For the first time in a long time I went for a skate down near the river last night. I had earlier packed my bag and set off for the school with stick in hand, only to find that there were still quite a few people around there following the school's sports day. So I decided to respect the fact that it is 'their' school and kept on skating.
I ended up on my 'short circuit' along the near side of the river. About half way along what is the smoothest bit of path I've come across within several kilometres I took about twenty minutes out to go up and down the path doing continuous transitions either way, testing how fast and how tight a turn I can do with my hard rear wheels, generally relaxing and having fun. While I did this there was the usual passing parade of bike riders/commuters, joggers, walkers and dog companions passing by. About a quarter of them acknowledged me, a quarter tried to ignore me (heaven help us if we interact with strangers) and the remaining half seemed blissfully unaware of me as they watched their phone and listened to their music. Quite silly, really, how ignorant some people are as it was a beautiful evening.
I got home and was buzzing from the exercise and the aesthetic of it all. Have to do it more often when I can, not just concentrate on technical things like shooting and stickhandling.
Inline 24
Fridge
Showing posts with label River Skate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label River Skate. Show all posts
Wednesday, 1 April 2015
Sunday, 23 November 2014
Midday Skate (and Knights shutout Flyers)
Today, I went for a short river skate at midday to stretch the legs after a rainy day off yesterday. I did it in the reverse of usual anti-clockwise direction for the express intent of giving me my hardcore hill climb at the end. I gave myself short five pace sprints along the smooth river path, transitions along the smoothest stretch of quiet side street that I covered, and powered up the hill in less strides than I have in quite a while. This was followed by a good stretch and a hearty lunch, as game preparation for Knights v Flyers later in the afternoon.
I'll post a 'game day' report later this week, once the videos have been uploaded (thanks Lizardking!) and I have seen the official match card. For the present, suffice to say that we shutout the Division leader Flyers 4-0. This was their second loss to us (both shutouts), their only losses this season. Tommy was on song in the goals, we were playing more like a team than previously, I was on the ice for three of our goals (albeit one when I had literally taken one step onto the ice during a line change when it went in).
I'll post a 'game day' report later this week, once the videos have been uploaded (thanks Lizardking!) and I have seen the official match card. For the present, suffice to say that we shutout the Division leader Flyers 4-0. This was their second loss to us (both shutouts), their only losses this season. Tommy was on song in the goals, we were playing more like a team than previously, I was on the ice for three of our goals (albeit one when I had literally taken one step onto the ice during a line change when it went in).
Monday, 17 November 2014
Hello, Neighborhood!
I went for a short inline skate this evening, just before sunset. This is the first real street skating I've done in over a month. It was great to do. I did it without taping up my knee, despite the slight swellling resulting from last night's battle at the Ice Arena (we lost 4-3 to the Sharks, Gameday report to follow...).
I went for a short river skate. It was no real surprise to find that my conditioning is way down on what it was a few months ago, although my confidence and crispness have both markedly improved. It was lovely to skate down streets surrounded by the purple blooming of the jacaranda trees and other assorted spring time scents, the birdsong, magical light of the sinking sun, regular river walkers and runners.
I'd worked up a sweat by the time I skated up the hill to home. No adverse consequences for the leg, felt my skating muscles finding themselves by the time I got up the drive. It's good to be back!
Knight's training tomorrow.
I went for a short river skate. It was no real surprise to find that my conditioning is way down on what it was a few months ago, although my confidence and crispness have both markedly improved. It was lovely to skate down streets surrounded by the purple blooming of the jacaranda trees and other assorted spring time scents, the birdsong, magical light of the sinking sun, regular river walkers and runners.
I'd worked up a sweat by the time I skated up the hill to home. No adverse consequences for the leg, felt my skating muscles finding themselves by the time I got up the drive. It's good to be back!
Knight's training tomorrow.
Friday, 29 August 2014
Sunday Skate - river sprints
I've let my posting slip over the past week. Sorry about that.
