I've Made the Leap to 100mm Skates; Plus How to Make the Transition to Inline Speed Skating Boots

I agree with eebee -- practicing your one-legged gliding is probably the best drill anyone can do. Skating is all about balance, so the more you work on it the easier the other bits become... - SM -

Is this one of the drills that will be covered at your SkateStrong workshop skateymark, and if not, can it be? I love the teeth brushing idea. Thanks for that eebee. It's always nice to find little ways to improve your skills without taking even more time out of the day. And since your already standing there...

Yeah, JonathanS stayed with us because we knew all the turns in A2A by heart. Otherwise he'd've rolled on just fine without us! But we really enjoyed a very find day, eh? First off, try not to think those skates are going to create a new you, at least not immediately. You'll be taking a step back to eventually leap forward, but often we buy because we think something will instantly make us much faster. Sometimes, sure, but I think that's mostly when someone has had a speed boot that wasn't working for them and they get one that is more suited to their body and style of skating, rather than the first day out from rec boots to speed boots. It's a glorious day, though, that first day with those shiny new boots! I absolutely agree with the learning to be on one skate at a time advice, and the learning to glide longer on either leg (try to work on your weak side more). This is really good for your balance and for the stabilizing muscles. We always say it because it's always true that along with this is frame placement. Start with the front of the frame between the big toe and second toe, and in the middle at the back, most say. But the best thing to do next is to stand on your skates with them maybe a bit loose and see if you can stand there without caving in or out. Also grab a telephone pole or some such and try just on one leg. The idea is to find a position that feels stable without a lot of muscling or shifting around and without relying on the stiff sides of the boot to keep you from caving in or out. On one of my boots, I have to move it outward at the back a bit to find that spot. I'm made perfectly, so it must be the boot that's to blame! Ha! Perfectly ridiculous I admit. Yes to avoiding the toe-off as much as possible, realizing that when going uphill this will be a bit more difficult perhaps. Get up the hill however you need to, but push off flat with your frame as much as you can to get power from all wheels, and concentrating on heel push helps with this. Also your back two wheels are more directly in line with your leg so it's likely they deliver more power, in general. I also agree that leading with the hip or sliding the hip to balance is in general better than tipping outward with the shoulders. There are some skaters like Chad Hedrick who sort of weave with their shoulders in a figure-8-like motion, and this certainly works for them, especially in shorter distances. But I've gotten more stability and control on days when I could remember not to lead with my shoulder but with my hip. A good thing to try is to put your hand outside your hip on the opposite side you are pushing from, say 3" or so, and try to make your hip go out to your hand. Another good thing to try is to skate on a straight line, trying to land on the line as your body weaves along the line. This helps keep your center of mass going straight efficiently. I noticed in long track classic style there's more weaving, but I think that is because the glide is so much better and more important on ice. I notice Jack can do that glide thing because he's so balanced and steady (and light and solid), so he makes very good use of a different style of skating that uses his particular skills and body type and joy in skating. One thing I've noticed lately is that right after a layoff of some weeks, I thought my skating was way better. I was not trying to beat the clock or keep up with anyone or my previous lap times. I was just enjoying the movement of skating. Once I started to press or tire, I lost that lovin' feelin' for the day. As the season goes on, I think it's hard to stay in touch with the movement of it all without worrying about training goals or speed, but I think it would be a good idea to try to have some form days. I thought those might be rest days, but now I think it takes as much or more muscular effort to maintain good form in drills and this can't really be a rest day. It's hard to get a rest day on skates unless you're on a track I guess. Certainly not usually in hills or among traffic! OK. Hope this helps some. Oh yes. I think you can improve your workouts as you make your laps along where necessary by saying something beyond "on your left" or "down the middle" or whatever. I get tired of it and don't always do it, but I know how I feel when a cyclist surprises me or barks a command at me, and it's not as good as when they say they're coming by with some sort of hello attached. I have and will repeat this belief, along with the idea that your first lap could be a warm up (slower) and greeting lap so people know you'll be coming by and can get control of their dogs, kids, phone, ipod volume, anger, argument with cowalker, loneliness over no cowalker, heartbreak from former cowalker, jealousy of pretty skaters with sweaty muscles, ha! 1. Balance your frames. 2. Learn to glide on one leg. 3. Balace with and lead with your hip. 4. Push off flat, thinking heel push. 5. Skate your body down a line (set down on the line) Bonus... 6. Say "I'll be coming by on your left. How are you today?" or more like I say "I'll beown yurleft. How'r'y'all t'day?"