100k; Skate It All Or Bust

We can set goals for ourselves and achieve much; intended or not. The Seattle 100k put many unexpected things in motion for me. Between the hot fudge browning sundae I consumed moments after deciding to do this, and actually finishing, much took place between. Even though I am a lifetime skater, this is the first year of attempting full marathons. Aside from years at the rink, teaching a few others to skate, public dance performances, and roller hockey tournaments, this seemed like a good year to pull off a new personal feat. Speed and distance skating. Not sure what I was thinking when attempting to skate 62 miles on a perfectly good Sunday, but I intend to do it again next year and fine-tune the weak spots. Long distances give you plenty of opportunity to examine this.

A long awaited clinic with Eddy Matgzer last summer not only improved my skating skills, but renewed my interest and joy in distance and speed. It was nice to know you can get started in 4-wheel skates to hone your technique and move into 5-wheels when you are ready (and can afford it). Eddy's infectious smile, unwavering patience and a natural teaching ability to clearly communicate his experience to you brings back that childlike joy of skating. The part where it is so fun it feels like flying. No matter what type of skating I have done, when you get your groove on and everything works as it should (if only just for a few moments), I can only describe that freedom as flying.

The Seattle 100K, in its third year, is an invitation only event. There is no intention to exclude anyone based on snobbery or competitiveness. In fact it is not a competition. It is a recreational roll that spans 62 miles with very few stops. The purpose of invitation is to make sure that skaters have the ability and pace to finish with a group. Note of importance -- make sure to have a Seattle skater along at all times who knows the area! Even with maps and directions. Taking a wrong turn and getting lost is bad enough in a group (which only happened to us once), but doing that alone would a disaster in this distance. A friend who did it last year invited me, and I was flattered by the fact he thought I could. I blew it off for a while (thank goodness I continued skating distance in the meantime) but kept wondering if maybe I could. Other friends who also did it before not only thought I could, but offered to help me train the three weeks I had left before the event.

If anyone knows Trish Alexander (extraordinary instructor, accomplished figure skater, A2A survivor, marathon skater, MS Skate organizer, and queen of a wicked joke) she wouldn't let me get out of something I solidly agreed to. Another friend, who is also a 100k veteran, hesitated as he likes to choose different events each year. We made a pact to train for the next three weeks, do this skate and not bail on each other at the last minute. Keep in mind that three weeks was not when I started training. It's when the focus became on what was ahead, and how to plan each day for the types of skating and workouts to be the most effective. It's the period to figure out which are the best carb products, what else to tweak ahead of time and which wheels to use. On wheels, thank you SO much Sherrell Steinhauer, speed/distance guru and king of skate technology, and Dane the Seattle Rollerblade rep that fed-exed wheels in time to get some miles on them. Trying anything new on "race day" is almost never a good idea.

We drove to Seattle under a full moon Friday night, with three adults, three dogs and a bird. The entire day was in conjunction with the moon. It started long before leaving Portland. The two young unshowered men the freeway entrance, juggling and holding a sign that read "2 ugly mofos just juggling for fun" should have been an indication of things to come. We had run out of gas south of Tacoma, skating in full night gear on I-5 to rescue the truck (giving the state troopers something to talk about), and then Trish got pulled over for speeding another 10 miles down the road. We realized the rest of the weekend HAD to be better. And it was. You'll only get that full story if you skate with us. Some days are meant to be fully messed up -- and this occasion was best spent with good friends. Now it's funny.

Sunday we couldn't have ordered more perfect weather. The bus came on time and we only needed our warm ups to keep the morning chill off until the first van stop. The skate started out with two packs, faster and rec. I really thought I was game for this the first few miles, until the heart rate monitor was coinciding with how hard I thought my heart was pumping. Even though it was a little tough to keep up with the rabbits (who have been doing more racing and training this season), my partner made me stay with the pack until the first stop. It wasn't officially a race, but everyone was expected to keep a certain pace. There was no doubt in my mind that I would finish, but I began to wonder if that would involve a map and a cell phone .

The easiest way to get dusted from a pack is not to keep up with the ebb and flow of sprinting and relaxing. When you lose the group in a 26-mile marathon, you just pick up another one. There wasn't that luxury for this. Eventually there became 5 of us: Bruce (vote!), Chuck, Tim, Ignacio and myself. It was good skating with the lead as long as possible (next year I'm staying), but our new pack still kept a respectable pace and was very supportive and fun. Long past early morning golfers and the smell of bacon, we enjoyed having the trails and roads pretty much to ourselves. By the time we hit downtown we began to resemble the salmon that are furiously swimming upstream at this time. We got to touch a little moment of many Seattle events and gatherings. First the lineup of anxious auto racers with their own sea of pavement in the industrial area. Then against a sea of meandering Seahawks fans. Yes—the smell of corn dogs. Short intersections, line-ups for the ferries and crossing tourists. There was a little room to breathe past the last pier and enjoy the expansive view of the waterfront. And every possible boat taking advantage of this late hot weather. The next sea of humanity was another upstream flow from a well-organized AIDS walk. The volunteers were kind enough to hand us water, and one of the nuns-in-drag tried to give "communion wafers" or mints. Had to be there. It's always difficult to call out on busy trails for skaters coming through without sounding rude. Rather than spending the day yelling "passing" or our regular choices, Ignacio likes to call out "DAY-O". It has a nice ring and accomplishes the same thing—look up! I spent the afternoon wanting to sing Harry Belafonte songs.

