Camp--Day One

Day one is done, and I'm toast.  Which means that, instead of a blog post with some particular point or focus or theme...you're just getting a recitation of today's events.

You're welcome.

We started the day with two hours on ice, which was a lot of fun.  Mostly drills, working on getting the basics down.  I have a pretty extensive need to learn how to do a proper weight-shift, which will allow me to use body weight instead of just the leg strength I've mostly been relying on to skate fast (hey, I grew the body weight; might as well use it!)  Up until my "skating technique epiphany" of a year ago, I was pretty much incapable of  any weight shift and had more or less given up on being able to do it at all.  Now that I've seen a glimmer of ability to do a proper skating stroke, though, I think it's time to spend some effort on seeing if I can actually get to the point of doing it correctly, consistently.  Derek Parra is an excellent coach and he has some great skaters helping him out.  They were able to explain a couple of (very important) things that I've been struggling with, so I have some new stuff to work on when the Oval opens back in Roseville.

(Oh, by the way, there will be no pictures for today's post...by the time I headed to the Oval this morning I had lost my camera three times but only found it two.  It has now been found the third time, so hopefully I'll have some photos tomorrow.)

After the ice time we had a break for lunch--in my case, a peanut butter sandwich, chips, two brown sugar cinnamon poptarts, and a diet coke.  Lunch of champions middle-aged skaters with butts that cannot truthfully claim to be "all muscle."

The afternoon brought an interesting talk on weight training, which included some flexibility screening that highlighted the fact that I should not have stopped doing the hamstring stretches suggested by my chiropractor.  Then it was on to some dryland.  The exercises were all useful and beneficial, and Derek was good about having us do them only enough times to show that we understood how to do them...but still, two hours is a lot of dryland. By the time he got to the third-to-the-last-exercise--one-footed jumps with the jumping foot on a step--most of us were pretty pathetic.

"C'mon, jump high!  Remember that free leg just hangs there!  Let's see how high you can get!"  Derek exhorted.  (The guy never seems to run out of energy or enthusiasm).  Since I was, at that point, having a bit of difficulty just walking up the steps, let alone jumping up from one on one leg, I'm afraid I didn't exactly "get high."

Then it was off to dinner with about 10 other skaters, which was a lot of fun and a lot of food.  One of the other skaters and I have the same birthday, and it happens to be tomorrow--so the meal ended with the server bringing us each an ice cream sundae and the rest of the group singing Happy Birthday.  A great way to end the evening, and to enjoy what I suspect will be the last pain-free hours of the next couple days.  I'm tired now, but nothing (except my low back) is actually sore.  However, I expect that to have changed by the time I crawl out of bed tomorrow, after delayed-onset muscle soreness has had a chance to take up residence in pretty much any body part that moves.  Tomorrow should be interesting--two ice workouts and one dryland...hopefully I'll still be able to move!

SLC Camp--Pre-Day 1

Camp starts this morning.  I got to Salt Lake last night in time to get on the ice for a free pre-camp skate, which was definitely a good thing.  I am not one of those people who can, after a significant time off ice, step confidently back onto the oval and, with a casual push, glide gracefully away.  No, my re-appearance on ice consists of a hesitant step, a lurching push, and a tense, stiff-arms-for-balance wobble down the ice.  Best not to let camp leader Derek Parra witness that!

The skating was fun, though, and actually felt pretty good (aside from a ridiculously high heartrate and out-of-breathness).  I got to skate four laps behind Eric Kraan, who, with his wife Kim, owns the SLC skateshop SkateNow.  I don't skate behind people very often (Coach TieGuy's workouts are usually different from what others on the ice are doing) so I tend to suck at it.  Yesterday was no different; the poor guy who was behind me had to deal with my continually coasting when I got too close to Eric, then speeding up to close the gap again.  Still, it was a blast; Eric is one of those incredibly smooth, fluid skaters who are a joy to watch.  I think I should spend more time skating behind people like him!

