Talvi: Time for something different

[Talvi]

It is time for some fun and some French - French fun!.  

 

Last month, I ran my first marathon (in 4h47 - woo!) and I had been in training for it for about  6 months.  I took the last challenge off to recuperate and chill, but now I'm back and looking for something different and exciting.     Enter roller blading!   This is something that I have wanted to properly try since my very first visit to Paris (ten years ago) - and I'm very excited even if I fully expect this attempt to be painful and humbling.

 

 

Physical: Learn to roller blade

 

   I have a friend who is just beginning to roller blade as well, and we've made a pact that when she visits me at the end of June, we'll roller blade through Paris together on the Sunday mass meet-up (https://www.flickr.com/photos/rollers-coquillages/sets/).   So I've got my deadline and I've got to start moving.

 

Weekly goal: Put on the skates twice a week. 

Challenge checklist: Buy all the equipment (skates, helmet, wrist/knee/elbow protection), Decide how many taught sessions and when, Read about falling safely, Identify good places/times to practice, Read about balance, Read about stopping safely and Take a lesson.

 

Reward: You'll actually have learnt to skate, dumbass!  And it'll be wonderful! 

 

 

Mental: Improve my French

 

To put it simply, I'm not confident in French and it is getting in the way of making friends and truly feeling settled.   My major obstacle here is that studying French has become very mundane to me and somewhat boring , so I have been choosing the path of least resistance where I coast along and avoid the more demanding situations.  But doesn't that sound really stupid?  Especially when it is a source of stress and it is making me unhappy.  

I want to tackle this problem by laying down some rules:

 

1. Whenever I get home earlier than my boyfriend, turn the TV on
2. Visit the library once a week
3. Read a chapter of a novel each week (or an entire comic/manga)
4. Spend 60 minutes before work on a Wednesday, studying grammar from my textbook
5. Buy a coffee for someone every Tuesday
6. Spend 30 minutes, jotting down plots and ideas for short stories on a Saturday morning

 

Reward:  12 euros to put towards having a nice lunch in a restaurant or café near work.  However, the catch is that I will take away 50 centimes for every rule broken per week.   Hopefully, I'm going to come out of this challenge with more than a baguette!

[sterre]

Good luck with the rollerblading. It can definitely be a bit scary at first, but I'm told it gets less so (I wouldn't know for sure because I never got to that point). 

[SymphonicDan]

Super cool that you have something quite different to work on now that your marathon is accomplished  I'm 99% supportive of you here with your roller-blading. The 1% that is skeptical is my coccyx, still slightly bruised since my last roller-blading foray back in March haha....

 

How are you getting on with your other items on your 2016 bucket list? Wishing you luck and happy days skating through Paris

[Talvi]

19 hours ago, sterre said:

Good luck with the rollerblading. It can definitely be a bit scary at first, but I'm told it gets less so (I wouldn't know for sure because I never got to that point). 

 

Hi Sterre, how is Scotland treating you?    Thanks - I do hope it gets less scary!   I'm hoping to desensitize myself through exposure during this challenge

 

16 hours ago, SymphonicDan said:

Super cool that you have something quite different to work on now that your marathon is accomplished  I'm 99% supportive of you here with your roller-blading. The 1% that is skeptical is my coccyx, still slightly bruised since my last roller-blading foray back in March haha....

 

How are you getting on with your other items on your 2016 bucket list? Wishing you luck and happy days skating through Paris

 

Thanks!   It is nice not to have such a big and scary deadline now - I get to decide my pace once more!   Oh and I'm sure it is only a question of time before my coccyx becomes skeptical too...

 

It feels a bit like I'm only just beginning on the bucket list now.   I haven't yet made a concerted effort towards anything except the marathon, but I have made a lot of headway recently in planning out when and how to to do many other things on the list.   I'm going to work on the roller blading and French in the next challenge, I'm planning all my travels for the year currently, I'm consciously trying to get in touch with my sisters more, I registered to vote (for brexit) and I'm reading articles for both sides and I'm looking for coding/data science projects.   I'm back on track for 2016 now and I'm feeling good about it
 

Sunday on Week ONE

It seems the challenges start on Sundays now!  

