Dream Chaser On Wheels

California Dreaming

My custom boots are estimated to be done in three months so that means they should be available some time in December. Shipping cross border would likely cost me extra money on custom, tax, shipping, and quite possibly handling fee. So I thought it may not be such a bad idea to ship them to my friend ML in California. Since a few of my friends will be visiting ML around that time of the year, I can probably ask them to take the boots back to Toronto.

Wait a minute, what if I go to visit ML myself? It would be a great opportunity to visit my favourite puppy Momo and ML's baby. Besides, I have enough mileage points to get myself a free flight. Most importantly, the weather will still be nice enough to skate outdoors over there in December! ML told me that it's a quiet neighbourhood with little traffic and a speed limit of 30km/h. Doesn't it sound like a perfect solution to cure mid-winter blues?

Low On Blood

I donated blood yesterday and gosh, do I ever feel the effect of the loss of blood! I planned my week so I could have a full day of rest yesterday but I was feeling larthagic just moping around. My muscles were sore too (I guess from my run on Friday). I was just walking around in a mall and I was seeing stars...

So it was a little short of 24hr before I found myself putting on my skates at the Hamilton Beaches Trail for a "leisurely" skate with my friends JS, JB, GN, MJC, and EM. I was the slowest in the group so even on a good day, I would have to work hard to stay in their pack. October is the in-between month with no club practices. This means it's a good time to take our annual break from training. That's what JS had in mind. EM will be heading over to A2A for next week so he planned his last long skate before tapering. He planned to skate for 4 hours so I expected him to trade (a little) speed for mileage. However, having said all of that, "taking it easy" is such a relative term. When these guys skate at an easy pace, I still need to work hard to stay in their draft.

In lap one, I stayed behind JS for about 6k before turning around on my own. I was feeling a different sort of weak...not the same type of weakness from my diet, but a sort of drowsiness even while I was pushing my body to work hard. In lap two, I concentrated hard to ignore these weird feelings and I hang on to the pack until the last 4 kilometre. I was done for the day after that.

I haven't skated with EM since indoor wrapped up in March and he commented that I made a lot of improvement this summer in terms of speed. Although I know that I improved over the season but I guess the change was gradual. All the more reasons to keep up with training this winter!

That's It!

As promised, we had a chance to re-skate our end of month time trial. My time for both distances came down just a fraction so for all intents and purposes, it is just an error in timing. My flying 200 was a repeat from Tuesday, 00:23.31. Again, not enough acceleration in the first lap. My 500m fared a little better at 1:02.44 though my leg speed was slow.

After the time trials wrapped up, we did 15 minutes of push & glide drill. The motion felt very familiar especially once I added arm swing and then I realized it was almost the same drill we did for crossovers last winter! No wonder I felt so much more comfortable pushing with my right leg than my left.

We had a small turnout today. Coach EG had us skating a series of 400m sprints. He sent us out at intervals from slowest to fastest. We had about 2 laps of rest in between each sprint to bring down our heartrates. I managed to caught up/passed MJC a couple of times. GN passed me once, in the first sprint when I tripped in my start. After a few of these sprints, I was tired.

By the time we did our cooldown, it was already dark. I actually quite enjoy skating on the track when it's dark. Instead of focusing on avoiding any cracks or debris on the track, I just concentrate on the feel of every push. I love that feeling of moving through darkness. I skated a few laps on my own, just savouring the sensation of wheels against the asphalt without really trying to skate hard. I think I was moving at a good pace though because when I was done, my thighs were sore. :)

October is the in-between month when I can take a break from training. This is also the only time in the year when I can afford to donate blood. I've already made my appointment at the Canadian Blood Service along with my annual check up at the doctors. Hard to believe it's been another season already.

Last TT Of The Season (Or Is It?)

We had our end of month time trial on Tuesday with the usual flying 200 and standing start 500. During warm up, I could already tell that this would not be my day. The head wind in the back straight was strong and my legs were drained of all strength. When I had problem with pushing through even one lap during warm up, I knew I was in trouble.

