Today was the AWESOMEST!

Very few things are worth getting up at 5:00am for in my humble opinion, but Joel's 2nd Annual August long weekend Burlington Road Skate is one of them. Joel always picks out a fun route around his house in Burlington, and adds in a few hills for good measure. Jen made sure I was up and at 'em bright and early and I arrived at their place prior to the 6:30 departure time. Joel, Jay, Carla and myself did 54.22 km this morning and I enjoyed it a great deal. Christine and Bruce were also went out and did a skate, next time I should bring Jen along! Afterwards we all hung out in Joel and Christine's backyard, and tentatively planned a skate along the Wellend Canal next weekend. Very much looking forward to it.

I went back to hang out with Jen and play some Wii. I'm going to count the hour of Wii as a workout given how physical this video game system is. Jen also made me a nice tofurkey sandwich.

We then headed out to Missauga where I was planning on doing the 10km Criterium race, one of the first Toronto-area races since the Rolling Rampage and Toronto Inline Weekend ended. I had decided that I would try and do both the Fitness and Men's races since I figured they would need as many warm bodies in support of the race as possible. By noon, the heat was pretty unbearable. I registered in the the fitness race and put on my skinsuit and skates when I was told that I couldn't enter both. Since I was all geared up and ready to skate anyhow, I decided I would just skate in the fitness event rather than have Jen waiting in the heat for me for another 2 hours. Although here is where we once more get into the dilemma I face whenever I have to decide which category I belong in.

In my mind I'm no where near an "elite" skater... given how bad my technique is and the fact that most of my 15+ years inline skating were spent skating in the streets, the closest descriptive phrase I can come up with is that I'm a "hacker". Imagine my suprise when Mike C declared his dismay that "Elites" like Jacky and I were entering the fitness category against him. It was all I could do to stop myself from laughing out loud... but then I realized there was no possible way he could realize that I consider myself the guy who's in the bottom end of the racing group because I feel like I'm faking it most days. Sloughing it out around the track trying to hang on as long as I can before I am inevitably dropped by the "true" elites in our skating club. I barely have my head wrapped around the fact that I have a pair of custom Bonts on order and this is the second skating event I have ever worn a skinsuit (the first being the Montreal 24 Hour). I can understand where he's coming from though... in my first "failed" year at TISC four years ago, I just sat there in awe as EVERYONE in the club seemed to be lapping me in lightning speeds around the Hershey Centre parking lot. I would have considered everyone "Elite" back then as well just by the fact that they all had racing boots and skinsuits, not to mention that they moved past me like I was standing still. I don't think folks realize how lucky they are to have Eric G coaching the fitness group at TISC these days.

It's the same question I would have if I were doing The Northshore Marathon in Duluth this year. It's obvious from my performance last year that I have a shot at winning/placing over-all in the Open category, or do I try and hang on to the back of the slowest pack in the Elite category?

At the 24 Hour in Montreal, many of us were wondering if The Rabid Lap Dogs and all the others at the top of the Fitness category (Flying Fossils, Les Clowns and Cannes Rollers) should have been bumped up into the Elite Category since we were all doing faster than the 28km/hr average stated on the website. Given the huge gap in laps and times between us and the three registered Elite teams, and how closely all the other teams were just behind us, I think it was a safe call by the officials to keep everyone in their respective categories this year (although I'm sure the team averaging 27.989 km/h behind the team averaging 28.188 km/h might disagree!).

As far as I can see, the only measure you truly have between an "Elite" and Fitness categories is the gear. Although I've been hacking it out in my rec-skates against guys in speed skates long enough to know even that can be pretty arbitrary. However, at the end of the day, I think it's the only enforceable differentiation that can hold up to scrutiny. This is how many races separate out the rec/fitness from the elite/pro. I was just reading the New York 100Km Inline Marathon website and they define the category as follows... "Adult rec/fitness categories are for "regular" K2, Rollerblade, etc.-type skates (soft boot higher than the ankle, 3-4 wheels), hockey skates, or dance/quad skates. Racing skates are not permitted in rec/fitness category." Ironically, a rule like this would have forced Mike C and Jacky to skate Elite, leaving me as the sole Fitness skater!!!

