I just went back and read those posts in October too. wow.
I fell a few times - once at the very start of what I guess is a 10+ skate- my knee made a distinct pop, I got up skated, came home
and went for an MRI the next day.
duh. Just pain, nothing as gory as your falls.
wow.
what kind of wheels are you using?
I think mine are 82A I want something harder.
I need to dig those skates out
kmc
My wheels are 86A, my new ones are the same but 110mm. They should be here in the next two days. The 86A last me twice as long as the 82A I had with my old skates.
The greatest thing with the base length of speed skates, is the added stability. This results in fewer falls or close calls. The four 100-110mm wheels allow for a smoother ride over rough terrian as well as greater speed, if you’re strong enough to generate it.
Falls are the ugly side of this sport. I’m sure it detours many from trying it. I hate wiping out but I know I’ll heal when it happens again.
Yes, you do need to dig out your skates.
I’m already getting serious tan lines. Now that is a sure indicator that the sun is all powerful. Time for the sunscreen.
Did a 55km skate today, I was hoping for 60 or better. My legs however had different ideas. They were wasted by 40km the 15km was a sheer effort. The extra 5km would have been straight into a 15km head wind. So I whimped out of it and called it a solid skate.
April Skate Log: 295km Skate Log: 1397km
This will be a two part post, part one.
A serious talking to!
I needed to remind myself today, that training is the priority. Not the weather or my personal comfort. It’s been a month since I was in the gym. Now I’ve caught myself waiting for the perfect weather. I’m starting to act like a spoiled little bitch and it’s got to stop.
It was back to winter wear today. The weather was 6 degrees celcius and rising. The sun was shining and the trail was dry, that’s all I need.
I got clocked four times today. The first two were from the same couple. During my warm-up. They were riding a tandum bike and entered the trail in front of me. They commented on their speed of 25km when I passed them. I was forced to slow at an intersection and they were able to pass me. I caught them pretty quick and later chattered at my turn around. They were going 29km at the time.
Part two, Losing speed on the top end!
Being a public trail there are obsticles of all forms. There are wood planked bridges I must cross. Traffic jams and intersections. All of these take speed off my top end. This requires me to work extra hard to maintain top speed.
My second clocking was with a cyclist I met last week. He came up on me at an intersection and asked if I’d been chasing bikes. I smilied and said I’d been having a great day. He let me in his draft and we let fly. I lost him on a bridge and had to chase him. He clocked it at 35km when I caught him.
There were numerous slow downs today. Plus numerous chases. The last clocked sprint put me at 38km on the pass. She was hot and passing her was extremely difficult, for multiple reasons. Well there was lots of hard work today and another 50km under the belt.
April Skate Log: 345km Skate Log: 1447km
Crazy speeds Stream…
Where abouts are you in BC? I am heading out to Comox for a couple of days in August, then to Burnaby for a couple of days.
I am entering a Push/ Pull meet out there with the World Police and Fire Games.
[quote]bunny7568 wrote:
Crazy speeds Stream…
Where abouts are you in BC? I am heading out to Comox for a couple of days in August, then to Burnaby for a couple of days.
I am entering a Push/ Pull meet out there with the World Police and Fire Games.[/quote]
I live in Victoria the flower capital. That’s awesome Bunny7568, give me some dates and I’ll do everything I can to come and watch, support or do what ever I can.
So you will be on my beautiful Island. Hope you are able to take a little time for fun. I will let you know now you are close, when in Comox to some extremely beautiful areas. Let me know if you have time and I will shoot some ideas your way. Sorry about Burnaby (little Korea), I can’t think of anything good to say so I will say nothing at all.
A very interesting day and a solid 67km skate.
As you know, when training yourself for competition. You have to constantly analyze your form and training routines. Skidmark is amazing at doing this and I try hard, but my Ego brusies easily. Reading his log really helps keep me on edge with this. Thanks Skidmark!
Yesterday I noticed, while chasing my last clocked cyclist, that when I get into the chase or sprint. I start powering my way through with force and not technical form. While in the last chase I was exhausting myself trying to catch up. I then started correcting my form and I was on her ass in no time.
Today was spent correcting that imperfection. The best way to combat this will be to bring my heel up to my ass after the push off. This allows me to bring the skate down into a more curve and powerful double push. Amazing speed with less energy.
The down motion after bringing the heel to my ass. Is a straight forward leg extension that drives into the asphalt. I’m getting a greater curve on my double push. Plus an extension of my stride by a couple meters.
It was all very noticable today. I spent the entire skate correcting my form. The last 10km wasn’t to pretty but I kept at it. I’m able to get a greater degree of curve and more speed. That make today a very good day!
Staying stronger, smarter and faster and having an awesome time doing it!
April Skate Log: 412km Skate Log: 1514km
It ever ceases to amaze me just how technical sports are. I cant tell you how much Ive learned just about the Bench alone in the last year. Forget about something like skating. Cant imagine. Keep pushn.
[quote]streamline wrote:
bunny7568 wrote:
Crazy speeds Stream…
Where abouts are you in BC? I am heading out to Comox for a couple of days in August, then to Burnaby for a couple of days.
