It's Like Indoor, Only Outdoor

I am exhausted and cold but I'm smiling. Sometimes, it's really strange how a couple of great practices can be so energizing and leave me motivated.

Coach AA has taken rein of outdoor practice today and we kicked off practice with the now-familiar echelon tower on the 200m track. Although the number of sets remains the same, we are now skating on a track double the length compared to indoor! Furthermore, with better grip, the speed inevitably picked up so of course it took longer for the lapping group to lap us. Before long, the echelon tower drill became "this is the drill that never ends~~". I surprised myself with how strong I felt and how secure I was at the corners. It was only last summer when I would inevitably get gapped in every corner and had to play catch up in the straights. It sure didn't feel like it when I was paying my dues in the fluorescent lighting of Scooters but a whole winter of indoor practice is already paying off this early in the season. Did I mention that I actually completed the drill save for a couple laps of rest?

Wind is an inevitable part of outdoor skating and AA had a discussion on when to attack with relation to wind direction. This discussion reminded me of a practice long ago when I just started training with TISC. We had a tailwind in the back straights today and headwind the other way. Let's work this out backwards. To make the best use of wind, the attacker should force the pack to accelerate into the headwind. That means the attacker should be skating full speed and reaches the front of the pack when he comes out of the corner into the headwind. Depending on the speed of the pack and how well the attacker accelerates, the attacker needs to adjust how soon to begin acceleration from the back of the pack. When it was my turn to go, I remember from last outdoor season that coach EG had us working on attacks as well. One of the key thing was I need to give myself room to accelerate. Just before acceleration, I opened up a slight gap in front of me and then picked up the tempo of my strides significantly to work my way to the front. Coach AA told me that my tempo was quick and punchy (yay!). He reminded me that I need to manage what tempo works best with what speed, and at what rate of acceleration. Also, once I reach full speed, I should continue with long powerful strides. Efficiency is key.

I was very tired at this point so I decided to skate some laps at technique pace. I paid attention to bringing my recovery leg behind my gliding leg before each setdown. There was a very rhythmic feeling about it once I got into the groove, something that I did not feel last Saturday nor Tuesday. Definitely need to reinforce this feeling so it becomes natural.