I took two complete weeks off after ice nationals. Exactly two weeks, I didn't do any workouts. My ice and inline skates were both in pieces. It was the longest break I've taken in at least two years, and I think the longest break I've actually taken since I broke my collarbone in 2006 but I can't be sure about that one so.. at least two years. That is a stupid, stupid thing on my part, if I wasn't so young that would probably have destroyed me.
It was one of the hardest two weeks of my life. At first everything started to hurt. My knees normally have a lot of pain but when I'm not doing anything I thought they would stop hurting. It got to the point when I was just laying in bed they were throbbing with a pulse. Then my back started to hurt, my back never hurts. I couldn't understand, I started to have pain in all these places that I never did. Then I started to realize that I workout so much, when I take time off.. I don't have a lot of things to do. The second week I just sat around for a lot of the time wondering what I should be doing.
Now I'm starting to work out again and it feels good. I won't take any time off for at least the next 11 months. Anyway, this time of the year it's pretty easy to motivate myself. I have this image that runs through my head all of the time. It's me, at Trials, and I'm not skating well and I just look back and realize there were so many days I should have done more, or should have skated better. Then I just tell myself I won't let that be me, I'll train harder now because that can't be me. The fear or idea of failure kills me: it frightens me. Once you fail, you can't go back and fix anything.. it's over. Don't get me wrong, if I'm at my best and I fail, then I'll take it. But failure for lack of preparation is unacceptable.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Proving Ground
I'm excited for my next few months. All of my workouts are on my own until May, then it's back to team training: offseason summer training for ice and inline training for the rest of the inline season. I can't wait until I race next time, but really I can't wait for my first outdoor race. Since November, every time I've raced on my inlines it's been unprepared. If you ask those who witnessed it in person, they would probably tell you it wasn't that bad. But, for me it was terrible, at least to my own standards. Not again.
I feel like I'm back down a few steps, like I almost have to prove something again. First, I have to convince and prove to myself that it was the comfort issue and not me. I have and will continue to be my biggest critic. The next goal is to prove I can still do this indoor stuff, no matter how much I hate it. This might be a harder goal, specifically because I will still not be training indoor.
I'm excited for the upcoming months for a lot of reasons. First, my last residency went nothing like I thought it did which is not a good thing. Every practice here will be residency in itself, because of the talent level we have.. Just in the WHIP program. That doesn't include those who will probably skate with us too. If I am going to be training with the best, I can't imagine myself not gaining a lot of strong workouts and a lot of confidence from this.
My absolute number one goal is world team trials right now. It will remain that way, until trials are over. Last year I skated my best overall at trials then I ever had before. Maybe not my best in a certain discipline but overall definitely. This year I want my trials to be a lot better and even more well-rounded. Trials will be my proving ground (for myself) both mentally and physically so that's something I'm looking forward to.
I'm especially looking forward to racing back home sometime soon. I have regionals May 14th and 15th but that isn't really what I'm looking forward to. I can't wait to race in one of the Eastern Seaboard Series race this season, I don't know when they are going to be yet but I hope to make at least one of them. Before, when I was always at every single one (the only time I missed one was for residency and worlds) I was just another guy, I didn't bring out the best in everyone. But the person that showed up to that one, Like Cheex last year, everyone wants to skate well when someone from out of town comes.. that will be me. I can't wait to bring out the best in everyone and see what they have. When you go to everyone of the races and you know you are going to be fast enough every time you stop getting excited and then there is no adrenaline there. It will be nice to show up to one, have that adrenaline and want to be there and race. Then I'll be able to show everyone what I have, something the rarely see if they don't go to trials.
I feel like I'm back down a few steps, like I almost have to prove something again. First, I have to convince and prove to myself that it was the comfort issue and not me. I have and will continue to be my biggest critic. The next goal is to prove I can still do this indoor stuff, no matter how much I hate it. This might be a harder goal, specifically because I will still not be training indoor.
I'm excited for the upcoming months for a lot of reasons. First, my last residency went nothing like I thought it did which is not a good thing. Every practice here will be residency in itself, because of the talent level we have.. Just in the WHIP program. That doesn't include those who will probably skate with us too. If I am going to be training with the best, I can't imagine myself not gaining a lot of strong workouts and a lot of confidence from this.
My absolute number one goal is world team trials right now. It will remain that way, until trials are over. Last year I skated my best overall at trials then I ever had before. Maybe not my best in a certain discipline but overall definitely. This year I want my trials to be a lot better and even more well-rounded. Trials will be my proving ground (for myself) both mentally and physically so that's something I'm looking forward to.
