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When I have timed myself previosly skating on the Van Fleet trail, I have averaged around a six minute mile. Sometimes just slightly faster, but not for any sustained distance. Usually by the end of ten miles I have slowed to more like a 7-8 minute mile.
This week I got new wheels (my old ones were completely worn), and also upgraded my bearings from ABEC 5's to ABEC 7's. Today I skated the Van Fleet trail for five sustained miles at 4:45 per mile, and could have continued that pace for several more miles. Now, a tiny bit of that is my increasing physical fitness, but a huge share of it was definitely new wheels and bearings. It's like I can feel my body mechanics drop into place, and just glide along.
As the weather starts to cool going into the fall I am going to need to start pushing myself for longer distances. I have six more months to train myself up to being able to complete a full marathon. The pacing requirement for the full marathon is to be able to maintain a pace faster than 7 minutes per mile. I have clearly proven to myself that I can do that right now for at least ten miles. Now I just have to extend my endurance to last for the longer run. I have ordered a camelbak hydration system, one that carries three liters of water. According to the tracking, the package arrived at the sorting station here in Orlando three days ago but for some reason it has not moved beyond that point. I am not sure what the holdup is, but I anticipate I should have it next week. It will add about five pounds to my back, but given that I have *removed* about thirty pounds from my frame in the past few months it should not be any problem at all. Historically I seem to consume about a liter of water every ten miles, so it should be enough to get me through a full marathon.
This week I got new wheels (my old ones were completely worn), and also upgraded my bearings from ABEC 5's to ABEC 7's. Today I skated the Van Fleet trail for five sustained miles at 4:45 per mile, and could have continued that pace for several more miles. Now, a tiny bit of that is my increasing physical fitness, but a huge share of it was definitely new wheels and bearings. It's like I can feel my body mechanics drop into place, and just glide along.
As the weather starts to cool going into the fall I am going to need to start pushing myself for longer distances. I have six more months to train myself up to being able to complete a full marathon. The pacing requirement for the full marathon is to be able to maintain a pace faster than 7 minutes per mile. I have clearly proven to myself that I can do that right now for at least ten miles. Now I just have to extend my endurance to last for the longer run. I have ordered a camelbak hydration system, one that carries three liters of water. According to the tracking, the package arrived at the sorting station here in Orlando three days ago but for some reason it has not moved beyond that point. I am not sure what the holdup is, but I anticipate I should have it next week. It will add about five pounds to my back, but given that I have *removed* about thirty pounds from my frame in the past few months it should not be any problem at all. Historically I seem to consume about a liter of water every ten miles, so it should be enough to get me through a full marathon.