Dream Chaser On Wheels

Strength Of Relevance

Yesterday I briefly touched upon strength as a focus for my winter training this year. I've given it some more thoughts and have since drawn some connections between what I do and how I skate. What do you think of when you describe a skater who possesses lots of physical strength? One who does not get tired when everyone else does? Or perhaps one with huge leg muscles? Those are some obvious associations but they are not the connections that I see with my training.

Of course I work hard on my cardio so that I can finish a race and recover from multiple bursts of acceleration during a race. I also train to get more powerful so I have a higher top-end speed and better acceleration. Technique is not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind when mentioning strength but it has everything to do with improving my skating technique. I have a number of technique issues that go way back. Coaches have worked with me patiently over the years. We identify the symptoms. We try to analyze the root cause. We try to come up with visualization tricks. Of course I still don't skate with good technique. Is it because I don't try hard enough? Possibly. Is it because my body is built such a way that prevents me from executing good technique? Not likely. After many frustrating sessions, coach SZ came to this conclusion: I do not yet have the necessary muscular strength to execute good technique.

Let's use an example to illustrate my point. When I first learned to crossover, coach AA spent lots of time correcting my collapsing left knee. Knee should point out instead of in, easy enough, right? Well, no. Lacking the necessary strength in the glutes to actually balance my weight with my left knee pointing out, my body compensates by collapsing the knee.

An obvious solution is spend more time on skates while maintaining good technique. If it's only that easy. How long can I realistically skate with "perfect" technique? A few minutes? Once I pass that threshold, body seeks a more comfortable position and once again I am reenforcing compensation and bad habits. This reminds me of the saying "one step forward, two steps back". In order for me to break out of that cycle, coach SZ prescribes weight training and off-skates drills that focus on strengthening my skating-specific muscles. This is the kind of strength I try to develop this winter.

It is too early to tell if it is working yet. SZ and I both know that it is a long-term investment. I still remember the time when I could not will my body to move certain ways. It was especially frustrating when coaches pointed out the same issues over and over again. I wanted to cry "I understand you perfectly, I just cannot do it"! That, of course, is an unacceptable response because cannot is a word that does not exist in a dedicated athlete's vocabulary. Changes do not happen overnight. However, recently, I'm starting to feel that I have better control of my body. I can actually make minor changes and feel the difference they make. I am confident that I am on the right path.

Can't Fake It

Last Friday I visited a RMT (registered massage therapist) for my shoulder and numbed fingers. Did I mention that my RMT and coach are actually the same person? The obvious advantage is that she has an in-depth understanding of my training, my conditioning, and my sport. During the session, SZ brought up a few observations of how an athlete's body feels different to a massage therapist. It was certainly interesting information but then today I realized something funny. As my coach, that massage session also revealed information on my conditioning. Weight training is a new addition for me this year and I am already into week 6. The fact that toned muscles feel different in her hands means if I slack off, she can tell. Wow.

Yesterday was my usual long hours of aerobic training. I went to the gym first thing in the morning to spend some time on the bike. I felt good but my day was far from finish. I rushed home for a quick bite before driving to the trail for some outdoor skating. The weather was still remarkably skating-friendly and I met up with a few friends on the trail. Unlike last week, I felt strong and skated quite well for this time of the year. From past experiences, when the mercury dips, my skating would feel sluggish. It was not the case on Sunday and I was definitely surprised. Perhaps getting stronger and developing more power really do help with skating in less ideal weather condition.

Indoor practice is also going well. My third indoor session had me facing my nemesis, echelon drill. Skating in such close proximity and so close to the cones are sure ways to get me tense up. Of course, when I'm tense, there's little hope for me to skate with any decent technique. In previous winters, that has always been the case and I was always frustrated with the drill. Something changed subtly at practice tonight. I was still uncomfortable and not skating as technically proficient as I could be during echelon. However, I had more confidence in leaning on my wheels. That translated to tighter corners and better control of my skates. I really hope that I can continue with this upward trend for my indoor skating for the rest of the season.

Picnic At Beaches (Oops, Skates Optional)

I love autumn days of sunny weather despite the rapidly dropping temperature. As far as skating goes, it's time to pile on the layers. Training becomes trickier because of the fine balance between dressing warm enough and not enough. However, it is actually a beautiful time of the year to play outside. Playing outside? My mind immediately turns to picnic because nothing works up an appetite like fun in the sun (even when it's cold)!

I could think about nothing except for picnic in the last couple of days. The weather forecast promised good sunny days this Saturday so I quickly put together the menu for my bento. The plan was to visit Martin Goodman Trail East in the Beaches area for a leisurely skate followed by an alfresco lunch. I rarely skate this part of the trail in the summer months because it's too busy for training. For a fun skate though, it's perfect!

Like a little kid who does her homework before going out to play, I went to the gym first thing in the morning to get my real training done. I put some finishing touches to my bento, put outdoor wheels on my skate, and out the door I went. What I did not realize was I ran out the door so fast that my skate bag had everything I needed except for my skates! Oops, I was already at the parking lot next to the trail. I have been to The Beaches many times in the past but I always stayed on the multi-use trail. Today was my chance to explore the place on foot like most other people.