The heat was so oppressive and I was pretty worn out from the 50+km I logged in the morning, in my mind Jacky, Mike and I were going to skate most of the race together in a pack nice and easy until the final lap sprint. Since the fitness category was racing alongside the youth race, Morgan joked that I was going to be racing against little kids.

There really was no place to warm-up properly, as I was kicked out of the adjacent parking lot before our race began. Luckily we were allowed to do one lap of the course before the race officially started. I was actually suprised how short the loop felt, although I knew I was just going to dread the short back stretch which was uphill and into the wind... neither of which are my strengths.

I didn't really expect any kind of insanely fast start, so I placed myself behind everyone else at the starting line. When the horn went off, Jacky took a stride in front of me and immediately stumbled! I just dreaded the thought of a fall or collision as I dodged my way around him as he recovered his balance. We rounded the corner and I took a quick peak behind me, finding myself among the kids with Jacky and Mike nowhere in my sightline. So much for my plans of a nice and easy fun skate. I immediately concocted Plan B... solo time trial with a goal of cracking 20 minutes. I kept telling myself that I needed this to help me train for the times when I will be solo skating in the hot weather, uphill and against the wind.

The rest of the race was a difficult blur... I was having a tough time by the third lap given the heat. I was very glad I did not let my TISC team-mates convince me to lose the water bottle tucked into the neck of my skinsuit. Even if I didn't need the water (by the fifth lap I think I really did need it), at the very least it sat nice and cool on my neck/shoulder as I skated into the oppresive sun and humidity. Earlier in the day I had been focusing on technique at a steady pace on my morning skate with Joel, Carla and Jay. Tucking in low, trying to point the feet forward, getting the full push in. All that went out the window. Eric commented afterwards that I was bobbing up and down like a marionette, and Jen said I was pretty much standing upright by the final two laps as I skated by. I tried my best to relax and catch my breath at the downhill stretch before fighting my way uphill again into the wind. Although I really not a fan of looped courses, passing the start line and my fellow TISC team-mates on the sidelines really made a difference and gave me a boost of energy everytime I heard them cheering me on. I counted down each lap in my head like a mantra, and even though it was only twenty minutes worth of work, it felt so much harder than the 50+km with hills that I did earlier that day. Solo skating is tough for me, especially when there are no real points of reference in sight... no one to chase in front of me and no one to outrace in sight behind me. Just my Garmin on my wrist counting down the time and giving me my speed as I chased the sub-20 minute goal. I crossed the finish line pretty much done. I had squeezed every last drop I felt I had left inside of me. As usual, I was so happy to be finished that I forgot to stop my timer and didn't even look at the clock to see what I had finished out at. I was pretty sure I had acheived the sub-20.

It turned out my final time was 19:13, which I was really happy with as a solo time-trial.

I was also right in the need for warm bodies to occupy the fitness category... it looked like Jacky and Mike C were the only other people registered as "Fitness". That meant that there were enough participants to fill the podium. Later that night, I found out that Kevin ended up skating alone at the tail of the Men's race, and Travis also mentioned to me that he had skated solo. With that in mind, I didn't have much regrets not skating in the Men's race, although I really wished I had stayed to watch them and cheer them on.

After my race however, I couldn't stand to be out in the gruelling inferno another second and opted to head to the closest air conditioned Multiplex Cinema with Jen to enjoy a large Icee while watching Bruce Willis driving cars recklessly and blowing things up.

I had a good time today. Nothing better than spending a holiday Monday on skates in the good company of your friends and best girl.

WHAT I ATE TODAY
Raisin Bagel with Strawberry Cream Cheese. Strawberry Yogurt. Nectarene. Banana. Peanut Butter Bagel (thanks Christine!). Banana, Oranges. Gatorade. Tofurkey Sandwich with balsamic mustard, lettuce and cucumber (thanks Jen!). Orange Juice. Grape Cranberry Juice. spinach and cucumber sushi. Sprouts kimchi. Carrot and turnip pickle. Seared Ahi Tuna Steak. white rice. Lemonade. Mixed Veggies. Tofu and tomatoe and greens. Asparagus in Peanut Sauce. Popcorn and Ketchup/Dill Pickle Sprinkles. Large Icee. Orange Juice. Pickles.