In Spain

Well we are here in Spain. I´m typing on a Spanish keyboard so odd things may appear in my posts and I will apologize in advance for that. We have skated on the track for two days for a total of 3 practices. We have two more today. We are six hours ahead of the east coast so it´s 10AM here and 4AM on the east.
The track is really fast and entirely different. There is a lot we still have to learn on the track and most of that will begin today when we split up into our groups and start working on what we each need to be successful in the upcoming week. Gijon is really a nice play to be and the weather is terrific. There is a beach within walking distance. And a McDonald's which is always good when we have to eat on our own. And the track is also in walking distances.
Our hotel is quite nice for a European hotel (those of you who have been to Europe know that the rooms are small).
We had some baggage troubles on the first day. I think when we got to the hotel we had like 17 bags missing then most of them came in that night. And then mine came in the next day, and I think we might have one person missing bags still which is really unfortunate. Well we have to leave for practice in a half hour so that´s it for now.

Wrapping Things Up

Residency is coming to a close today and I think everyone is ready for it. I'm ready to go home even if it's only for 3 full days.
Yesterday the sprinters did a workout and I think everyone ran faster times then we were running before which is definitely good. And our times we ran were when we were all tired which is even better.
I can't wait to get to Spain. We've heard a good bit of information about the track and it's making me anxious.
While I'm there I will continue to blog but for live results and videos I would suggest going to www.patincarrera.com that is a great website that has interviews and everything about worlds. And once you get on the worlds website from theirs you can put it into English which is nice if you can't speak Spanish!

Back to Practice

After three days of heavy rain we were back to practicing this morning. It was a good workout, it seemed way harder then it really was because of the three day rest everyone had. Sprinters did a workout and then distance did a workout and then at the end everyone came together (sprints and distance) and each division ran five 500m sprints. But the sprints weren't to see who could win the most but rather to achieve a time as a group. For instance, Junior Men had to run at least a 46 and if the winner did not achieve that time then the entire group had to do it again.
Time is running out and worlds is just around the corner. We only have seven more practices (if it doesn't rain). We get three days at home and then we are off to Spain which should be awesome!
Just so everyone knows, while I am in Spain I will still be blogging (to the best of my ability). It may only be every three days depending on how much Internet access there is available at the hotel.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

The title sums it up.. Rain and rain and more rain. In the five years I have been out here I have never seen it actually rain for a day. Usually for like a half hour then it stops but it has just kept coming. And there is no sun with the overcast to dry up the rain.
We've been in the gym doing some workouts on the exercise bike to keep our legs in shape but it's not as good as the skating would be.
I guess I can't really complain to much in my case. With tendinitis in my Achilles the time off of my skate is giving in a chance to heal some. The swelling has gone down a lot but it is still very tender to the touch. Tonight it looks like we might make it out to the track for a practice after missing out on this mornings again. And later on tonight we are going bowling!

The Things No One Wants To Hear

Here comes the worse part about residency: injuries. In three weeks you can expect something unfortunate to happen, but this year we've had quite our fair share of falls. Almost all of them have been fine where the skater just gets frustrated and gets up but last night we had a more serious fall.
While the guys were skating Justin Mannon kicked the wall with one skate, and got twisted around and hit his head into the plexi glass. His helmet was cracked in the back in two places and there was a lot of concern about his neck (which is very sore today). They took him back to sports medicine at the Olympic Training Center for x-rays which came up negative and then they took him over to the hospital for a CT scan which thankfully also came up negative.
That is of course the most serious problems we've had. But there has been a lot of skin burned on the track thus far. Personally my only problem to this point is swelling in my Achilles tendon which is really aggravating. (I try not to talk about myself but..) It's frustrating because today I tried putting my skate on and even standing with my skate hurt. This is my last year of Junior World Class and because you never know what can happen in the future I'm trying to make the most of it but things like this really irritate me and others I'm sure.
Mind Games: Everyone can play them. The coaches have a few up their sleeves today too. During one of the drills they told the girls if they could maintain a certain lap average they would be done for the day. Well the girls did it, and at the end the coaches said, "Now we know what you can really do."

Where I Stand

Here at Residency guys and girls are in completely separate buildings. I like it. Some people may hate it but to be honest with you I love it. My whole purpose of coming to residency (outside that I have to) is to focus on what I need to do and prepare myself for worlds. The reason I like it so much is not because I'll say the girls are distracting but guys distract girls and girls distract guys it's just human nature.
Another reason I like it is because living with guys for 3 weeks is one thing if you are a guy (and the same thing for girls) but when you throw in the opposite sex into the same building it can get annoying after 3 weeks. I can tell you right now that I'm sure people would get annoyed with me after 3 weeks if they didn't really know me.
I like to relax pretty much when I don't have skates on so it's cool. Especially because our floor is almost deserted. We are just about empty.

