. The only thing that’s holding the pieces in position are my laces and the toe stop. I worried the laces wouldn’t be strong enough to hold the side pieces in place, but have seen no evidence of shifting after skating on them for a year. (More photos of the toe protector are at the end of this post.)

I did a couple of things accidentally-on-purpose that has made this construction stand up to over a year of abuse.

1. The toe stop holes were cut smaller than the toe stop stem width so the leather pieces had to be threaded onto the toe stop nipple. This keeps them from flapping between your skate and toe stop.
2. The pieces are layered strategically around the toe to prevent flapping and gaping holes on the sides. On top, the middle strip sits under the two side pieces. Holes are cut so they can be laced through both layers. On the bottom, the middle strip sits above the two side pieces, locking them in place to keep them from shifting. The toe stop anchors the bottom in place.

Here is a paper template that shows the positioning of the three pieces. You’ll want to refer to this picture when you are building your template and constructing your toe protector.

When I did this project over a year ago, I didn’t take photos of the process. So below is my best explanation of how I did the project. If you’re a crafter, eyeballing the photos will help you come up with your own design.

What you’ll need…

Leather belt at the desired width and thickness.
Mine was about 1.5” wide and 1/8″ thick and very rigid. The thicker the belt the more wear you’ll get. You’ll need six pieces and the length of them could be anywhere between five and seven inches, so make sure your belt is long enough. If you find one in the high 30s or low 40 inch in length, you’re probably good. I found a great belt at the second hand store for a few dollars.

Something sharp to cut through the belt.
I used tin snips. Scissors or a utility knife may work, depending on the thickness of the belt.

Something sharp to cut holes in the belt.
If you have a leather punch, that works best. But a hammer and nail could work well too, or even using a drill.

Paper and tape to help build your template.

Create Your Template

Figure out how the belt will work with your skates

Skate boots have different toe shapes, laces start in different positions and your toe stop hole position will vary depending on your plate. Cutting three paper strips in the same width of your purchased belt will help you figure out how to cut your belt for length and angle, so you don’t waste pieces by cutting incorrectly.

You’ll want to overlap the three pieces of your paper template in such a way that the toe is completely covered, you have good side coverage and it goes up high enough to be laced onto your skate. You could alter this design so the middle piece goes higher up your skate if you wish.

Remove your toe stops and your laces from your skates. Wrap the three pieces around your toe, matching the layering to the coloured paper template I posted above. Make sure the paper isn’t too loose, or you’ll have floppy protectors when you make your final cuts.

Ensure all three pieces of belt are centred over your toe stop hole under your skate. Also ensure the position of all three pieces don’t have big gaps in between around your toe. Adjust the angle of your strips to get the coverage you want.

When you are happy with the position, use tape to secure your pieces. Flip your skate over and stab a hole through all three pieces to mark where you will cut for the toe stop.

On the top of your skate, mark the cuts for your two side straps and your top strap. You want your two side pieces to butt up against each other when it’s all laced together. (If you position your middle piece exactly where you want it to sit on the top of your skate, you won’t need to mark that cut). Don’t worry about marking lace holes at this point.

Assemble bottom portion of toe cover

Cut your belt into strips and mount them onto your toe stop

When you pull apart the three paper strips, it should look something like the photo to the right. Use this to cut your leather pieces to size. I add an extra 1/8 inch on each end when I cut, in case I made an error on measuring because you’ll be trimming to make it look neat and tidy once it’s all assembled. On the toe-stop-side of your strips, mark your toe stop hole and cut it about a 1/2 to 3/4 inch from the hole.

A closeup view shows how cutting a small hole in your straps allows the pieces to be threaded onto the toe stop nipple and will hold in place.

Cut a hole in each strip for your toe stop. (This will be hard if your belt is thick and rigid. Don’t cut yourself!) Make the hole big enough to just fit over the first thread of your toe stop nipple, but small enough so you have to turn the leather strap to make it go up the nipple.

Once you have all three holes cut, thread the strips onto your toe stop taking care to use the order as illustrated by the paper template above (middle strip should be the last one you twist on). Twist your toe stop nut on next then turn your toe stop into your skate, adjust the height and tighten.

You want the straps under your skate to be as close to the nut as possible (or next to your skate if your plates use a hex key adjustment). Position them accordingly before moving onto the next step.

Assemble top portion of toe cover

View of the assembled cover after the lace holes have been punched.

Flip your straps up and over your skate. Position them so the three pieces fully cover your toe, with no gaps. Layer the pieces according to the paper template above. When you have them positioned how you like them, mark your lace holes. Your middle strip needs four holes, your side pieces need two holes each and you want to do your best to line them all up. This will take a little guessing because the straps will be covering the holes you need to mark. Take your time to estimate. It’s okay if your holes are a little off; tightly lacing them (I use wax laces) will help keep it sturdy.

You could also do this step before you attach the pieces to the toe stop. However I do it in this order because I want to pull the straps up as tight as possible, then position the lace holes. Your laces hold everything in position and if your holes were inaccurate, the toe protector may shift more than you like.

