Re: How do you measure SPEED on skates?

On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 20:06:15 GMT, fastsk8r
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

>I do it the old-fashioned way, with a stop watch. I skate certain 
>sections of trails on a regular basis and know how  far they are thanks 
>to the cyclo computer on my bike. I then time myself once a week to 
>determine my actual times. Speed is not really a factor as time is 
>everything. If you hit peak speeds of 25 mph but can't maintain the 
>average, then it is really somewhat useless information.
>
>To use an example, in the old days the 10K was the big thing in skate 
>racing locally. I would time myself on a 6 - 7 mile run. If the fastest 
>skater was finishing in 20 minutes and I in 25, then I had work to do to 
>be competitive. I recently did a timed run that was about 10 miles give 
>or take. I made an incredible time of 34 minutes including two major 
>road crossings. What was my actual speed? I guessed an average of around 
>16 plus with road crossings. Factor them out and I was upwards of 17 - 
>18. But since that was the fastest time I had ever completed that run, 
>actual speed was irrelevant. The time was what counted.
>

That is equivalent to 23 mph solo on a bike calorie wise.  Only time I
ever skated 17 mph was behind a pack of bikers in zook suits for 3
miles, and I did not try and pass :)

>I think what it really comes down to is you just want to know how fast 
>you are really going on that massive downhill. But that has little 
>bearing on your training. What really matters is the time for completion 
>and the overall average speed. That is how races are won and fitness is 
>attained.
>
I agree you can skate all day burning 10 calories a minute but
sprinting just tears you up.  Of course if you are after muscle
definition.. 

 I killed the sprint capabilities of my E9 Rollerblade skates and
moved the heel of my boot ahead 12 mm's 
and out 2.  The boots are now centered more like a Vitesse on the
carbon 305 frames with the heel just ahead of the rear axle and with
about a centimeter of toe wheel extension.

It was windy yesterday in Florida so I practiced skating off my toes
into the wind and then did some figure eights, switching the lead
skate after each eight.  The E9's skate more like long hockey skates
now and I can wheel around in the width of a narrow parking space.
Pretty good compromise for my lower ability level. 
  
>BTW FNGuy, you know you are hauling #$% when you pass the bicyclists in 
>the zook suits and they get PO'ed and have to chase you down to retain 
>their manhood! :-)
>
>Fastsk8r
>
>FNGuy wrote:
>> Besides the timed average around a measured course, or a buddy on a bike 
>> with an expensive speedo, how do you know how fast is fast?  I haven't seen 
>> whiz-bang Doppler gizmos at the skate shops...