Charlie Brown On Skates

This week I read Road Rash Chronicles “lessons learned” post and it has made me think a lot about my experiences getting into speedskating. It seems that Road Rash was something of a new skater when he began his quest to become a speedskater (as best as I can tell.) For me, I’ve skated in some fashion ever since I was a little boy, both ice and inline. I think my perspective may be slightly different. I also think that our team dynamics are somewhat different based on what I gleaned from his posting.

So having stated that, it has been about 6 months exactly since I began my own endeavor into speedskating. Here are my own 8 lessons learned.

1. Speedskating is Humbling in So Many Ways

   Having skated for nearly my whole life, I was under the mistaken notion that I was a halfway decent skater. I always knew I wasn’t a great skater, but I thought I was pretty good. Guess what, it doesn’t translate into speedskating. Having played roller hockey quite a bit (one organized team season, tons of just fun street hockey) and having skated to work in downtown Chicago and all that entails, I thought I would do okay when I first met up with Team Rainbo. Well, no. I couldn’t skate with the slowest skaters.

   It wasn’t just the rec skates and the fact that I was out of shape (although that didn’t help.) The techniques I knew didn’t really apply to speedskating, it’s a whole different animal. I got new skates, but moreso I had to relearn how to skate. A hockey push is different than a speedskate push. Longer frames and bigger wheels were harder to control. I learned some things and I felt like I was making real progress. Then we moved indoors.

   Talk about humbling. Indoors technique is magnified. All my faults came spilling out onto the floor - literally - I have the brusies and the rash marks to prove it. I’m currently fighting every stroke to do something right - anything right. I’m lost in the corners, my ankles are sore, my right leg is overdeveloped and I’ve forgotten how to effectively push with my left foot. And my back is killing me. I have chronic back problems predating skating, so it’s not just from skating, but that doesn’t make it any less aggravating.

   Meanwhile, the idea is to improve enough to skate with the top skaters on the team. Fat chance right now. I get on the paceline for a space of time… 8 minutes early on, then 5, then 3, and get dropped time and time again. I keep getting on, and I keep falling off. Why? It isn’t because the other skaters are in that much better shape than I am - I’m in pretty good shape. It’s all technique. And my technique is a mess. They say it takes three years to build solid speedskating technique. Man, I don’t know if I can be that patient.

2. Skating With Great Skaters is Priceless

   Somehow I lucked out to live in the Chicago area, where the greatest non-professional team (in my opinion) resides, and that is of course Team Rainbo. They are the oldest, biggest inline speedskating club in the United States. What that means is that in our group there is a vast amount of experience that I am able to tap into. Not everyone on the team is a top tier skater. In fact, we have our share of beginners and average skaters too. That is part of what Team Rainbo believes - we cater to all skill levels. It’s about participation, not just about winning.

   Having said that, we’ve got a large group of skaters, both male and female, that are top notch skaters. Every step of the way since I have started I have gotten the exact advice I’ve needed to progress along the path of improvement. But it’s not just people telling you things, it’s them showing you. Skating with them, I’m constantly watching and learning, comparing techniques and refining what I do. Early on I was able to make several significant jumps and improve. Of course it gets tougher as you go along, but having these great skaters available to me really compressed the amount of time I had to spend learning the core techniques and apply them.

   Plus, I am constantly pushed by chasing and working with skaters that are better than me. Having played sports all my life, I realize how important this is. So not only do I learn technique, I am challenged to perform better at every practice. Early on, I skated solo. Then I skated with the early group and learned to draft. Then I actually did some pulls. It got to the point wher someone said to me, “you need to skate with the other group.” I was trying to put it off because I knew how good they were, but I knew he was right. I wasn’t being pushed anymore.

