The weather’s cleared up a bit so another 90 minutes before work. I didn’t really have a plan for today other than just to get back into it.
That said, I did focus on a few things:
Board feel
I spent a good 30 minutes just cruising again, getting more used to the feel of the board and more used to my new weight and centre of gravity. I’m not going to lie, it’s way tougher than I expected it to be. Maybe foolishly I thought I’d settle back into it more quickly but it’s basically like starting from scratch again.
Dropping in
Again getting used to my new weight, I’m gradually learning to drop in again. Starting on a gentle flat bank and focussing on leaning forward enough to balance and snapping the front of the board down quickly so it doesn’t shoot out in front of me. I gradually worked my way higher and higher up the bank until I felt comfortable that I was adjusting my weight correctly and snapping the board down fast enough.
Skating fakie
With the prospect of dropping in comes the need to handle skating with more speed and what to do when I inevitably head up a ramp at the other end. I’ve never been great at skating backwards so I’m putting some time into intentionally practicing this so when it comes to things like rock-to-fakie, then I should already be comfortable.
Ollies
Finally I put a bit of time into ollies – bending low enough while maintaining balance is still tough but it feels like I’m getting there. I set myself a challenge of having to land 10 consecutive attempts, while holding something for support, and then 1 rolling olly. I think I must have done about 50 before I landed 10 in a row and, by that time, my knees had just about had it. I did attempt a few rolling ollies and had a bit of success, although I’m not convinced my back wheels left the ground enough for me to call it an olly – maybe next time.
All in all, the doctor had asked me to do enough exercise to leave me out of breath and sweaty, and today’s session definitely did that!
Skateboarding