"Aren't you afraid you'll fall??"

Every single skater I know has heard these words at LEAST a half dozen times. Any time I tell anyone who is a non-skater that I'm working on becoming a speed skater, I hear some variation of this phrase... Aren't you afraid of falling? Aren't you worried about crashing? Aren't you scared you'll wreck??

And to be quite honest, the answer is 'no'. I can't afford to be afraid because fear puts limits on what a person can accomplish. Not to say that I'm fearless because I'm not; I simply choose to NOT think about it. When I lined up at Northshore I was thinking about a million different things - I forgot my sunglasses, will the sun or wind be an issue? Will I run out of water? Am I with the right wave? Will I find a paceline that's going at the speed I want to skate? But not once did I allow the possibility of falling cross my mind. I saw three skaters fall - one right off the line - and I thought 'ouch, sucks to be them!' but I did not allow myself to wonder if I would be next. I almost bit it when the surface changed to that ridiculous ridged section but I caught myself, adjusted my stride, and continued forward without a second thought. I don't want to be hampered by the fear of 'what if', I want to be a speed skater.

There are a million things we do every single day that carry the What If factor. If you allow yourself to be governed by the fear of what MIGHT happen, how can you possibly enjoy life? Fear of falling would ruin skating for me! I am hyper vigilant when I skate the bike trail; my eyes constantly moving to keep all possible obstacles in my line of sight. I know what areas are usually congested and adjust my speed accordingly. I know what parts of the trail will be littered if it's rained the night before, and I know what portion tends to have gravel on it. I even know where to expect the geese. When I race an unfamilar track, I rely on the skaters in front of me to keep me aware of possible obstacles. Of course, I'm sure there may come a time when I do fall, and if it happens - it happens. Life will go on, and I will continue to skate. I've taken diggers before and it wasn't the end of the world.

For any non-skaters who are afraid to try inline skating based on a fear of falling - I honestly don't know how to convince you to stuff that fear into a box and focus instead on the benefits of skating. Fitness skating at a decent stride burns up to 800 calories an hour. Skating has no impact on your joints like running does. Skating gets you outside in the fresh air and sunshine, and you can cover a LOT more ground than running. But best of all, skating feels like flying, and no amount of What If can ever overtake that feeling.