1/2 M Wk 3: The stoke continues

Monday

Ready to roll

I rode my new race board Monday, and had a new personal best time.  I rode 12 miles in 55 minutes and 22 seconds.  I think I could have gone a little faster, but with nobody to push me on at the end (except myself) I let my pace slide a little bit.

***BREAKING NEWS***

Okay, so I thought I'd been training on the actual course for the lst couple weeks, but it turns out...I was wrong!!!  The Greenline has been denied because of cross-streets and the hassle of closing off the course.  So, the race will be somewhere I haven't been training.  What does this mean?

Well, not a lot. It means i need to get out of my rut of skating the same spot everyday and mix it up.  No time like the present.  Tuesday, Shelby Farms.

Tuesday

Tuesday I went to Shelby farms and skated around Patriot Lake.  That place is a beast.  Windy as hell for half of the ride and easy going the other half.  I'm going to have to spend some time out there over the next week and a half.

***THE STOKE SPREADS***

Then, I went for my morning session at Tobey where I met the coolest dudes from  http://www.fickleboards.com/.   They were, of all things, on their way to Russellville, Arkansas which just happens to be where I went to high school and college.  How crazy is that!?

Check out their website/blog and the boards they press.  They don't make one my size (...yet, I have my fingers crossed), but the wood looks great.  We skated Tobey for a bit then I showed them Al Town.  I gotta skate more Al Town.  Those transitions are so much gnarlier than Tobey.  Long live Al Town!

Tusk Transfer at Al Town

1/2 Marathon Training Week 3: The stoke spreads

Sunday morning I woke up to some full stoke.  I had posted on the Silverfish longboarding site forum asking for any training suggestions for the 1/2.  I don't post on Silverfish too often because...well, if you don't use the search function or if your question is deemed stupid you're probably going to get lambasted.  It isn't just Silverfish, so many internet forums can be less than friendly, and they are something I've left behind for the most part.  Anyway, even though I generally refrain, I took my chances.  Luckily, my question got some really cool responses.  In fact, as a result, skatefurther.com has front paged my blog.  How cool is that?!  I say that it is very cool.

I'm also going to change my Monday routine into a 40 minute (20 minutes each way) speed workout at a pace faster than my 1/2 marathon pace.

Then, to make the day even cooler, I got the chance to meet (online, if that really counts) James Peters of Pavedwave.org.  Man, the stoke continues.  I spent way too much time on the forum over there.  There is so much to learn!  Plus, I found this page, and it was very cool to see.

So...with the day going so well I thought I'd try and screw up the entire next week.

What is this, you ask?

Riding my hand cut 10 x 40 longboard at Tobey

While skating at Tobey Skatepark on Sunday I landed a little wonky and bent my ankle back 'hot pocket' style.  I was worried (I have a bad right ankle), but after a good soak, all was well.  It did remind me that I have to take it pretty easy while skating tranny for the next few weeks.  I don't want to be injured for the race.

Anyway, here we go with week three!

Thanks for the stoke everyone!

1/2 Marathon Training Week 2: Post 2

Thursday was the windiest skate I have ever been on.  At two points in the journey I was nearly knocked off the board and several times I was pushing my hardest yet it seemed like I was slowing down.  I truly hope the wind isn't an issue on race day.

That said, I shaved a minute off of my time.  My exactly one hour ride became a 59 minute ride.

Friday, I took out my dancer and took it slow and easy.  I did a lot of skogging, cross stepping and had a good time not pushing myself.  I rode a new set of Phat Deanz wheels (78a) and they seemed very fast on my dancing board.  Lindsey and I, who usually skates with me on Fridays, cut our ride down from the usual 1 1/2 hours to 1 hour because the wind was an issue, and this wasn't so much a training ride as a fun ride.

Monday begins week Three, and I'm stoked to have my board (for the race) set up ready to ride.  I've modified a43 inch pintail into a 39 inch board.  The wheelbase was originally 32.5 and is now 30.  I'm hoping this will tighten my pumping up just a bit.  A 32.5 inch wheelbase seemed a little too wide when pumping.  We'll see in week three!

1/2 Marathon Training Week 2: Post 1

WEEK TWO (part one)!!!!

I couldn't wait to get to the Memphis Greenline to skate on Monday!  After two days off a board I was stoked to get four urethane wheels under my feet.  I skated approx 12 miles an hour for an hour.  Not as fast as I'd like, but I think it is already a respectable time for an old man like me.

Tuesday I decided to change things up a bit this week.  I incorporated both the pushing and pumping workouts into the same session.  It was so nice outside it only made sense to enjoy the weather.  I compare the workout to fartlek workouts for distance runners.  Fartlek training mixes periods of speed work with slower training to help a person mix pacing.  If you want to hold a pace, but be able to pass someone only to go back to pace, fartlek training will help.

I pushed for speed for a block, slowed to a moderate pace for the next block, pumped for a block, and went back to moderate pace only to start over.  My body feels much better starting this second week.  I then hit Tobey for a little roundwall for about a half hour before grabbing a bite for lunch and heading to work.  It has been a good week so far.

Oh, and Wednesday I'm taking off from distance training.  I plan on skating on Saturday and Sunday mornings this weekend (the weather is supposed to be perfect) so I know my body will need a day off this week.