I'm especially looking forward to racing back home sometime soon. I have regionals May 14th and 15th but that isn't really what I'm looking forward to. I can't wait to race in one of the Eastern Seaboard Series race this season, I don't know when they are going to be yet but I hope to make at least one of them. Before, when I was always at every single one (the only time I missed one was for residency and worlds) I was just another guy, I didn't bring out the best in everyone. But the person that showed up to that one, Like Cheex last year, everyone wants to skate well when someone from out of town comes.. that will be me. I can't wait to bring out the best in everyone and see what they have. When you go to everyone of the races and you know you are going to be fast enough every time you stop getting excited and then there is no adrenaline there. It will be nice to show up to one, have that adrenaline and want to be there and race. Then I'll be able to show everyone what I have, something the rarely see if they don't go to trials.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Home Sweet Home
Back in Salt Lake after Ice Nationals. Quite an experience. I had to skate my age group because of qualification requirements to skate the Am Cup final and I wasn't in Salt Lake soon enough to skate some of the other Am Cup races. We had 9 skaters in total in the 'intermediate division' six of us ended up earning points in at least two distances, 4 of those six are inline skaters.. just for some perspective.
This season in short track they have a few new rules which makes things a little different for us because we don't know all the rules yet and then there are the new rules. In the two previous races I skated this season I did not get disqualified in a single race, that includes heats semi's finals whatever. At nationals I had four distances.. I ended up being disqualified in two of them. The first one is on me I get that. But from the explanation I received the second one was still on me, but because I fell down. If I had stayed on my feet I wouldn't have ended up committing a foul or whatever you want to call it. The other two races, the 500m and the 3000m I won.
The basis for the season which for me started in November after worlds, was to try and get as much of the technique down as possible and to gain experience. We got some of the technique down this season and still have a long, long way to go on that aspect.. at least until I'll be satisfied with the way I skate. We gained a good amount of experience this season but, obviously the more we race and practice the more experience we are going to get. But next season the goal is to improve technically a lot but also to qualify for seniors and for the am cup final. I think the racing and the mistakes made this season will set us up well for next season.
Now I am here in Salt Lake and the ice season is over. I am on my own in terms of what kind of training I decide to do from now until May 2nd, when the team will begin our summer training for the next ice season and our organized inline practices for the inline season. Right now it is March 15th, so I think the next two weeks I'm going to take it a little easy. I'm not going to do to much but am still going to be on my skates. One thing that I have to take into consideration is that I haven't taken any time off at all since I got back from China in 2009. If I don't at least slow down for a little I could end up running into trouble down the road, I'm just going to play it safe and cut out all the extra stuff I've been doing for the next two weeks besides the skating time. Once April gets here it's going to be a pretty tough stretch so I want to make sure I'm prepared for that.
This season in short track they have a few new rules which makes things a little different for us because we don't know all the rules yet and then there are the new rules. In the two previous races I skated this season I did not get disqualified in a single race, that includes heats semi's finals whatever. At nationals I had four distances.. I ended up being disqualified in two of them. The first one is on me I get that. But from the explanation I received the second one was still on me, but because I fell down. If I had stayed on my feet I wouldn't have ended up committing a foul or whatever you want to call it. The other two races, the 500m and the 3000m I won.
The basis for the season which for me started in November after worlds, was to try and get as much of the technique down as possible and to gain experience. We got some of the technique down this season and still have a long, long way to go on that aspect.. at least until I'll be satisfied with the way I skate. We gained a good amount of experience this season but, obviously the more we race and practice the more experience we are going to get. But next season the goal is to improve technically a lot but also to qualify for seniors and for the am cup final. I think the racing and the mistakes made this season will set us up well for next season.
Now I am here in Salt Lake and the ice season is over. I am on my own in terms of what kind of training I decide to do from now until May 2nd, when the team will begin our summer training for the next ice season and our organized inline practices for the inline season. Right now it is March 15th, so I think the next two weeks I'm going to take it a little easy. I'm not going to do to much but am still going to be on my skates. One thing that I have to take into consideration is that I haven't taken any time off at all since I got back from China in 2009. If I don't at least slow down for a little I could end up running into trouble down the road, I'm just going to play it safe and cut out all the extra stuff I've been doing for the next two weeks besides the skating time. Once April gets here it's going to be a pretty tough stretch so I want to make sure I'm prepared for that.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Catching Up
It's been a while since I blogged so I guess it's that time. A lot has happened in the last month. My training has pretty much been the same though. I was in Midland, Michigan for the American Cup III race for ice. The American Cup races are pretty much used to qualify people for the the finale and to crown the American Cup Champion who automatically ends up on the National Team the following season if they choose to. With this being my first American Cup race of the season I had to chance of qualifying for the finale or being crowned champion, but that didn't make it any less of an experience.