 

Rollerblading :  So firstly, I now have bought all the gear I needed.    This morning, me and my boyfriend went out to a small park 2 minutes away from my apartment to sunbathe, play pingpong and practice skating!   We've been there three times now and we're going to try and make it a habit every weekend.   There is a little tarmac track so that kids can practice/learn to cycle/skate/scooter - and which now graces my presence   Today I got geared up for the first time and just did 30 minutes of practice by doing laps of the track.   I'm very shaky, but at least I didn't fall over!   Oh and also I discovered that the park isn't very busy and that I'm not embarrassed by skating on a kids track (like I thought I'd be) - so I'm off to a good start.

 

Frenching : It haven't done anything today - but I've finished two Deathnote comics this past weekend and I'm a few chapters into "Nation" by Terry Pratchett.  I'm continue on with those books for the next couple of weeks.

 

Superhero mini-challenge : I've joined up to the assassin's mini-challenge and I've been sorted into the Justice League team.   I'm aiming to actively participate and be motivated to do bodyweight exercises and sprinting, so that I can maintain/retain some physical strength and fitness

[sterre]

1 hour ago, Talvi said:

Hi Sterre, how is Scotland treating you?    Thanks - I do hope it gets less scary!   I'm hoping to desensitize myself through exposure during this challenge

 

Scotland is treating me pretty well for the most part. The weather's getting pretty nice and all that, which is nice.

 

Good job on not feeling embarrassed on the kid's track and getting your practice in.

[Talvi]

Monday on Week ONE

 

Superhero mini-challenge : In my excitement for the mini-challenge, I've ran 5.03km in 35:07 this morning before work, including 4 x 100m sprints (19.70, 19.36, 18.70, 20.18) and 5 x  400m track laps (2:12, 2:08, 1:52, 2:15, 2:12). Feeling the sprints in my hamstrings.

 

Frenching : Went to the library today [rule II] and got out the next two deathnote books and a cooking book.  Read a third of one of the mangas already - my turnover is really pretty high at the moment.

[Talvi]

Tuesday on Week ONE

 

Superhero mini-challenge : This morning, I did the NF beginner body weight workout for invincibility points.  It took 23 minutes and I did three rounds of: 

20 body weight squats

3 standard push ups and 7 knee push-ups

20 walking lunges

10 dumbbell rows (using the bar plus 2.5kg)

15 second plank (Counted to 15 on each breath)

30 Jumping Jacks

 

Frenching [Rules I, II, III, IV, V, VI]: Finished the 4th Deathnote manga [rule III].   Didn't share a coffee break with anyone today, but it was maniac so I'll try again tomorrow [rule V].

[SaltyDragon]

Welcome back! I hope you got some quality rest time by taking off last challenge. Wow, rollerblading – I haven't thought about that in a while. I used to do it a lot with some friends back in college. It was such a blast! I think you'll have a great time with it!!

[Calanthia Cobbin]

I love the idea of incorporating rewards into your challenges! I may have to start doing that as well for motivation

[Alexandrite]

Justice League funtime!

You get all my support for the rollerblading. OMG I loved it so much growing up. It is the best feeling ever, and once you get the hang of it, being able to pull turns and go backward makes you look like such a pro though it doesnt take more than good balance and a feel for your body.

What happened to all the local skate rinks? They were the best.

Sent by my Navi-powered device!

[Talvi]

On 10/05/2016 at 0:12 PM, SaltyDragon said:

Welcome back! I hope you got some quality rest time by taking off last challenge. Wow, rollerblading – I haven't thought about that in a while. I used to do it a lot with some friends back in college. It was such a blast! I think you'll have a great time with it!!

 

Thanks!  It was very nice to do so little for a while.  It helped to get my energy back, so I feel more motivated now.   If you have any tips/advice - no matter how small or even idiotic, I would love to hear it!   I'm starting from scratch, so I'm going to try and attend a couple of lessons, but I'm also looking for little exercises I can try when I'm out and about by myself.

 

On 10/05/2016 at 8:53 PM, Calanthia Cobbin said:

I love the idea of incorporating rewards into your challenges! I may have to start doing that as well for motivation

 

I only started using rewards last challenge - where my reward depended on the amount of points earned per goal.  It worked particularly well - so I've brought it back again to trick myself into doing stuff The trick is finding something to use as a reward that I won't just buy myself anyway.

 

On 10/05/2016 at 0:49 AM, Alexandrite said:

Justice League funtime!

You get all my support for the rollerblading. OMG I loved it so much growing up. It is the best feeling ever, and once you get the hang of it, being able to pull turns and go backward makes you look like such a pro though it doesnt take more than good balance and a feel for your body.

