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Rollerblades for Runners

I’m not ashamed to admit when I’m scared — but I’m also typically game to face my fears. I’m terrified of heights, so I jumped off a cliff. I was nervous about my ability to complete a long course triathlon after having some knee issues, so I did a half Ironman. And experiencing some major butterflies about leading a workout in front of a thousand of my newest friends didn’t stop me from doing just that at the Lincoln Center last year.

But, every once in a while, I’m surprised by the fear I feel about something — and, believe it or not, that turned out to be the case when the folks at Rollerblade sent me a pair of their Macroblade 100 skates. (For those who aren’t in the know, the 100 refers to the wheel size — 100 is larger, which means you can go fast, but there’s also the Macroblade 84 and Macroblade 90, both of which are great for the type of training I’m gonna touch on below.)

rollerblade1-runners-760kgs

Let me back up a minute. Or maybe more like a decade … or two. I used to have a pair of Rollerblades and I loved them. In high school, I had a summer job scooping ice cream at a beach and, after work, I’d strap on my skates and take off for a workout with friends without thinking twice. And yes, that led to one pretty good tumble when I took on a steep downhill that I hadn’t properly vetted — but for the most part, I just did a lot of skating and went as fast as I could and it was awesome.

Fast forward to the present day, a few weeks after my 37th birthday, when I assumed I’d pick up where I left off … only to find that I felt way more like this.

via GIPHY

My eyes might’ve been bigger than Bambi’s on my first time out, to be honest. I just couldn’t believe how unsteady I felt. I mean, earlier that day I’d been out on a stand up paddleboard — battling wind and some decent waves — and never even came close to falling. I’d done hella balance poses at yoga the day before. And yet, on my skates, it took … well, a while before I would release the deathgrip on my (very patient) husband’s arm and skate the length of the sidewalk solo.

Don’t worry — it gets better, and so do I.

A couple of days later, we headed to a nearby empty (and smooth) parking lot, and boy, did that make a difference. It didn’t take long before I was building speed, practicing turns, and attempting to learn to stop (although I’m still mostly relying on a mix of Jared catching me, skating into the grass and prayer — braking is haaaard).

rollerblades

Umm, safety first, guys. I didn’t think to put on my helmet and pads for this quick pic — although, obviously I made sure my socks matched my skates, because PRIORITIES.

And that’s really good for a couple of reasons. First off, in Hawaii, I learned from some of the surfers I met that Rollerblading is a really great way to train for surfing — and you know how much I want to be able to actually surf.

But, even better (or, at least, more pertinent to my daily life), it’s also awesome training for running — in fact, Rollerblade has a training program specifically for runners. And it makes sense if you think about it, since inline skating works a lot of the same muscles you’d use for running, but (assuming you don’t flail and fall all over the place) with less impact, so you can skate either as a replacement for, say, a long slow run, or as cross training in addition to your regular runs.

rollerblade macroblade 100

Pretty, right?

I won’t lie — I’m still building my skill level (not to mention my confidence), so I haven’t incorporated too many drills just yet (unless you count “remain upright and move forward” a drill, which isn’t totally unreasonable). But I’m seriously excited about how much improvement I’m seeing every single time I put my skates on. In just a few more sessions, I think I’ll be working that one-foot swizzle like a boss … and there’s no doubt in my mind that I’ll be mixing in some skating sessions as I get my run on this race season.

When’s the last time you slipped into a pair of Rollerblades? Think you could get right back out there if you did it again today? You might wanna give it a try, because, from what I’m seeing out on the bike trails and boardwalks these days, they are back—Kristen

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Comments

6 Comments
  1. Such a great post! x
    Izzy |http://www.pinchofdelight.com

  2. This is extremely unique! Can’t wait to try this on my own.

  3. John H says:

    Thanks, that was really good to read. I lost my ability to run about 15 years ago (from damaged tendons which become inflamed with any impact on them at all) and I thought I wouldn’t ever be able to get that running feeling back again. Now I’m just learning to skate, I’m up to a mile at walking pace and its low impact (apart from the falls :-)) so it doesn’t inflame the ankles. Its giving me back what I missed so much from running over so many years. At 56 its a joy to return to a feeling I thought I’d lost for good ; movement and breeze and scenery going past, surfaces changing underfoot. For the fortunate folk I can see that its a great way of adding to a running schedule. But for me, its just a way of regaining an experience I thought I’d lost for good.

    1. Jenn says:

      Love that, John. 🙂

      —FBG Jenn

  4. Andrea says:

    I haven’t rollerbladed since 2013 or 2014, I didn’t try too hard to make time for rollerblading along with running, hiking and weight lifting but since pulling one of the muscles in my left quadricep a few weeks ago, I realized I needed to give my legs a break but I couldn’t stand not being active and I needed my time out of the house and away from everyone. My bike is in horrible shape so I couldn’t mess with that, so I pulled my rollerblades out and cleaned them up last night, went out on the greenway where the paths are much smoother than roads. The first 3 or 4 miles, my calves and shins were tight and thinking “what the hell?”, but it didn’t take that long to remember how much I loved rollerblading and it felt like I had never stopped. I ended up doing 7 miles in 40 minutes, reaching 19 mph at some points and I wanted to keep going but I was wearing really short socks and my shins were getting itchy and I knew I didn’t want to overdue it. This morning my glutes are sore, especially the sides, my calves and shins are a little sore but overall I feel great and am absolutely thrilled to think I can rollerblade while taking a break from running until my quad heals up!

    1. Jenn says:

      That is AWESOME, Andrea!

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