Northshore Bound and other cool news!

Skating Northshore - 2011

Well, true to form, things are looking up again! I knew I just had to ride out the crappy stuff to get back to the good stuff. On the health front, things are much better, I have no major concerns so I can stop being so focused on it. I felt a weight lifted off of my shoulders just by hearing the doctor say 'all good - don't need to see you again for a year...' After my appointment I decided to play hooky and went skating! I'm feeling like I've lost a bit of conditioning but I don't think it'll take that long to build it back up again. I skated 20 miles on Tuesday, my feet felt great until I started getting tired. I was very aware of the correlation between feeling tired/form going to crap/feet starting to hurt. Noted. I have the pinching, binding, and painful areas of the boots finally adjusted, I've got the frames adjusted - now I just need to maintain good form all the way through and my feet should be fine! Yesterday I skated 15.6 miles and felt really strong. It was so nice to finish a skate feeling happy and exhilarated again! I've missed that. It makes me want to get out again...

Another huge incentive for my improved mood is a sponsorship by Ezeefit! Ezeefit makes the booties that SAVED my feet last year and continue to do so this year. I am proud and honored to skate for a company that makes a product I truly believe in!! I'm excited to get a set of the palm slider gloves too - a must have for sure!! They also have jerseys, shorts, leg/arm warmers and rain boot covers - you just never know when you'll need them... We are an off-shoot of the original team, as most of us are new to the sport. I'm very excited to skate for a team, the team is comprised of Billy (who I met after Northshore last year) Brian (who I skated with at Napa) and Ami (who I will be meeting in Duluth!!) We are all pretty stoked about this!! It has completely reinvigorated me. I am very appreciative of Glenn for seeing something in me that made him feel that I deserved this. ( still feel like a baby fawn trying to hobble across a frozen lake most days when I skate!)

The Northshore inline marathon is about 1 1/2 months away and I'm so excited to do that one again! Such a fun race!! I'm back in training mode, I think I will set my goal for 1:30 - I still do not feel 100% confident on the Bonts and it makes me a bit cautious. If I am completely comfortable by September maybe I'll change that number but for now, I feel that I can come close to it. I cannot wait to see all of my skate friends again!!!

..... As I skated along my trail last night, enjoying the warm summer evening and feeling completely at peace; my mind went back to the way I felt at my very first skating event last year - the Minnesota half marathon. The way my heart just lifted at the sight of so many other skaters - after skating solo for so long and feeling like an endangered species. The connection I felt with total strangers as we lined up, the camaraderie and support received while skating; the joy and feeling of accomplishment upon crossing the finish line. I will admit, I am one of those people who craves a sense of belonging; I love being a part of something big - something special. Feeling like I am a part of this amazing skate community is really important to me. I make more and more friends after each event, and I love that! I love watching my friends grow and excel at the sport, I feel pride and excitement at their successes; I feel honored to be a part of their journey. I am not alone with my passion anymore, and it has truly changed my life.



Trying to Get Back on Track

First of all, Napa Valley was awesome! I skated hard and didn't hold back - I left it all out on that crazy, hilly course. When I was done, my legs were shaking so bad I had to just sort of stand still for a minute so I didn't lose my balance! That was MUCH better than the way I felt when I finished Apostle (like I still had a few miles left in me!) At first I was a bit disappointed in my time (1:40:51) because that seemed really slow. I skated Texas in 1:40:42, and that was 28 miles! I am guessing the slower time was because Napa was a very hilly course and some of those uphills were pretty brutal. When I was skating the course I guess I wasn't really aware of that - I was focused on maintaining a brisk pace and hoping I wouldn't end up skating alone.

Leading a pace line!!!

I started out in one pace line, then moved to a faster one - we started pretty strong but then ended up w/ just four of us. After the first full lap two of them dropped the line since they were skating the half. That left me and my friend Rich. We finished together, it definitely helped to take turns pulling even with just two of us. Also helped with the motivation. I was pretty excited to finish first in my age group!

Me and Rich

Sprinting towards the finish line!

Podium!!

The really great news is that I didn't have many foot issues! No foot-ball pain, no knee pain; no raw, torn up heels. I was SO HAPPY. (The only issue I had - and STILL have - is the pressure spot on my left inner ankle.) We had done a full heat mold the night before we left for CA - building out my problem areas w/ some gauze and tape. That seemed to help a lot as far as the toe box goes. I cannot figure out how to correct the pressure point on my ankle though.