I managed to rein myself in before I did too many laps and risked coming to camp already sore.  There were plenty of masters friends to catch up with before the 7 o'clock pre-camp meeting, so it wasn't too hard to get myself off the ice.  The meeting was fun, and Kim and Eric surprised us by giving all the skaters goodie bags containing some of  the things we will need most this weekend: good skating socks, energy chews and Honey Stinger energy waffles, and an energy shot.  Pretty cool!  Derek talked for a bit, and as always, held everyone's attentions riveted.  I expect to learn a lot again!

Then it was back to the hotel, for a peanut butter sandwich, a protein bar, and an extended chat with the tech support guy for the hotel's wifi.  Apparently my Dell laptop likes to make connecting to wifi complicated, so the poor guy had to spend ten minutes walking me through the steps to connect.  He was very nice, but I think I first heard a hint of well-controlled exasperation creep into his voice when I answered his question "what's your operating system?" with "huh?"  Eventually (obviously), we got it handled and I was able to surf for an hour or so before going to bed.

Unfortunately, the sleeping thing didn't work so well.  For some reason I couldn't get to sleep, and finally got up at 12:30 and watched an hour of "Dodgeball."  Four hours of sleep before a nine-hour-day of workouts should be interesting!  Then it was waffle time at the hotel's continental breakfast--accompanied, unfortunately, by Fox News on the breakfast nook TV.  This is, after all, Utah.  I ate my waffle quickly and went back up to my room...blog update, packing, another PB sandwich made, and it's time to go!

B B B B

As in:
Bronko

Birdee

Belle

And (drumroll)...Boompa!

Yes, we spent last weekend at my parents'...and yes, they have another (their fourth!) dog.  His name is...well, I'm not sure how it's spelled, but it's pronounced "Boompa."  It's supposed to be Norwegian for "butt" (yes, my parents named their dog Butt.)  I'm guessing there's an umlaut or something involved...

Anyway, it was a fun weekend.  Boompa is tiny...

...as in "the size of my mom's shoe" tiny...

...but tough.

His bad-habit training is coming along nicely...

already begging at the table!

And, of course, Keira was relatively unimpressed (after her initial attempt to pounce on him like a squeaky toy)

"Really?  You're taking this thing for a walk?"

In fact, Keira spent much of her time attempting unsuccessfully to wedge herself into the coveted camo-pink bolster bed...

I enjoyed strolls with my parents and the pack...

...while the Hubster did some work...

Yes, she still thinks his tractor's sexy.

All in all, a fun (if dog-filled) weekend.

And now, I must go pack for camp!

This Should Be Interesting...

On Wednesday I leave for Salt Lake City, for a four-day Masters long track camp run by Olympic Gold Medal winner Derek Parra.  I went last year and had a blast.  However, it was a lot of work.  In fact, we campers just got an email from Derek giving us last-minute details--and reminding us that it will be a lot of work.  Derek does a good job of realizing that we are all, um, "mature" skaters, and thus are probably more interested in bringing home information about technique and instruction on how to do dryland exercises, rather than bringing home muscles screaming from having to do massive workouts of said dryland exercises.  Still, it's impossible to have two dryland and two-on ice workouts a day for four days and not do a lot of work.

And therein lies the problem, and the reason that this should be interesting.

I am not used to doing a lot of work.

As you will undoubtedly recall, workouts here at the Long Track Life have been a bit sketchy lately. I'm blaming bad thyroid and bad attitude.  Whatever the reason, though, my workout volume has been the lowest this summer/fall that it's been in 8 years.  (My rear end volume, conversely, is the highest it's been.  I think it's an inverse relationship.)  This, of course, does not bode well for 14 workouts in three-and-a-half days.

I did do a little dryland this past week; dryland is one of those exercises that, no matter how little you do when you first do it, will make you extremely sore for days after your first attempt at it (or your first attempt in more than a month). So I figured it would be best if that "first attempt" was not the first day of a four-day camp.  So last Sunday I did a quick 5-minute dryland workout with my friend Mel at the end of my (short and slow) skating workout.  And it went fine; no soreness the next day, no problem.  I figured I'd do one 10-minute workout in the middle of this past week, and then I'd be ready for camp.

