John Thurmon offered to give me pointers during session skate after Friday practice. John T is a super nice guy, but he’s also a *BAD ASS* skater, and I’m dreading making a fool of myself in front of him. John T is widely known in the skating community, is especially feared by the outdoor skaters, and even skated with Debbie Rice for almost 10 years. In other words, John giving skating pointers to me is the equivalent of an Olympic athlete teaching someone to do a somersault. Seems like he’d have better things to do…
John has a super funny story of skating with Debbie in the Athens to Atlanta Road Skate event. Debbie “sat on,” or drafted off of, John while setting her record time in this prestigious outdoor race. If it were the Tour De France, Debbie is Lance and John is that poor nameless team member who Lance drafts off of for 99% of the race, until right before the finish line. For those of you who have seen John T, I’m sure you agree that he looks like he’d be fun to draft off of. J
Lucky for me, John’s expectations are really low so he was impressed that I could even stand up on the skates. I have been attending practice with my daughter for more than six months and I have been watching intently, studying technique, and picking up pointers. Having said that, the single most important tidbit I gathered was while watching session skate with John recently. He pointed at a guy and said: If that guy would just relax, he’d skate a lot better. That advice is so true, I am relaxed, focused and determined. I wouldn't say I'm quite "skating" yet. I putter around slowly with John, and after about a 1/2 lap I turn to him and ask "when do I get my nice ass?" All in all, I was on the floor for almost an hour and a half ~ puttering around slowly but still, I'm out there.
I had purposely waited to crack open my skate bag until after the other speed skaters left practice. My plan is to give myself a couple of months at session skate and at home, to get used to having these things on my feet, and gain balance and confidence. However, one of the other speed skaters, Al Tinsley, came back to pick up his son and saw me skating around. Surely Al can keep the secret.
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