Countdown to Apostle

The countdown has begun for my weekend in Wisconsin! (35 more days!) I'm looking forward to so much more than just the marathon (which will definitely be the highlight) - I LOVE visiting new places and I can't wait to see all of my skate buddies! I will be flying into Minneapolis on June 14th, then driving up to Bayfield with my friend Susan Friday morning. We got a hotel there and I was assured that we have a patio with a view of the lake and the flower garden. That sounds heavenly...We'll be staying there Friday and Saturday nights, then we'll head straight to the airport on Sunday morning. I'm really looking forward to spending time with Susan and doing some sight-seeing, as well as skating the marathon. This area seems like it's very beautiful so this should be an overall fabulous mini vacation!

As far as the actual marathon goes; my goal is pretty simple. I'd actually like to be able to skate this one without any pain... I have no time goal (because if it rains, time goals are out the window anyway...) I just want to enjoy skating this historically smooth course without any pain... I got some ideas on ways to warm-up prior to skating the distance that should help with the muscle pain I experienced in Texas - but the foot pain is a whole other issue...

Ah yes. The foot pain. Skating with pain has become the norm and I am very displeased. I have pain in the balls of my feet, across the tops of my toes; the inner left ankle bone and the outer right ankle bone. (The ankle area is not a hot spot or blistered; I actually have bone bruises and swelling; but the skin is fine.) I tweaked the position of the frames and that helped alleviate the ankle bone pain a bit, but it seems like every time we spot mold a problem area, it creates a new one. Kind of like if we stretch the toe area up; it pulls the sides in. So I get relief from the boot pressing down on my toes; but then it's pinching them from the sides or pressing against the tips of my toes. It's like I can't win. I thought I had them to the point of being able to wear a hyper thin sock with the ultra thin booties; I skated just over 25 miles last weekend and the last 7 miles were pure agony. The balls of my feet felt like they were on fire, it was so intense it made me nauseous! I had to stop and take the socks off, stretch my feet - then finish up the last 4 miles. By the time I got back to my truck I was exhausted, angry and ready to chuck my skates into the bushes. It's like the last 7 miles of hell COMPLETELY negated the first 18 miles that I actually enjoyed! I knew there would be an adjustment period but I didn't expect it to be like THIS.

So I'm back to the regular booties, no socks. I skated 19.5 miles on Thursday and it was a little bit better, but I still  had pain and blisters on my toes. Debbie suggested I mark the problem areas with tape and ship my boots to her so she can stretch them; I plan on doing that today. If I can't get back actually ENJOYING skating again, then what's the point? If I dread it because I know it's going to hurt, then that completely takes away the joy. And I don't want that - that's the whole reason why I skate in the first place. I always start out feeling great, skating smooth and fast, having fun - then the pain starts and I end my outings feeling drained and frustrated. I'm so over it.

Aside from that, I've been working out really, really hard. Weight training and cardio - working on getting fit. I'm taking a very gentle recovery week next week; my legs have been a bit sore and not just from the skating. My intention is no impact, no weights. Just 7 days of  yoga, swimming, and core work. No running, no skating, no weight training. My hope is that this will give my legs a break, give Debbie time to fix my boots, and refresh and revitalize my mind so I can go into the following week stoked and ready to get back to the hard-core training. My main time goal is for Northshore anyway, so Apostle and Napa are more for the fun of it. And I really, really want it to be fun again. Please keep your fingers crossed, this portion of my journey has been a bit rough!!!

Review - The Bont Mayhem Wheel

When Alex Bont sent me an email and asked me if I'd like to try out the new Mayhem wheels & write a review; I was pretty tickled. I was also a little confused because I'm pretty new to this sport and not exactly an expert on wheels. I don't know what the different hardness ratings mean, I don't know what wheels were designed for what surfaces; and don't I really care to know. I can't tell the difference between hubs, I don't pay attention to how long it takes for my wheels to wear out (I just chuck them and buy new ones) and I don't care how much they weigh. I get a recommendation for a wheel, I try them out; and either I like them or I don't. But if you are interested in any of the above mentioned items, I did read a very comprehensive review detailing the authors experiences with these things; http://www.inlineskatempls.com/?p=4143  - it is written from a male point of view skating on 110's with all of the technical specs; I am a relatively light female skating on 100's who doesn't give a crap about the technical stuff, so here is my review.

