Focus and Discipline

TRAIN SMARTER. NOT HARDER.
I keep saying this, but I'm not sure what this means. I think I should start asking some of my more advanced TISC teammates and skating friends what their training programs consist of.

The double dose of Kickboxing yesterday caught up with me today. Very Tired Legs at TISC practice tonight. I noted the "Fast Legs" on the faster skaters today in the sprints. Although on the flip side, I'm finding that I can be moving my legs fast, but it doesn't do much good if my form is bad. Peter talked about getting lower and bending more at the knees so that we can feel the pressure against the tongue of our boots. Getting lower has served me better in the past, but I'm very self conscious these days about leaning too far forward. I'm also starting to feel the difference between what Aaron was describing between the performance of a Rec Boot versus a Race Boot. I guess it's the difference between manual and automatic drive. The latter just gives you more control.

I like that we did slow skating focusing on technique. I was really tring to keep squared up and moving my leg over the foot on the crossovers as Morgan has so often suggested. I was also trying to think about the inside carve that Eddy Matzger was describing at his clinic in Ottawa. Although given my fatigue, I found it really hard today to hold my form and stay relaxed at the same time. I think the double-push is messing me up when I follow a DPer and try to mimic their strides, as was suggested by Barry Publow during the same weekend clinic. Hybridizing DP and Classic really doesn't work. I just have to focus getting my Classic much better than it is. Which means getting low, bending the legs and pushing out to the side in one full stroke and not ending my push too soon.

I've been lacking Focus and Discipline lately in most aspects of my life. I need to start setting some managable goals. Not just beating my Marathon PB. There needs to be small incremental goals that lead up to that. Like being able to hold a steady pace of 30km/hr for the full duration solo... perhaps one day being able to build that up to 35km/hr a little at a time. I'm not interested in track racing at all, but perhaps I can start looking at that as building blocks to the greater distance. Start bringing a watch (if not a garmin) to practice and giving myself time-trials in various distances like 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters etc. See what kind of improvements I make over time. Try out different things to see what works in making me go faster... getting lower or modifying my stride or focusing on technique in the corners.

I have to relax. My muscles and body will just rebel if I am constantly in panic mode just to keep up the pace. The best skating occurs when I am relaxed and it feels like there is very little effort to just staying in the pack.

I also have to think about how to bring back some of the fun into my Skating. Otherwise, why skate if I am not enjoying myself? Then it becomes a chore to drag myself to practice every week to skate round and round in circles. Philly was such a good time. I have to do some more relaxing pleasure skating in a social setting. I purposely did not get a metropass this month as I have in previous years... I used to skate everywhere all the time for transportation. That was a big part of my base endurance. I should attend more Friday night skates and even just go out with friends to do some "fun" skating that does not have anything to do with racing. It seems lately I've just lost the reason and motivations for skating, which I have to find some way of recapturing.

In terms of other Discipline... I should try and eat better when I'm in a social setting as well. I vowed to eat better after chowing down on Hamburgers, potatoe Salad, and Key Lime Pie in the afternoon for my friend Joel's support-circle BBQ, but here I am running off to my other friend Chris' Birthday Party after practice tonight and order up the roast duck for dinner (eating late at around 9:30 at night on top of that!).



WHAT I ATE TODAY
Flax Bagel with Salmon Cream Cheese. Gazpatcho black bean with hot sauce. Orange Juice. 2 Hambergers (one with double meat) on whole wheat with onion and process cheese. Sausage. Potatoe Salad. Ceasar Salad. Key Lime Pie. Apple Juice. Gatorade. Fruitopia. Limonata. Citris and Herb sparkling beverage. Roast Duck. Vegetables.