View from the top. The laces also go through the bottom middle strip to securely fasten it to the boot.

Cut your lace holes using a leather punch or nail and hammer. (You can remove them from your skates to do this step or leave them attached to your toe stop). Once the holes are punched, lace your covers to your skates.

Finish up with tape to protect the exposed laces from being torn. Trim any excess belt to make the presentation look neat and tidy.

Done! Now do the other skate.

What’s great about this project is the pieces can be rotated to your other skate as they start to wear down. (We all have a favourite knee to fall on, that toe protector will wear down first.) Or you could just buy another belt and replace individual straps as needed.

Assembled unit from the side.

Toe protectors are meant to get scuffed, torn and beat up. They also cost anywhere from $20 – $40. These ones cost me $10 plus 2 hours to make. While they may not be the prettiest, they are very practical. But I’m sure you creative derby peeps will find some unique second hand belts to give your toe protectors some personality!

Happy crafting! Post a link with a photo if you do the project!

Here is the wear on my toe protectors after over a year of skating. You’ll notice I’m due to rotate some pieces to the other skate but they have held up well. Tape protects the exposed laces from getting torn. They aren’t the prettiest, but they are super practical for the rough floors I skate on.

New minimum skills have potential to make derby go ka-boom (in good and bad ways)

Everyone is slowly waking up from their weekend bangovers and hangovers to become lucid enough to read through the updated minimum skill requirements the WFTDA released. There’s no question, if a derby-wanna-be doesn’t strap on skates now and start moving, they may miss their window to play. There are some high expectations in there. But they are necessary expectations that will reduce time in the penalty box and reduce injury when skaters pass and start bouting.

Derby in Canada is in the middle of a major shift and I think these minimum skill requirements are going to be the black powder to trigger a bigger explosion of change. My province has over 20 leagues in existence right now. My guess is five years ago there were half as many, if not less. Many started their recruitment as, “Come out, we’ll teach you how to skate, you get to have fun, meet new people and wear fun outfits.”

With the new minimum requirements, leagues that continue to recruit in this manner are going to have some problems because this is bringing the sport to a new level. We all know fishnets and ass-creeping shorts are on the out while moisture wicking and performance gear are in. Skaters will be taught to skate, but if they can’t turn 360 degrees without breaking stride, they won’t see a bout until they can. Sure, they will be meeting new people and having fun, but don’t do it while the coach is giving instruction or you will be responsible for your team holding a plank for 1 minute.

Now is the time leagues need to be brutally honest when they are recruiting, if they aren’t already. Roller derby is work. Roller derby is commitment. And when your province has skaters moving so they can skate with better leagues, roller derby is turning pro (without the pro salaries).

I anticipate many leagues will be discussing these minimum skills at length over the coming days (and if it’s not on your radar, it should be). Many skaters who started the sport for fun and something different to do, as indicated by the recruitment poster in their local rec centre, will have to seriously evaluate their commitment and whether or not they will be able to continue. Granted, skills like hopping and lateral jumps are like riding a bike; once you get them you often don’t forget. But the new endurance and speed benchmarks require maintenance of your fitness level all year-round. (No more gorging and TV watching during the off-season.)

This is what everyone has been begging for… to be taken seriously as a sport. Here we are folks, this is serious.

But I still see opportunities for everyone to get to play.

I foresee a future of farm team rec leagues skating under the old requirements, where fresh meat will benchmark to skate and play until they want to be drafted onto competitive teams as rookies. These will be the skate-hard-and-have-fun leagues where if you need to leave the track during practice to answer your phone because your babysitter is calling, you won’t be punished. I’m sure this is already happening in the U.S. But I predict a sudden spike in rec leagues within Canada.

I foresee more teams moving to yearly intake to stay competitive and build a team intelligently (as opposed to monthly or quarterly). But expectations will be set high; you’ll have to play with a rec league and know the rules before even attending an intake practice.

I foresee serious athletes gravitating toward derby in great numbers. Athletes such as rugby players and hockey players may have stayed away because a league with constant open recruitment shows an un-established organization. I’m making huge assumptions here, but if you’ve played conventional sports your entire life and then move into a newer roller derby organization, I bet it would be very frustrating due to the constant coaching challenges, venue challenges and money challenges leagues have. Standardizing recruitment and having a venue that supports a full season would be very palatable to an established athlete.

I foresee leagues that have loaner gear programs ending them because the expectations to join will mean a new recruit owning skates and knowing how to use them before attending their first practice.

Finally, I foresee an exodus of existing skaters if leagues do not sit down and talk about these new minimum skills and how they fit in with their existing recruitment and practice policies. Some skaters are going to throw their hands up and say ‘I’m out’ if they feel they can’t keep up. If three or four skaters do that within a smaller league, the league won’t have enough players to roster and will be months away from training their fresh meat to reach the new minimum skills in order to be at the competitive level they want. Larger leagues that already have a high-level recruitment policy will make the shift to the new minimum skills more seamlessly. Smaller leagues playing catch-up will be left behind. I won’t be surprised if we see some leagues fold with these changes.