First off I had some trouble seating the bearings; I skate on Bones Swiss 608's. So at first when I put them on my skates, they wouldn't roll. I got some advice on seating the bearings, that worked like a charm and they rolled for days. My experience with Bont wheels up until this point hasn't been all that great so I was a little skeptical; but also excited. I love trying out new wheels.

I skate on a very smooth concrete trail. The above review stated that these wheels were better suited for rough surfaces, such as asphalt, because the author felt 'sluggish' on the smoother surfaces - but based on my experience I have to disagree. These wheels are wicked fast and wicked fun and I had the best skate so far this season! I turned around just past the 10 mile point; and discovered that I had skated 10+ miles in 33 minutes. This is unbelievably fast for me! Unfortunately on my return trip I had 25 mph winds in my face the entire time so my speed faltered considerably. I still managed to complete 20.83 miles in an hour and 15 minutes; my mph average was 16.52. That is faster than I've EVER averaged on the trail. I can only imagine how quick the entire skate would have been had the wind not been such a major factor!

So bottom line is that I have a new favorite wheel! I think these wheels would work just fine at Apostle - noted for having a smooth as glass skating surface. I think that they feed my speed demon more than adequately and feel they are well worth the price. (Almost 20 bucks a piece.) I can't wait to get out on them again and sincerely hope the wind does NOT interfere next time....

Texas Road Rash!

Wow what a weekend! We got into Austin around 2 on Saturday, picked up the rental car, grabbed some lunch; then made it in time to watch the elimination races. I got a chance to catch up with some of my A2A friends and then finally got to meet a couple of my Endomondo friends!! We had dinner with them and then it was lights out.

Sunday dawned crisp and beautiful; not a cloud in the sky. We headed down to the stadium so I could get my skates on and warm up. I was feeling really nervous! (So nervous I forgot my number and Allen had to run back to the hotel to get it for me!) Got my skates on, took a few laps around the parking lot and then it was time to line up. 

I have to admit, I felt weird lining up with the pros. I had no idea how many pro master women there were, in fact- I didn't see very many women at ALL. I went to the back of the group with minor illusions of being able to keep up with them. Ah, no. They dropped me and 2 other women at the very first hill!! I later found out that the 3 of us were pro master women - and that there were only 3 of us: Renee, Carol and  myself. Renee and I played tag for a while but eventually she got out ahead of me and finished a good 40 seconds before I did. 

As for me, I felt pretty good at first, but I could not seem to find a pace line that I could stick with. Also, the course was a little more hilly than I'd expected! My favorite part of the course was when we got out of the park and went along N Co road 122. That part was super fun. My least favorite portion was along E Palm Valley road (as we were on a bumpy shoulder alongside traffic.) the tar snakes inside of the park kept spooking me too; I tried to avoid them thinking they would be gooey like the ones in Duluth. (I had no issues with them.) I also saw no fire ants or armadillos. Good on the fire ants, bummed about the armadillos.

On the 3rd trip around the course, I began having some pain in my left leg on inside just below my knee. It was a nagging ache: not a sharp pain like something had suddenly pulled or strained. I think coddling that made me start skating sloppy because not too long after that started up, those areas on the backs of my heels started burning. I'll admit, the pain made me almost consider quitting with only 2 laps left to go. But I didn't want to quit so I ignored it and tried to keep going - I'll tell you, I was keeping track of each lap SO ready to celebrate the last one...

I ended up skating a lot by myself, but eventually fell in with my friend Mike for the last 4-5 laps. I skated with Mike in Duluth and I like skating with him: he has a strong, steady stride and keeps a really good pace. I finished with a respectable time of 1:40:49.28, (my goal was 1:45) and I finished with my buddy Mike. I placed 2nd in the pro master women's division but I felt bad because Carol had skate issues and I know she's a strong skater! Another bummer is that they were having timing issues so they didn't do the awards ceremony. I was REALLY looking forward to being on the podium! (Oh, the coveted cheese grater trophy... They're sending them to us in the mail...)

There was also a point where I was in a pace line with 3 of my Endomondo friends and that made me feel so happy!! Connecting online and then actually getting the chance to skate with them... Unreal. It was very, very cool!

I think this is lap 4...

My heels are torn up and that area on my left leg is still very stiff and painful. I'm going to baby it for a few days to let it heal - whatever it is. I have no idea what I did... Probably didn't stretch enough or something. Very frustrating... I'm sure that slowed me down a bit because I was VERY aware of it for the remainder of the race... I also once again have two raw spots on the back of each heel; those too need time to mend... 