Last Sunday evening I was a little sore in the core after the Wheelers game the night before. It was a lazy day and would have been very easy to just avoid the opportunity to go skating at some point in the afternoon. Luckily, I resisted my inertia and got on my skates.
Was initially going to go down to the school and get a bit of stick n puck practice in, but upon reflection decided that skating is the core skill in hockey and that was what should therefore get first priority in my very limited skating time at present.
The next issue, go down the school or the river? I didn't make up my mind until I was at the bottom of my own street. Feeling 'casual', I decided to go down the river. Also, feeling 'guilty' about my constant negotiation with my 'lazy gene', I decided to build in something in the way of training for more than mere balance and cardio vascular exercise. On the way, I decided, I would throw in a series of high intensity sprints. This is, after all, the particular skating technique that I wanted to develop over winter.
I was gone for about 25 minutes, covered the 2-3 km 'short' circuit I have. In that time I had about ten 'sprint sessions', where I just went flat out in a straight line for a limited distance. The distance varied between 10 and 50 metres, and about half of the sprints were up some degree of incline. On at least three occasions I got to the point where I felt the thigh muscles 'burning'. After each sprint I cruised/glided with minimum energy expenditure for at least the time I'd been sprinting. By the final uphill sprints I was finding that my body was recovering quicker from the exertions than it had during the first few.
A good use of a half hour of time on a beautiful evening.
Last Sunday evening I was a little sore in the core after the Wheelers game the night before. It was a lazy day and would have been very easy to just avoid the opportunity to go skating at some point in the afternoon. Luckily, I resisted my inertia and got on my skates.
Was initially going to go down to the school and get a bit of stick n puck practice in, but upon reflection decided that skating is the core skill in hockey and that was what should therefore get first priority in my very limited skating time at present.
The next issue, go down the school or the river? I didn't make up my mind until I was at the bottom of my own street. Feeling 'casual', I decided to go down the river. Also, feeling 'guilty' about my constant negotiation with my 'lazy gene', I decided to build in something in the way of training for more than mere balance and cardio vascular exercise. On the way, I decided, I would throw in a series of high intensity sprints. This is, after all, the particular skating technique that I wanted to develop over winter.
I was gone for about 25 minutes, covered the 2-3 km 'short' circuit I have. In that time I had about ten 'sprint sessions', where I just went flat out in a straight line for a limited distance. The distance varied between 10 and 50 metres, and about half of the sprints were up some degree of incline. On at least three occasions I got to the point where I felt the thigh muscles 'burning'. After each sprint I cruised/glided with minimum energy expenditure for at least the time I'd been sprinting. By the final uphill sprints I was finding that my body was recovering quicker from the exertions than it had during the first few.
A good use of a half hour of time on a beautiful evening.
Sunday, 27 April 2014
Sunday Arvo Stickhandling
As I went to the Ice Arena yesterday I had this afternoon free. So, I went back down to the Klemzig Station O-Bahn carpark for a PT session. Around 20C, fine, light breeze. Port Power was playing in town at Adelaide Oval (national aussie rules footy team) so I thought there was a chance that there'd be more than a few cars in the carpark. I thought it was a safe bet that, even if there were, they wouldn't fill it to capacity and I'd be able to work something out. As it turned out, no more than six cars across a couple hectares of ashphalt so I was able to go to my corner and go for it.
Today, more concentrated drills than on Friday, all focused primarily on stick handling and carrying the puck. I shortened my 'track' to nine parking bays long, the width of each bay being about 2.5 metres. Each bay is about 5m deep. There are two rows of such bays, painted onto the ashphalt, with the centre line running down the spine being transected by a 25x10m at right angles and with their midpoints on the main line. The 25 perpendicular lines are each 10m long, 5m each side of the main line. For what that's worth.