What happened to all the local skate rinks? They were the best.

Sent by my Navi-powered device!

 

Justic League GO!   Thanks!   Like I said to SaltyDragon - if you have any advice or exercise suggestions or things to learn like pull-turns (which I'll look into) - please let me know!  I'm a complete beginner and I'm planning on getting better with only a couple of lessons and a lot of skating time     Years ago, I used to go to our local gym every sunday for a roller disco - it was awesome!  I'll have to do some research to see if there is any still around....

 

Wednesday on Week ONE

 

Frenching [Rules I, II, III, IV, V, VI]: Did 65 minutes of study where I just studied the first chapter of my grammar and how to judge whether a table, chemical or apple is male or female [rule IV].  Basic stuff but I haven't properly thought about it in a while - plus I'm often corrected on gender.   

Also I didn't precisely have a coffee break with someone, but I did make an effort to speak a lot at lunch, which was my goal anyway [rule V].

The first time this week that I've got home before my boyfriend, so I fixed the TV and watched a bit of the Cannes Opening Ceremony [rule I].

[Alexandrite]

Just FYI, pulling a turn was colloquial speech, haha. Ex.: I can't believe I pulled off that turn the first try!

Turning on blades usually entails crossing your feet one over the other within the turn as you go, which means you really need to be solid on your balance. A lot of time ON the blades will help you get to know your own body, where it likes to balance, and how it moves. Also, a lot of things you can do while basic ice skating are similar to blading!

Sent by my Navi-powered device!

[SaltyDragon]

You could always try David Sedaris's trick of speaking entirely in plurals, so gender doesn't matter.

 

I don't have any tips really, for rollerblading. I got to be pretty fast, but I never learned to go backwards or anything slick like that. It's just like ice skating, not like regular roller skating, if you've ever done much of either in the past. Being fearless helps, I guess. Also, bend your knees a lot to lower your center of gravity – not as far to fall that way!

[SnowOwl]

With rollerblading, I found my courage increased the more pads I wore. If you have a big wipe out and not a scratch or bruise, you really start going for it! 

 

[Talvi]

On 11/05/2016 at 10:56 AM, Alexandrite said:

Just FYI, pulling a turn was colloquial speech, haha. Ex.: I can't believe I pulled off that turn the first try!

Turning on blades usually entails crossing your feet one over the other within the turn as you go, which means you really need to be solid on your balance. A lot of time ON the blades will help you get to know your own body, where it likes to balance, and how it moves. Also, a lot of things you can do while basic ice skating are similar to blading!

Sent by my Navi-powered device!

 

Ah, my bad!  It is tough to keep up with all your street badass skater lingo    I hadn't realised thought about the feet crossing over during turns, but as you said it I could imagine it.  I'm going to watch a few youtube videos for inspiration and hopefully I notice useful stuff.   And yes, Balance is going to be the biggy this challenge!

 

On 12/05/2016 at 10:43 AM, SaltyDragon said:

You could always try David Sedaris's trick of speaking entirely in plurals, so gender doesn't matter.

 

I don't have any tips really, for rollerblading. I got to be pretty fast, but I never learned to go backwards or anything slick like that. It's just like ice skating, not like regular roller skating, if you've ever done much of either in the past. Being fearless helps, I guess. Also, bend your knees a lot to lower your center of gravity – not as far to fall that way!

 

Did you just practice on roads?  I've not done any roller skating or ice skating in the past, but I'm hoping for transferable skillz.   I've read the 'bend your knees' advice before - and it seems legit - but I haven't every noticed anyone doing the same, but then I suppose they can already skate....mmmmm...

 

On 12/05/2016 at 10:01 PM, SnowOwl said:

With rollerblading, I found my courage increased the more pads I wore. If you have a big wipe out and not a scratch or bruise, you really start going for it! 

 

 

That is a good shout.  I've only been out once and I didn't fall over.  I think I might need to fall over a little bit to start being less scared, as you say.   In any case, I've got elbow, head, knee and wrist protections, so I've only got to worry about my bum.

 

Thursday on Week ONE

 

Frenching [Rules I, II, III, IV, V, VI]: Did 34 minutes of study on when to use the definite article [rule IV].   