As much as I enjoy the freedom of skating, I also miss a lot of sights and sounds when my travel is limited to skateable terrain. I had a great time today climbing up and down rocks along the shore, kicking the sand, skipping pebbles, crunching leaves under my feet...just taking in everything a late autumn afternoon has to offer. Oh, and my bento lunch was delicious! I found a sunny spot on some rocks shoreside with a great view to the downtown skyline. Waves were lapping just below my dangling feet. It was the perfect setting to munch down on quinoa, tuna tofu burger, maple kabocha, and sesame carrot salad. I really should do this more often.

Healing, I Hope

I've been a little bummed out about my injured shoulder from the beginning of November that blogging about it is not exactly on top of my priority list. Since the crash, I've regained full range of motion of my neck and shoulder. However, the pain is now replaced by numbness in my fingers. I experienced something similar from a crash at a short-track practice a couple of years ago and it took a long time to recover. I'll visit a registered massage therapist this weekend and take it from there.

On the brighter side of things, the injury does not really affect training. It bothers me most when I skate but it is only a minor annoyance. The feeling is not dissimilar to getting charlie-horsed and my arm has little strength (bye bye armswing). Aside from that, I carry on with plyos, weights, and aerobic sessions as usual. I'm already well into week 5 of my off-season and everything hums along like a well-oiled machine. I have a very good feeling about how my training is progressing. As soon as this injury is sorted out, I think 2010 is shaping up to be a very good season.

Indoor practice started last week. This winter, I am only skating indoor once a week. My first practice was shaky at best and frankly, I was stupidly scared of falling. I suppose it didn't help that I was still fresh from my crash. Things improved dramatically this week and I pick up where I left off last winter. At this point of the season, our coaches place much importance on skating low and full extension. The drills we work on reflect that emphasis. Between technique and lots of aerobic laps, indoor practice fits right in my winter training.

I had my annual physical exam last week on Monday. For anyone keeping track, that was the same day I started using Fitday again. It was no coincidence. After Houston, I was at my fattest since June, urgh. Of course it was recorded for eternity at the doctor's. Double urgh. So a week of hard work later, I dropped much of those excess weight and visibly slimmed down. Back to wearing my favourite clothes from my skinny wardrobe, woohoo! A side effect of devoting so much attention to what I eat is that I think about food all the time. It's been a long time but I'm back in my kitchen again cooking up a storm. Winter is upon us and I crave hearty soup. Last week was a batch of Tomato Lentil Soup fortified with bone from a smoked turkey thigh. On the menu this week: pea soup with ham. Not a bad way to spend Saturday afternoon while I lounge around to recover from rigorous training, no?

Musings

Rather than allowing my recent fat gain continue to bother me, I decided to do something about it. As of Monday, I'm resurrecting my long-neglected FitDay journal to track my food intake. Oddly enough, I feel like my craving for food in the last four weeks has suddenly been switched off. Although I am now eating significantly less, I no longer experience that urgency to eat. I am amazed how little the body actually needs as oppose to how much I think it needs. However, it is becoming clear that when I eat a normal conventional diet, it leads to inevitable fat gain. I'm not even talking about a diet that is ignorant of healthy choices. By "normal conventional", I'm referring to 3 meals a day of quarter-quarter-half starch-lean protein-veggie of sensible portions. After many dealings with my kitchen scale, I am more convinced than ever that my idea of sensible portion is much inflated.

I miss the days of eating Japanese white sandwich bread for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And whatever happen to the way I was brought up eating? I miss family-style Chinese dinner with a bowl of rice. These are all distant memories only suitable for occasional treats now (which I have to earn by long hours of workout, sigh).

Training continues without missing a beat since the race on Sunday. All the bruises are located in odd places that I would never expect to hit the ground. I went to my first indoor practice of the season on Monday despite being ridiculously scared of falling. The floor of our practice venue is infamously slippery and it took me a long time to readjust to that sensation. I could not bring myself to skate in a pack even though we were only doing slow steady laps. Fortunately, by the end of practice, muscle memory gradually returned. My next practice ought to be a much better experience.

I was a little skeptical about plyos on Tuesday because of my injuries. The bruises did not hurt too badly but my right shoulder continued to bother me. Frog jumps were painful at best because of the arm swings. Aside from shuttle sprints and step-ups, I was able to complete the plyos program. Wall sit felt completely effortless last night. I wall sat for four minutes yet did not feel any fatigue. I could easily stay there for another two minutes. I suppose sitting out two drills had something to do with it! After three weeks of build up, our training group felt ready to cut down on rest time between drills. Fantastic session for everyone.

A funny thing happened while we were stretching. Since we train at the Athletic Centre of University of Toronto, there are plenty of young athletes sharing the space. Plyos is an important component for track and field athletes and last night we saw one of them doing box jumps next to us. The stacked boxes reached higher than my waist for sure. Our group exchanged knowing smiles as we checked him out without looking too conspicuous. Minutes after the guy walked away, JaP couldn't help but to give it a try! I would too if I'm not injured.