For all intents and purposes, it looks like I'm having a really great season. I've placed in all 3 races I've done this year; 2nd twice and 1st at Napa. I have one more race (Northshore in September) then I'm done with races for this year. But instead of being completely jazzed by my successes and totally focused on training for Duluth; I'm having some issues that are distracting me. I have acid reflux REALLY BAD. It's not triggered by the foods I eat (I eat relatively clean) - I have a hiatal hernia along w/ a few other nasty issues. I also had an abnormal mammogram - not sure if what they found is cause for alarm but I am doing a follow up ultrasound on Tuesday with a possible biopsy of a lymph node in my armpit. I'll know more then if I need to be concerned about that issue. In the meantime, these two health issues along with extreme job stress have really affected my overall outlook and mood; the reflux makes me feel sick - not to mention it kills my appetite - so I don't eat enough to support my workouts. I feel very lethargic so then I don't workout; which in turn makes me feel even more frustrated and depressed. I have a follow up for that next month, I am worried about what my options will be.

I try so hard to take care of myself (through diet, exercise, etc) but some things are just out of my hands. Blame it on faulty genes but I guess I can't fix everything through clean eating, working out, and staying positive. I'm trying to remain upbeat but I just feel so tired. I feel like I've lost my passion, and it's all I can do just to get through each day. I still have a few things going on as far as the skating itself goes; but I'm tired of complaining about my foot issues, and still trying to figure out the fear issue. I can't tell if the fear stems from a fear of crashing, or not being able to stop quickly - or a combination of those two things. Either way, I am a very fearful skater right now. Could just be the lack of energy but who knows. I just hope I finish out this season with a strong race and hopefully some resolution. I just want to be strong and healthy. I just want to be passionate and upbeat. I just want to participate in my life to the absolute fullest - without constantly being derailed. I guess it's about the journey and not the destination - and this is just part of my journey. I sincerely hope my next entry is much,  much more positive!

Napa Valley bound!

After majorly falling off the workout wagon - I didn't work out the week prior to Apostle, the week after Apostle; or last week - (I did one painful 25 mile skate, a 6 mile bike ride, a few short walks and that's about it) - I think I'm getting back on track. I guess I hit some sort of plateau or something; or I just got burned out - with a little post-race letdown thrown in there for good measure. The key is to get BACK on the wagon and not get too used to being a lazy bum... That is where I am at right now.

I skated yesterday, for the first time since my disastrous outing last weekend. I did a full heat mold on my skates Friday night and that seemed to help a bit. I am thinking I'll do one more full mold and try to press the two pressure points on the ankles out some. I skated just over 27 miles without any major pain in the toe box area; I just had some issues w/ my left inner ankle and just a touch on the right outer ankle. I will do one more heat mold tonight focusing on those areas and then [hopefully] skate 2 more outings before Napa. The weather here has NOT been skate-friendly; it's either blazing triple-digit hot; or violent thunder storms.... I should at least get in a 10-15 mile skate on Wednesday morning, since it's the 4th of July and I'll be off work.

So if you've been following my blog for any length of time, you've probably figured out that I tend to share - a LOT. Blogging is therapeutic for me, and I also hope that following my journey might help any other skaters with theirs. If you hit a wall, or experience a set-back - you're not alone. I thought I was alone with my custom boot issues but I've discovered that I'm not. It's a bit disheartening, the whole reason I sprung for customs was so that I WOULDN'T have to tweak then nine ways from Sunday to get them to fit. I don't understand why I have to. It's frustrating as hell but I am determined to figure out a way for my boots and I to skate in harmony. I refuse to give up.

The Napa Valley inline marathon is exactly one week from today; and I have set a time goal just to keep me from dogging it. Don't get me wrong, dogging it was kind of a nice change of pace in Apostle; but I do need to push myself. My time goal is 1:35 - hopefully that is realistic without having any idea what the course is like. Having that number in the back of my mind should help keep me from getting too lazy along the way. I'm really looking forward to the weekend, we have a lot of really fun things planned! The race will only be part of the whole package. I'm really excited!

It's so funny, the only time I ever traveled prior to participating in the inline marathons was to visit family. We never really went anywhere. I love that I get to see new places and make new friends. That is as much fun to me as the skating! I will be skating with a whole new group of skaters in California and I cannot wait to meet them. I know that this event is smaller, and there is a good chance I'll be doing a lot of the race solo. I think I would rather do that than get in a slow paceline. Just my feeling. I know that many of my skater friends would disagree. But by tagging along in a slow paceline in Apostle, I dogged it. Big time. *shrug*. Every race is a learning experience. I just don't want to repeat the mistakes I made in Texas or at Apostle. Learn and grow... But first things first - get these damn boots to stop hurting me!