 

Friday on Week ONE

 

Frenching [Rules I, II, III, IV, V, VI]: 

[SnowOwl]

They make bum and hip pads too! lol

[SaltyDragon]

14 hours ago, Talvi said:

Did you just practice on roads?  I've not done any roller skating or ice skating in the past, but I'm hoping for transferable skillz.   I've read the 'bend your knees' advice before - and it seems legit - but I haven't every noticed anyone doing the same, but then I suppose they can already skate....mmmmm...

 

 

At first I tried parking lots and other open spaces like that. Then, I found a local park with a concrete 1.5 mile loop path, which was absolutely ideal. If you can find concrete like that is smooth and in good condition, that's what I recommend. Asphalt, especially if it is old, is rough and takes a lot more effort to roll on. And anything with potholes, cracks, tree roots, etc... these are all things you don't want to worry about when you're learning. Might be fun later, tho .

[Talvi]

22 hours ago, SaltyDragon said:

 

At first I tried parking lots and other open spaces like that. Then, I found a local park with a concrete 1.5 mile loop path, which was absolutely ideal. If you can find concrete like that is smooth and in good condition, that's what I recommend. Asphalt, especially if it is old, is rough and takes a lot more effort to roll on. And anything with potholes, cracks, tree roots, etc... these are all things you don't want to worry about when you're learning. Might be fun later, tho .

 

I'm actually surrounded by an endless supply of good concrete, yet I'm still not sure where to practice...   My problems are three (in order of reasonableness): 1) Most of the concrete is broken up by frequent roads and I can't stop quick enough yet to be road safe   2) From my marathon training, I can confirm that I live on one of the only two hills in within a 10km and I'm not ready for blade downhill without brakes   3) Lack of surface level car parks   4) All the best open places have so too many people in them and I don't want to fall in front of them.   I think I'll book a roller blading lesson for next week and when I'm there I can ask where everyone usually goes, then I'll stop whinging

 

Saturday on Week ONE

 

Rollerblading :  Went to the park and practiced on the kid's track again today for 30-60 minutes.   I was mostly getting used to moving and getting some confidence standing up.   I concentrated on balance, turning, slowing down and attempting to use my heel brake.   I'm somewhat surprised that I haven't fallen over yet,  and mentally I don't want it to become a big deal so I'm going to go to the park again (tomorrow morning when no one is there) and fall over safely on purpose.   I really want some instruction on how to improve, so I'm going to try and book a lesson for next week.

 

Frenching : I did sit down today and brainstorm story plots (in French) for 50 minutes.  It was definitely an engaging method of using the language - since I had to concentrate much more on vocabulary and sentence structure. 

 

Superhero mini-challenge : The team has been doing really well!  Unfortunately I'm lagging behind my team mates.  I think I can provide some consistent points over the next three weeks by running and bodyweighting once each a week, but I have more chance of earning points by going full throttle with my 'SuperIntelligence'/French training - so I'll attempt to up my training there next week.

[SymphonicDan]

I had no idea that roller-blading lessons were something that was available! Who will teach you? I'm impressed you didn't fall down, but probably it's just because I'm so bad that the idea of anyone staying upright is remarkable

 

You say you were building up confidence in standing up... does this mean you started off crouching down and then squatted up? In some cities (Bordeaux, etc.) there are really nice flat areas along a sea or river promenade along which skaters and skateboarders like to practise... I wonder whether there's something like that by the Seine?

[SnowOwl]

Don't forget if you are doing the equivalent of sprints on your skates, it counts for the mini!

[Talvi]

20 hours ago, SymphonicDan said:

I had no idea that roller-blading lessons were something that was available! Who will teach you? I'm impressed you didn't fall down, but probably it's just because I'm so bad that the idea of anyone staying upright is remarkable

 

You say you were building up confidence in standing up... does this mean you started off crouching down and then squatted up? In some cities (Bordeaux, etc.) there are really nice flat areas along a sea or river promenade along which skaters and skateboarders like to practise... I wonder whether there's something like that by the Seine?

 

Of course there are lessons!   Hopefully good lessons even!  You remember the big group skating 'balades' that I want to join?  They are organised by a skate shop and a skating association - who have also combined their powers to teach skating lessons of varying levels.   Ha!  I'm imagine that squatting blading looks amazing, but what I meant was that I was getting more confident skating and standing and all round wearing the skates.   There are places like that next to the Seine and I'll definitely try them out when I get a little better

 

15 hours ago, SnowOwl said:

Don't forget if you are doing the equivalent of sprints on your skates, it counts for the mini!

