Winter is fast approaching...training thoughts

Although I have still been riding my bike, its time to start thinking about the fast approaching winter.  While the elite speed skaters trained over the summer with more skating specificity, have been on the ice for months, and have been competing in world class events since last month, for us amateurs, it is time to start skating. 

Besides skating on ice, a variety of options exist.  I commented a bit on training for a marathon skate last spring.  Dryland training is great because some of the exercises can be done indoors in a gym, and an added bonus is that if you have to travel, these exercises can be done nearly anywhere (I once did a set of exercises on the grassy areas of a hotel parking lot). 

Here is a pretty good link to a representation of some dryland training exercises from the skate boot maker, Bont.  Another source is Diane Holum's book, The Complete Handbook of Speed Skating.