[dtw]

I used to do it in college '92-'96 - I lived in Boston. I had a lot of issues on my mind then, basically female-related. Heartache etc. Skating was a great way to get them in check. On my own, I'd hit the Esplanade and go up and down the Charles, Boston-side and Cambridge-side. Usually at least 8 miles. It was fantastic exercise, that was my aerobic workout 3x-week at least. Then I'd also do weights 3x per week and go out once a week with a team and do a 3-4 hour skate. We were regularly thrown off the Harvard campus for skating on pieces of architecture that weren't designed for it.

Lately I've been wanting to get back into it. I've got an elliptical trainer in the house for aerobic, but since the weather in NC is so good most of the year, I'd like to do an outdoor workout sometimes as well. I hit every athletic/sports store I could find a few months ago, and came up with nothing. All I could find were hockey skates - NOT ideal for distance/speed skating. Too unstable. How does one find good distance/crosstraining skates these days? It seems like the fad is definitely over.