I am entering a Push/ Pull meet out there with the World Police and Fire Games.
I live in Victoria the flower capital. That’s awesome Bunny7568, give me some dates and I’ll do everything I can to come and watch, support or do what ever I can.
So you will be on my beautiful Island. Hope you are able to take a little time for fun. I will let you know now you are close, when in Comox to some extremely beautiful areas. Let me know if you have time and I will shoot some ideas your way. Sorry about Burnaby (little Korea), I can’t think of anything good to say so I will say nothing at all.[/quote]
Sounds good… will let you know!
Beautiful sunny day and really warm. This had the sweat pouring. The legs were pretty well shot from lifting my heal to ass for 3.5 hours yeaterday. I’ll keep attacking my form until it’s consistent.
I kept my pace at a working level but never pushed hard. There was no one to chase so easy does it for 35km.
It was really enjoyable to be able to sit in the sun after my skate and just soak up some rays. The sun felt absolutely fantastic, a perfect day.
Hope my wheels get here soon. So much for a 4-5 day delivery as day 10 comes to a close. Staying strong and looking forward to an amazing summer, wish you all the same!
April Skate Log: 447km Skate Log: 1549km
[quote]63Galaxie wrote:
It ever ceases to amaze me just how technical sports are. I cant tell you how much Ive learned just about the Bench alone in the last year. Forget about something like skating. Cant imagine. Keep pushn.[/quote]
That is an under statement. One of my pet peeves is the arm chair critic. The ones that have zero idea what it take to perform at those levels.
When I watch sports I’m always amazed at the level of talent out there. It’s in every sport, excellence. Understanding that brings a greater enjoyment to watching athletic performances. Carl Darby has given me the ability to appreciate Olympic Lifting at a higher level. Same with power lifting, which I thought I understood!
I still have a lot to learn about skating and I’m looking forward to the lessons. I hope they don’t hurt.
Yeah the skill Carl has is tremendous. I watched his vids and was in awe. Looking at your logs, I can say the same.
Also once you reach 35, it gets harder to do things on sheer strength. Skill plays a bigger part.
[quote]63Galaxie wrote:
Yeah the skill Carl has is tremendous. I watched his vids and was in awe. Looking at your logs, I can say the same.
Also once you reach 35, it gets harder to do things on sheer strength. Skill plays a bigger part.[/quote]
A young Bull and an old Bull come across a herd of cows.
Young Bull to the old Bull. “Lets run down there a screw a cow!”
Old Bull to young Bull. “No! Lets walk down there and screw them all!”
Carls vids are amazing.
I imagine your skating is too.
kmc
It’d be fun to see a time-lapsed video of Streamline skating his course.
[quote]skidmark wrote:
It’d be fun to see a time-lapsed video of Streamline skating his course.[/quote]
I hope to do just that. Helmet cam, I can’t afford one yet, renting may be a possiblity. It sure would be great for training form.
How would a helmet cam help you out with your form? steadiness of the shot? or something else? It seems to me that getting someone to film you from the side, approaching and departing would get you a better idea of your form.
In any case you’ve been eating up those km’s this spring!
[quote]soldog wrote:
How would a helmet cam help you out with your form? steadiness of the shot? or something else? It seems to me that getting someone to film you from the side, approaching and departing would get you a better idea of your form.
In any case you’ve been eating up those km’s this spring![/quote]
Thanks soldog. I would have a friend follow me on a bike. I would need at least a half hour of video to analyze my form. Enough time to relax and forget about preforming for the camera.
I would do one on my helmet to show you guys whats so fun. Those new cams with the motion stabilizers are the cats meow! That’s what I want.
Just heard from my friend that my wheels and bearings have arrived. I can pick them up tomorrow and break them in same day, YES! Tomorrow just got awesome! So much for getting any sleep tonight!
[quote]streamline wrote:
Thanks soldog. I would have a friend follow me on a bike. I would need at least a half hour of video to analyze my form. Enough time to relax and forget about preforming for the camera.
I would do one on my helmet to show you guys whats so fun. Those new cams with the motion stabilizers are the cats meow! That’s what I want.
Just heard from my friend that my wheels and bearings have arrived. I can pick them up tomorrow and break them in same day, YES! Tomorrow just got awesome! So much for getting any sleep tonight![/quote]
Alright! have a blast tomorrow!
[quote]streamline wrote:
soldog wrote:
How would a helmet cam help you out with your form? steadiness of the shot? or something else? It seems to me that getting someone to film you from the side, approaching and departing would get you a better idea of your form.
In any case you’ve been eating up those km’s this spring!
Thanks soldog. I would have a friend follow me on a bike. I would need at least a half hour of video to analyze my form. Enough time to relax and forget about preforming for the camera.
I would do one on my helmet to show you guys whats so fun. Those new cams with the motion stabilizers are the cats meow! That’s what I want.
Just heard from my friend that my wheels and bearings have arrived. I can pick them up tomorrow and break them in same day, YES! Tomorrow just got awesome! So much for getting any sleep tonight![/quote]
Video follow-up and scouting yourself always helps.