My brother's girlfriend took him out in a one-on-one (they're both new to the sport) so you may just get that opportunity! Welcome to the sport, and like most people have said: you can't go wrong with an eclipse marker (old ego or etek) which you can probably get 2nd hand off here for around the 200/220 mark. If the pain is an issue, there are padded vests available that are tourney legal, and if I had boobs I'd wear one
Combine that with a good pair of playing pants and getting hit is far less of a big deal (although the odd nasty one is inevitable). Anyway, welcome again, get hooked up with the other women in the sport and they'll sort you out