What would Chad Hedrick run in track?

Not that fast. He would be a better cyclist. His thighs are huge - much bigger than a spinters even.

I'm amazed at the times they skate for 5K and 10K. Man are they moving.

he's done 26 miles in less than an hour on the inline skates

at 5-11, 168lbs, no part of him qualifies as big..

but on a slightly related not..what skill set is needed to be an elite speed skated..short distances..1500m and under??

anyone know?

How many of you have sat there watching the speed skating and thought to yourself that you could do better? I watch these guys and think that with my endurance background I could demolish anyone because they are focused too much on strength. Then again, I know absolutely nothing about speed skating which I guess is why I am at home watching it on TV.

Look at the world records, and you'll see the reason they have to focus on strength is the 1500m is basicly a sprint. The 1000m world record is a faster pace than the 500m world record due to acceleration. So, great endurance wont help for jack in those events unless you can skate as fast as the best.

I was watching the Tour this summer and thought the same thing.

Gold Medalist? wrote:

How many of you have sat there watching the speed skating and thought to yourself that you could do better? I watch these guys and think that with my endurance background I could demolish anyone because they are focused too much on strength. Then again, I know absolutely nothing about speed skating which I guess is why I am at home watching it on TV.

With a tailwind on a net downhill course (essentially the Grandma's marathon course)...

Skating and running are very different sports.

Running is mostly about aerobic efficiency.

Skating is a power based technique sport. They have to squat at very deep knee angles to minimize air resistance and they have many less pushes per minute. Strength is determining factor in speed skating and is not so in running. One of Chads coaches commented that he is simply stronger than everyone else and thats why he is winning.

Don't be fooled though, I wouldn't be surprised to see Chad post vo2max levels that are equal to the best runners/cyclists in the world. I would be surprised however to see chad run faster than a 18 min 5k.

You were making a decent post...but the bar is at 18minutes? i'd be suprised if he went any slower than 16:30. Any GOLD MEDALIST in an event based on some aerobic capicity should be able to manage something well under 18 min. I would be suprised to see him under 15.

You are underestimating the strength of the belief that for many of the posters, distance running is by far the most awesome of sports.

For them every other sport is insignificant in its awsomeness by comparison and the world's best athletes are distance runners.

All other athletes just suck and if Haile or Bekele got on a bike or strapped on a pair skates or skis, they would slash minutes off the world record marks of these inferior disciplines. This is hardly surprising as the world record marks in these disciplines are much less awsome than the world records for distance running ....

he mayb be stronger then the other skaters...but i would bet he cant squat 500...

so if i can squat 500..can i school him? (assuming i learn technique and how to skate ect..)

They have more in common with cyclists. Because of less friction slowing them down each stride (instant of force production) will produce a greater result (distance). Look at their stride rate and it looks about 1/2 as much as running or cycling (anyone feel like counting speed skating strides). As far as energy requirment goes it's the same as any effort of the same duration.

Alan

Even more in common with cross country skiing - if you don\'t have world class technique, your aerobic level won\'t make a bit of difference. I\'ve done and competed in all four sports, and skiing and skating are just on a whole different skill level. Cycling is probably the easiest - you can routinely see someone do real well in there first year even in older age groups (I\'ve see runners make a quick transition). Skiers and skaters, most of them have been doing it since they were kids.

Well stated “lotsofsports”. Allow me to join in the fray. I have some background in both speed skating and running. I skated for the US for several years in Europe during which time I held the American records for both the 3,000 and 5,000 meters. These days at the age of 60 years young I can manage 3:08 for the marathon on a fair course (same point of start/finish). During my skating years we had skaters all over the map with regards to running ability, regardless of skating accomplishments. Although quad volume will most definitely slow the runner you would be amazed at the running times some skaters could manage for a 5k or 10k. In the midst of summer training for skating I could personally manage to do our test runs consistently under 16 minutes for 5k and under 35 minutes for 10k; and I was not an exception. There were skaters I trained with in Norway who could whip me at both of those distances. This was at time during our summer training when I was dead-lifting 140kg and squatting over 200kg. The most difficult thing with skating was the technical aspect,and that was the limiting factor in allowing you to transfer strength and endurance to the ice. Without proper technique it didn’t matter how fast you could run or how much you could lift. Skating is highly technical perhaps even more so today than during my skating career because of the climate controlled indoor conditions providing perfect near resistance free ice. I would suspect however that skaters today are spending more time on the ice during the summer months and less time running than what we did. We were good runners because we ran 18 – 25k a day. So back to the question: what would Mr. Hedrick run in track? Probably faster than most of you believe he could.

I will cease my rant and thank all for their thought provoking posts.

Hi Bart,

Thanks much for your comments.

I read that Chad Hedrick does a lot of inline skating in the summer. I don't know what else he does, for example strength training. Do you?

Do you still skate, run, and lift the weights too?

J.R.,

My understanding is that Mr. Hedrick was a formidable in-line skater before converting to ice. I am completely out of touch with the speed skating community so am not sure what their program consists of. I do know that during the interim I was leaving speed skating to pursue my education more emphasis was being placed on strength/power and less on pure conditioning. Even though the Russian skaters devoted a good amount time to weights and strength training the Dutch were the forerunners of this shift, at least that which benefited the US to the greatest degree; Eric Heiden and the American team of that generation being an excellent example. I would be very surprised if the speed skaters of today did not dedicate a good portion of their time to weights and other forms of strength training.

I still do some weight training, lighter weights of course and more repetition. I believe it is conductive to staying injury free while running as much as we do. Maintenance of muscle mass is imperative the older you become “as the alternatives appear terminal to optimum health”, as my Dad would say. When I left skating I quit cold turkey and never looked back. It seemed less painful that way. I have done some in-line skating preparatory to visiting Norway a few years ago and skating at the Viking Ship arena in Hamar, venue for the 1994 Olympic Games. The ice was phenomenal, the likes of which we could only dream of when I was competitive.

Bart