If your league isn’t talking about this right now, you should be. It’s going to change the sport we love. It’s going to be hard to work. But it’s also going to be awesome.

I’d love to hear from other leagues across the globe. Does your league have a recreational team? Do you use it to train and recruit skaters to the next level or is it strictly for fun? What do you think about the new minimum skills?

Here’s some other blogs on the topic that came out the last few days…

New Minimum Skills Highlights the Darker Side of Derby by Moxie

The new WFTDA minimum skills by Rachael

Minimum skills requirements upgrade – what does it all mean by Elusia

Edited (Apr 18/13) to add:

Mad Skills by Left 4 Deadwards

New WFTDA Minimum Skills – let’s chat by Frisky Sour

New Minimum Skils… and? by Elektra Q-Tion

Things Roller Derby Must Lose by Lightning Slim

The derby life cycle within the life cycle of derby. It’s a time paradox!

Last year, PLAYER 1 from Vancouver’s Terminal City All Stars (who incidentally is skating under her real name this season, Germaine Koh) wrote an incredibly poignant article about roller derby and her thoughts on aging. She was about to turn 45 when she wrote it. Her original post can be found on her Facebook page here  within a status update posted Aug. 28, 2012.

Go read it… I’ll wait right here.

Koh hits the nail on the head in her article. Her athlete insights are not only for all athletes, but I see it as a life cycle of what every skater evolves through from when they join as fresh meat to when they are considering an exit strategy of their own. Taking it a step further, as derby evolves, I see many skaters go through life cycles encompassing those insights within each step of evolution.

This June I turn 40, which isn’t particularly old for me. I think my body performs better than the average 40-year-old and my mind is definitely younger. When I started this journey back in March 2010, I was 36 and had it set in my mind I would stick it out until I turned 40 and then maybe do ‘something else.’ I’m sort of holding true to that transition, as I won’t be running for a league board position after three years of commitment to those duties. But as for skating and playing, I’m in a little bit of a conundrum.

It’s obvious to me I’ve moved through many of the points in Koh’s article and I feel like I’m on exit strategy but I’m not ready to quit yet.

From the time I joined roller derby to now, the sport has undergone multiple transitions. Its insane growth has changed the rules, strategy and fitness expectations. In the last year Canada achieved its own ranking system and are hosting its first national tournament this year based on regional playoffs (which I had the honour of playing in and getting my ass hit by Player 1 and her counterparts last summer LOL).

Within those transitions, skaters have evolved multiple times as well. Starting from cut t-shirt uniforms and going out for beers after practice, many are now in wicking performance gear and drinking protein shakes. The evolution seems to happen overnight. It’s like a lightbulb turns on and a skater changes how they are training or performing, as if they were reborn.

So for me, I feel I’m simply at the end of a cycle within my overall roller derby life cycle. My existing light bulb is about to burn out and another is about to burn bright.

I truly believe that ‘something else‘ I committed to 3 years ago is still going to be roller derby, just birthed into something new. And when I figure out what that something new is, I’m sure I’ll work through and learn from many of Koh’s insights again. “I’m not just going to let that river of time take me where it will.” I get to choose my next path and that’s really exciting.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has experienced life cycles within roller derby. I’d love to hear your stories.

The isolation of ‘no pack’ derby

I played in scrimmages two weekends in a row and both were very different. Granted, the one last weekend was an intermediate scrimmage (Stettler) and this weekend’s was an advanced (Medicine Hat) so there was bound to be some obvious variances.

Teams are resorting to no pack strategy more often in regular play, but happens most when they are on a power jam, really behind in points or if they are having trouble during a (full-strength) jam. (This is old news and is covered extensively here  and here) While splitting the pack (forcing the refs to call ‘no pack’ and all blockers must disengage and reform, allowing jammers to pass through relatively untouched) is kinda-sorta-maybe allowed, it’s really manipulating the rules to make it easy as possible to score points with as little contact as possible. It feels like getting a goat to slow a pack seems like a distant past; old strategy.

No pack derby is driving me crazy. I love it; I hate it. I love it when I’m jamming and my team executes it perfectly and I cruise through the pack untouched. What jammer wouldn’t love that? I hate it as a spectator and I hate it as a player in general because you’re watching two walls of 4 on 1 until the ref calls the no pack. It requires little skating skill. WFTDA skater Juke Boxx even made a plea about it at this year’s Rollercon.  But it’s easy for teams of all levels to resort to, so I understand why it’s so palatable.

The WFTDA is releasing revisions to the rules this fall. While they have confirmed they will be eliminating minor penalties from the WFTDA rule set, there hasn’t been any kind of confirmation if they will be making changes to help eliminate no pack scenerio (that I can find).