My body apparently had other ideas, though.  In my Wednesday workout, by the time I straightened up from the second minute of exercises (squats) my quads were extremely unhappy with me--shaky, cramping up, and deciding to skip the "delayed" part of "delayed onset muscle soreness" and get right down to business.  And even though I cut the workout off at six minutes, my legs were sore--very sore--for the next three days.

So...my thyroid levels are still out of whack.  I can't do more than 2 minutes of dryland without regretting it extensively the next day.  I'm not sure which skinsuit I'll fit into.  My heart arrhythmia still likes to act up with exercise. And I haven't been on ice since last March.

Yup, I'm ready for camp!

Of Thyroids and Rookies and Brave/Crazy Friends

Skating Mid-Life Crisis (see my previous post) notwithstanding, it's been a pretty good weekend of skating here.  Note that I didn't say "a good weekend of workouts," because I don't think that it would be technically accurate to refer to what I did yesterday and today as "workouts."  There was skating, but it was laid-back, unstructured, and generally non-strenuous. Clearly NOT my usual "workout."

Yesterday turned out to be another bump (hill?) in the thyroid-med-adjustment road.  I had realized, during work on Friday, that I was once again feeling the "dang, I'm overmedicated" symptoms.  So I had cut back on the fast-acting med on Friday and again on Saturday, but clearly my body had not gotten the message by the time I skated Saturday afternoon. Alternating one lap "up" (standing up and basically coasting) with one lap "down" (down in correct skating position and attempting correct technique but not aiming for a specific time) produced a max heart rate of 190.  This is probably 30 beats per minute above what I'd expect, and that, coupled with my weak, shaky legs, confirmed that I was, indeed, overmedicated.  Hmm, let's see, that makes 6, yes, 6 times I've adjusted the fast-acting thyroid med since the slower-acting med was adjusted August 1.  I'm definitely feeling like Goldilocks again here, except that when I do land on a "just right" (as I did, fortunately, for the North Shore Inline Marathon last month), it doesn't stay "just right" for long.  Sigh.  Back to the drawing board.  Anyone know a good endocrinologist who understands athletes?

Today, I met my friend Mel at the oval for some dryland.  It's the last day the oval is open for the inline season; it will reopen for ice on November 9.  So even though I'm really not feeling the "workout" thing, I figured it would be fun to see Mel, do a few laps by myself, and then do some dryland with her. I'm going to the Master's Long Track Skating Camp in Salt Lake City in less than two weeks, so I really need to do a little dryland before then if I want to avoid the dreaded "first dryland in a long time" pain marring my four days of camp.

When Mel and I got there, she met up with a family that had contacted her about long track skating.  They live several hours from the metro area, but their daughter loves to skate and is interested in long track skating so they had arranged to meet Mel at the oval.  The daughter had brought her inlines, so Mel convinced her to go out on the track and try them. It's always fun talking to new skating enthusiasts; it makes me remember how excited I was when I first started, and even though I'm not the best at figuring out what advice to give new skaters, I always enjoy trying to help them out a bit and supporting their interest.  So I wasn't paying much attention to what else was going on as Mel and I talked to the new skater and I put my skates on.

Then, as I walked down the steps to the oval, someone on skates came flying down the ramp on my left.  Momentarily confused, I wondered "who is that other skater, and why didn't I see him/her before?"  My next thought was "hey, she's wearing the same jacket as Mel."  Then, of course, I realized: Mel was back on her skates for the first time since her crash!  I wasn't sure whether to cheer at her bravery or to question her sanity for taking chances, given that her jaw is still wired shut and all.

I went with the cheering.

So Mel and I skated, alternating a lap "down" here and there with talking to the new skater and giving her (hopefully helpful and not too much!) advice. It was fun, and despite the 35 degree temperature, a beautiful day.  My heart rate for the "down" laps had dropped to 177, so that was a positive sign.

All in all, a nice final day of the oval inline season.

Blah

That pretty much defines my skating lately.  Blah.

