Oh, to the Oval I go!

The day started off just like all the others with the alarm going off at 6:30 am, the thermometer was in the single digits and it was snowing outside, so I opted out of my morning run and watched something on hulu instead. This pattern is bad for someone that is supposed to be in marathon training.

I decided I'd pack my running things and run after work around Mirror Lake a couple times. As it turned out, I spent too much time watching internet tv and did not pack a couple crucial layers to do this. I figured I'd compromise and run around the 1980 rink. Fail. The ipod didn't want to work and there was no way I was going to torture myself with that kind of boredom.

As I ran past the windows of the mezzanine, I looked down at the speed skating oval and knew that I could join my friend Ann for some laps. Faster than I had run in months, I darted out of the building and ran down to the Lake Placid Skate Shop to grab some speed skates.

Linda was so helpful, she had the skates ready for me before I could even tell her my size! She could tell I was a little nervous because I had only been on speed skates once before. Luckily, the first person I ran into was her daughter and so she skated a couple laps with my friend Ann and I, giving me pointers along the way.

Honestly, I should be ashamed of myself that I had not done this sooner in the season. The night was gorgeous and the ice was perfect for my beginner's glide. It is so sad to think how quickly Mother Nature might change that surface tomorrow.

Having been a figure skater, it took me awhile to adjust to the blades and find my center of balance. Once I got a little bit better and my feet weren't shaking, the distance runner in me kicked in and I started mentally calculating laps and counting miles. This was way more fun than running around an indoor ice rink.

I've been known to say that if I had been introduced to speed skating as a teenager after giving up figure skating and turning to track that "I could have been a contender." A legend in my own mind I suppose, but tonight I skated on the same rink as the real "Legends of the Oval."