I thought your meant roller blading but that looks like an excellent form of exercise too. Would definitely be a good substitute for doubling in the off season but during season I'd say a limited amount or only after track workouts.
Like others said it's just a different movement and it might throw the legs off from the best motor pattern. For rollerblading though I found the reverse though. It strengthened leg muscles which helped me to run faster.
I used to roller ski a lot when I was training for both running and ski marathons. The crossover is pretty good in my experience. But you need a good steady uphill that requires you to work fairly hard to hold V2 for it to be good cross training for running. Cruising along at 15 mph in V2 alternate on the flat for 20 minutes won't accomplish a lot.
Not sure what your goals are for skiing . . . but if you don't have any don't waste your time rollerskiing. Doubling with a few running miles in the morning should not hurt you, just take them easier if you need to catch up on rest. This is coming from a xc ski coach, btw.
RJ and supplemental thanks for the input. I live in a very hilly area and only use asphalt so whatever I go with I am probably going to need speed reducers and brakes. Any thoughts.
RollerJack If you are thinking classic maybe you would be ok , I however would not do skate the motor /muscle recruitment pattern , risk of groin injury. Either way don't worry about bulking up wpn't happen
Don't lknow if you have been monitoring your am HR, body weight and sleep quality. Those three have proven to be pretty indicators on how you are handling your training
Again thanks for the feedback. All the best.
What are you doubting?
Mixing it up is great for long term success. For short term success you need to be all in, but risk injury.
This guy is well know roller skater who lives nearby and is always entertaining the passing motorists. He also appeared on America's Got talent? One of those shows:
Might I suggest also wearing roller skates for intervals as well. They also might work in the bedroom as well.
Couldn't you just get a job at Sonic?
As a runner, you aren't getting dates anyway.
I was a fairly competitive collegiate skier, and less successful runner in the 80s. I gave up roller skiing as I didn't think it provided much positive training for either skiing or running. The dynamics of roller skiing are not the same as regular skiing-it's slower and heavier. I didn't feel it provided the "spring" in my legs like regular skiing did, and it did nothing for my running. I thought snow skiing, either skate or classic was good cross-training for running-though I think Classic is better for running. Running was good aerobic cross training for skiing. Running lacks the upper body component needed for skiing, but I found swimming, an incline board, or this little device called an exergenie was better for skiing strength than was roller skiing. The exergenie probably doesn't do much for skate upper body (you can tell my career was at the dawn of skate skiing)
Perhaps the roller skiis are better now, but in my day, I thought they were a waste of time, and a good way to lose a couple days to road rash.. Have you thought of biking, elliptical training, or swimming as a cross training technique? An elliptical workout feels more like skiing than just about anything I've done. Since this is track, focus on track. If you want to roller ski, do it in July.
I usually do some alpine roller skiing in place of my evening easy doubting session. It keeps it interesting plus morning doubting is crucial for my career, as a sad clown.
Weird Science wrote:
How does doing a morning 2-4 miles help "freshen" you up?
Roller Jake wrote:I've been doing an easy 2-4 miles in the morning to get more miles in the legs and to freshen up before my afternoon workout. I'm thinking about replacing this with roller skiing to maintain form in the off season and also because I've been feeling like crap physically.
But this is track season, and the bottom line is I want to be as fast as possible for it. Is this a good idea for someone who feels like they're approaching the threshold before injury but wants a similar stimulus, or will this just screw me up by making me to bulky or something?
First, it is not required to know HOW something works to know that it DOES work.
Have you ever tried adding a short, easy double? I have, and despite the increased mileage, I nearly always feel better for the second run than I do for the evening run without including the easy morning run.
As for "how", it's probably a number of things. It could partly be the extra growth hormone release that results from the easy 2-4 miles. Growth hormone that you wouldn't otherwise get. It could partly be that the easy 2-4 serves as a warmup, making you more prepared for the second workout. There are probably a number of other things going on that I have no idea about. But, the fact of the matter is, it works for me, and many other people.
Have you tried it?