I'm not excited about workouts.  I skip workouts on flimsy excuses, and when I do get to the oval, I often quit before I'm even halfway through what I had planned to do.  My skater friends in Milwaukee are on ice, skating hard and doing time trials, and I have no desire to be there. I'm going to Salt Lake in two weeks for a masters training camp, and I'm hoping to get some technique advice out there while avoiding actually having to work hard.

I think I'm having a skating mid-life crisis, and it sucks.

I'm not sure I can blame it on the thyroid, although I have had to adjust my one med again (I'm now back up to my usual dose, after having had to cut it in half for a while).  So I really shouldn't be hypo, but I still feel...blah...when I skate.  I have no desire to plan my next month's workouts, and I'm actually kind of glad that the oval is closing for the inline season next week.

I'm really not sure what's going on.  Could be I'm a bit burned out; I've been skating hard 11 months of the year for 10 years.  Maybe I'm slightly overtrained, although my good ice season last year would seem to argue against that.  Stress?  It is, after all, the beginning of the school year.  Physical stuff, whether thyroid or something else?  My body is definitely not what it was 5 years ago!  Mental stuff, like the fallout from two-and-a-half years of frustrating skating while I tried to diagnose what turned out to be hypothyroidism, followed by three summers of dipping thyroid levels and resulting frustrating and lengthy med-tuning, not to mention a sporadic heart arrhythmia that likes to appear in races?  It certainly has been challenging trying to keep the appropriate mental attitude when I never know what to expect physically.  Or maybe I'm just getting old and lazy.  I turn 49 in a couple of weeks, and while that's not really "old," it certainly has implications for my physical and mental state (just ask the Hubster about moody perimenopausal women).  I don't know, but I do know that I'm just not interested in doing anything that's "hard" right now, whether it's working out, stretching, cleaning the house, or improving my diet (the fact that dinner the past three nights has been a very large bowl of Count Chocula cereal should tell you something).

So my plan?  Well, I've thought about it a lot.  If I'm simply lazy and out of shape and I take it easy for the next 5 weeks before the oval opens for the ice season--well, then I'll just start the ice season fat, happy, well-rested, and a bit more out of shape.  On the other hand, if I try to get myself in gear and do some hard dryland workouts in the next few weeks and  I'm actually overtrained or even just burned out--well, then I'll start the ice season in an even deeper hole, and probably cranky as Hell to boot.  And no one wants that.

So my plan, if you can call it that, is to take it easy between now and November 9, when the oval opens for the ice season.  Do fairly minimal workouts, relax, don't stress about it.  Try not to outgrow my skinsuit, but don't worry too much about my diet (although I may try to avoid replacing the now-empty box of Count Chocula). And hope that something--my Salt Lake trip, or some time off, or the opening night of the ice season--fires up my passion again.

Because I don't want to be "blah" about skating.  I want to be excited about it, fired up about it, obsessed by it.  You might say "try a different sport; that will rekindle your passion."  But I don't want a different sport.  Skating is my "thing;" it's what I love, and it's what I've worked damn hard to get better at.  And I just want it  to be as as exciting and obsessing and all-consuming as it used to be.

That's not too much to ask, is it?

Wow

I've decided not to go to Milwaukee.  Today's workout was another cruddy one, so it doesn't seem to make sense to drive 300 miles (each way) to have another cruddy workout, even if it would be on ice.

But that's not why I'm posting today, and that's not the "wow."

The "wow" is this:

This is my friend Mel.  Thirteen days ago, she had a horrific crash on the oval that resulted in multiple facial fractures necessitating surgery, as well as several knocked out or damaged teeth.  She was in the hospital for several days, and currently has her jaw wired shut.

And today,  she rode her bike seven miles to the oval to do a dryland workout (and gave me some coaching on my skating, as well).  Our friend Danny, who was at the oval when she crashed, told me as he was relating the story that "Mel is the toughest person I've ever met."

I've gotta agree!

Mel, it was great to see you out there.  You are truly a courageous person and a great role model, and I know you'll be out there this winter, skating hard, enjoying the ice--and hopefully having a PopTart or two!