Update - Sans Photos

OK... By demand.

The roller derby girls are SCARY. Seriously tough. Seriously scary. Many of them look like athletes - though some of them just look like regular girls who've put on their tough masks. I was aiming for the latter as I got ready to join them for skating.

Put on a pair of black tights, white fishnets over them, a black and gray plaid skirt with a pair of black shorts under it, a red RANCID T-shirt with a white tank over it, the black skates I borrowed from my friend Kate - along with the armor - a helmet, knee and elbow pads. I have to say, there is nothing better than cute women in their late 20s and early 30s dressed completely age inappropriately and wearing roller skates. Come on, admit it, if you're a guy, it's a dream come true - if you're a girl you want to be there.

Anyway, we made our way to the Skate Club in Pawtucket, RI - I was terrified I might lose a tooth - or worse, but put on that tough mask - not wanting to show even a molecule of fear. Kate jabbered about how cool these girls were, how after we'd skated and they'd done their drills we'd head out for a beer, how she thought if I did well, maybe I'd want to skate derby style... My mind jabbered on about keeping the wrist that I broke a few years ago safe and keeping my mouth piece in my mouth to protect my choppers.

Upon arrival, I tested... And came in at a cool 107 mg/dl. One of these very tough girls seemed incredibly impressed as I tested and then disconnected my pump.... At least I have that going for me...

And we're off. I hadn't been on skates in some time, people. But I do think it's rather like riding a bicycle. After a few minutes, I felt fairly confident that if I fell it wouldn't be because of my two left feet. But, these girls can skate... Like, really, really skate. They glided around that rink, heads down, chests pulled up a bit, eyes furious... And at times, they moved like one unit - a snake - pulling and pushing each other faster... I mostly stuck with Kate - and marvelled at how much work it is to roller skate - you use pretty much every muscle in your legs and butt - not to mention the ones in your lower back. Thirty minutes, I lasted... Before their drills began.

Drills - I say. More like insanity. These girls fling one another around as if they're confetti. They practice blocking and pushing out of bounds and in bounds. They practice dodging techniques - like skating very low and working to check a girl out of bounds. Even more impressive - they have a damned great time doing it. They look like they enjoy even the parts that hurt just to watch... Insane? Masochistic? I don't know... It did look like fun... To me.

After 'practice' we went out and had a drink. Which I swear I was the only one that needed. Needing to track BG and maintain my tough girl image, I tested again just after I left the rink. 136 mg/dl - not too shabby - even with a disconnect of over 30 minutes. I guess rollerskating really is good for me....

But I won't be joining any derby teams anytime soon. I promise there are photos coming. I've seen a hard copy of one of them, but the young lady that took them hasn't returned my repeated email requests for electronic copies. I'm thinking I broke the camera. Or something. At the very least, I'll put my gear back on and have someone take a photo of just me all derbied... Soon.

****

In other news... Renewed focus on diet and exercise and logging continues. I have now missed only one day of exercise since June 15th. Pretty good. I've been eating well. Th0ugh I've not lost anymore weight, my bg values have been amazing...

Here's a snapshot from past two weeks, courtesy of SugarStats - if you've not checked this program out - you should, it's a great way to log from anywhere and is the ONLY kind of logging I've ever stuck to religiously.

Average: 107 mg/dl
Values in range - 70-15o mg/dl - 81%
Values < 70 mg/dl - 10%
Values > 150 mg/dl - 7%
No values greater than 250 mg/dl
Standard deviation: 37
Average activity per day: 1.1 hours

I'm hoping to nip those low sugars in the bud over the next week or two - but I'm proud of what I've been able to achieve in terms of good control by focusing and adjusting regularly.

OK - that's it for now... Are you happy? Happier if you had photos, you say? Listen, I'm working on it. One step at a time...