Windy city II

Just as windy today, but is actually very good training. Having tail wind helps with balance and rolling long on one skate, while the head wind is like hill training. I must look strange to use hill technique on a basically flat surface, but with 25 mph in my face, it's the only way to move forward. Oh, Northshore marathon is less than 2 weeks away......

Windy city I

Wow, the winds ! The surface I selected today it's way more easier to skate on. It just so happens that the winds are crazy.
In flat West side Houston, I found a little hill to practice in, not to long, so I guess I will soon grow out of it.

First time on roller skis for real....

OK, this is a little more complicated than I expected. I think it is because of the cracks in the pavement, because I am all over the place with the technique (or lack there of). I need to find a other place with more smooth surface.

New skis

So I got myself some new skis. These are meeting the requirements of the Northshore roller ski marathon (the Skikes didn't). I took them out for a spin or roll i guess. I need to adjust my technique from skikes as the roller skis are less stable sideways. I didn;t have too much problem, but I am happy the Northshore marathon is a couple of weeks away.......

I am actually ski skating

Been a while since I wrote, but I have a good excuse: I've been too busy ski skating to spend time in front of a computer......

So far I have done 115 miles on the Skikes and imprived my speed with 52% since the first attempt. Longest single workout so far 14 miles.

In September I plan to do a 26.1 miles real rollerski race. Skikes are not allowed so now I need to buy rollerskis and ski skating boots.

I am Skating/Skiking

I have been out 4 times already over the last week and I do not regret a second. It's damn hard though, cannot do more than 45 minutes before I am toast.

Skikes !

I finally got the Skikes today. Of course I had to take them for a ... spin.... eh.. roll ?
This Skiking thing is hard, I got my full workout by doing just 4 miles especially the shoulders and arms. It going to be a while until I can rack up the miles, but then again it's 8 months to the American Birkebeiner.....

Still Inlining

My roller skis have still not arrived, so I am plugging on with the inlines. As we just got a dog some of the cool morning and evenings are used for dog walking instead.... (cool = less than 40 deg. celsius).

Still at it...

As my roller skis have not arrived yet I am focusing on using my inline skates. Work schedule interrupts my training to some degree, but I am still able to put in some hours every week.
Can't wait for the real thing though ....

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Getting slower ?

So I went for a little longer skate than earlier. It was hot and I had head wind which really sucks the energy out of you. I was still able to put in 14 miles without feeling like dying before I finished. On thing is strange though, I seem to be getting slower.

Another evening skate

Still have weeks to kill before my roller ski arrives so I am putting in some inline skating instead. Took it pretty easy and focused on being in top of the skate as this is a key point in skiing as well.

Short video

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Health Check

Time for annual health check. I am fit as a fiddle and will be surprised if anything is wrong. But then again, there is no revenue generated from healthy people.

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Much better

I planned to go half the distance compared to Sunday which was a very good decision. Firstly because it resulted in no pain, secondly I was able to keep a fairly high activity level i.e. heart rate for the complete duration.

I modified my plan slightly, by going in one direction for 20 minutes and then turn around with the net result of 9 miles. Not too bad for an afternoon session.

The home stretch head wind resulted in spending 2 minutes more on the same distance which I am also very pleased with.

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Another skate planned

I will try skating again this afternoon even if last time went just so-so. I will not go as far as Sunday and just stride along in a comfortable speed.

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A little modification of strategy

Since my roller skis will take a few weeks, I thought it would be a good idea to do some inline skating.
I dusted off my trusted inline skates and set out for a Sunday afternoon roll.

The few first miles went OK, then blisters started forming. After reaching the halfway point, my feet cramped. Very frustrating as my legs were doing fine. Lucky for me the home run was with tail wind, so I managed to drag myself back to the car. It took 2 hours with various stretching and funny walking to get the cramps out of my feet.

So in summary i did 14 miles of inline skating. In between I did some ski skating arm swing and various balance exercises. Well, before the blisters and cramps set in, that is.

Stage 1 - Check

So after a few small hick-ups I managed to put in an order for the roller ski. First problem was the eh... weight limit on roller skis ?

Yes, it's true apparently there is a weight limit on those roller thingies. Here how it went:

1st attempt:
Me: "Hey, I am Bjorn. What models do you have available for a 230 lb/105 kg skier ?"
Ski selling man: "We don't, they all have a limit of 200 lbs"
Me: "Oh, really what options do I have?"
Ski selling man: "Well, you can forego the warranty or loose some weight, fatty" (he didn't really say that, but I read his mind).

2nd attempt:
Me: "Hey, I am Bjorn. What models do you have available for a 230 lb/105 kg skier ?"
Another ski selling man: "Hmmmmm....."
Me: "(inside voice) Hey man do you really have to think that long !"

Long story short I ended up with real roller skis (made for skating), a pair of boots (made for summer) and some poles. So now I am all set, apart from that I have to wait until the boots arrive (mid May). I have normal feet which means my size sells like hot cakes (or iPads) hence there is no stock, just pre-ordering available,

What ! Skiing in Houston ?

This is probably one of my most crazy ideas I have come up with for a while, here we go:

I thought participating in the American Birkebeiner ("The Birkie") sounds like fun. There is only one problem... how do I prepare when living in Houston, TX. There lies the crazy part of the idea, preparing in sunny, snowless Houston for an activity up in snow, cold but beautiful northwoods of Wisconsin.

Now, I am not in bad shape as I do equally crazy/fun stuff like biking fro Cleveland to Cincinnati Ohio (324 miles) during the summer part of the year. The situation is somewhat different though, one can bike in Texas.

Anyways here is the plan:

1. Get some roller skis
2. Train like hell
3. Get real skis and other winter stuff
4. Sneak a vinter vacation in a snowy place
5. Go Birkie !

Easy !