I skated 4 sets of 9 each way, 2 x puck on the inside, 2 x puck on the outside, slaloming around the points of the transecting lines. At the 9th bay, I turned around and did it all the way back again. Thus, inside puck going left and right in alternating turns means alternating forehand and backhand. Then I did one high speed puckless circuit the whole length of 25 bays, leading with the stick into each corner in the slalom I did between every second set of bays. Then I returned to my short track and did a set of forehand carries through the slalom, followed by one of backhands. Concluded with two return sets of alternating forehand (inside) forehand (outside) backhand (outside) forehand (inside). Mixed it up with a few alternating heel to heel corners/puck protections just to lighten things up. On the way home I concentrated on obtaining power in my stride through lowering my posture (ie bending the knees further, trying to become the lowest thing on the road).
Total distance, between 5 and 6 km. Gone about an hour.
This might be my last free skate training for a couple weeks. Here's hoping that the 'off season' shooting and stickhandling sessions I've had have been sufficient to leave their imprint on my play this coming season. Though, then again, when drove past the carpark tonight I noticed how empty and how lit it up it is. This would probably be okay for a night time skate if I'm ever that keen/desperate.
Today, more concentrated drills than on Friday, all focused primarily on stick handling and carrying the puck. I shortened my 'track' to nine parking bays long, the width of each bay being about 2.5 metres. Each bay is about 5m deep. There are two rows of such bays, painted onto the ashphalt, with the centre line running down the spine being transected by a 25x10m at right angles and with their midpoints on the main line. The 25 perpendicular lines are each 10m long, 5m each side of the main line. For what that's worth.
I skated 4 sets of 9 each way, 2 x puck on the inside, 2 x puck on the outside, slaloming around the points of the transecting lines. At the 9th bay, I turned around and did it all the way back again. Thus, inside puck going left and right in alternating turns means alternating forehand and backhand. Then I did one high speed puckless circuit the whole length of 25 bays, leading with the stick into each corner in the slalom I did between every second set of bays. Then I returned to my short track and did a set of forehand carries through the slalom, followed by one of backhands. Concluded with two return sets of alternating forehand (inside) forehand (outside) backhand (outside) forehand (inside). Mixed it up with a few alternating heel to heel corners/puck protections just to lighten things up. On the way home I concentrated on obtaining power in my stride through lowering my posture (ie bending the knees further, trying to become the lowest thing on the road).
Total distance, between 5 and 6 km. Gone about an hour.
This might be my last free skate training for a couple weeks. Here's hoping that the 'off season' shooting and stickhandling sessions I've had have been sufficient to leave their imprint on my play this coming season. Though, then again, when drove past the carpark tonight I noticed how empty and how lit it up it is. This would probably be okay for a night time skate if I'm ever that keen/desperate.
Friday, 25 April 2014
Skate Scout
On Wednesday Night, driving to the Ice Arena, we passed by my usual shooting court down at the local primary school. My aim was to see it with no moon and under flood lights, decide if it is feasible to come here for some night shooting practice. The answer to the question is 'yes', there is sufficient light. But the answer is academic because the court is presently covered in piles of dirt and rubble from the neighboring construction of new class rooms (and I suspect the ashphalt will be all torn up also). So, time to find a new location for those times when I am able to get some stick'n'puck time in.
By this morning I had worked out three or four possibilities that I could think of within about a kilometre and without too big a hill to scale. So, I went for a skate to check them out. Two of them were no good (a particular stretch of river path (not wide enough) and a church carpark (locked, and crap tar anyway). But the third (nearby new carpark for the Klemzig O-bahn bus station) was practically empty of cars whenever checked outside of the work-a-day week and pretty smooth.
So, I returned in the afternoon with puck and stick and spent almost an hour with deke's and turns while carrying the puck up and back a line of 25 parking bays, four sets, forehand/backhand and inside/outside (ie deking FH to BH and vice versa for these last two). If I get a few sessions like this under my belt before the return to competition, I'll have worked on the third main area of my playing in dynamic settings and hopefully have pushed the profficiency as much as that many sessions' shooting time did for my shooting.