This summer I made a promise to myself to play as much derby as possible and take in as many experiences as I can. In fact, I’m planning on playing 3 weekends out of the four in August. However I’m frustrated that my perception of the negative experiences I’m having are outweighing the positive. The ownness is on me to decide whether to cut my losses and stay home or surge ahead and break down the negatives, which is probably something every athlete goes through multiple times regardless of their sport. Equally frustrating is the sense of seclusion I’m feeling right now. Everyone is having a great time filled with awesome-fun-loving-derby-times and I’m just sort of hovering on the edge. I’m not sure what’s needed to make derby fun again.

Pulling myself from jamming has seemed to help, which I did in my game in Medicine Hat this weekend and I jammed less than I normally do in Stettler. No pack derby, while effective in strategy, makes a jammer fend for herself most the time. I’m tired of it. Maybe some will say I have a bad attitude for saying that and I need to put on my big girl panties and suck it up for the sake of the team. But playing as a blocker has been much more enjoyable as the sense of isolation I was feeling as a jammer is non-existent. Lately when I’ve been handed the star, I dread it. Not a good headspace to be in when your team is counting on you to score. My sights are set on a change in direction, I’m just not sure where yet.

Full circle…

I was a nameless fresh meat looking for a derby pseudonym and wrote to this Terminal City member to ask permission to use a modified version of her name. I’m so glad she said no. I’ve grown into my chosen name very well.

At the time of receiving this I thought, ‘Yah right, as if I’d ever play a team from Vancouver.’

******

We were fortunate to have been contacted by the organizers of Klash in the Kootenays. The tournament that organizes WESTERNS, were offering spots to other teams as some of the top 8 teams declined.

We enthusiastically accepted after agreeing to reschedule our game with the Gnarlie’s Angels, which was happening the week before; two trips to BC two weeks in a row just wasn’t doable.

Here we are, a team still in its infancy, about to face western Canada’s best.

We pulled Terminal City for our first game. Needless to say, I’m stoked. I’m having a huge full-circle moment over this.

Are there any other sports leagues in the world that allow teams with such a range of experience and skill to learn, work and play together?

This is what the DIY movement of roller derby is all about. I’m so excited to learn as much as I can from this experience!

February I fell off the pot

Life ebbs and flows and February was no exception! So much to report/record for my personal diary I’m not sure where to begin…

I guess at the beginning.

Our league officially expanded into two house teams, The Coalbank Crushers (my team) and the Windy City Wenches and we debuted our first intra-league game Feb. 4. This game pushed me to my limits. Our team was already playing short and then one of our main jammers broke her wrist 5 jams into the first half, leaving us with only myself and Alli-Kate-Or as main jammers.

As a result, I played (almost) every second jam and scored 88 points for my team – a personal best. I’m thankful for Alli and some other blockers who stepped in to jam when we needed a break. We lost the game 159-162, but boy did we play with heart!

Something I’m not proud of is I ran into major penalty trouble. I can sit and make excuses… I was exhausted, I was playing injured (all true)… but especially humbling was we were in the lead right up to the final jam when I got handed a final penalty, subsequently costing us the lead.

I’m such a dumbass. Lesson learned. I WILL STAY ON THE MOTHER FUCKING TRACK.

You can read the game summary on our league website here! Here’s some photos too!

Post-game... Coalbank Crushers, Windy City Wenches and reffing crew! Photo from Heather Nicholson's camera (not sure who took it).

My little team with bench coaches Mamasite and Emily Carrnage! Coalbank Crushers. Photo from Heather Nicholson's camera (not sure who took it).

My favourite photo from the game; myself and Preacher's Slaughter jamming. Photo by Wendy Devent.

With every game I come out with new things to work on, but it’s great when I see things I’ve been working on are coming to fruition. I’m very proud of my endurance for this game. I do have to give a huge shout out to Mamasita, our team’s bench coach, for pushing me when I thought I couldn’t go on.

In the weeks following my life turned upside-down; practice was difficult to get to, my paleo eating habits went out the window, as well as my extra training dedication. The reasons behind my lack of focus are numerous; derby related and non-derby related; and not really worthy of mentioning. Even to this day I’m struggling to get back into my good habits and find my passion again.

Until this popped up on my Facebook wall…

A really nice note!!!

Thanks Jennifer! Not only did you remind me to write a post but also that I need to get focused again and be a role model for others. Good luck with your derby journey and I look forward to hearing all about it!!!!

A fabulous local photographer, Joanne Cousins, did a personal photography project called ‘Operation Confidence’ recently. I was going to take part in February until my life went out the window, but I thought I would share an excerpt of what I was going to submit as part of her photo series. I’m glad I reminded myself of this because I needed to read this to help re-motivate myself. I wrote this in early February…

“Lifting and training has taught me goal setting. It’s taught me that you won’t get where you want to be without a plan. Celebrating success, no matter how small, is a great feeling and sharing success, hope and achievements with others is infectious.

Lifting and training has also taught me how to deal with setbacks. It’s okay to take a step back and re-evaluate a plan before taking it on again. It’s also taught me that it’s okay to fail, have a bad day or a break down, as I’ve always come back from it stronger and with more resolve to push myself to my limits to succeed.

