I Skated an Inline Marathon!

I finished the Northshore Inline Marathon!

I Did a Thing! 

On Saturday, September 14, 2019, I completed my very first inline marathon! After months and months of planning, training, and intermittent panicking, I successfully completed the Northshore Inline Marathon. Even better, I completed it in my best average per mile time for a long distance, and even snuck in just under the 3-hour mark for event completion. 

...and by "just under 3 hours" I mean 2:59:33.44.

​What Training Entails

Here This is the first time I’ve trained for an athletic event at this level, and it definitely took a lot of time and effort both on and off skates. What may have seemed like many, many social media posts of pictures of my skates and “I just skated 6 miles in this beautiful place” took an amazing amount of time in researching, physical conditioning, recovery activities, mindset training and so much more. Here are a few key components that went into completing this inline marathon:

• Signed up for 3 inline skating events: Run and Roll for the Roses 10K, RBC Race for the Kids Inline Half-Marathon, and Northshore Inline Marathon.
• Ran a 5K in April as a first step towards building my overall endurance.
  
• Took 3 inline skating lessons to work on my stride, going up hills, and slowing down on hills.
  
• Read 4 books on motivation and mindset to assist with athletic performance.
• Learned about nutrition during training and directly before, during, and after an event.
• Fell many, many times skating earning many bruises and more than one bit of road rash.
• Went on 49 separate outdoor training trail skates ranging in distance from 3 – 16.1 miles for a grand total of 233 miles of inline skating.
• Took near weekly trips to indoor skating rinks to practice technique.
• Took 12 days off from skating in July when a bike hit me in the back and knocked me down.
• Had 7 chiropractic adjustments and 3 massages to recover from injuries.
• Did 30 minutes of daily recovery activities including yoga, foam rolling, and stretching.
• Skipped skating a half-marathon in early August to continue recovering.
• Broke a strap on my new skates 2 weeks before the marathon. I used duct tape to hold my right skate together during the marathon. (My replacement skates arrive this week.)
• The week of the marathon, a back spasm during a routine chiropractic exam, left me temporarily unable to stand. After 90 minutes of work, a massage, and my chiropractor literally taping me back together, I could move, but I was very sore. I wasn’t convinced until Friday afternoon I’d be able to skate.

My finisher medal from the Northshore Inline Marathon!

So Now What?

What started out as a big audacious life goal has become the starting point rather than an ending point. I'm planning on another running 5K, and another inline marathon next summer. I also know where I need to improve, like continuing to improve my stride and get better at navigating hills, and I'm excited to keep getting better. 

Bring on the next inline marathon!

Learn More

• Inline Skating Lessons at Robichon's Skate Ventures
• Northshore Inline Marathon
• Hoigaard's
• Lifeforce Chiropractic