Everyone was in sync until we rounded the corner of the Adobe campus and ran into an Octoberfest celebration. They so rudely put up fences across the trail so you had to walk around and smell the sausage and beer even longer. A hard thing to do after you've been living on GU, energy bars and sports drinks. Another motivation to get to that beer finish. We were greeted at the Gas Works Park stop with the lead pack and Trish in the amazing support vehicle. I was so happy to see the dogs (support crew) and all those Odwalla products. Beats the heck out of Twinkies, Tom! It's always nice to enjoy bananas with friends, sit a moment and realize the Burke Gilman trail ahead is the last stretch home. By the time we passed the last festival I felt like I had dropped in on everyone's picnic of sorts. Like Trish says, "I like to watch".

The last stretch, though familiar, is a little deceptive. I still felt good considering the distance we already covered, yet started to recognize my muscles getting tired. Even though the pavement is good, there are enough roots and road crossings to keep you alert along this trail. The benefit of being in stroke with each other is reducing the risk of crashing the group. Leading the pack, Chuck caught a hole with his left skate in the air and ours hooked onto it. We were all glad to have good enough balance to stay on the same support leg long enough to unhook and avoid serious road rash.

The only time we passed Sherrell was when he was graciously waiting out Eric Partch's cramped legs with about 8 miles left. There weren't any serious injuries, but it's great to be able to count on your fellow skaters. After one more brief break Sherrell and Eric rejoined us, and it was a pleasure to run with the rabbits a little while longer. Nobody makes 60 look better than Sherrell.

As our group dwindled down to Tim and myself, we pulled each other to the end. Tim could have sworn he was skating on bloody stumps, but his feet looked fine once the skates were off at the finish. I was thoroughly impressed that a third year skater would take on such a feat. Luc, our own Portland/Montreal rabbit, is on his third year. Tim said if he hadn't attended a speed clinic this year put on by Olympic skater KC Bouttiet and improved his skills 400%, he wouldn't have even attempted the 26-mile marathons, let alone this. It didn't hurt that he was a ski instructor, but I'm always impressed by the tenacity of those who love skating.

It was a nice surprise to see Sue buns-o-steel Bream and crew cheering us on at one of the last bridges. That brewery had to be close! Tim hung in a little longer and pushed to the finish. A personal victory for both of us. It was so wonderful to see all those familiar faces at the end. The common denominator was that of exhaustion, accomplishment and camaraderie. Friends and veterans of another event.

What I did right for this event in my three weeks left was trained with friends on two long skates (over 30 miles), and alternated other trail skating or walking each day. I wore my skates at the office the last week on non-skating days to both break them in and adjust to having them on all day. Started carbo-loading a few days prior, including dinner the night before at the Tratoria Mitchellis in downtown Seattle (a must!). Bought plenty of GU packs at Gregg's the day before. Ate a huge buckwheat pancake for breakfast, even though I wasn't hungry and had a good carb drink in a big CamelBak hydration pack. I also took advantage of having an Odwalla bar and banana at each stop.

What I'll do better next year is train longer distances with fewer breaks and more speed. I'll skate more hills so they require less effort. I'll take another Eddy clinic, this time with 5-wheel skates. I'll get more sleep the night before, maybe without two on a bed and three dogs. I will also drink more carbs in the morning right after waking up.

You can talk about doing it, or put this on a checklist of yet one more mission accomplished. I gained so much more in just deciding to go the distance. I didn't do this alone, but with the support of good people. I'm thankful for the opportunities to skate and train with so many friends and having them care enough to give helpful advice. If not for this event, I would have chosen Home Depot working on home improvement, instead of self-improvement. All the friends at work who kept me from eating goodies (or less of them), walked at lunch with me or powered up hills in the rain to help me get ready (and help them at the same time). This finish was also for friends and family that can no longer do these activities, but encouraged me to do it while I can. A big obvious thanks to Kathleen Devlin for all that went into organizing this. It's much easier to attend an event than create it. To Paula on the support and recovery crew. To Trish for giving up her scarce precious free time to not only support Kathleen and this event, but also the extra miles she went to in every way to support me.

This is my invitation to you to do this event next year. Make it a goal; skate this winter (or head up to the mountain) and start out with some marathons by June. Dance with us at the rink to master those edges. Meet Eddy Matzger next summer when we drag him back to Portland and take your skills to a new level. Just don't wait until you're in perfect condition and all the planets are aligned, as that will never happen. Not only do I intend to do better next year, it's my job to support the next 100k virgins. To Angie -- 100k, YES WAY! Hope to skate with you all soon.

Kim

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