Competing constantly against myself gives me an inner strength and power that others see. I want to pass onto others that ANYONE can find it within themselves to achieve their goals. They just need to find their inspiration to do so.

My fitness journey continues and I still have a long way to go. But it’s no longer out of necessity. It’s become my passion. And while I may inspire people around me, they are MY inspiration to continue to be a role model and leader.”

Check out Joanne’s photography project here! There are some great and inspiring stories, including a few from our own members!

Speaking of goal setting… Moonlight Run is tomorrow, which is also the 1-year anniversary of my first ‘race.’

Let’s review my goal time for the 6k that I set in January… 29:52-33:34

Given my slack off in February, it will be interesting to see if I come close to this. I’ve hit that target while running on a treadmill, but doing 6k on a treadmill and 6k in the riverbottom of Lethbridge in the dark are two completely different things! Wish me luck! I’m excited fellow Guild members Sandra Deevil, Hellvetica Bold, Kalamaity Lain and Short Bus have signed up for the run as well. They are going to kick ass!

And now, my confession… I haven’t done my March measurements yet. I’m deathly afraid to see them given on month of complete slack. But I can only get better from here, yes? I’ll get to that this weekend.

Things I’m looking forward to…

Flat Track Fever!

An Alberta-wide roller derby tournament that will be taking place April 13-15 in Calgary. It will be a series of 30 minute games followed by full 2 30-minute half games. This will be the first time the Deathbridge Derby Dames will play in multiple games in one weekend.

Summer!

Just cause summer is awesome!

More challenges!

Footwork has become my new passion.

Four weeks of paleo

I’m going to keep at it! I’m enjoying the food, I feel pretty energetic and although I really started craving sweets in the last week I managed to push through. In the end I strayed from paleo maybe 4 times (always gravitating to sweets). But I’ve found some semi-cheat recipes that will allow me to bake using agave as a sweetener and I’ve also read that 70% dark chocolate is okay once in a while too.

Interestingly enough, I haven’t missed the breads and grains at all.

So, here’s my observations while I adapted to this new style of eating, along with some body measurements and a food galley too!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Food costs

Food costs for the four weeks, family of four: $400 (I rounded up)

This surprised me. I thought we were going to spend WAY more on groceries. Had we not had to buy non-paleo cereal and school snacks for the kids, this would have been even less.

Meal planning was key

We would buy HUGE pork loins and cut them into sections that would feed us for 3-4 meals, thus saving money buying in bulk. We bought chicken breasts by the case and bulk beef. Being in land-locked Alberta, fish was a little more difficult to come by in large packets, so we ate less of that.

I did NOT go organic, grain-fed, grass-fed, which is likely why we were able to keep our food costs in check. I did, however, buy produce from areas as close to my city as possible (less shipping time means more fresh and less preservatives) and my dad is a beef farmer and I know exactly what he feeds his cows. I can’t get more organic than that.

Now that I know where my food costs are, I can perhaps start integrating some organic into the mix.

There was no food waste

The recipes I followed usually had leftovers, which I would immediately pack up for lunch the next day. Call me weird, but it became a challenge to make sure my fridge was empty by the time my Sunday grocery shop came around.

I wrote awesome grocery lists

If by chance we didn’t use all the produce at the end of a week, I would alter a meal plan to make sure it got used up in the next couple of days in the new week. Then I would decide what else was going to be for supper for the week, cross-reference the recipes with items I already had in the cupboards/fridge and wrote my list.

Can I just say how awesome it was to shop on the outer edge of the grocery store? The only time I ventured to the inner aisles of my store was to pick up one or two items of miscellaneous goods like olive oil or coconut milk. My grocery shops always went so quick!

When in doubt: supper for breakfast!

I’m not a picky eater that needs to have a huge variety of foods to stay happy. I was content in eating leftovers (because the food was always good) and had my staple meal of bacon and eggs if I was ever lazy to make a full supper.

A couple days of what I typically ate…

Weekdays

Gym mornings
Breakfast: grab leftover meat from previous supper in the fridge and munch on that on the way to the gym. Other options: sliced ham and an apple. (Some people can work out on an empty stomach. I can’t)
After gym: protein smoothie with berries, OJ, almond beverage, banana and a coffee
Snack: Apple or banana or paleo trail mix
Lunch: Leftovers from previous supper
Snack: Apple or banana, green tea
Supper: Fresh paleo meal. Pack up leftovers into lunch serving sizes
Snack: Bowl of berries and/or protein powder in OJ post-derby practice

Non-gym mornings
Breakfast: bacon and eggs or veggie omelet, coffee
Snack: Apple or banana or paleo trail mix
Lunch: Leftovers from previous supper
Snack: Apple or banana, green tea
Supper: Fresh paleo meal. Pack up leftovers into lunch serving sizes
Snack: Apple with nut butter and/or protein powder in OJ post-derby practice

Weekends
Breakfast: Sweet potato hasbrowns, eggs, bacon, paleo pancakes, veggie omlette
Lunch: Graze leftovers in the fridge.
Snacks: Graze from fridge.
Supper: Fresh paleo meal or finish up leftovers, making sure there is something for lunch on Monday.

