Dream Chaser On Wheels

RSO Outdoor Speed Points Series 2

500m Time Trial 1:13.98

3km 7:49.15

5km 13:30.80

[official result available here]

Okay, pretty miserable results and I placed second last in each distance which was expected so I'm not too bother by it. My main reason for concern was the pictures of me during the races. Mind you, this has nothing to do with vanity. The truth is, I was skating on both legs with feet close together in all the pictures. This is a sure sign that I am far from doing the speed skating push correctly.

Otherwise, I had a good time at my first track race. It was quite amusing (and useful) to hear all the coaches yelling out directions to their skaters during the race.

Outdoor Practice: 07/27/2006

As soon as I arrived at practice today, coach EG worked with me on doing the skating motion on dryland. I have a lot of problem with the timing of the push and weight transfer so this drill should help me to correct it. The emphasis is on bigger recovery to the point where my leg almost stretches straight behind me. Also, I need to pay close attention on leading with the shoulder during the fall. My tendency to drop the opposite shoulder is really bad.

The track was not in best shape today with a few wet spots, branches, and even dog poop. Our warm up was 8 laps of recovery toe drag followed by laps of skating with the best technique we could muster. EG called out instructions for each skater as he corrected our techniques. We also did a drill on one foot skating with the other leg stretch far behind. Next, we did the train drill. Holding the basic position for such a long time really got the thigh muscles burning! Our last exercise of the day was a pyramid for some intensity training.

Over the last few weeks, between the video analysis, observation, and correction by the coaches, I have a good idea on what I'm doing wrong. However, I am not yet able to skate with decent technique. This whole business of knowing vs doing is very frustrating. It's not like I'm not listening, because I am. To put it simply, my body has not learn the technique yet and I don't expect it to learn quickly either. After many years of being horrible in any sports that I do, I know my body well enough that it usually takes at least double the time of a typical person to learn the basics. I just have to be patient and practice hard. Measuring my progress by comparing with other people is absolutely non-productive.

After all is said and done, it's still hard not to feel like I'm wearing the deuce hat sometimes.

Outdoor Practice: 07/25/2006

Today was the TISC end of month race. We did 200m time trial and 10km elimination. My result for the time trial was about 32s which was close to what I expected in comparison to the rest of the club members. The elimination race was a lot of fun. When I participated in my first elimination race two months ago, I was the first to go as expected when I had trouble just to keep up with the pack during the starting laps before the elimination even began. This time around, having a little more experience with pack skating, I had great fun enjoying the dynamic of the pack as skaters in the racing group dropped back one by one to form a second pack and made an attack. Since I was hanging out at the back of the pack, I knew that I had to attack if I don't want to be eliminated. Remembering some of the drills that we did on lapping the pack, I knew that I should attack with another skater. Lo and behold, PM was skating a little further ahead of me on my right so I moved out and drafted him for a little while. I didn't remember much of what happened next but needless to say, I was among the first few skaters to be eliminated.

After the race, the fitness group did 8 laps of "warm up" drill which we traced the front wheel from push position to recovery position. Next, coach EG told us to skate around the track in our normal stride using the best technique while he took video of us. The following video analysis was insightful though I must say that I felt a little bummed out after watching my horrible form on replay. A few things that EG pointed out:

• Lower body was moving independent of upper body. The whole body needs to move as one unit.
• I put my gliding foot down way too early and close to the pushing leg. This resulted in lots of two-foot skating.
• The body did not fall/lean enough before setting the gliding foot down. It was slightly better when I skated the corners. I should do the same leaning motion even on the straightway.
• I need deep knee-bend on the pushing leg while falling to generate more power.
• I dropped my shoulder occasionally.

I was a little discouraged by my lack of improvement but I guess this makes for stronger motivation to practice.

I hope that AH and JP have a speedy recovery. They collided during the elimination race and both received some serious road rash. Oh, it's really not pretty...

