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Old December 23rd 03, 04:01 PM
Ben Kaufman
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Default Poles / No-poles Skating experiment

On Mon, 22 Dec 2003 22:00:17 -0500, "Mark Frost"
wrote:

Interesting (not very scientific) experiment for a skating newbie. (Skated
maybe a dozen times - came from a Rollerblade background).

I was at Okemo, VT last Sunday. On the short practice loop (around the
driving range) I was practicing going with no poles/poles. I did 4 loops,
timed as such:

1) 5 min 50 sec - no poles
2) 5 min 40 sec - no poles
3) 4 min 50 sec - no poles
4) 4 min 50 sec - with poles! - no improvement!

Of course since I knew the course better, and that helped.

How can I keep my speed up (or better yet, increase it) when I use my poles!
They seem to get in the way, make me want to use my upper body, and get more
tired, and generally detract from my (rollerblade - legs focused) skating
style!


Mark,

Since you come from a rollerblading background your legs are well ahead of your
arms in "mastering" skate skiing. I agree with what someone else was saying, if
you were already going pretty fast, the poling may not get you (in theory) much
more speed. And in your case, is probably "throwing off" your legs.

However, when you hit the trails for a few HOURS, your legs will be "kissing"
your arms. :-)

Ben


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