Rollerblading with a Pro

Happy Friday!

I have decided not to post a blog on the weekends, since we are so busy with kids' birthday parties, sporting events, and just getting outside as much as possible. Speaking of being outside, I thought I would share a funny story about my favorite outdoor sport: rollerblading.

I started rollerblading just after Anna was born in 2001. I loved going to the skating rink as a child, so I thought rollerblading would be fun. After learning the hard way that the brakes were on the back by falling flat on my face, I was good to go.

The first summer of rollerblading was focused on just learning how not to fall. I wore every piece of protective gear they make, so at least I looked like a professional.

The next few years, I got pretty good. I can skate forwards, backwards and can spin around in circles. And, I can go FAST! While this all sounds great, there is still one little dilemma- I can't use my brakes. I mean, I know they are in the back (remember, learned the hard way), but just can't use them to stop myself. So, I run off into the grass to stop.

The grass method of stopping was working for me... until a few weeks ago.

In the past, I have always invited friends to skate with me. My 13 year-old, Morgan, skates with me, too. However, she has a tendency to leave me behind.

The friends that have skated with me are usually on the same level as me. They have skated a few times or may have roller bladed in high school, but none are avid rollerbladers... except Jennifer.

Jennifer and I talked about getting together to Rollerblade for almost a year before we actually did it. So, a few weeks ago, I dusted off my skates for the first time this Spring and decided to "roll" on over to Jen's house. She was excited to join me. She said she hadn't skated in years, so she had no idea what condition her skates were in. I'm thinking," Okay, I'm going to have to take my time and be patient with her today." Little did I know, I was dealing with a pro.

Out come the skates: name-brand, high-dollar skates that the pros wear. She put on her gear and off we were. After skating just one block, I realized it was me that she was going to have to take her time and be patient with. I was eating her dust!

We started out on flat ground, so the braking problem was not an issue. I can coast to a stop when the ground is flat. After a while, we decided to take some of the walking trails through our neighborhood. The walking trails are a lot of fun because they are winding and hilly.

There we were, skating through the trees on the trails and having a blast. So far, I wasn't having any trouble keeping up with Jen or with stopping with my brakes. She showed me how to get into the right stance to use the back-brakes without falling on my behind. I practiced the technique a few times and it seemed to work for me, at least on level ground.

Just as we were nearing the end of the long trail, all of my newly learned braking skills went straight out the window. The trail was very curvy at that point, AND downhill! I panicked! I totally forgot everything Jen had showed me and started skating out of control. As I got going faster and faster, I realized I only had 2 options. My choices were to skate off into the grass, resorting to my old method of stopping, or continue skating out of control down the trail until I got to the street at the end and risk falling on the pavement. I opted to skate off into the grass.

Skating off into the grass usually would have worked for me, except that I was skating WAY too fast. The minute my skates hit the grass, my body was going faster than the grass would let my feet go. I tried to run with it, which is very hard to do in skates. After a few steps, my body flew through the air and landed face-down in the grass. OUCH! It felt like my shoulders had pushed up into my brain. I wanted to just lay there until someone could come rescue me.

Then, behind me I heard Jen calling, "Are you okay." She passed by me, in that perfect stance, using her brakes to slowly skate down the curvy path. She looked so professional. My pride got the best of me; so I stood up in a very cool manner and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just worried about this grass stain on my shorts." Inside, I was thinking," How in the world am I going to get home in this much pain?" I guess this was one of those rare instances when pride can be a good thing. I couldn't dare tell my pro-skater friend that I couldn't skate home, so I swallowed my pain and skated home, anyway.

Jen and I haven't skated together since that day. I plan to invite her again this weekend. So Jen, if you are reading this, be prepared for my phone call. This time, I will master the braking technique that you showed me. After all, my pride depends on it.

Have a great weekend, everyone! Try something new... just be careful that you're not doing it with a pro.