Mitigated success

[mousme]

So rollerblading so far has been a mitigated success. It is not nearly as close to ice skating as I would have liked. Who knew that wheels on concrete don't react at all like sharp blades on ice? :P There was also considerably more pain involved than I had anticipated, given that I hadn't anticipated any. Turns out my shins are not fans of rollerblading.

I am, as a result, going to take this slowly. Today I spent about twenty minutes just rolling around in very wobbly circles. I have not at all got the hang of braking (I think the fact that there's a lot of grit on the sidewalk near my place may have interfered a bit with the brake), and so have been using convenient trees and fences. I look like an idiot, but that's rarely stopped me in the past.

The plan is to go around in wobbly circles for about twenty minutes each day until I get the hang of things. Then I'll venture maybe to the end of the block and back. I refused to go further until I'm sure I can apply the brakes properly, because otherwise I'll be plunging directly into oncoming traffic, which would very much not be a good thing.

Mostly I am annoyed by the leg pain thing. Falling over/colliding with the cover is one thing, but being actively in pain while not doing anything drastically wrong? That's just insulting. I'm hoping it'll go away with practice.

Cross-posted to team_ankh_2008.

Comments

[moonandtree.livejournal.com]

Dude. I remember the first time I fell last summer. It hurt so effing much. A few falls and you'll learn fast how not to... For Braking, the key is anticipation. Know when you need to stop at least 10 to 15 seconds in advance.

[irishyogini.livejournal.com]

Oh, you SO rock for rollerblading. I'm too chicken and afraid of falling. Well, maybe not of falling, but what my body will do to try to *avoid* falling. Rock on.

[silly-imp.livejournal.com]

Ooh. Ooh. Me need a blading partner.... yes? yes? We can wobble together!

They wibble and they wobble...

[shovel-bum.livejournal.com]

You are far more daring than I! I'll stick to my old bike and let the kids do all the rollerblading. Good luck with it!

[dizietsma.livejournal.com]

Shin pain is probably because your ankles are tensed-up all the time, trying to keep your balance. Try to focus on relaxing your ankles and using your knees and thighs for balance, it should help.

[luvenditti.livejournal.com]

it'll get better, and then, soon, we will be unable to keep up!