On the return journey, had a bit of a chat with a couple other skaters I met going the other way on the river path. He had spent enough time near St Louis to have an accent and was quite willing to talk hockey after breaking the ice by commenting on my Canucks sweater. She had a brand new pair of skates for the beginning of her quest to play roller hockey. And then it was get home.
Total of about 7km skating today, low 20s, light cloud.
By this morning I had worked out three or four possibilities that I could think of within about a kilometre and without too big a hill to scale. So, I went for a skate to check them out. Two of them were no good (a particular stretch of river path (not wide enough) and a church carpark (locked, and crap tar anyway). But the third (nearby new carpark for the Klemzig O-bahn bus station) was practically empty of cars whenever checked outside of the work-a-day week and pretty smooth.
So, I returned in the afternoon with puck and stick and spent almost an hour with deke's and turns while carrying the puck up and back a line of 25 parking bays, four sets, forehand/backhand and inside/outside (ie deking FH to BH and vice versa for these last two). If I get a few sessions like this under my belt before the return to competition, I'll have worked on the third main area of my playing in dynamic settings and hopefully have pushed the profficiency as much as that many sessions' shooting time did for my shooting.
On the return journey, had a bit of a chat with a couple other skaters I met going the other way on the river path. He had spent enough time near St Louis to have an accent and was quite willing to talk hockey after breaking the ice by commenting on my Canucks sweater. She had a brand new pair of skates for the beginning of her quest to play roller hockey. And then it was get home.
Total of about 7km skating today, low 20s, light cloud.
Tuesday, 18 March 2014
River Skate - Wince and Wear
Only a short post as I only went for a short skate today, and it's only a few minutes before the Winnipeg Jets game is shown on the tube.
Feeling a little better and less fatigued than yesterday, even though I got home from work a bit late, I put aside my excuses and put on my skates in the evening. Still with low energy levels, although much improved, and with rapidly shrinking daylight (sun approaching horizon as I left home) I went for the 'short' river skate. Despite my depleted energy levels and the fact that I pushed through without a break I didn't break a major sweat out and didn't tire any muscles out beyond the point of waking up. Although partly due to better climate conditions (20'C instead of 40'C, 40% humidity instead of 0%), considering the last 500 or so metres are up hill, not too bad. My condition has, I believe, improved since I first skated this route.
Getting home, the senses were heightened in the manner a good workout is wont to produce. And I could get the faint whiff of the hockey smell wafting through from the clothing on the drying rack. Pity really, as the items concerned weren't initially worn with this possibility in mind. They were the T shirt and sweatshirt I put on about 20 minutes after tryouts, when I'd cooled down a bit and wiped away the sweat. I obviously had still been leaking out that peculiar odour associated with sweat produced during hockey games for a significant time afterwards.
It's a subject that deserves more attention, but for the moment I now know I will have to wash two of my favourite items of civilian wear a few more times before I can wear them without wincing!
Feeling a little better and less fatigued than yesterday, even though I got home from work a bit late, I put aside my excuses and put on my skates in the evening. Still with low energy levels, although much improved, and with rapidly shrinking daylight (sun approaching horizon as I left home) I went for the 'short' river skate. Despite my depleted energy levels and the fact that I pushed through without a break I didn't break a major sweat out and didn't tire any muscles out beyond the point of waking up. Although partly due to better climate conditions (20'C instead of 40'C, 40% humidity instead of 0%), considering the last 500 or so metres are up hill, not too bad. My condition has, I believe, improved since I first skated this route.
Getting home, the senses were heightened in the manner a good workout is wont to produce. And I could get the faint whiff of the hockey smell wafting through from the clothing on the drying rack. Pity really, as the items concerned weren't initially worn with this possibility in mind. They were the T shirt and sweatshirt I put on about 20 minutes after tryouts, when I'd cooled down a bit and wiped away the sweat. I obviously had still been leaking out that peculiar odour associated with sweat produced during hockey games for a significant time afterwards.
It's a subject that deserves more attention, but for the moment I now know I will have to wash two of my favourite items of civilian wear a few more times before I can wear them without wincing!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)