I accomplished my goal of skating one race at the pro master's level, so for my remaining 2012 races I'll skate the open/advanced divisions. I still have a LOT to learn and a lot more skill to acquire but I think I'm continuing to grow and become faster and  more efficient. It's a process and I am totally in for the long haul!

Me and Mike coming up on the finish line. 

Last Minute Tinkering...

Four more days until Texas Road Rash, and I'm doing my last minute tinkering... First of all, I got a set of MPC Road War wheels - I was hoping to try out the new Bont Mayhem wheels, but they haven't arrived yet. I went with the Road Wars on a recommendation and I hope they are comparable to my beloved Street Fights.  Second - with all due respect to you bare-foot skaters out there - I simply cannot do it. My feet sweat too much... I don't get that 'toe grip' that you guys seem to rave about; my feet are too busy sliding around making some really disgusting squidgy noises. I can't deal with it... I ordered a set of ultra thin ezeefit booties and got a pair of hyper thin Drymax running socks. My boots have stretched enough that I think this combination will work as far as comfort, moisture wicking, and blister protection. I'll give this set-up a try tomorrow. (My last skate prior to Texas.)

I've been taking this taper week thing very seriously... In that I don't feel like doing anything at all... I worked out on Monday - elliptical/weights; but then yesterday I didn't feel like skating (I have been having some tendon discomfort in the backs of my knees that's kind of been nagging me) so I didn't do anything. Today I also did nothing. I plan on a short, intense skate tomorrow; then nothing Friday and Saturday... I know I've been over-training a bit and my body is letting me know it's okay to chill. I'll get back to the hardcore training next week. Still eating super clean and looking forward to some Texas BBQ!!

I'm also still trying to make Apostle work: I have a friend who is willing to make the drive from Minneapolis to Ashland, so I just gotta work airfare/hotel into the budget. I REALLY want to go, so I hope I can make it work. That would get me to 4 races this year... That would make me super happy!!!

My next blog should be a recap of road rash. Hope it's not literal! I am REALLY excited to meet more of my online inline skater friends - especially the Texas Flyers! A few of them (Tom & Chris in particular) mentored me a lot last year and I can't wait to finally meet them!!

Clearing out some head clutter...

I had a dream about the road rash the other night; I kept leaving the course to go do stuff - I went and ate some lunch, went shopping, went to the bathroom; it took me three hours to complete the race and I finished dead last. I obviously have some serious clutter in my head...

It's no secret that I am completely obsessed with skating. I can think of worse things to be obsessed with - at least my addiction has some really amazing side effects (like a thinner waist and endorphine highs) and it has given me a new level of confidence that has carried over into all other aspects of my life. I intend to skate until I can't skate anymore because it is the ONE thing in my life that I actually feel good at.

So lets get back to the clutter. I know that the road rash is the first race of the season and it's early in the season for most skaters, so I've been hearing that a lot of them treat it as a training skate. It was implied that I too, treat it as a training skate. Problem is, I feel like I've been training FOR this skate. I want to skate hard. I want to skate fast. I want to WIN. That doesn't feel like a training skate to me, it feels like a competition. Am I approaching it the wrong way? Or is it okay to want to go balls out and kick some ass?? I know I'm not at my peak yet; and I've got a long way to go to hit the goals I have for NSIM - but I am also not at the rusty, carrying 10 extra pounds of winter blubber beginning of the season either. I've already got over 300 miles under my belt for 2012. And a few of those were some pretty hard miles. I feel strong considering that it's only April. On the flip side of that is the ever present whisper of doubt. When I'm skating with my friends at Wash Park and I feel super winded while they seem fine; I feel doubt. When I'm clipping along at what I think is a reasonable pace then look at my GPS to see that I've 'only' gone 14 miles and I'm already almost an hour out; I feel doubt. When my feet don't do what I want them to do because I'm still learning how to skate on the Bonts; I feel doubt. It can be a struggle at times to ignore the doubt and focus on feeling confident.

I know overall I am probably at a disadvantage. I don't have a skate coach. I'm not part of a team. I don't do drills, or go to practice; I don't time my intervals, and I don't have a skate-specific workout regime. I'm a trail skater. I skate when the weather lets me. I sometimes skate sloppy. I bob my shoulders. I toe push. I cry when the wind is gusting in my face. But I also love skating, love being outside, and love going fast. I feel like I have something to prove - I want to get out there and show everyone exactly what this sloppy trail skater is capable of!