When there was no leftovers to graze from: I tried to have peppers, lettuce, tomatoes and avocado in the fridge so a quick chopped salad was an option. Having a small ham was also handy for quick snacks and meals.

You may have noticed I eat a lot of fruit. For those using paleo to lose weight, please note that fruit can slow your results. Because I’m trying to gain, I’m not so careful on consuming fruit.

Results?

I took some measurements today and here is the comparison from last month. It’s worth noting that this week I’ve made the official switch to 20lb hand weights for my weight training (whereas before I was using 15 lb weights for some exercises still).

Not a huge difference in size. But when I take into account that I weigh less and I’ve gained in some spots (grow left bicep, GROW), it’s a win in my books! I know there is a science to measuring so I’m doing my best to take measurements from the same spot month-to-month.

	January 1, 2012	February 1, 2012	March 1, 2012	April 1, 2012
Weight	119	115
Waist	28.5	28.5
Hips	34.5	35
Thighs	16	16.5
Calves	13.5	13.5
Right Bicep	9.75	9.75
Left Bicep	9.25	9.5

Not a huge difference in size. But when I take into account that I lost weight while maintaining and even gaining mass in some areas, I think I’m on the right track! I know there is a science to measuring so I’m doing my best to take measurements from the same spot month-to-month.

My ultimate goal is to gain weight and increase my strength and power, which will not only improve my game play but keep me healthy overall.

Other observations/in summary

My chronic pain in my left shoulder is diminishing! I’m gaining some mobility back into it and can put on my winter coat with only a little discomfort. I don’t know if paleo is helping with that, but I don’t care. I just want it to continue to improve.

My after-supper catnaps made their way back into my life in the second half of my paleo month. I have to monitor this carefully and listen to my body. Between roller derby practices and strength training, I fear overtraining and getting worn out. We’ll see how that pans out.

I’ve noticed a change in my body for sure (taken after my 30-day ab challenge). I’ve leaned out while adding muscle. It’s kind of cool!

Are you trying paleo or another way of eating to help improve your performance? I’d love to hear about it!

Tuesday Tango

Let’s glide back and forth between some various topics happening in my life.

Paleo update – week four

My new eating habits are going well. Food has been delicious and while I’m still not gaining I feel fantastic. However, I caved and ate some cookies last night and boy am I paying for it today. Bloaty, gassy and gross! How could delicious cookies smite me so? I shared with Mr. Cherri that I was thinking about integrating some carbs back into my life after my 30 days since I’m still not gaining weight. But based on what I’m feeling today, I don’t think I’m going to do that now. I guess it’s more meat for me!

An ab challenge to myself and others

I’ve been participating in a 15-minute, 30-day ab workout challenge with many other Facebook friends. I’m currently on day 27 and I’m impressed with the results. While I’m not necessarily seeing a 6-pack of abs forming, I definitely do feel ‘thicker’ in my torso area from muscle gain. So esthetically, my before and after photos likely won’t look much different, but I feel WAY stronger. I’m proud that I have only missed one day (which was my fitness testing day) and so proud of everyone else who is hanging in there with the challenge!

Practice schedule changes mean changes in life

Our league recently went through an expansion where we’ve split into 2 house teams on top of our travel team. It’s pretty exciting but it means my life is getting turned around with a new practice schedule. I now have practices 3 days in a row, which not only conflicts with my kid’s activities, but also one of my regular gym days. Fears of over-training and never seeing my family are looming over my head. Not much I can do about it except make choices, but I’m not happy about the choices I have to make because I want to do it all. :-/ But on a more positive note…

I’m a Coalbank Crusher!

If you’re a Lethbridge and area blog reader, I really hope you’ll come out and support our first game against each other! We’re pretty excited to have the league grow to allow two house teams. It’s also going to allow many of our new recruits some much-needed experience! Tickets for the Feb. 4 game are available on our website or at the door!

Watch this!

And now, a scene from one of my favourite movies which every derby girl should watch. NO, IT’S NOT WHIP IT! (In your mind, replace references to ‘baseball’ with ‘roller derby’ LOL)

DIY big kid customization PART II: Installing roller skate plates

This is part two of a series on roller skate plates. Normally I like to include all info on a single topic into one blog post but this topic is just too detailed and I didn’t want to overwhelm anyone. Part one talked about plates, sizing and different ways to mount them. Part two I’m going to share my own experience in mounting my plates, as well as how to adjust DA45 trucks that have an adjustable pivot pin.

DISCLAIMER: I’m not an expert, I’m just sharing what I did. It seemed to work but there may be some blatant errors in my methods. Any experts out there? Please correct me so I can keep the info accurate for others!