Downtown Montreal On Skates

Last Friday, after our whole dragonboat crew finished dinner at Le Club Sandwich in the village in Montreal, SM and I decided to skip the clubbing and headed back to the McGill residence instead to grab our skates. On our way back, we checked out the Just For Laughs street festival which was absolutely amazing. There was a group of performers who walked around on stilts with three in menacing dragon costumes and one dragon lady shepharding the dragons with a long black stick. The performers were weaving in and out of the crowd and they were practically beside me for a good chunk of the time.

SM and I got ready to skate as soon as we returned to the residence. We originally was going to roll around the neighbouring area but of course, we ended up traveling much further than we expected. I haven't been skating on roads since May in Ottawa and maneuvring around the crowd and traffic in downtown Montreal at night certainly was not an ideal way to ramp up on my street skating skills. I absolutely hate curbs so I would come to a dead stop before gingerly stepping down from the sidewalk to the street. I've been trying to persuade SM to come to TISC practices since beginning of the season so he sort of got the impression that I'm a decent skater. Well, embarrassing to say, after he saw my cautious moves, he actually asked me if this is my frist season inling skating. Oh gosh, I was so mortified.

On a happier note, I did get more comfortable skating on the street after a bit of warm up. We came to a long uphill climb on a bike lane (yay) and I did make it to the top much quicker than he did. Good to know that my cardio training pays off. I think I should add some agility drills on my rest days to complement the training.

Back To The Gilles-Villeneuve F1 Racetrack

After a great weekend of skating at the Montreal 24hr Relay event last weekend, I once again found myself at the Gilles-Villeneuve F1 racetrack this weekend. Only this time, I was here for the 11th Montreal International Dragon Boat Race Festival with my team daBoat. One thing about regatta is that the races are really spread out because there are so many teams participating in the event. Typically speaking, we would race two 500m races in a day which would count for less than 15 minutes on the water and over 6 hours of waiting around. Knowing that I would be steps away from a beautiful skating track with hours of time to kill, of course I brought my skates with me to Parc Jean Drapeau.

On Saturday, the day started off with lots of sun. As soon as our first race wrapped up by 9:30am, I put on my skates and started skating around the track. Although the track was more or less the same as last weekend, the atmosphere was totally different. Without the 700 skaters racing their hearts out for the 24hr relay, this same track felt so much more relaxed. It was a great opportunity for me to correct and adjust my skating based on the feedback from our video analysis. I love the straightaway leading up to the pitstop. It was totally flat and I just love the feeling of wind against my face when I gain speed. I worked on not dropping my shoulders and to fall on my gliding leg at correct timing.

I skated on and off for 8 laps in total. I would love to skate more except that I could not exhaust myself before our second race in the afternoon. On Sunday, the weather was iffy when we arrived at the park at 7am. The ground was wet and the occasional drizzle just made everything damp and cold. However, the sun eventually came out and it turned out to be great weather for skating. Unfortunately, I did not bring my skates with me in anticipation of our dragonboat finals. Well, this turned out to be the right decision because our last race of the day was a fight for the medal and I needed every single ounce of energy for our 2:17:08 sprint to the finish line. We dominated the race from start to finish. I was thrilled to be part of the team that won the Intermediate D Division and got some decent skating practice in between!

Outdoor Practice: 07/18/2006

After a whole weekend of rigorous skating at Montreal 24, everyone was still exhausted came practice time today. When we were getting ready, there were so many stories to share and swollen feet/blisters to show! We began practice with 10 laps of warm up which we trace the front wheel from the push position to recovery position.

Since the beginning of the season, we've been practicing various strength and balancing drills to learn the push position, transitioning to recovery position, and using weight transfer to fall back into the push position. At last, it is now time to put everything together into one fluid motion. The key is to drive the knee forward with acceleration starting from the recovery position. Coach EG sent us onto the track for some skating while he and coach ARA videotaped our skating. I was thankful for asking EG to critique my skating last week because this was exactly what he told me! Not only that, but the timing was perfect too because I had the entire Montreal 24 weekend to work on those skills!

