I started planning last year when I would get a pair of new skates. I knew this year was when I needed to get the ball rolling. So, when I found out that I needed to make a trip to the Marchese Racing shop I decided to sandwich it around two days at home. The last time I visited Pennsylvania was November 2012 when a race I was attending in Ohio was cancelled so I spent the time home.
I kept myself pretty busy, flew in red-eye so I would have the rest of Tuesday at home and I ended up visiting an inline practice at the rink I spent years chasing dreams and checking off goals.
Wednesday I made my trip to the shop to get molded and really enjoyed seeing the process of boots being made. I'm a huge nerd with that stuff. I was so focused on everything going on and asking questions I didn't even end up taking a single photo. Oh well.
Thursday I visited some of my siblings and their children that basically couldn't remember me because they were so little last time I was here.
It was a trip I'm ultimately glad I made.
But mostly I want to focus on that first photo for today. Fourteen or fifteen years ago my family, already speed skating for a few years, switched to a rink further away for multiple reasons at the time. But as small of a change it was, it would have seemed impossible then that I would be where I am today.
Visiting that rink a couple of days ago really brought me back to a time I didn't even know I remembered. My first day I ever stepped into that rink. I was a small, scrawny, quiet nine year old that nodded his head instead of speaking and would do anything you told him to do. It was a fall practice after nationals so everything was back to the basics and we did circle laps. I watched the family of kids that were way better then me but all around my age. I didn't think I would ever be a regional, national, world, or olympic champion.. I just wanted to skate.
I went through some really tough times at that rink on and off the skates over the years. Something I still believe and follow today is that our coaches would always say when you walk in that door all of your problems or issues will still be there when you walk back out so you might as well forget them for a few hours. Skating was an outlet for me for so many years.
I remember one year I struggled the whole season. Fell down at every indoor meet. Went to jr world team trials and just ever so barely missed making the team. I had a month or two before indoor nationals and like so many Wednesday nights, I would end up staying late and talking with my coach. I had a tough season, nationals would be my final race of the year and I wanted to beat everyone that made the team instead of me and I wanted to stay on my feet. We were talking about what I needed to do to get on the podium. I stopped, and said all I want to do is win, getting on the podium wasn't enough. Somehow I won that year.
My favorite practices were always the days no one wanted to be at practice. For whatever reason, somehow everyone will end up sluggish on the same day. Maybe it's a crappy day outside and that's just the days vibe. Those rare days I didn't want to give 100% were my favorite because I knew no one wanted to.. So I would fight myself and truly force myself to give it everything I had. I always told myself those were the days that I would catch up to my competitors.
People say you have to remember where you are from and what you've been through in order to get where you are going.
