Skate of the Union - 2010

With a focus on triathlons, the tri sista hood has not put skates on in nearly a year.

3 weeks ago, Jilly and I decided to dust off, and lace up the Bont skate boots.... Yes, there was boot pain. Our feet were screaming. Yes, we moved slowly. Yes, old ladies walked faster than we skated. Yes, we wobbled and bobbled. Yet, after only a few miles of very little forward propulsion - Jill looked at me and said "I think you're ready for Skate of the Union". Jill can sell ice to Eskimos.

The Skate of the Union is an annual inline skate race - where East Coast and local amateur speed skaters...mix with the elite pro speed skaters. i.e. these folks move FAST. I had to agree with Jill. We're untrained and unprepared. Perfect condition to step into this world of fast skaters.

Only one problem. The "we" in the Tri-SisterHood became "me". My tri-sista hood refused to look silly on wheels with me. Isn't that what sista's are for? No problem. I had a plan. Don't fall....and get to the finish line before the boots dig holes into my feet.

I signed up for the half marathon - which meant 12 laps on a 1.1 mile track in Chantilly, VA. I started in the back of the pack and would spend the first lap making sure I didn't tumble. Within the first 1/4 mile - I discovered a new group of skate friends for the day. Meet Team New Jersey. Team New Jersey - is a group of 3 young skaters (teenagers?), and 2 skaters closer to mid-life -- draft buddies Rose and Barry. We skated lap after lap in a lovely draft pack. We changed leads every half mile, and everyone did their job pulling the pack along. What a delight - pack skating and a friendly vibe!

Somewhere around lap 6, we latched onto the tail end of a larger pack of skaters. At the end of this pack - was a tall man in a navy blue shirt. I HAD to draft him. He blocked ALL of the wind...and suddenly skating became effortless. All we (my new friends from New Jersey) needed to do -- was to stay right behind the tall man in blue....

On the sidelines, tri-sistas Tami and Jill are doing an incredible job as support crew. Tami took most of the pictures on her camera. I think they came out nice. Tami never downloads her digital pictures to the computer, she likes to keep them in her camera at all times. So you'll just have to "visualize". Jill was busy watching the skaters. A speed skater in a well organized pace line is a beautiful thing to watch. Who can blame her?

By now, I can't wait to be finished - so the TriSistas can take off on our next athletic activity. But, first things first. I need to finish. It is now the last lap - and the large group of pack skaters we latched onto at Lap 6 -- crossed their finish line. They were one lap ahead of us - Team New Jersey. I took the lead at this point - and never let go. I needed to finish...as fast as possible. Boot pain was taking over, and it was time to end this skating experiment. Rose and I coasted over the finish line - and I wasted no time removing my pink skate boots.

Reunited with Team TriSistaHood - Tami, Jill and I took off for a 40 minute run in the burbs of Chantilly. Being a Sunday morning - the roads are empty. Jill wanted to swim in a man-made pond filled with large lily pads in the middle of corporate America, but Tami and I restrained her.
We couldn't lose any more time. Our thoughts had turned to food. It's time for treats.

View more pictures!

Train wreck!

Now, I realize that it's been awhile since we've skated "FAST" - but could we really be skating THIS slow?

As Jill and I descended toward the lite rail train tracks...the train lights began flashing, and the barricades descended - stopping all traffic. No problem. We waited for the train to pass. No sooner had the train passed, and the barricades lifted....we though we were making forward propulsion.

Nope. The lights began flashing again, and the barricade walls were tumblin down. Rut row. Now we are on the WRONG side of the barricades -- you know the side where the trains move thru. But we are stuck...and cannot get back to the other side. Jill and I cling to each other and the train barricade- hoping the next train will miss us. We really must work on our skate speed.

Q-Tip Sk8 Maintenance

In the process of performing rudimentary skate maintenance, one very small - but necessary - skate bolt managed to disappear.

This gave Tami and I the opportunity to:

• broach the subject of replacing Tami's 10 year old skates with ones that have standard parts
• discuss expanding Tami's repair toolkit beyond 2 q-tips
• consider skating on 3 wheels instead of 4 if the missing bolt cannot be located
• talk philosophically about the concept of "letting go"

Fortunately, the missing bolt was discovered INSIDE of Tam's car....and we proceeded to enjoy a delightful skate, great vibe and apres-sk8 foods at the BWI loop - as only longtime dear friends can do.

