Dream Chaser On Wheels

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.

Not Quite What I Was Hoping For

I ended my 2009 race season (this time it's for real) with a bang, literally. Houston Inline Marathon was held at Allen Parkway in downtown Houston last Sunday. The course consisted of six laps, about 40km in total with 180 turnaround at each end. The pro women field was small as seen in the photo below and I know that I was a contender to win if I play my cards right. What I failed to remember though, was the all important "rubber side down".

The start of the race was very tame and I quickly settled in the second chase pack where most of the girls were. The pace was not particularly fast and all I needed to do was sit in the draft. No need to draw any attention. Our pack was soon gobbled up by the Texas Flyers and now the eventual winner of the women's race, BrH, was in the same pack too. I have a pretty good idea of the Texas Flyers' race plan so it was best for me to simply sit back with my teammate BoH. The two girls from Las Vegas Speed Team had the same idea. Honestly, attacking the Flyers would not be wise anyway since I know of at least three guys who can easily chase me down.

It was pretty uneventful with the Flyers doing the work and everyone else in for the ride. The pack climbed at an odd pace though. Every time we came to a climb, the pack jammed up so much at the back it was unbelievable. However, that also means it was my best bet to attack. So I did at the last climb of lap 5. Honestly, I didn't expect to succeed but hey, if by the odd chance that enough guys went with me, I could stand a chance. I broke away from the pack easily and saw that aside from BoH, a young kid came with us. We didn't really work coorperatively enough to hold the gap and soon one of the Las Vegas Speed Team girls bridged up to us. I returned to the pack and sat again. That little test gave me a few ideas to plan for my next attack.

Unfortunately, at the beginning of the last lap, I fell face down abruptly. No sliding, nothing. I just hit the pavement full force. The impact left heavy bruising but barely any road rash on both my thighs, my left forearm, and my right elbow. I started hyperventilating uncontrollably and took a long time before my breathing returned to normal. Concerned spectators gathered around me to make sure that I was okay. I got up to finish the race nonetheless despite odd pain from my right shoulder blade.

Official result available here. It's been such a long season.

Pro women 5-4-3-2-1. I grinned like a Cheshire Cat (thanks KNZ!).

Bookends

I realized just now that my 2009 season is coincidentally bookended with races in Texas. I'm traveling to Houston tomorrow for a marathon this weekend. My legs are not feeling fresh because of training but that is to be expected. When I put my race wheels on my boots last night and gave them a spin, it made me smile to see the wheels spinning so fast yet so quietly. Skating on some cheap greased bearings for the last month, this sure is a welcomed change.

BO and I have an on-going friendly (well, I hope it's friendly anyway) bet that I'll beat him at a race some day. As can be expected, part of the fun is all the smack talk. I have my own cheerleading section including coach SZ who will "make sure that happens". Girls are every bit as competitive as boys! I recall post-race chatters when girls would non-chalantly talk about how they beat their boyfriend at the race. Well, I'm not really the non-chalant type but I suppose bringing out the streamers and balloons is not the most appropriate form of celebration either...when my turn comes.

It's all fun and games, right? Not so! Apparently it's a bigger deal to guys than I previously thought. I asked a few guy friends for their opinion on this matter and their reactions range from grounds-for-break-up (a little over-reaction perhaps?) to denial (oh that's not going to happen) to bruised ego (ok, that's reasonable). Interesting indeed!

Of course, there is a bright side to all of this. Whether I'm on the bike for some killer intervals or legs shaking from low walking, all I need to do is picture the triumphant moment and I feel a surge of motivation. Being the more level-headed one, BO put the issue in perspective more eloquently: I'll be disappointed in myself if you beat me in a race. I'd also be disappointed if you don't try to make it happen.

I'm not some stupidly competitive person...really. Ha, who's going to believe that one!

Anxious

Recently, I've been feeling rather anxious and restless. Endless hours of training is nothing new to me and I am very good at staying disciplined when it comes to doing my homework. I understand perfectly that I am making the investment now that will allow me to skate faster next summer. It is only the beginning of winter and yet I'm feeling stressed out by a sense of urgency.

I worry that I am not working hard enough but I am actually devoting more time to training than ever before. I worry that I'm getting out of shape as suggested by my reflection in the mirror. I get hungry all the time but I worry that I am eating too much and not nutritious enough. I worry that I do not rest enough but my waking heartrate is instead at its all-time low. I worry that I've forgotten how to skate fast since the last time I felt good on skates was back in first week of September. I worry that perhaps my feet have changed shape such that I will no longer be able to spend hours and hours in my skates pain-free.

Obviously, much of these are baseless worries. However, it doesn't mean they are any less legitimate because they are affecting me in a negative way. And thus I worry that I'm worrying so much.

I am not sure how to get into a better mindset. Evidence and logic suggest that I am already doing all the right things and I continue to trust my training. The question is, what do I need to do to actually feel good about it?