Although skating a marathon is not nearly so daunting
as running one, you still need to carefully make sure
you are ready to take on the task. Essentially, this
boils down to two issues: your skating ability level
and your fitness. Skating
Ability: Are you a good enough skater to
skate an entire marathon? Ignoring your fitness level
for the moment, this question has more to do with
your skating technique and your braking ability.
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Even
if you are fit, if your technique is awful or you can’t
stand up, you likely aren’t ready for a skating
marathon. Likewise, if you can’t brake …
well, you really aren’t ready to go out on the
streets at all. Ask yourself these two simple questions
to see if you are ready to take on the task of skating
for a marathon:
• Can I comfortably skate forward for
a mile at a moderate pace of about eight miles per hour?
If you don’t know your speed, use your car’s
odometer to measure one mile of your favorite skating
path. You should be able to comfortably skate
one mile in 7.5 minutes.
• Can I brake moderately well on flat ground?
If you answer “no” to either of these questions,
you are probably best advised to seek a skating instructor
in your area to first improve your technique. To find
an instructor in your area visit www.iisa.org. If you
answer “yes” to both questions, you might
not be ready to skate a marathon but you probably have
the basic skating technique to train for one.
Fitness: While
skating a marathon is not nearly so difficult as running
a marathon, it is still a significant achievement
that takes a significant effort. Following are hints
to help you decide if you are physically fit enough
to start training for a marathon.
• You should consult a doctor
before beginning any training program that significantly
alters or increases your current activity level.
• Are you currently physically active in an
aerobic capacity? Walking, running, bicycling, tennis,
and many other sports will help you in skating a marathon.
• Are you significantly overweight? Being overweight
might make it much harder for you to complete a skating
marathon, although skating tends to much more forgiving
on those carrying extra pounds than does running.
Remember that by joining a
training program such as Zephyr’s MarathonSkating.com
program, you will have six weeks to improve your technique
and your fitness level. However, you should have a
basic skating competence and fitness level to start.
If you believe you have the basic skating technique
and fitness level to start training for a skating
marathon, get to it!
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