 

That is a good point - I'll add points for skating if I start going faster

 

Summary of Week ONE

That went well.   I put on my roller blades twice and I've begun to practice.  I'm still rather scared of any difficulties/obstacles in my way, but it is good motivation to research further on how to brake and to book a lesson for next week.   I managed to keep up with all my French rules, but particularly I'm happy that even a little time of active study rattles around my brain for the following 3 days and I felt I was making a conscious effort to speak better.  Lastly, thanks to the assassin's mini-challenge, I both ran and did a BBWW this week - things that I was unlikely to do otherwise so I'm very happy with this week.

 

Sunday on Week TWO

 

Rollerblading :  Practiced again on the kid's track for about 30 minutes.  I tried out skating on a different terrain, falling over in a controlled way, controlling my direction, slowing down and braking.   I'm really awful at breaking, so I've looked into it and I'm going to put my name down for a lesson next Saturday/Sunday. 

 

Superhero mini-challenge : Ran intervals over 6.88km over 40:22 minutes - the racetrack was closed so I just ran up and down the boulevard.

[SaltyDragon]

I'm really excited that you seem to be enjoying the rollerblading so far! I always had fun with it, so this has brought back some happy memories. With regard to braking – when I first bought my skates, the guy at the shop advised me to remove the heel brake. I can't remember the reason now, but I did, and I learned to stop without it. I developed a sort of quick-turn move that was effective at slower speeds, or I would just drag a skate sideways behind me. I'm really interested now to hear what your instructor tells you!

[Talvi]

19 hours ago, SaltyDragon said:

I'm really excited that you seem to be enjoying the rollerblading so far! I always had fun with it, so this has brought back some happy memories. With regard to braking – when I first bought my skates, the guy at the shop advised me to remove the heel brake. I can't remember the reason now, but I did, and I learned to stop without it. I developed a sort of quick-turn move that was effective at slower speeds, or I would just drag a skate sideways behind me. I'm really interested now to hear what your instructor tells you!

 

I am very excited, but I had an epiphany yesterday and realized that roller blading really scares me.  I'm quite scared of doing anything outside of my skating comfort zone, yet I have a strong desire to learn how to be better at it so I can do the more impressive (yet scarier) stuff.  It is a bit weird.  Never had a hobby like this before   

 

I'm not going to lie - those two methods of braking sound impossible to me!  I've seen the skate dragging one done before though.  I'll let you know what the instructor says, but for now I'll browse the youtube tutorials!

 

Monday on Week TWO

 

Superhero mini-challenge : Really didn't fancy the BBWW this morning and almost didn't do it - it wasn't that bad when I started though.  In fact, it was a lot easier than I had expected.  Perhaps I need to mix it up a bit.  It took 25 minutes and I did three rounds of: 

21 body weight squats

3 standard push ups and 8 knee push-ups

21 walking lunges

11 dumbbell rows (using the bar plus 2.5kg)

15 second plank (Counted 15 exhales)

30 Jumping Jacks

 

Frenching [Rules I, II, III, IV, V, VI]: Read a third of the 5th Deathnote manga [rule III].   Jotted down some story ideas for 13 minutes [rule VI].  Worked on French grammar for 35 minutes [rule IV].

 

[Talvi]

Tuesday on Week TWO

Rollerblading :  Rang up to try and book a lesson this weekend - no reply yet.

 

Frenching [Rules I, II, III, IV, V, VI]: Finished the 5th Deathnote manga [rule III] - I'm not near my library until Friday but I can't wait to get the next deathnote.  Got home early, so I put the TV as per rule I.   Did 30 minutes of work on French Grammar - feeling productive!

 

Superhero mini-challenge : I felt like doing some stretches today, so I had a mini yoga session.  It doesn't quite fit into my superhero mini-challenge categories so I did a few extra push-ups (4, 4, 3 x standard push ups and 6, 6, 7 knee push-ups) and I'm adding 3 extra minutes to Invincibility.  Who knows, maybe I'll do some more push-ups this week and it'll add up.

 

[Alexandrite]

I love that you are taking on blading even though it scares you. Like Saltydragon I also did not use the heel brake unless on hills, it threw off my balance too much. I avoided hills much anyway so I never really used them! I did the quick spin, but didnt quite master the drag before I grew out of my blades and stopped because I couldnt afford new ones!

You are definitely making me want to try them again. =)

Doing great on the mini!

Sent by my Navi-powered device!