Weekend Potpourri

I didn't seriously train this weekend though it was a weekend filled with skating and skating-related business.

On Saturday, I woke up nice and early to get some club pamphlet printed. I then spent the entire afternoon in the Ricoh Coliseum watching championship games from local children hockey teams. Now that's a high concentration of active kids on skates! In between each game, I talked to the parents to promote inline skating as an alternative to their children's off-season training. The games were very exciting and the atmosphere was great. I hope that some of these kids will check out our club this summer.

Since I had all my skating stuff with me, I hit the Martin Goodman Trail after the games and skated a bit. Well, to be more accurate, I didn't have ALL my stuff. I had skates, wrist protection, helmet, and leggings. So it was "civilian disguise" time! I skated in my mini dress and cashmere sweater with a little purse slung across my chest. Not exactly how I would picture a speedskater for sure. The trail was very busy with rec skaters and bikes but the weather was so beautiful I didn't mind the traffic too much. It just felt nice to be skating without thinking much about effort, technique, and keeping up.

Sunday was the last of the 2008 RSO Indoor Points Series. I decided not to race in the last minute. It was an unfamiliar decision for me though it makes sense, in a way. I already did my mandatory three races and I knew that my standing would not change even if I raced because my competitors would surely garner enough points to surpass me. Besides, after a few outdoor practices, I really feel a huge discrepancy between my indoor and outdoor skating. In a way, it is a little discouraging to know how much I am not skating to my potential indoor. I had a feeling that I would not be breaking any PB...so I decided to sit out of the racing action for once. I took the chance to video the time trials for my friends as well as the 500m race for group C. You can watch them here.

Club open house went well with old and new faces. It was good to catch up with AP and I look forward to skating on his track again at nationals. I brought a rum cake and a loaf of banana cranberry walnut bread just because. I skated the indoor practice including the elimination race. It confirmed my decision not to race...it's not like I skated horribly (trust me, I skated waaaay worse). In fact, I kept up with the pack longer than I expected but that fire to compete just wasn't there. It was fun nonetheless.

A few of us went to the Hamilton Beaches Trail in the afternoon. I know that this is a "boring" trail to some skaters but it serves its purpose when I want to work on technique. After coach AA's clinic last weekend, I have a few key things that I want to work on for my straights. The lack of obstacles on this trail may not be challenging but I can concentrate my attention on technique. A few things that I worked on includes a more pronounced outside edge setdown, turning out my knees, more exaggerated recovery (especially my left leg), locking my knees at the end of a push, and driving my knees forward. I skated 23km in total so it was a rather short session. However, it was enough to give me confidence for my first race of the season next weekend, a half marathon in Ottawa.

JeP fell in Hamilton and got himself a new road rash. Mr. P tried to clean up his wound but JeP put up a good fight. In the end, we had to wrestle him and pin him down before successfully cleaning him up with a good dose of batine. There was some squealing but I guess that video is best left for friends to enjoy. I'm not mean enough to post the video for the world to see...