First trail skate of 2012



So yesterday was my first official trail skate of the year, and my first long distance skate on the new Bonts. I didn't place any kind of pressure on myself for speed or distance; I figured I'd go about 12-15 miles, work on getting used to the feel of the skates, maybe work on plow and t-stops; and have a nice, easy outing. I put them on, hit the trail, and I was like a duck on a pond! It seemed as if the faster I went, the more graceful and in control I felt. I hit the 7 mile mark and didn't feel like turning around. I hit the 10 mile mark, and didn't feel like turning around. I decided to turn around at 8th avenue (which is about the 14 mile mark) but once I got there, I noticed that the detour was gone and the new portion of the trail was open! So of COURSE I had to go check it out... I ended up at confluence park - 15.91 miles one way. I took a little break to enjoy the sunshine!

As I relaxed a bit, I began to notice a few things. First of all, my feet were tingly and tight. My calves were sore. I was TIRED... OOooooooh crap. I had a feeling the ride home wasn't going to be nearly as enjoyable as the ride out had been!! I rested for about 10 minutes then started heading back. Of course, the wind was in my face for about 5 solid miles; this made me even more tired... My legs started cramping, my feet were hurting and I was practically limping that last 7 miles. With one mile left to go, a twig got caught in one of my skates and almost took me down. Once again, I managed to somehow slow down while balanced on one foot with something stuck in the other one. That last mile seemed to take forever...

When I got back to my truck, I felt like I was going to pass out!! My legs were cramped, and I was exhausted. While taking off my right boot my calf suddenly seized up and had me in agony... This hasn't ever happened before!! Obviously I overdid it; I mean, I haven't been skating regularly in months, and I haven't really been exercising either. I think I put my poor body into shock by expecting any kind of performance out of it after an extended period of being sedentary. My bad. I'm paying for it now! Oh, I also have some raw spots on my ankles; identical on each foot.

I was told by several people that this was caused from toe pushing. I can tell you that it was caused by exhaustion = sloppy skating. My form went to crap with about 10 miles left to go; and that's about the time I started feeling the burning pain. I take full responsibility for the raw spots on my feet, the cramped muscles in my legs, and the lower back pain I'm experiencing today...

Even though I pushed myself way more than I should have (an overzealous 31.77 miles to be exact) it was not a total loss! The skates feel pretty good, and I felt in control in them pretty quickly. I will take it easy next time and work my way back up to it. I can say that I have a really good feeling about this year, I think it's going to be awesome!!!!

36.58 miles down for 2012, 1463.42 to go...