Human Wheels
Last Sunday I went in-line skating for the first time since moving to Austin. A friend had told me long ago about the 'Veloway', but I'd never ventured out there. Turns out, it's a kick-ass place to skate. It's a little hillier than I'm used to and the pavement is cracked and rough in spots, however it still more than decent. Each 'lap' is roughly three miles and, other than the occasional snake people keep mentioning, it seems pretty safe. It's actually kind of nice to be surrounded by 'human wheels'. Everyone out there is interested in riding or skating so it's a much better atmosphere than the gym. Gym people are doing the minimum; the folks at the Veloway seem to be pushing themselves beyond that. I know I did.
Speaking of, I really thought I'd be sore after my adventure last weekend. I hadn't skated in well over a year and we did two laps, about six miles. I think I already mentioned the hills. That was a whole new experience for me. The skate trail in Texarkana is flat, flat, flat, so I've seldom had to 'climb' on skates. When my skating partner told me that I'd better pick up some speed to help myself up the huge hill that was just ahead and, oh yeah, whatever I do I should lean forward, I knew I was in trouble. The hill didn't disappoint. And yes, I did lean forward. To not, would have meant rolling slowly backwards until I fell at which point I would have rolled 'ass over tea kettle' (as my father would say) back down to the bottom of the hill. The second time up the hill (remember we did two laps?) was easier but far from easy. Needless to say, I expected severe muscles soreness in the days following.
My quads and hamstring are in good shape from Spinning, but in the days shortly before my skating adventure I'd noticed some interesting non-muscular spots on my gluts (read: ass fat). This disturbed me immensely and was why I quickly jumped at the chance to skate. Skating uses different muscles than biking and running, specifically the gluts. Perfect. If skating could do for my ass what Spinning had done for my legs, my lower body would be all set for bikini season. Thanks for reading my mind, skating partner. Or maybe she'd noticed the butt fat... Hmm... Eh, in any case... I could have kissed her for suggesting that we hit the Veloway.
Right up until the muscle soreness failed to show up. I waited through the first day. Nothing. Ok, it's always the day after the day after. Nothing. What the Hell?? Seriously, more than a year off my skates and I got nothing? Nothing from that hellacious hill climb? Nothing from those slow, awful steady climbs? Argh. Needless to say, I was pissed. PISSED. If I'm going to grind myself into a pulp like that I want to feel it. I want to know I'm making some kind of progress. I want to know I'm doing what I need to do to get my ass in shape. Literally.
Fast forward to yesterday... I got up, decided not to write, and got on the Spin bike. I sped to the gym for a quick workout and met a friend for lunch. I had a few hours to kill after that, so I headed to the Veloway. I've always been a believer that you don't know what your body can do until it stops in the middle. I may be almost forty-two but I'm still in pretty good shape. I decided it was time to challenge my body just to see what I could see. I was fairly confident that my morning Spin ride wouldn't impact my skating, but it turns out my confidence was a wee bit misplaced. From my first push and glide, I realized that my quads were tired. I'm no quitter so I soldiered on. Then the thought occurred to me - If my quads are tired, MAYBE I'll use other muscles, like the ones in my ass surrounded by all that ugly fat. As my quads got more and more pissed at me, I tried to focus on using the 'right' muscles. Thankfully I ran out of time before my stupidity could tempt me into a third lap. After two laps, I was shredded, dehydrated, and my legs were shaking. That's the stuff muscles soreness is made of so I was happy.
Fast forward to this morning... I hoped to wake up to at least a little soreness. Nothing. Nothing. My legs seem a bit tired, but I don't see any soreness on the horizon. Damn. The. Luck. I had such high hopes. Of course, my legs never got sore after I started Spinning a month ago and they've CHANGED. I have all kinds of muscle going on - quads, hamstrings, calves. Maybe the same thing will happen if I start skating consistently. I'll quietly grow some ass muscle and realize it a month from now. I guess we'll see. Ok, I'll see. I'm not sure if I want anyone checking out my ass until I grows some muscle.
