Busy

This is the time of the year that I am going to be busy. I have skating school and work to do which takes up pretty much all of my time. I have half of Thursday's off and that's about it (which is why I'm writing this on a Thursday). I don't think I really mind being really busy though because you don't have much time to realize that you are tired or anything and for some reason that makes it a little easier for me.

Now onto something a little different that has been on my mind a little. I realize it is winter and cold and that it might be hard for some to realize the importance of training right now but I hate those days where I show up to practice and it seems like everyone is in a slump. When you show up and everyone is just kind of like blah, no one is trying to move there feet fast, everyone is tired but not from going as fast as they normally do. Like everyone slaps on a tired face and tries to look more tired then everyone else, I hate it. And the worse part is that it's contagious. I'll be skating and all the sudden I realize my foot speed has slowed down, that I am hurting but could be making myself go a little faster and hurt a little more. Then at that moment I do it, I go a little faster and make it hurt a little more. No one else does that and I hate it. Like when we are running through drills and I'm the last person in the pack I can't tell who is giving 100% and who is just going through the motions with 'tired face' on.

But then I realize it's not that bad. Because as soon as I realize that everyone is in 'tired face' I just go harder and it makes it so much easier. Then I realize there is no way that my rink is the only one that ever has 'tired face' mode. Especially when I go to some rinks and it seems like every practice is a 'tired face' mode. Then I realize even if just one of my competitors happens to have one 'tired face' practice I've gained ground by running harder then ever on that day. Then it feels good.

There are two weeks until Hickory which will be a big meet just like Roanoke always was and before that Philly. For the last week 'tired face' has been turned on which means 'sad face' will follow once some people get to Hickory. Then it will be the infamous 'I want to get faster' mode right after Hickory when there is no big race to gear up for. That is always the best. When its time to dial back just a bit and work on what you need to so that you can go fast when it is time. No one likes that time of the year because they think that in Speed Skating if you aren't blazing around the track there is not a chance you are getting better.

I've done more things at a slower more painful, beneficial pace this year that I think it will work out brilliantly. I don't think it will really show up until July/August but once it does it's going to make going fast a lot easier and it will make racing even more fun for me.

Hmmm

This weekend I was a little busy with Kyle's birthday party then orientation all day Sunday. But I did catch some of the streaming of West Palm that TVMR did. I remember West Palm use to be an indoor/outdoor event but as it has evolved now it's just outdoor (which is fine to me). But is an outdoor only event that features a bank track and road course best suited for January? Just an idea.

Am I the only one who thinks that meet could grow substantially (as an outdoor only event) if it was in march-april-may-june (any of those months are better suited in my opinion). If ODN is in the first week of August or last week of July as it looks like it will be then could that meet not grow a lot in June? Students are out of school or getting out of school, everyone pretty much knows if they are going to ODN, and it's warm enough across the nation for a majority of people to skate outdoor regularly.

I am a big outdoor fan and I would love to skate this meet but in January it just doesn't make that much since for me to go to Florida to race a lot of people that are not in outdoor shape which from watching.. a lot of people are not in outdoor shape. In January I just don't believe that there is anything to gain from that meet. If you do good then you get a false since of security considering you weren't racing many people that were in shape, and if you do bad you shrug it off and say you haven't been skating outdoor much.

With Outdoor Nationals so late this year it is a great opportunity for a 2 or 3 day outdoor only meet that could potentially be bigger then outdoor nationals.. especially in an area with a lot of skaters in a smaller radius like Florida or NC.

Just a thought..

Back

I haven't posted in about forever. I tried probably 10 times and then I was interrupted or got busy before I finished and never returned back to the same idea or post I was putting together. A lot has happened since my last post which was after my trip to Washington.

First I started skating again.. after worlds until November 2oth (roughly) I skated about 7-10 times total. Partially because I was trying to give my body enough time to settle down and heal up because it had been a few years since I really took a legitimate rest other then travel days. The other part was when I first started work they oddly kept scheduling me outside of my availability which meant over my practice times. But I got it fixed and I have started making at least three practices a week (some weeks 6 practices). I'm almost where I want to be for January which is pretty impressive because Nov. 15th I was absolutely awful and I can admit that (my last meet before starting to practice was Nov. 15th).

Second I have FINALLY managed to have one boot that I can skate everything on. In April I got my first Simmons and I loved it outdoor but it was a little higher then ideal for indoor and it was 47894725927 times stiffer then the piece of (fill in the blank) ____ that I had on before it (won't give the brand). Once I started practicing regularly again I realized that I couldn't skate indoor anymore anyway so why not just stick with the Simmons and get used to it while I figured out the turning thing again. And it worked and it makes me very happy but maybe a little sad at the same time. I'm happy because I can now skate indoor, outdoor, and sprint outdoor on the same boot and a 4x110 which I was not doing (partially because that same piece of ___ a boot I had wouldn't fit my 4x110 frame). But it makes me a little sad because of this: I got the boot in April which means June, July, August, and September it was skated on 2-3 times a day.. which ends up being about as much or close to what an 'average' skater does per year. So my boot basically has a year under it already and I really want it to last until after worlds this year which is a long time. Normally after i go through the summer of 2-3 times a day whatever boot I used breaks down in the winter.. and I literally mean BREAKS down. I hope that the stiffness of my boot and quality holds up and the reason I can skate indoor on it now is not because it is getting flimsier... GULP.

And lastly, the break I took ended up being perfect for me. I absolutely cannot wait until the weather breaks even a little so I can skate outdoor everyday instead of twice a week. I'm stoked for this year. I'm anxious to start skating a lot outdoor and really getting in great shape. My break rejuvenated me completely and I'm waiting anxiously to start putting in a lot of work. Now all I need to do is figure out where I'm going to get a quality outdoor wheel for ODN, residency, and worlds.

Next up for me is NSC Tribulation which should be fun. I should skate better because I'm getting pretty close to decent shape. Then I'll see everyone in Hickory.