Charles Eric Gutke (eric@peach.america.net) wrote:
: Every word of advice will be greatly appreciated.
Hey, don't feel bad about crapping out at 65 miles! The first time I attempted this, I crapped out at 46 miles. As for training with the Atlanta skaters, get in touch with Henry Zuver, The Atlanta Peachtree Road Rollers, Skate Escape, or The Asphalt Flight School. They should be able to connect you with other skaters.
As for training for next year, start at least 4 months ahead. This year I started in late April with a schedule something like this:
Mon: short easy - 15 miles
Tue: regular - 30 miles
Wed: short easy - 15 miles
Thu: regular - 30 miles
Fri: social skate - 10 miles with friends, no speed
Sat: off
Sun: Alternate between: Hill skating and long skate
The hill skating started with 30 miles of hills, as steep but not as long as, the hills encountered on the race course. And progressed to a maximum of 45-50 miles.
The long skates were intended to build endurance and were done at an easy to maintain pace. Starting at 42 miles and increasing to a maximum of 91 miles (actually I had intended to do 98, but got rained out.)
As with any schedule that depends on good weather, you gotta be flexible. This was my intended schedule. However, with Florida's summer thunderstorms, I probably skipped about 25-30% of the schedule. Be consistent in your training, it will payoff next year.
Tim Mulligan
timmull@gate.net