The first race I skated was the 1500m and the strategy was pretty simple, sit in the pack and wait for everyone to die. The thing about short track is that for the most part until you get to an international level it is a sprinters sport. Every race becomes pretty much a 5 lap or less race at the end, so it's more of a positioning fight for the rest of it. The beginning of 1500m are so slow, it's kind of funny almost, yet a lot of skaters can't manage to have the legs for a 1500m. Anyway, the strategy was good.. I made the semi-finals and fell down with like 3 to go which was disappointing because it looked like I was going to make the A final. I managed to win the B final.
The next race was a 500m. The thing about short track is that for the start if you don't have the inside your chances of winning the start are dramatically decreased.. kind of like nira. But when you have a really good start, you can make up at least a few spots. I was starting in lane 4 of 5. I got off the line and at the point where I was about to start my turn I was ahead of everyone. Some people do this weird thing where they like to go right to turn sharper left I don't know, I've never been one of those people. But I planted my left after running the start and crossed over while the kid to my left decided to go right some more to turn left, and kicked my blade. I thought I had a strip in my blade because I couldn't skate the race. I got off the ice and realized a piece of my blade broke off. I finished the meet on a pair of blades from another skater, which is pretty weird because they have different bends and rocks for every skater. I didn't skate bad the next day but it would have been a lot better with my own blades. I finished 10th overall for the race.
After that I went to Roanoke and pretty much had a pretty miserable time. The floor wasn't bad in terms of the coating. But I had only skated on a 90 ft wide floor since a little after nationals so skating on the 80ft in Roanoke plus knowing it has never been a good place for me racing didn't help. Skating in Roanoke made me remember why I've always favored outdoor skating. Indoor once you get to a certain skill level there are two things that happen: 1. You can't reach top speed anymore and 2. If you are a smart skater or an experienced skater you can keep everyone behind you with ease because there aren't any passing lanes.
Next week I leave for ice nationals, because I didn't qualify for the American Cup Finale I will be skating my age group, which has only about 7 other skaters because the rest are in the finale. It should be okay though. I have decided to skip the March NSC event. I am in Wisconsin until Monday and having no time on my inlines and going to a race just seems like a bad idea right now. But, once nationals is over I'll be spending a lot of time on my inlines so I'll be ready to go the rest of the year.
The first race I skated was the 1500m and the strategy was pretty simple, sit in the pack and wait for everyone to die. The thing about short track is that for the most part until you get to an international level it is a sprinters sport. Every race becomes pretty much a 5 lap or less race at the end, so it's more of a positioning fight for the rest of it. The beginning of 1500m are so slow, it's kind of funny almost, yet a lot of skaters can't manage to have the legs for a 1500m. Anyway, the strategy was good.. I made the semi-finals and fell down with like 3 to go which was disappointing because it looked like I was going to make the A final. I managed to win the B final.
The next race was a 500m. The thing about short track is that for the start if you don't have the inside your chances of winning the start are dramatically decreased.. kind of like nira. But when you have a really good start, you can make up at least a few spots. I was starting in lane 4 of 5. I got off the line and at the point where I was about to start my turn I was ahead of everyone. Some people do this weird thing where they like to go right to turn sharper left I don't know, I've never been one of those people. But I planted my left after running the start and crossed over while the kid to my left decided to go right some more to turn left, and kicked my blade. I thought I had a strip in my blade because I couldn't skate the race. I got off the ice and realized a piece of my blade broke off. I finished the meet on a pair of blades from another skater, which is pretty weird because they have different bends and rocks for every skater. I didn't skate bad the next day but it would have been a lot better with my own blades. I finished 10th overall for the race.
After that I went to Roanoke and pretty much had a pretty miserable time. The floor wasn't bad in terms of the coating. But I had only skated on a 90 ft wide floor since a little after nationals so skating on the 80ft in Roanoke plus knowing it has never been a good place for me racing didn't help. Skating in Roanoke made me remember why I've always favored outdoor skating. Indoor once you get to a certain skill level there are two things that happen: 1. You can't reach top speed anymore and 2. If you are a smart skater or an experienced skater you can keep everyone behind you with ease because there aren't any passing lanes.
Next week I leave for ice nationals, because I didn't qualify for the American Cup Finale I will be skating my age group, which has only about 7 other skaters because the rest are in the finale. It should be okay though. I have decided to skip the March NSC event. I am in Wisconsin until Monday and having no time on my inlines and going to a race just seems like a bad idea right now. But, once nationals is over I'll be spending a lot of time on my inlines so I'll be ready to go the rest of the year.
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