TECHNO skaters at the airport!

Workin' on skate skills at the mega size parking lot next to the runway is one of my favorite things to do. Part of the fun is watching the airplanes take off at BWI Airport - less than 1/4 mile away. Ok ok...this is a restricted area - but the parking lot is just too good to pass up - and the security folks have yet to kick us out. Tami & I techno grooved the time away practicing our:

• one skate balance
• parallel S curves
• scully
• heel carve
  

And some scary YouTube video to remind us why working on technique is so much fun!
S-curve (Tami Jane)
Heel carve (Tami Jane)

It's a SWEET day...

...when you can spend it on skates with your longtime dear childhood friend from Binghamton NY. Despite the reality of middle age, we somehow manage to feel 6 years old again, carefree, excited about everything, athletic, and ready for our next adventure. Which, by the way is on September 13 at the skate race trak!

It's all about the Muffins....

Promises were made. Expectations were high. If I could convince Paddy to ride my bicycle with the friends-n-family group at 8AM on Memorial Day-- surely there would need to be a TREAT waiting. I had a plan.

Chuck, Paddy and Eileen would bike along the B&A trial, and Jill and I would travel via inline skates. Once we reached mile marker 5....bliss would occur for the bikers. Bliss would be in the form of coffee and muffins at one of the two popular coffee shops along the trail. Jill and I would continue on, maximizing the endorphin input, while the rest of the gang enjoyed treats.

Aaaah, best laid plans. We arrived at mile marker 5 -- to CLOSED signs on the storefronts. Apparently the fact that it was a HOLIDAY, resulted in coffee shops closing. Whudup? There were some very sad faces on the bikers. We quickly came up with Plan-B. We'll make a 7.5 mile beeline back to the cars - with the promise of apres-workout Starbucks to follow.

Paddy was well in the lead, and he was not looking back. He had muffins and coffee on his mind. Eileen was hot in pursuit. We had lost sight of Chuck. Jill and I made a quick stop for a skate adjustment, which put us well in the back of the pack. We resumed our skate, and I got into a drafting position directly behind Jill. As we skated toward Marley Station (mile marker 10) - Jill (who was skating in front) noticed a huge black snake lounging across the trail path. Technically, this is a freak out moment. But cool-as-a-cucumber-Jill, with those triathlon tricep and bicep muscles, flicked me with her left arm across the trail, onto the grass, and toward a tree -- missing the black snake. What a sis!

By now, Chuck had ridden his bike back to us - trying to figure out why the skaters were lagging behind. With the adrenaline boost from our black snake encounter, we got back up to speed, and skated with Chuck back to the cars - where Eileen and Paddy were waiting. Within 10 minutes, we were chillin' with smiles, coffee and breakfast treats. Whew!

Hula - Virginia Style

Hula in Virginia makes it 16 states and counting. And yes, I AM counting! My long-time tennis doubles partner from Salina Kansas - Farm Girl, was game to share some hula and skip-it style points as a warm up in the parking lot. The WO&D train car in Vienna, VA was the perfect hula backdrop. We were determined to make it a TRIATHLON 'dorphin day before the rains....with a warm up using TOYS from the 50's....followed by a skate on the WO&D trail....and topped off with some tennis action. Dorphin-mania is alive and well!!

Skating meets Hula!

It's hard to imagine having more fun than combining our favorite 'dorphin activities - hula and skating.

After a long cold winter, temps had finally reached into the 70's. Only a few remnants of last week's snowfall remained.

We practiced our hula dance in the parking lot, to the delight of children under the age of 2, and envy of the bike-jerseyed adults with their $5000 bicycles - who longed for a simple, ultra fun, hula. With the hula celebrating it's 50th anniversary last year -- we're determined to start a movement. I'll just leave it at that ;-)

The skating proved to be delicious:
-hugged what was left of Frosty the Snowman
-we stayed upright (i.e. Jill left her bad juju clothing at home)
-vehicle traffic was friendly
-received 2 thumbs up from an 85 year old man

Not so fast Missy!