Coach EG gave us some tips on the flying 200 before we began. He told us that we need to skate hard as soon as we hit the first apex in order to bring ourselves to maximum speed. This basically was how I skated all season so it was good to know that I've taken a correct approach. Unfortunately, my legs did not listen to me. When I tried to accelerate, there was nothing in my legs. I was far from my top speed when I began my lap. My time was 00:23.41, about .41 off from my PB.

For the 500 TT, I was determined to put my "new found" acceleration to good use. I knew that I need to maintain a high cadence in my first lap to bring myself up to speed. In particular, I must accelerate in the first corner with rapid crossovers. After that, long powerful pushes all the way until the last half lap when I increase my cadence again. Well, in reality, it didn't quite work out according to plan (surprise surprise). I did accelerate though my leg speed was not as fast as I would like. However, I really messed up my corners after the first 200m. My arm swing got out of sync with my legs and I had to stop my arms in mid-air to resync. This happened not once, but twice. I lost lots of speed in the corners because of this. My time came out to 01:02.86, a personal best at this track. I was not feeling good after the 500...absolutely devoid of energy.

Coach EG said that we will have a re-skate on Thursday for anyone who wants to give this another shot. The headwind made for slower times than everyone would like. I will probably do it just because.

We skated some 3min-on-2min-off intervals after the time trial. I started every on piece with an acceleration which began to feel more and more comfortable. I now have much better control of my leg speed in the corner (i.e. instead of just glacier in motion, I now have turtle crossing too, heh). Of course I don't know how it really looks. For all I know, I can be doing this all wrong...that's the problem when I experiment with new things without feedback.

Tough Decision

A few weeks ago, I thought I had my winter training all planned out. It would be two days of short track ice (to sort out a lot of my alignment and technical issues) plus lots of LSD, weights, and plyos. However, for the last few days, I'm not so certain anymore.

I skated both indoor inline (2-3 days a week) and short track ice (2 days a week) last winter. That was definitely too much time on skates so I really did not have time to invest in any proper off-season training. From that experience, I know that I only want to skate 2 days a week this winter. The weekday indoor inline sessions at Scooters were too fast for my ability last year. For the latter half of the season, I was mostly skating in the middle of the rink by myself because I could not keep up with the pace. Whereas for short track ice, I was skating with the kids and we got to work on mostly technical drills with very little intensity thrown in (except for the occasional relays). By the end of the season, I eventually got more comfortable on the ice but I was still stiff as a wooden dummy.

SZ suggested that I list out my goals for next season and use that to help me figure out my priority and training plan. My long term goal of breaking some of the masters women Canadian records is still firmly in place. However, I still have a few years before competing in the masters category. As a medium term goal (haahaa, is there such a thing), I would like to be competitive enough to race in the senior women category in provincials and nationals...you know, not being blown out of the water immediately in the first round of an elimination race kinda deal. Heh. As for goals of 2008, I aim to get consistently under 40s for my 300m TT on track (current PB 00:39.21), under 20min for my 10K road (current PB 21:30.00), and under 1:40 for my marathon (current PB 1:43:26).

I know that I have little motivation to compete on ice. Short track ice in Ontario is very much geared towards kids progressing through the ranks. As an adult skater new to the sport, I only want to use it to supplement my inline training and to help me achieve goals in inline. Can I get the same technical benefit from skating indoor at Scooters? Well, perhaps. After all, there are differences in technique between ice and inline.

My main concern with skating at Scooters is that I'm not fast enough to benefit much from the very intense weekday sessions. Having said that, I must say what I learned there last winter were immensely helpful in my outdoor season. The comfort I gained in pack skating and the improvements I made in starts and crossovers were not immediately seen in my indoor skating but those new skills were applied effectively in all aspect of my outdoor skating in 2007. Would it negate the LSD training I plan for winter if I punctuate my week with two very intense skating sessions? I better do some researches.

If I give up skating on ice this season, will I ever come back? Of course I can try again next winter but I will also face a steep learning curve all over again. Will I still be motivated to get back on the ice if I skip a season?