Before I end this post, I'd like to give you this link:

http://www.razoo.com/story/Hannah-Wants-To-Help-Habitat?1329684971#.T0Fh_eBXqX8.twitter

It is Hannah wants to help habitat.  If you feel the desire for a little do-goodery, throw Hannah a few bucks, and she'll give them to Habitat for Hope.  They are the charity organization helping to put on the 1/2 Marathon I'm training for.

1/2 Marathon Training: Days 4 and 5

Thursday was a 1 hour skate at moderately fast tempo day.

I skated approx 11 - 12 miles in under 55 minutes which I'm pleased with.  A few days ago I was getting sick skating less time (although then I was skating with wild abandon and no pacing).  I could have skated faster, but I really didn't know how I'd feel at the end of an hour and this is, after all, just the first week of training.

Friday, I did doing two things.

 1.  I ordered a new deck and some rain wheels.  The deck is another Eastbilt pintail with cut-outs which is what I'm currently riding.  I will, however, modify the shape when it comes in.  I'm going to shorten the wheelbase slightly (from 32-ish to 29-ish) and I'm going to modify the back end so it won't actually be a pintail anymore.  The current pintail I'm riding will be transformed to my rain board.  I'm not going to modify the wheelbase or cut it, but I will be adding a coat or two of polyuerethane to protect from water damage and I'm going to throw on some Eastside Rain Wheels.

Did you know it rains just as much in Memphis as Portland?  Sure, it comes in bigger, less frequent storms instead of constant drizzly rain, but the rainfall is very close to the same.  That means, there are plenty of opportunities to use a set of rain wheels and NOT miss out on a training day or any ride.

2.  I had my long ride. 

I've been doing a 1 1/2 Friday ride most weeks for awhile.  It keeps me from skating transitions exclusively, and I usually ride my dancing board, but I decided to stick with the pintail this week.  Next week?  I'm going back to the dancing board.  Sure, Friday is the long day, but that doesn't mean it has to be the hardest working day.  In fact, this week I skated for an hour and a half without too much concern about speed or distance.  I did notice, however, that I (or we, I should say) skated faster today than previous 1 1/2 hour Friday rides.  Just getting into the groove of skating for distance has seemed to up the pace even when not trying.

Now, two days off to spend with my son playing Wii (we just got one...he is stoked) and some family cooking projects (we just got a new oven...I am stoked).  See y'all next week.

And remember:  two blog posts on luchaskate next week.  One Wednesday night.  One Friday.

1/2 Marathon training: Day Three

Wednesday is no longer called 'hump day.'  It is now called 'pump day.'

What exactly is "pump day," you ask?  I did my first pumping specific longboard session this morning.  Ooooh la la!

My thought is that by doing these two specific sessions each week (Tuesday is push day if you aren't paying attention) it will help me to improve each technique more quickly.  One month is not a long time to train for any type of event (coming from a running standpoint) so we'll see if these will help at all.

What exactly did I do?  Overall, a short ride.  just a half hour total with as little foot pushing as possible.  I feel tight tonight.  I guess three days in a row of something a little different can do that to a person.  A little bit of ankle discomfort, but that isn't really a surprise either.  I haven't skated this much for distance since Tobey opened up, and that was before my ankle injuries.

Pumping:

Tomorrow and Friday will be combined into one post. In fact, next week the training will be in two posts.  One Monday - Wednesday and one Thursday and Friday post.

Next up, I'm headed to finish up an fleet vegan post and then it is off to do a yoga routine and relax with a movie.

1/2 Marathon Training: Day 2

My training grounds today

So, I started to think about the process.  Just going out and skating myself sick probably isn't the wisest technique.

I used to run for distance.  It is a time I don't talk about much.  It was a dark, brief period when I wasn't skating much.  I didn't quit...just...didn't skate much.  It, obviously, didn't last, but I do remember some of the training techniques, and I know that different techniques put together will have the best effect.

So, today I did a sort of speed session.  I wouldn't call it a fartlek session, but somewhat similar.  I rode from Highland to High Point (uphill) pushing with both feet.  I'd then take an easy ride back down the incline only to push myself back up the next block.  I did a half hour of this, and then had a cool down at Tobey before having to get ready for work.

The other thing to note is that I worked specifically on pushing with both legs today, getting my balance right at speed.

I'm putting together a plan for the next few weeks.

Monday:  Skate for 1 hour at a medium/fast pace
Tuesday:  Speed/Sprint training (push riding)
Wednesday:  Sunrise ride (pump training)/Yoga
Thursday:  Skate for 1 hour at a medium/fast pace
Friday Skate for 1 1/2 hour (long ride day)
Saturday:  off from distance skating
Sunday:  off from distance skating

1/2 Marathon Training: Day 1

I have a confession.  I have been considering killing this blog.  My cooking blog, The Fleet Vegan, has taken off and takes up a lot of my time.  It is based on my career in food, and my re-dedication to a plant based diet. 

I haven't posted here at all this month, and I thought, "Well, maybe I'm spreading myself too thin."

Nope.  Just like that I've found inspiration.  There will be a 1/2 marathon on March 17th here in Memphis.  A longboard 1/2 marathon that is.  I am going to skate it, and I am going to try my best to do well.  I don't care about winning, but I do care about reaching a personal best.  Let's face it.  I'm 38 years old.  I have a crappy right ankle that has to have a brace on it to skate.

But, I'm in good shape.  I have a heart bigger than my brain.  I am going to push myself to the limits for the next four weeks so I do the best I possibly can.

In fact, today I skates myself sick, but did a ride that normally takes me 1 1/2 hours in just 45.  Distance skating...you will be mine.