Things you’ll need

• Plates
• Mounting Hardware
• Cushions
• Screwdriver
• Ruler
• Tape
• Pencil/marker
• Skate tool
• Additional wrenches that fit your hardware (may vary depending on your plate model)
• Drill and drill bit (Bit should be sized appropriately according to the plate manufacturer’s directions)
• Something to trim the bolts after installation. Dremmel, bolt saw thingy of some sort
• Rag
• New laces (you’re taking apart your skates so you may as well replace your laces)
• A friend to help you and for moral support

Step 1: Take apart your skates

Take off all your laces, tape, toe stops, wheels and hangers until you’re left with an empty plate. Save your cushions if you want to use them on your new plates. You can read more about how to take apart your skates here.

Step 2: Trace the outline of your existing plate

I was a virgin at all this so I decided the more markings on my skate to help centre my new plate, the better. I just used a pencil.

After everything's removed, you can outline your existing plates.

Step 3: Remove the plate

Using whatever tools needed (I needed a screwdriver and skate tool) remove the plate from your skate. Make sure you take note of positions of washers, etc. because you’ll be installing similar hardware back on in the same fashion.

To get to the toe hardware inside the boot, shift the base of the boot tongue to the side to expose the hardware.

Once everything is removed, give the bottom of your boot a cleaning; careful not to erase your pencil lines.

I used a screwdriver and skate tool to remove the plate

Dirty and gross. Use this opportunity to clean them up!

Step 3a: Fill in your old holes

I didn’t do this step but in the articles below there are some suggestions as to what to use to fill them in. But I’ve heard a hot glue gun will work or any other adhesive-type material that will fill and harden appropriately.

Step 4: Decide where your axles are going to sit

I literally stood on my new plate wearing my boot (I re-laced my skate for this step) and freely moved my foot around until a) the front axle was positioned near the base of my big toe and then b) shifted slightly until the axles felt in a natural position for my feet.

I strictly went by feel. I sort of bounced and shifted my feet around in my boot so I could see if the axles were in a natural position to easily take off from a jump. Having an extra set of hands at this point is helpful so you can hang onto them if you slide off the unsecured plate and they can mark the positioning of the axles on the side of your boot so you can repositioning it after you mark your centerline.

After I made my axle marks I compared both plate positions on each boot to ensure they were positioned the same (front to back) by measuring the plate position from the back of the heal.

I found one was shifted a little far forward than the other so I marked an average position between the two and then stood on my axles again for a final check.

You may have to do this step several times to find out what front/back position you want your axles in. Try far forward, centre and rear mounts so you can feel the difference. Don’t forget to refer to the references in my first article for info on the different mounts.
**Edited to add: thanks to Steph in the comments section who pointed out there is a ‘left’ and a ‘right’ plate for the Avengers. Check your mounting instructions carefully or check with the manufacturer to ensure you put the right plate on the right foot. (Thankfully I got it right the first time)

Step 5: Determine your boot centerline

I initially tried to use existing markings to determine the centerline for my boots. I had a hell of a time with it. I don’t know if it’s because my skates are well-worn and stretched, or because my right foot is a ½ size bigger than my left, but one skate would always be way off centre compared to the other every time I measured.

So instead, I marked the centre of the heal on both boots, then I put the boots on and marked where the space was between my second toe (next to the big toe) and the third toe. Make sure you lace up your skates for this step so your feet are sitting as they normally would in your boots.

Using a ruler I drew a straight line from the heal centerline to my new front markings. Doing it this way I found the centerlines mirrored each other on the boots.

NOTE: I PAINED over the axle positioning and centering for HOURS. This was easily the hardest part.

After I had them centered to the best of my ability, I found how different my centerlines were from the factory markings. So I was either way off or the factory markings were off. Regardless, I took a deep breath and continued on my brave journey.

Once you think you have your desired position, you can tape your plates to your skate and walk around them on a bit to be sure because once you hit the next step, there is no going back!

You can see by my centerline, it doesn't match with the factory centre markings. I lined up the front centre with my toes in my boot.

**UPDATE April 18/12 This is Amanda’s advice from the comment section. I wanted to include it as well in my main post because it’s great info… “The easiest way to measure your centre line is to determine where you want your front axles to be. Mark those points and draw a line horizontaly across the boot between them. Measure the centre point of that line and mark it. Draw a line down the sole of the boot from the centre point of the heel to that centre point. That’s your centre line. The centre line will always be different depending on how far forward or back you want to place your front axles.”

RESOURCE

Quadskating.com: How to centre roller skate plates (article)

Step 6: Prepare to drill

This is what I SHOULD have done… positioned the plates according to my markings onto the boot and then wrapped 20 rounds of duct tape all the way around the boot to secure them in place.

But I didn’t.

Afraid to ruin my beautiful leather boot, I loosely taped the plate in place to use as a guide for drilling, confident of my drilling abilities.

On my first attempt at drilling through the bottom of the boot, the plate came loose and wiggled everywhere and forced me to stop and reposition the plate again.

So don’t do that. I should have learned from that mistake and super-taped the plate on the boot.

Instead I opted to mark the holes with a pen and drill the holes without the plate in place.