2 More Weeks until the Texas Road Rash!

Wow, Texas is coming up quick!! I'm feeling pretty good about my progress, so I think I'll do okay!! This week was almost a wash, we had snow earlier in the week; I didn't get to skate until Thursday, but I got a chance to skate with a couple of speed skaters out at Wash Park. That was a LOT of fun!!! I worked on some drafting (I am still not comfortable being RIGHT up against the person in front of me) - and got a critique of my form/technique (except for some bobbing of my shoulders and needing to use my hips more, everything is looking solid!!!) Got some pointers for some hip abductor moves to work into my weight routine and generally felt pretty good about everything. It's always so much fun to skate with those guys too. Although I prefer to skate solo (I think of skating as my 'me' time) I really do enjoy skating with other skaters. Especially speed skaters. Especially when we're tearing around the course passing everyone.... Sweeeet.

I had my husband spot heat mold some areas on my skates; I think he got the part on the skates that were pressing down on my bunions/big toes (especially on the right foot) to ease up a bit because I was pretty comfortable today. I did not experience any pain/pressure in those areas today. That made me really happy because that was starting to bother me quite a bit! The balls of my feet got a little tingly, but nothing like it had been. I skated 28 miles yesterday, and 22 today. I think I may have them stretched enough to start wearing socks too... I was kinda grossed out today by the sound my foot made each time I pushed off... *squeeesh* -- ugh... I hope I can get the socks to work...

My only question now is what training should I be doing the week prior to the race? I'm on a pretty hard core workout routine right now, so I am not sure if I should scale it back or keep doing what I'm doing, and maybe scale it back 2-3 days before the race? I put it out on the skatelog forum so hopefully I'll get some advice that applies.

Inline Warehouse shipped out my skinsuit, I'll have it in plenty of time to represent them at Road Rash. I'm pretty stoked about that!!! I feel proud to be wearing their logo and surprised that they asked me to. I think it's more my personality rather than my skating ability but hey - sell what you got, right? I am by nature a networking fool and I love being a part of the skater network.

This is by far and away one of the most exciting periods in my life! I know I'm a late bloomer - here I am at 41 - in the best shape of my life and gearing up for an intense year of competition. These are really awesome times indeed...

There's No Love Like Wheel Love

My MPC Street Fights are like a loyal lover, waiting patiently for me to sow my wild wheelie oats and return to them. They know that I love them, they are just waiting for me to realize it... And so I have.

I have tried a few different types of wheels, including the Bont HRR's. I honestly thought that they would win my heart. But they didn't. I skated a few times on them and did not feel the spark. The street fights are smooth and fast - and neon green. What's not to love?? I put them back on this morning, and knocked out 32.83 glorious miles... They are my absolute favorite wheels, so why keep looking?

My skate today was fantastic; I had a south westerly wind, so I knew it would be in my face on the way home - but I didn't care. I needed to get a distance skate under my belt. My original plan was 28 but when I hit that bridge, I just could not get myself to turn around. Not when downtown was sooo close... When I got to confluence park, I took off my skates for a few minutes. The balls of my feet weren't bothering me too much but I figured it couldn't hurt to give my feet some air and a good stretch. I was right about the wind, but I just didn't care. I have a 'summertime' playlist on my iPod that has about 400 songs on it - spanning from 1979 to 1989. I had that on random so my mind was very busy playing road trip through the past. I ignored the wind and the swarms of mosquitoes and just enjoyed myself.

My feet and calves were good until about the last 1.5 miles; and even then it wasn't too bad. Just a little burning in the balls of my feet. I think I might know what is causing it; my boots are pressing down on my big toes - to the point of wearing through the nails. I also have some hot spots on the sides of them (where my ginormous bunions are.) So I'm going to use a heat gun to spot mold that area and the area above my left inner ankle bone (I have a constant bruise there - no blisters or anything.) The spots on my heels haven't been an issue in a while so I must have corrected whatever was tearing them up.

I feel really great today! I've been eating really clean, and working out consistently: weight training and cardio. Next week is an active recovery week (no weights) and I'm looking forward to some variation. (Yoga, swimming; stuff like that.) If I can keep this up, I should be pretty lean and mean by Duluth...

So far I'm at 225 miles skated for the year; my best marathon time so far  is 1:44, half marathon is 48:38. I think that's pretty darn good for only being 3 months into the year... I don't have high expectations of myself for Texas - I hope to complete the marathon in 1:45 or less. I have 21 more days left to get ready for it!!!