In any case, I'm happy that I finally discovered the Veloway. I have some place to skate in Austin! Skating the skate trail in Texarkana was such a part of my sanity and I've missed it (skating, not my sanity). Hopefully, the Veloway will become that place for me in Austin. Goodness knows I've needed it.
Speaking of, I really thought I'd be sore after my adventure last weekend. I hadn't skated in well over a year and we did two laps, about six miles. I think I already mentioned the hills. That was a whole new experience for me. The skate trail in Texarkana is flat, flat, flat, so I've seldom had to 'climb' on skates. When my skating partner told me that I'd better pick up some speed to help myself up the huge hill that was just ahead and, oh yeah, whatever I do I should lean forward, I knew I was in trouble. The hill didn't disappoint. And yes, I did lean forward. To not, would have meant rolling slowly backwards until I fell at which point I would have rolled 'ass over tea kettle' (as my father would say) back down to the bottom of the hill. The second time up the hill (remember we did two laps?) was easier but far from easy. Needless to say, I expected severe muscles soreness in the days following.
My quads and hamstring are in good shape from Spinning, but in the days shortly before my skating adventure I'd noticed some interesting non-muscular spots on my gluts (read: ass fat). This disturbed me immensely and was why I quickly jumped at the chance to skate. Skating uses different muscles than biking and running, specifically the gluts. Perfect. If skating could do for my ass what Spinning had done for my legs, my lower body would be all set for bikini season. Thanks for reading my mind, skating partner. Or maybe she'd noticed the butt fat... Hmm... Eh, in any case... I could have kissed her for suggesting that we hit the Veloway.
Right up until the muscle soreness failed to show up. I waited through the first day. Nothing. Ok, it's always the day after the day after. Nothing. What the Hell?? Seriously, more than a year off my skates and I got nothing? Nothing from that hellacious hill climb? Nothing from those slow, awful steady climbs? Argh. Needless to say, I was pissed. PISSED. If I'm going to grind myself into a pulp like that I want to feel it. I want to know I'm making some kind of progress. I want to know I'm doing what I need to do to get my ass in shape. Literally.
Fast forward to yesterday... I got up, decided not to write, and got on the Spin bike. I sped to the gym for a quick workout and met a friend for lunch. I had a few hours to kill after that, so I headed to the Veloway. I've always been a believer that you don't know what your body can do until it stops in the middle. I may be almost forty-two but I'm still in pretty good shape. I decided it was time to challenge my body just to see what I could see. I was fairly confident that my morning Spin ride wouldn't impact my skating, but it turns out my confidence was a wee bit misplaced. From my first push and glide, I realized that my quads were tired. I'm no quitter so I soldiered on. Then the thought occurred to me - If my quads are tired, MAYBE I'll use other muscles, like the ones in my ass surrounded by all that ugly fat. As my quads got more and more pissed at me, I tried to focus on using the 'right' muscles. Thankfully I ran out of time before my stupidity could tempt me into a third lap. After two laps, I was shredded, dehydrated, and my legs were shaking. That's the stuff muscles soreness is made of so I was happy.
Fast forward to this morning... I hoped to wake up to at least a little soreness. Nothing. Nothing. My legs seem a bit tired, but I don't see any soreness on the horizon. Damn. The. Luck. I had such high hopes. Of course, my legs never got sore after I started Spinning a month ago and they've CHANGED. I have all kinds of muscle going on - quads, hamstrings, calves. Maybe the same thing will happen if I start skating consistently. I'll quietly grow some ass muscle and realize it a month from now. I guess we'll see. Ok, I'll see. I'm not sure if I want anyone checking out my ass until I grows some muscle.
In any case, I'm happy that I finally discovered the Veloway. I have some place to skate in Austin! Skating the skate trail in Texarkana was such a part of my sanity and I've missed it (skating, not my sanity). Hopefully, the Veloway will become that place for me in Austin. Goodness knows I've needed it.
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