Back To Endurance Inline Skating Workouts A Year After The Accident To The Day

 A Year Ago to the date of that picture, at that spot, I had fallen and broke my clavicle.

Today... I'm back, Baby!

Anniversaries are a strange thing.  As a society, we have a concept of time that weaves with the fabric of life.  You then step back, remember, and move on.  They are, however what you personally make of it.

I pointed at it, made rude noises, a few rude gestures, and went past it with a 20 mile per hour (33 kph) head wind at about 11 miles per hour (18kph).

I celebrated that exact moment by holding up a camera and taking pictures while in a "Hound and Hare" race with a person on "Roller Skis" and the rest of the people on the trails.

I'll admit it, I enjoy surprising people when I pass by them at speed.

You see that was the spot it happened.  That little collection of trees against the trails has a tree with a nasty seed pod that hits the ground, explodes, and sends shrapnel all over the place.  That happened that day, November 23, 2020, right as I went under the tree.  One of the pieces that was about as long and thick as my finger, and knocked me to the ground.   

I was going MUCH faster that day.  You see, I had finally worn out my old speed skates, my old fitness skates, and used up almost all of the old "backstock" of wheels from the time when I was skating three hyper-marathons per week on the trails in Philadelphia on the Schuylkill River Trail up until I moved to Florida in 2006.  I had run out of the "MilSpec" duct tape that I was using to keep the boot liners together and I was well overdue for a full replacement.

I found my new skates online, Rollerblade Twister Edge X, and waited about a month to get the things.  Supply lines were unstable then and unstable now.

I don't really recommend buying inline skates online without trying them out unless you are extremely careful, and getting them involved drawing a tracing of my foot on paper and measuring them in millimeters (280) and rounding up to the next size (290).

Oddly, they fit quite well although I will be heat molding the boot ... some day.  Hard Boots for Distance, Soft Boots won't hold up to the punishment, over the thousands of Miles.

Hey, I just want to skate.

Yesterday, November 23, 2021, I did.  Actually since I got those boots, I skated as soon as I was allowed by the Doctor, and have done only 560 miles (933 Km) since then this year.  Between Covid filling the emergency wards, High Summer in Florida cutting back distance, and rain, I have been holding the distance back to more moderate levels.

Those skates came with some amazing wheels and bearings that were much faster than the run of the mill skates.  That contributed to the fall, I had a tail wind that day and the rolling was easy.  Public trails in the US tend to be groomed but only to a point.  The trail I use is groomed first thing on a Monday, and I was out early on that Monday a year ago. 

Since I had not been sponsored since the very early 2000s before the sport collapsed, I wanted to be very careful with what I was getting.  That single white wheel is one I would love to get more of.  The Rollerblade Hydrogens that came with the boot are awesome.  Far better than the low end green ones I got online.  I usually laugh at anything that describes themselves as "Premium" because these days it means nothing, but trust me, those wheels are amazing.

Now with the Delta Plus surge taking over Europe and the Northern US, I'll be skating again but watching over my shoulder.

Skating is a "Non-Contact Sport".  Until you fall.  Anyone I have trained, I have said simply "You Will Fall, Prepare For It".  Some falls are simple, you get the boot on and don't have enough momentum to get going.  You lose balance and wobble onto the grass.  Any number of survivable incidents.  I have hugged a palm tree as well as fallen on wet grass into a somersault.  Then again, I've been doing this since 1993.

Other falls like mine are more dramatic, not career ending but to be avoided. The Physical Training and Recuperation phase is tedious.  We figure I was going over 15MPH when I crashed onto that right shoulder.

I apparently have not learned because I have a new frame for the new wheels that will increase speed but also increase the ability to smooth the bumps in the trails.  I'll be going from the old school 80MM wheels that came with the skate to 110MM wheels.  

What was that blur?  Bill running into a tree?  Let's hope not.

I know someone who heard how much fun that I had on my own workouts and bought some skates.  He fell immediately before leaving his driveway, broke his foot, and put the skates in the dumpster.  Too bad, I could have used the parts.

You are in competition with yourself with Distance skating.  Endurance.  I think nothing of getting into the gear and doing 2 hours or more and burning up all that urethane.  It's harder for me to get to the trails than it is to do the workout.  Workouts become "logistics" and not tedious.

Once there, it's time to fly. 

I don't jump, grind, or flip.  I go far, fast, and forward.  I've always measured workouts in terms of hours and distance.  22,777 miles to date, 36656.03 Km according to DuckDuckGo.  No goal other than Once Around The World Distance At The Equator.  

24,901 miles?  It's doable.

I've got time.  There's always time for an extra mile.  I accelerate like a truck and just keep rolling.