Any day is a good day when you are at an indoor oval, and chatting with fellas like Ragnvald Naess. He is as warm as his smile indicates.
Click on this image of him to see a larger version, & so you can see all the detail of the amazing patches on his jacket. He has skated all over the world, and has patches on this jacket from everywhere.
He wants a patch from the USA, does anyone have one? Do we even make jacket patches anymore?
Rangvald is 54 years old, and has skated over 50 10k’s. He wants to skate 100 10k’s Yeah, there are a lot of extraordinary folks here, from all over the world.
But to the races.
I skate a solid 1500m, good for 2nd in my group, and gave me some more cushion on the pile of quality distance skaters right on my heels. It hurt, but in a good way.
It’s easy to say you are a true sportsman, but do you really mean it? Jan Duif of the Netherlands lost his fast skinsuit. He is the main competition of my friend Marty Haire.
So I loaned him my backup fast suit. This is what this event is about. It was wild to see my suit whipping around the track, but without me in it.
Jan skated a huge PB in the 1500, and jokingly did not want to give my suit back. Marty was 2nd again, also skating a massive PB, both skaters going in the 1:57’s, and Jan increased his lead slightly in the overall.
Tom “cosmopolitan” Cole PB’ed in both his 1500, and 3k today, and moved up strongly to 10th overall, in the 45-50’s. Go TOM!!!
He joked that the track in Petoskey, Michigan, should host Masters Worlds someday.
My turn for the 3k, I skated what I’ve found is the best strategy for me, skate 4 very fast laps, and then struggle to the finish like a flaming lactic meatball. This was the crucial distance in this meet for me. I could not lose too much time. I started with several 32’s, and faded horribly to a 39.
I will not post pictures of the “flaming lactic meatball” moments. It was ugly.
My pair, the superstrong Dutchman Piet Hjoksma, obliterated me, and the rest of the field, and Danny Fredericks’ 3k masters Calgary world record in one shot.
It was expected, but still awesome from my front row-seat to watch him motor.
I finished almost last, but I did not lose huge gobs of time to everyone other than Piet, I’m still in second place.. Every pair I have had during these masters games, they have skated personal bests against me.
Jim Cornell, he is skating solidly in 7th place. Jim broke his collarbone earlier this year, and that hugely impacted his preseason preparation. To see him still skating in the top 10 masters, in such an intense age category, is inspiring.
Norwegian Marja Haartsen, at the start, driving hard off the line, then 400m later at her top speed.
Ivar watching from home in Norway, you are missed by all of us! (Especially me, I want to race you in a 500m someday!)
Canadian Genevieve Provencher, also at the start and then ripping along at top speed. These are some smart, fast, awesome skaters here. Everyone tries to bring their “A+ GAME” to worlds. Most succeed.
So Marty lines up for the 3k directly with his main Dutch rival, and the one that many Europeans expect to win this weekend.
Jan Duif had an incredible battle with Brian Boudreau last year in Calgary during the 3k, it was one of the best races I have ever seen.
Jan beat Brian that day, but was 2nd overall to Canadian Benoit Lamarche in the overall. Now Jan has another North American on his hands. They are 1-2 in the standings
Jan goes our hard, and opens up a solid lead on Marty.
Marty smoothly chases him down, no panicking-
and skating repeated 32 second laps, Marty PASSES JAN AND WINS!!
It was an amazing skate! Canadian Brett Arnason stated out our sentiments most clearly when he hollered to an exhausted Marty.
There are not enough O’s in the word “SMOOTH” to describe that skate!!!
We did not realize it until later in the Evening, that Marty’s time of 4:05 was a NEW MASTERS WORLD RECORD!!
(world record? It’s a difficult question, as Masters speedskaters are denied the right by the ISU to call our fastest times “masters world records”. We are denied what swimmers, cyclists & track & field masters have. But Marty beat Jon Arthur Olafson’s amazing race from from Calgary last year, so yeah, it’s a world record in the hearts of everyone here).
Here are the men’s 45-50 standings so far.
Tomorrow, the 5,000m!
Jan & Marty are separated by a “Haire” in the 5k. If Marty wins the race by a little over a second, he is Masters champ.
Jim & Tom & myself also qualified to skate the final distance (only the top half of the ranking skates the longest race in a meet like this). This is good.
I’m still in second in my age category, but have strong Finnish skater Vesa Isoviita chasing me during my worst event, and his best, the 5,000m.
First place is far out of reach, but I do have a lead on Vesa & a Russian. If I just execute & “suffer well” I should be able to hang onto second place, but as Kenny Rodgers sings:
You never count your money, when you’re sitting at the table, there will be time enough for counting, when the dealing’s done!
2 Comments »
Filed under: RACE DAY, on the road
Execute, flow, find my rythmn quickly as the laps build, confidently… I am breathing hard, but controlled, smooth, smooth, build the turns, sit low, drive with the heels. Listen to the splits, don’t get excited, execute. 
After the races, I talked with Vesa, he narrowly beat me last year in Calgary. Vesa knew from this website I had been working on my distance skating, and I have followed his times online this year as well. I had pictured myself chasing him as I was doing long slideboard workouts.. 
Both skaters did HUGE personal bests. Jan said that he came within a second of his 5k time from last year’s crazy fast Calgary ice. A massive sea-level PB for him. 
