Now that the last bout of the season is over for BCR, it's time to move into the off season. We'll get our holiday break somewhere around mid-December, but to be perfectly honest, I'm not all that interested in it!
When I read descriptions of off-season training, I felt some consternation, if not outright dread. Long hours of painful plyometrics, workouts where muscles turned to jello, and lots and lots of endurance training, running, weight-lifting... Well, it's just not as fun as skating, that's for sure.
Without a strong foundation, though, you can't BE the skater you want to be. I realize that, now that I'm training with a more experienced team, or, frankly, a team that is simply smart about training.
Bar none, Belles 'n' Bombshells rushed us into bout season. No, we didn't have our first "real" bout until June, but we played in MRV's black vs. white bout in April. Even from November, when I started with the team, to April, I wasn't prepared. Nor was I starting from zero like a lot of derby skaters are- I already knew the rules, and I already had all my basic skate skills. It was an issue of muscle strength and pure endurance, and it continued to be those issues throughout the season.
If nothing else, BnB proved a point through example: poorly structured practice time during the off-season will result in poor play and the increased risk of injury during bouting season. We engaged in strenuous activity before stretching, once we had passed our 25 in 5 time, we never revisited the exercise, and we continued to do exercises that were useless to us well into bout season, such as basic stepping drills to teach beginners crossovers. Practices were inconsistent and lacked physical challenge. By the time our season was done, we were practicing once a week on skates, and everything else was left up to the individual skater, with poor monitoring practices, and no system of punishment for skaters who did not main activity, nor system of reward for skaters who worked hard on their own.
On the track, this had its natural results. We were unorganized and had a difficult time playing as a team because we only skated together once a week and, as I noted, we were often doing exercises that weren't useful to us during those practices. It showed in more than just strategy, though- we almost never scrimmaged, so our hits were poor and easily telegraphed. More importantly, our endurance was terrible. We would go out, hang tough for a few jams, and then get exhausted by the end of the first half. In the second half, we wouldn't even be able to make a pass at staying up with the other team- they'd run away with the game easily.
It's time for all that to change. I've spent a season chasing endurance like it's some kind of elusive phantom. Maybe it is, but it can't run forever- especially if I train to catch it. Today I've been doing my research, finding out what it is that skaters need to build up the agility, speed and strength that it takes to keep fighting every jam, no matter if you're playing a single jam at a time, or six in a row. And I'm coming up with a plan.
Aggressive interval training, plyo, and on-skates endurance drills until I can't stand it anymore. I'm tired of giving up on myself, and I'm tired of not having the wherewithal to push through line drills and sprints.
Much like with losing weight, I'm setting myself goals for endurance training:
-Cut 40 lap time down to 8 minutes or less.
-Cut 25 lap time down to 4:30 or less.
-Break through the pack as a jammer. I still haven't done this yet as a BCR practice because their packs are so tight and fast, and I don't currently have the speed or the agility to sprint through holes when they open up.
My plan for this week is as follows:
1) Monday - one hour cross-training at Coliseum.
2) Tuesday - one hour off-skates team practice at Coliseum
3) Wednesday - two hour team practice on skates
4) Thursday - open skate endurance training
5) Friday - one hour cross-training at Coliseum
6) Sunday - two hour team practice on skates
And I'd like for this to be applicable to every week, mostly because I need to get into a habit of a) skating as often as I can every week, and b) exercising regularly, so that when it comes time for a break, I'll be used to exercising often, and I won't be tempted to slack off.
Usually, my problem is that I can't figure out things to do. Right now, I'm full of ideas about what I could do to improve my endurance, as well as my general fitness level, which is something that I feel good about.
I also feel good about making this week's plan public. See folks - it's all out here, and now I'm accountable. I'll post details as the week goes on, perhaps report a bit on whether I feel I'm improving, and the overall body effects I'm experiencing.
Here's to building a better zombie, one step at a time. Next season, the huffing, puffing Mary Helley of the past will be a distant memory.
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