Last but not least, cost is a big concern. I have just made a big purchase in the form of inline custom boots. The cost of skating ice this season is about one of those boots (either the left or the right, take your pick). It will be significantly cheaper to skate indoor inline. I can probably afford to skate ice but skating is not the only plan I have for my money (sad but true). I would very much like to visit my grandpa in Hong Kong this winter so I must watch my spending carefully.

All reasonings seem to lead to the conclusion of skating indoor at Scooters. However, I am still undecided. Tough choice to make indeed.

Stepping On The Scale Again

I went to the gym today for 45 minutes at the stairsclimber. I was bored stupid. Watching Entertainmnet Tonight and Prison Break on mute can only amuse me for so long. After that, my mind was completely occupied by the annoyance of sweat and my thin eyebrows. I think in order to survive all the LSD this winter, I better remember to bring my headphones and iPod to the gym every time.

I stepped on the scale after my workout. Speaking of scales, I actually don't trust my bathroom scale at home. So one of the reasons I go to my gym is to use their medical mechanical scale, you know, the type they use at the doctors. To my surprise, I now weigh 125lb. That's 7lb less than I was in July. No wonder all my skinny clothes are now fitting nicely again. It's good to know that my hardwork is paying off.

Fun On The Trail

We might as well called our Hamilton Beaches skate yesterday an unofficial club practice. The turn out was amazing with 15 of us on the trail at one point. Since outdoor season is winding down, everyone was in the mood for a fun skate so we mostly skated together as one pack. The speed mostly ranged within 25-30km/h so it was a very enjoyable time for me.

Personally, I always wish that I'm a little taller. The only time that I'm thankful for my (lack of) height is when we skate in packs. I can conveniently hide behind taller/bigger skaters and coast along in their draft. I practically crazy-glued myself behind MJC and GN for the whole session!

I'm not really a morning person so getting out on the trails for our 8:30 start time has always been a challenge. However, I do think my body function better in the morning. I'm usually more energetic in my morning skates. Whereas in our evening club practices, I get tired so quickly it's always tough to get through the entire practice. I really hope the weather holds up nicely this year so I can continue skating outdoor for as long as possible.

Recently, I've been busy planning my winter training. I know that I need to invest my time this season to build my base (LSD) and get stronger (weight training and plyometrics). However, cutting back my time on skates will be tough to do. Lots to think about.

Wow, My Best Acceleration Ever

Let me first get this out of the way: I was in bad shape today at practice. My body has acclimatized to the reduced food intake as long as I don't go for a workout. Once I started to skate, I was so low on energy I could not keep up with the pack. Too bad for me, practice today consisted of a lot of pack skating/attack drills and I simply did not have the stamina to participate in those drills. I ended up spending most of the practice skating by myself on the outside lanes.

I tried to concentrate on some technical things such as setting down under my shoulder, landing on outside edge, and loading my push with ankle bend with varying degrees of success. None of the above felt natural yet but I guess it takes time.

Towards the end of practice, we skated a few 3min-on-2min-off intervals. Seeing how I was feeling so weak for the entire practice, I surprised myself that I actually was able to keep up at 80% intensity for three minutes. Funnily enough, my skating felt like I was light on my feet though I honestly had no idea if it was really the case. Sometimes, "feeling" fast can be so deceiving, you know? In our last on piece, everything came together. I came out of the corner and began acceleration. For the very first time, my arm swing was driving my leg speed! I loaded every push in the straightaway with ankle bend and felt the power of each weight transfer. By the time I came to the corner, instead of my usual habit of slowing down my cadence to do crossovers, I kept up my arm swing and leg speed and practically ran my way through the corner with each crossover. I totally surprised myself with the speed I carried at the end of this half lap acceleration. This is the kind of acceleration I need when I do my 300m or 500m time trials (eeek, next Tuesday!). I hope this is not a "lightning doesn't strike twice" kind of deal...