The rest of the practice involved critiquing the videos and a discussion from ARA on skating positions. There are many things that they covered specific to each skater but here is an overall summary:

• skating on two feet: this happens when we put the foot down too early during weight transfer. We only want one skate on the ground at any given time.
• when we set down the foot after weight transfer, the body should be in the push position. This means the gliding leg should align with the body. The push leg should have a slightly lock knee. The two feet should not be close together. When the timing is done correctly, the skater would not move in an exaggerated S-pattern.
• when we bring the push leg from push position to recovery position, we should accelerate the movement to drive the knee forward. The knees should not aim to touch each other. Rather, the point of contact is located on the shin about 7cm (on my legs anyway) below the knee. The motion should be fluid. There should not be any pause at the recovery position.
• Bigger recovery equals more power. The arc that the foot traces from the push position to recovery position resembles a quarter circle.
• The upper body should align with the hips especially during weight transfer. Moving the core of the body as one unit means that you can avoid throwing off the balance. Often, when one body part is out of line (e.g. swaying the hips), another body part would move in the other direction to compensate (e.g. dropping the shoulder). Squaring off the body would be much more efficient.
• I have a tendency to drop the opposit shoulder against the direction of the weight transfer. This does not make sense and it diminishes the power generated by the weight transfer.

ARA led a discussion on skating positions that was very fascinating. First, he critiqued our position on each leg. EG often emphasizes that that toes of the pushing leg and the gliding leg should line up in a horizontal line. However, what I did not do correctly was that I turned out the toes on my pushing leg. The two feet should be parallel and both facing forward. Also, the knee on my gliding leg should turn out. EG pointed this out to me many times before but it feels very unnatural so it gives me a bit of trouble. One of the key point that ARA discussed about the push position is the center of gravity. The gliding leg should align with the body in order to be the center of gravity in this position. When we assume the push position, we should be able to lift the pushing leg without adjusting the rest of the body.

ARA also had a lengthy discussion on the importance of balance. He said that balance is the result of strength and posture. In skating, since we need to skate on one foot all the time, it is paramount that we train to have good balance. He pointed out that if a person is not fit, the quickest way to improve balance is to work on strength training in a gym. It would be more effective than spending the same amount of time skating instead.

As much as I dread the video analysis, I found this session to be extremely helpful. Having seen the footage of my own skating, it is now much easier to visualize what I need to work on.

Back From Montreal 24

I'm backed in town after a weekend of rain, sun (lots of sun), skating, and living in a paddock with hundreds of fellow inline skaters at the Parc Jean-Drapeau. I have many fond memories of the event that I will share over the next few days. Now that I'm home, I managed to pry open all my bearings to let them dry. I'm still tired from all the skating I did over the weekend. Better catch some more sleep before going back to the office tomorrow.

Congratulations to all the participants, especially coach EG who won the solo skater category!

Off To Montreal 24

I'm heading off to Montreal 24 and looking forward to lots of skating. If you're going to be there, I'm sure we'll have a great time. If you're going to miss this wonderful event, you can look forward to my report when I come back!

Outdoor Practice: 07/11/2006

Today's practice was of significant importance to me because by the end of the practice, I felt I made some key improvements to my skating. We began with 20 laps of warm-up. Unlike our regular routine of low-and-slow skating, coach EG asked us to trace the arc on the ground from the push position to recovery position by dragging the front wheel of the skate. After ten laps, I lost track of how many laps I skated so I just kept on skating until the rest of the group stopped. I must have skated at least 25 laps but the good thing was I was able to maintain a low basic position throughout.

We were then divided into packs of three for some drills on balancing. The skater in front would hold the recovery position on one foot for an entire lap. The middle skater would hold the basic position and place his hands on the hips of the first skater. The skater at the back was responsible for pushing the pack with only one finger at a slow speed. Each person would take turn leading the pack twice so that both legs would get a chance for a workout. When we did this similar drill two weeks ago, I was not able to balance on my right leg for more than 50m. However, thanks to some practices on the bosu ball, I managed to hold the recovery position for about 120m. My left leg was still stronger though.