   So I jumped to the next group and promptly got my rear handed to me on a silver platter. Again, it was back to a fair amount of solo skating chasing the pack. But as time went on I got better, hung on longer, and near the end of the outdoor season I had my best skate where I stuck with the “fast guys” for quite some time before getting dropped. It’s only because of them that I could do that. I know there are many speedskaters out there who don’t have access to a team, or have a team but it lacks real experienced skaters. I realize how lucky I am in that regard.

3. I Can’t Do It Halfway

   Maybe it’s just me, but I want to be competitive. Not everyone shares my drive to compete, I know - some people skate for the sheer enjoyment of skating. When they do a race, it’s not necessarily a “race” for them. I can’t help it, but I have to view it as a competition. I’m 42 years old and I’m not going to win any major awards speedskating - ever. But I’d like to be competitive in my age group. Problem is, I’m in a really tough age group. Sure the younger pros are the best, but the crafty veterans are near as good. There are times when there isn’t much difference between the two groups. So with my struggles right now, it’s pretty easy to get disillusioned, especially when the big gains in technique are behind me. It will be interesting to see how I do this year compared to last year.

4. I Love the Endurance Aspect

   When I was running and trying to get into shape, I enjoyed going as far as I could. Problem was I always ended up hurt while running. I realized I would never be able to physically run a marathon. When I found out about inline marathons, I got excited because I had a suspicion it might be something I could accomplish. I had my doubts after doing my first race, a 10-miler in which I really struggled. But as I got in better shape and my training skates got longer, I realized I could probably do it.

   The satisfaction of completing my first marathon is hard to describe. I was extremely happy. But almost more than that, the process of the race itself was so much fun while being greatly challenging at the same time. Not only are you enduring a 26.2 mile skate, you are dealing with the race dynamics of drafting, jumping from paceline to paceline, breakways and even people falling. I can only say it’s a total rush. The epitomy of this was of course the Northshore Inline Marathon in Duluth. What a great experience with all the cheering people. At the end of the outdoor season, I was wishing I could do a marathon every weekend.

5. Minutae Matters

   Baseball is a game of inches. Speedskating is a sport of minutae. We adjust our frames 3 millimeters to get it just in the right spot. Maximizing your push by slight amounts can make a big difference. Getting weight transfer just right is crucial. Where are you pushing, how are you pushing, where is your recovery foot and what is it doing? We can talk technique for hours and only begin to cover any ground. We have very little equipment, but we have a million things to think about during each stride. No wonder it takes three years to get comfortable.

6. We Geek Out on Equipment

   Even though we have very little equipment - truly a skate made up of a boot, frame and wheels - we can talk about that equipment for hours on end. Dissect the pros and cons of wheels? Ten hour discussion. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating…but just a little. How can you discuss the merits of small circles of polyurethane for so long? Try to skate on them for speed and you’ll find out. What about frames? What’s your setup? Clap skate anyone? Long frames, shorter frames, 5 wheels vs. 4 wheels - or 3 wheels? Stock boot vs. custom boots. Oh, custom boot - which one? What materials? What degree of pitch? How high is the cuff, do you have forefoot straps (and do you use them) barefoot or sock -or ezee-fits? How do you lace it up? Two laces or one? Buckle or not?

   And I’m just getting started! Geeky, but it’s fun.

7. The Comaraderie is as Fun as the Skating

   Like any sport, part of the fun is the comaraderie of your teammates. I’ve missed that when I stopped playing organized ball hockey and softball years ago. But even then, those were more recreational sport, weekend warrior type endeavors. There’s something about even the average speedskater, they take the sport very seriously, and that makes being together really enjoyable. Part of this is because speedskating is a struggle. You’re not only fighting against your competition in a race, but moreso you are competing against yourself - can I push another mile? Can I make this mile faster? When can I take these darn skates off! There’s that sense that we’re all pushing against a common “foe” (even if the foe is ourselves) and that brings the group close together. Somehow we all can intimitely identify with this strange affliction called speedskating. It’s a wonderful thing.

It’s been a fun and rewarding “affliction” for six months. Let’s see what the next six months will bring.