2007 Outdoor Season Review

Now that I have finished all my competitions for the 2007 outdoor season, it seems appropriate that I take a tally. The goal of this season was to gain as much racing experience as I could as 2007 is a development year for me. I'm proud to say that I have accomplished this goal.

• 1 half marathon
• 4 marathons
• 1 10K race
• 5 track races (including provincials and nationals)
• Montreal 24hr Relay

That's 12 weekend of racing. Woah, I spent half of my weekends in the outdoor season (April - September) racing. I haven't even included my dragonboat regattas and the fact that I went to Europe in April and again in June!

Of all the races, I think provincials and the Canada Day Marathon were my breakthrough races for track and road racing respectively this season. My results in provincials were huge improvement over last year and it kicked off a trend of breaking my personal best throughout the season. I felt good on the track and it was a great boost to the morale. The Canada Day Marathon gave me the confidence to skate solo in a notoriously slow course. It was this confidence that gave me the resolve to race to the best of my ability even though I was dealing with a very small pack in Duluth.

Nationals and Ottawa Inline Festival were the low points of my season. Due to inappropriate change in training and my inexperience with tapering, my times at Nationals were slower than my rec-skate days from last season. Bonking and boot problem plagued my race in the Ottawa marathon. However, I learned what works for me and what doesn't in both events so I am appreciative of these learning opportunities. As I have no big expectation this year, these are all valuable lessons which are quite affordable when I look at my development as a skater/competitor.

Compared to 2006, I have increased my training load. I manage to keep up with a disciplined 6-days-a-week training schedule. I supplemented my skating with dragonboat practices twice a week which strengthened my core muscles immensely. I rarely experience any back pain during skating (touch wood). During early season, I went twice to Rondeau Provincial Park for some much needed mileage. I also took up running for cross-training purposes. I can now consistently run 5km in 26 minutes.

All in all, I am happy with my progress in 2007.

Custom Casting By David Simmons

After much contemplation, I took the plunge to get a pair of custom boots from Simmons Racing. Last Friday in Duluth, I went to the Simmons booth at the vendor expo to get my feet custom cast by Mr. David Simmons himself. I talked with many of my skating friends and the overwhelming response was the quality of the cast can really make or break the boots. That was why I ended up ordering my customs sooner rather than later so I could be casted by the bootmaker.

The casting process was much quicker than I expected. I had my right foot done first. My foot was first smeared with Vaseline and then Mr. Simmons wrapped my foot with one roll of water-soaked wide-width plaster bandage. The wrapping was done in a very efficient manner with emphasis on the ankle area. My foot stayed relax while he wound the bandage around.

It was interesting to note that he used paper towel to soaked up the excess moisture from the plaster bandages while he shaped the plaster more closely to my foot. Next, Mr. Simmons asked me to put my foot on top of a soft fluffy foam pad and stood up with my knees bent. He adjusted me stance for a bit and held me knee while I carefully sat back down.

He shaped the cast a bit more while we waited for the cast to harden a bit. In the mean time, I voiced some of my concerns about my skating in general (knees turned in and having a really difficult time with pronation especially when I'm tired). He took a look at my ZX-5, noted how I already have the frame moved to the inside, and explained that he has problems with pronation himself too. Mr. Simmons recommended that he would build in 10 degree canting to my boots. I was a little skeptical about the built-in canting because after all, this is permanent....however, he is a very experienced bootmaker and I trust his judgement. I hope that this is a right decision.

It didn't take long for the plaster to harden just enough. Mr. Simmons proceeded to make a vertical slit on the plaster directly on top of the metal strip and the cast slipped off my foot easily. It was still soft enough to press the slit shut. I signed my name on the bottom of the cast and that was basically it. Picking and choosing the colour for my boots was pretty quick as I have already given my custom boots some thoughts previously. I ordered an extra set of mounting bolts because, well, you never know when disaster strikes, right?

It will be exciting to receive my boots in 3 months! Haahaa, this is probably as good an excuse as any to go to the Great EsSkate in Miami comes February next year. :)