The next drill was a continuation of the warm-up. From the basic position, we would pick up one foot, transfer weight to that side of the body until we would fall on that foot, trace the front wheel to recovery position, and finally kick forward. We did this drill for two sets of 8 laps. EG emphasized that we need to pay attention to pushing to the side. In a way, it almost felt like we fell backwards during the weight transfer. The kick forward motion was very confusing to me. EG compared that motion to kicking a ball and that the kicking foot would end up in front of the other foot. However, it simply threw me off balance. I just didn't understand why.

The fitness group was huge today with 12 skaters in total so the train exercise was not too fun. We lined up in a pack with hands on the hips of the skater in front. The last person in the pack was responsible for pushing the entire pack for one lap. First, holding the basic position for 12 (slow) laps was painful. Secondly, when it was my turn to push, I simply couldn't generate enough power. EG suggested that I should touch the knees slightly between strides to maximize the stride length and that I was allow to push back. However, I just couldn't manage to push back without tripping myself. Let me tell you, pushing to the side just didn't work well in this case.

Still maintaining the pack, we next lapped the pack in pairs. My (lack of) speed weighed heavily on my mind. I was paired with L which worked out great but lapping the pack is definitely one of the drills that I dread.

During cooldown, I asked EG for some feedback on my skating. Based on ARA's comment last week and my practices during the weekend, I wanted to make sure that I skate with correct technique at speed. I think I'm at the point where it is crucial for me to develop good technique. I've been making lots of improvement over the last couple of months and last thing that I want is to develop bad habits due to ignorance. This is what EG told me after looking at my skating:

• I should swerve less in S-pattern
• I should exaggerate the arc from push position to recovery position
• I need to form the hyperglide position after a push (i.e. leg stretch out, lock knee of the pushing leg, slight heel kick like in aggressive slalom)
• Instead of placing my knee directly behind the calf for recovery position, I should drive the knee forward next to the gliding leg. Need deep knee bend to make this work. So this is what he meant when he said "kick the ball"!
• I naturally push to the side instead of to the back. This is great.

It was so helpful so have someone giving me instant feedback as EG was skating behind me and called out instructions. The list above looked like a lot of information to digest but in fact, it was a summary of everything that he said over five or six laps of skating. By the end, I was skating faster with less effort and more control.

Log Those Miles

I followed coach EG's training program on Friday and practiced at the Richmond Green skating trail. Half-way through my 30-minute warm-up, I slipped at a corner and fell on my knees in a really strange angle. As a result, the inside of my knees landed on the ground and my right knee felt really weird. I rested on the bench for a little while and checked on my knees. Fortunately, the surface of this trail is really smooth so I walked away without a scratch. The skating motion didn't seem to bother me too much so I continued with the training. I did only one set of 15-minute interval training and wrapped up with 10 minutes of cooldown. Even through my knees didn't hurt, I didn't want to stress them out too much.

After I got home, I iced my knees and slept with a tensor band. Normally, I like to curl up when I sleep. However, I was waken up from pain every time I tried to bend my knees. NOT GOOD. The next day, every step I took was painful. It got me a little worry because I could not see any bruising and the swelling was minimal. I went through dragonboat practice as usual but instead of logging miles at the Martin Goodman Trail, I took it easy and did some grocery shopping instead.

On Sunday, the bruises finally showed and I let out a sigh of relief. The pain was not as bad as the day before so I got to log some miles. I originally planned to skate at the Hamilton Beaches but on second thought, I didn't know how my knees would hold up. If I could not skate after all, it would be such a waste to drive all the way over there. I went skating at Richmond Green again. The good thing about this trail is that it is not heavily used so I can comfortably practice techniques without worrying about other traffic on the trail. I concentrated on weight-transfer. I experimented with a few things and by the end of the practice, I felt that I finally "get it". When I put my skate down after the recovery position, it is important that I step on the outside edge. It made the weight-transfer much easier.

It's great that TISC practice twice a week. For any new skills that coach EG introduces during the week, I get to spend some time over the weekend to practice until it feels more natural to my skating. A couple of days later, I can get feedback from EG so that if I misunderstand the technique, it can be corrected before it becomes a bad habit.