#pace line

Run: 2 miles, 18:45 time.

We had a great brick last night at the Rose Bowl. Allen and Peter are leading the bricks this season. They invited Rich Strauss to provide the keynote for the night. Rich, besides founding PTC, founded Endurance Nation. His tips for the night. Paceline: Keep it steady. No distractions. No surges. You don’t have to pull if you don’t want to. Rotate outside. Wiggle with elbow indication for rotation. No aerobars while in the pelaton. Aero okay when by yourself.

We had a few new people join us too. Hello Michael, Gustavo, and friend. We started from the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center and rode up to the loop. We stayed together for the social first 2 laps clockwise. First lap: Double pace line 16-17mph uphill on west side, 22-23mph downhill on the east side. Second lap: Stay together and increase by 1-2 mph on each side. After that continue with loops. We broke into smaller groups based on pace. Fast guys took off the front and such. Rode for about 1 hr. Then run around the Bowl. I did a 2 mile out and back, it was getting dark and cold.

Next week the bricks move to 6pm! Baseline Time Trial.

Rich, Peter, Allen

Hi Michael!

Rich in peloton mode

Gustavo and friend

Rose Bowl Loop

Rich and Dino leading the double pace line

Peter, Joe

Dino, Alvin

Double pace line

Pizza!

Sue, Lynda

Michel, Michael

Rich and beer cooler

Amy, Michel

Alvin, Todd

Lynda, Hold my beer!

There are so many things going on this time of year and I don’t know about you but my head feels like it is spinning. We have been out of town a lot, we have been on the go while home, it is all fun but it is a lot. Not telling you anything you are not already doing yourself.  

It has been a ton of fun sending out some of the cool stuff that comes to my attention over the course of the week, here is my first go at making it official with a name. This week I am trying out Pace Line, no idea if there will be a second so called Pace Line but let’s just give this a go. Just in case, of who knows what, I googled Pace Line and nothing looked dirty of wrong about it so that is a plus. It is a biking term pertaining to riding in a group but we are all friends here, bikers, runners, yes?  I have to admit I kind of like the name…whatch think? 

How pretty is that pace line? 

On to business. 

The Rioters have seen our practices starting to morph from the basics that we were covering the first 4 weeks of practice. Each Saturday morning now brings with it a more dynamic pace which is exciting and fun!

Not to say that the 4 weeks of plow stops, knee falls, Mohawk turns, and crossover work wasn't fun and exciting - because it was. To learn something new on skills you have been doing for 2 years really breaths new life into your skill set. To realize that how you were skating before can be improved upon is refreshing! But, there is one thing we had not been doing that I didn't realized I had missed until our recent practices started to change; FAST PACE LINES!

I love me a good and fast pace line!

I miss zoning in on a spot on the back of the skater in front of me, focusing on that one area, getting into my zen space, and letting the stride carry me through 20 or more minutes of swiftness.

I love watching skaters drop out while I keep going, proving to myself that I can overcome, telling the tightness in my chest to shut up and suck it up.

Being tucked up right behind the skater in front of me, tightly matching her turns, getting a good stride, pushing with power and getting low while cutting the corners... yeah, I totally miss that.

We used to skate long endurance pace lines in Derby Lite, but that is not something that we have done recently. We have tended to keep a moderate pace to keep everyone going, a nice happy medium so to speak. While it is good to keep everyone moving, I don't think this is challenging to any skater. It doesn't push anyone to skate beyond their comfort zone, and it doesn't let those who want, and who can, skate faster do so.

So the last few Rioters practices have seen us moving into more pace line work, weaving, and whipping - AND at a good fast pace! It brings a certain sense of thrill back to the track for me, and I generally sense of "WEEEEEEEEEEE!" as I am swerving the line or being pulled through. There is nothing like it. For me, it borders on terror mixed with sheer joy.

The first practice that saw this change in our training introduced us to pure pace line work with some weaving mixed in. There was emphasis on the step through and moving your feet - instead of just coasting through the pack. By constantly keeping your feet in motion you will maintain (or increase) your momentum, as well as enabling your feet to quickly and deftly get out of the way (aka, AGILITY!).

A few weeks ago I also took part in the all league agility practice which really put the speed and agility back into my skates. It was a unique practice as it was composed of a mixed group of Rioters and seasoned WCR skaters. I always find it a mix of trepidation and inspiration skating with the ladies I have ogled and cheered on from the stands for the last few years - for me, it really does help me improve and push myself when I get these opportunities to share the track with them (so thank you, ladies, for letting us invade your practices once and a while!).

The practice began with a lot of off-skates foot work which exhausted my legs almost immediately, followed by "Steal the Bacon" (where 2 people race to the middle to try to steal a cone), a drill which was fun and turned into an almost deadly attack on the poor cone as ladies raced and tackled and screamed their war cry - all to obtain the bright orange prize.

Next came the on-skates portion which had us once again doing fast pace line weaving both forward and backwards, as well as a 2-line  pace line drill which had you weaving through your line, racing to the other pace line, weaving forward and then backwards, then coming to a quick STOP! until your original line caught up with you and you matched it pace and got back in line. There was also plenty of partner speed and agility drills, racing around the track and slaloming to and fro at frenetic speeds, making me feel like Indiana Jones trying to outrun that giant ball (yes, I had the theme song running through my head during this drill).

Welcoming back the speed has also introduced us to new skills. We have been shown a new type of assisted whip: the inside track whip assist, where the whipper reaches under their left arm with their right hand and pulls the whippee through on the inside of the track. The whippee also needs to step through with their right leg, helping them to clear their partners skates more agilely. 

Yesterday we added directional assisting, where the whipper pulls the whippee through close and in front, leading them more to the side of the track. The closeness to your partner was different, and getting that hop over their skates proved very essential.