When To Trust The Weather Man

Never. At least not while in Colorado. Today was suppose to be 76 degrees according to the weather channel I watched last night. Well, this morning turned out chilly but it got HOT! Really hot during practice. Today was our first day of dividing into sprinters and distance skaters and I think it went well. It was definitely hard work but that's what we need.
It's hard to compare this year to last year in my opinion. Last year if we did sprints you had to run the fastest times or you basically weren't getting a race. This year during our sprint practices the coaches know that your times are going to get slower because you are doing so many of them and you will get tired if you are doing it right.
Outback on Sunday was soo much fun. It was pretty much all Juniors and Kevin, Hank, Jake, Jonathon, and I decided to get a table to ourselves. (You get served way quicker with 5 then you do with 17) The other's were going to try and embarrass us by telling the waitress it was our birthday but it didn't work and we got them really good. Their waitress (not even ours) decided for a prank to put Crisco in a bowl and put ice cream toppings on it and everything so it looked real, and they ate some of it. It was a good time. (If you don't know Crisco is completely harmless its just like flavorless)
The Olympics. I love it. It is just incredible. The 4x100m men's relay last night may have been the greatest sporting event I have ever seen. It was that good. Look it up on youtube it's got to be on there. Kevin, Jake, Hank, and I lit up watching it. We were screaming when Lezak made that comeback it was ridiculous. I love to watch pretty much everything. I like to see the athletes in their sports even when I know NOTHING about their sport.

Training Can Be Hard

Today is our sixth day out here for residency. Like I've said there are many differences this year but that doesn't mean we are not training hard still. In my opinion, it seems as if when the staff told the team that things would be different this year they assumed they meant easy.
We are all skating and we are sore. That is the purpose of training. If your legs never get sore, then your muscles are never developing more strength or muscle. The first so many practices we have set up so everyone skater does the distance workouts, and every skater does the sprint workouts. This servers multiple purposes: The distance skaters gain foot speed and acceleration by doing the sprints and the sprinters gain more endurance and will be able to go longer. Eventually we are going to be breaking up into groups so that there can be specializing.
The coaches have told us we only have 7-10 more days of really hard practice because after that we will begin to taper and the drills will become a little easier. Some people have gotten the idea that they will be 'burnt out' by the end of residency but it was stated many times today, 2 weeks of intense training does not burn anyone out. Someone also said they felt burnt out because their legs were sore but that is the way it is suppose to be, if you are sore you did it right.
Things are going really good out here though. We have a few minor injuries to some skaters like blisters and cuts on the foot and we have some skaters with sore groins which can be expected from the sprint workout we did the other day. But there is nothing major up to this point and we are all still focusing on being our best at worlds! Well that's it for now and if everyone keeps giving 100% every practice things will turn out appropriately for team USA.
P.S. The Olympics start tomorrow, don't forget to watch them!!

Another Day

Sunday's we have off so there really wasn't much to write about. Some of us went to see Step Brothers. It is a hilarious film. I would recommend it as long as you don't mind the profanity. Today was a good day of practice. Both sessions. This morning we did two sets of relays and we did a 10k where you have a strong pace for 300m and an all out sprint for 100m throughout the whole thing. It ends up being 25 sprints. Coaches are really paying attention and helping every skater out when they see something that could need improving.
Another thing that is standing out is the leadership. Last year Cheeks was the team captain for the guys(we haven't picked for this year), but this year he really seems like a captain. He's more vocal which is constructive and it helps. Plus when the girls were doing their 10k him and a few other seniors went out and helped the girls keep up a strong pace when their pack broke up.
For the guys with the 10k's, or at least the juniors (we did one 10k in the morning and one in the afternoon) it seemed as if in one or the other they really skated great. If they didn't do so well in the first one then they did in the second one which is definitely good to see.
The second practice (the afternoon practice) was really windy so everything became a little bit harder. We did some flying 100's and flying 200's in the second practice too. For those of you who are not familiar with those terms what you are suppose to do is get up to top speed and then the coaches time you for 100m or 200m. It gives them and us an idea of your top speed in those distances. We also did a passing drill in the second practice. Everyone skated really good today. It was a good overall day because for the most of us, if you had a bad drill you also had a really good drill. One thing that stands out is Sara, she skated her flying 100 ridiculously! For those of you who have seen the bank track we use the term 'redline' for skating really low on the track. Well Sara was flying at redline and ended up beating most of the guys which is really good because she hasn't been feeling 100%.
For those of you who have not heard, this year the coaches are really looking for top notch behavior this year. They have stressed how profanity and inappropriate language will not be tolerated and we have kind of a game set up. Every time someone uses inappropriate language, they owe a dollar.
Tomorrow is our first day of road practice and it's set to be a challenging day. So we'll see how everything goes.

First Day, First Practice

Yesterday afternoon everyone got in to Colorado Springs from their flights. There were a lot of delays and one group got stranded in Atlanta for about 5-6 hours. The day you fly in is always the worse. Everything is so rushed. You get in then you go eat next you have a meeting and then the Wal-mart run. Then you have to be in your room at 10 and lights out at 11. Right off the bat things are different this year. Our meeting went well although it was a bit longer then expected. One thing that I can't be more happier about is the practice times. This year we practice 9-12 and 4-7. These times are much better then last year's 8-11 and 1-4. We have more of a break in between and 1-4 sucks because it's so hot and the track is slicker. That was my first thing that stood out. Next was something that was never mentioned last year: the idea of tapering for the world championships. We have three weeks and the idea is two train hard but the last week we will begin to taper ourselves in order to peak at the world championships.
Onto today's practice. The first practice is always strange. You have new people and you have your experienced group and although we get a schedule you still don't know how it's going to go. The first day you also just get a lot of skating done of the track. The goal is to get a bunch of laps in so you get use to skating on the track again and to get use to the altitude. We started off with our usual low, middle, high line pace. It was a fast drill and at the end everyone was pretty much still in it which is huge. Especially because the last 5 laps got a lot faster. Everything we do is with a stopwatch so they can regulate our paces.
In all I think everyone is feeling the 'altitude burning' in their chest if I can call it that but I think we had a really good first practice. We have another tonight and every Sunday we are here we have off.