Last night at practice, we did 25-in-5 in pairs, sticking together and do-si-do-ing at the apexes. It was pretty cool. I was paired with Land Tuna, a very fast skater, so as the slower person in the pair, the speed we skated was *my* fastest. We got 27 laps. I felt good about that, especially since I had not skated in two weeks.
Then afterward, while we were talking about how we all did, Pwny (team captain) said, "Just to warn ya, we're going to start requiring 30 in 5 to be on SMASH rosters."
That popping sound was my bubble bursting.
My personal best is 28 laps in 5 minutes. Thirty laps in 5 minutes means 10 seconds per lap. (Twenty-five in 5 is 12 seconds per lap.) When you put it that way, it doesn't seem like such a huge difference, but it's a pretty big difference.
I don't want to be negative. But if that's the standard, I don't know if I will ever be on a SMASH (travel team) roster. And right now, that's the only team we have.
We lost the B-team (the Dis-Orderlies) because we didn't have enough skaters to support two teams. We have a great crop of intermediates and beginners right now. I guess I just have to hope, pray, and work my ass off to keep those girls involved so we can get our numbers up and bring back the B team.
Don't get me wrong: I'll also work on my speed. But 30 in 5? I just don't know.
30 in 5 when you don't even have a B team for the ladies who can't hit that benchmark? That sucks! 30 in 5 is pretty fast! I've been getting a lot faster, but my personal best is 29.5, and I usually land around 28. I'd be really upset if my team did this.
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