If any of you handy-er derby girls have a workbench with a vice to hold your skate in place, that’s most helpful. I did my drilling on the living room floor holding the skate with my free hand.

Going slow and steady, I managed to drill all the holes. However, with my lack of skill and experience, I realized my drilling wasn’t completely accurate and my holes were off.

Drilling for plates isn’t like installing Ikea furniture where you have a little wiggle room a 1/16 of an inch on either side of your mark.

Well crap.

Step 7: Mounting the plates on the boot

Luckily my drilling wasn’t TOO far off and I was able to muscle my plates onto the bolts I inserted into the boots. We’ll see if this slight adjustment will have any long-term effects on my skates, but I think I only have about 10 months of life left in these boots anyway.

I ended up using the bolts from my previous plates as they were exactly the same as the new bolts that were provided and they fit into the new plates. As a result I didn’t have to track down something to trim the ends of the bolts as manufacturers supply super-long mounting hardware that will need to be cut after installation.

Once I inserted the bolts into the boots I realized that some of the inner sole was going to have to be trimmed out so the bolt would recess easier to be flush so it wouldn’t dig into my foot.

As a test, I fully tightened one bolt and while the bolt did some work at removing the sole as it was recessing, there was still lots of debris in there to keep me from getting the bolt fully flush.

So I grabbed a little knife and carved a small portion of sole material out immediately surrounding each hole inside my boot.

That seemed to help and I continued tightening the hardware on each skate until it was tight and the heads were flush inside my boot.

RESOURCES

Quadskating.com? Drilling roller skate plate mounting holes (article)

Sin City Skates: DIY Plate Mounting (PDF)

Step 8: Admire your big kid customization

I was mentally exhausted after this process and immediately vowed to never do it again. Maybe one day I’ll change my mind and try to tackle it again.

So pretty!

Step 9: Put everything back together

Now you can put on your NEW hangers, wheels and toe stops and do your final tweaking of the action of your skates.

Depending on your plate, you will need to figure out your new tightness for your trucks and, in the case of my new plates, adjust your pivot pin. My old nylon plates merely had the trucks seated within the pivot cup. The new plates allowed me to adjust how deep the pivot pin sits within the cup.

It’s not a hard adjustment to do, but difficult to explain. So check out these articles and video on how to adjust it!.

Leadjammer Skates: Pivot pin adjustment (article)

Create-A-Skate.com: Improperly adjusted pivot pin can cost you a king pin (article)

RollerGirl.ca: Installing & Adjusting DA45 trucks (video)

Final results!

I’ve been skating on the new setup for about a month now and I really love them! I think I’m going to have to play more with the truck action because these new plates are super-responsive so I don’t necessarily have to have the trucks loose for more turning action. If I can tighten my trucks and still maintain good turning power, it will give me more overall stability.

The weight of the plates feel no different from my previous set and I’m finding I’m a bit lighter on my feet (due to the change in positioning of the axles under my feet? Maybe!)

And the white plates look really cool

That’s my plate-change journey! Questions, comments or advice? Please post in replies! I found the biggest challenge was finding a single article with all the information I need to do this process so I’m hoping to add to update these posts as more info becomes available! Share! Share! Share!

As requested in the comments section, here is a bottom photo of my mounted plate…

ROUND 2 Sit up then T-up to the broad plank and push up to a sprint till you *beep* (test)

Thursday marked our second fitness test through the league. The first one was held last September and our training committee plans on holding them every four months to track progress.

Last session I recorded my results and set some new goals. I’m pleased to report that I bettered myself on all but one test and met my goal on most of them! It’s really satisfying to see the goals I’m setting come to fruition.

Here are the stats, with comparisons. New goals will come, I just need to think on them for a bit.

Results Chart (Nerd Power!)

	First Attempt (Sept ’11)	Old Goal	Second Attempt (Jan ’12)	New Goal
T-Test	12.8 sec	11.8 sec	12.0 sec	??
Plank	5:15 min	6:00 min	6:11 min	??
15 m Sprint*	3.1 sec	2.8 sec	N/A	N/A
20 m Sprint*	N/A	N/A	4.25 sec	??
Situps	48/min	53/min	54/min	??
Broad Jump	1.74 m	1.84 m	1.76 m	??
Pushups	30/min	38/min	45/min	??
Beep Test	Level 6.2, 43 shuttles	Level 7	Level 7.8, 57 shuttles	??

GREEN = Goal Achieved
YELLOW = Goal Not Achieved, But Improvement Made
RED = Goal Not Achieved, No Improvement

*Because of the difference in sprint length for this round of testing I wasn’t able to do a formal comparison. However when I break it down by seconds per metre, I was 2% SLOWER the second test. Boourns.

After analyzing my results, I’ve come to realize that I need to concentrate on fitness activities that require short bursts of power because in all the categories that require the short bursts ( jumping, sprinting) I have much room for improvement. So I can see me focusing more heavily on that in the next four months!

I’ll update the chart with new goals when I can sit down and seriously think some out.