Zen and the Art of Speedskating

Here are the raw results from the first day of US national Championships. In the order the races happened along with pictures of the winners. Today and tomorrow are the Allaround, sprinters race Friday & Saturday.

Women’s 500m

1. Jessica Smith 41. 04
2. Maria Lamb 41.12
3. Anna Ringsred 41.67
4. Catherine Raney 41.82
5. Ericka Hawke 42.43
6. Mia Manganello 42.58
7. Ashlee Barnett 42.6
8. Netanya Mintz 44.43
9. Rebekah Dyrud 44.72
10. Heidi Shockley 44.82
10. April Medley 44.82
12. Lisa Hambly 46.27
13. Hannah Dyrud 46.62
14. Carla Langenthal 49.26

Mens 500m

1. Shani Davis 36.52
2. Chad Hedrick 37.6
3. John Loquai 37.77
4. Kreg Greer 37.83
5. Ronald Macky 38.2
6. Nate Defranco 38.62
7. Michael Stein-Stewart 38.63
8. Daniel Frederick 38.72
9. Mitchell Whitmore 38.76
10. Paul Dyrud 38.9
10. Liam Ortega 38.9
12. Eric Cepuran 39.0
13. Charles Leveille 39.09
14. Matt Hotchkiss 39.11
15. Daniel Beck 39.46
16 Justin Stelly 39.70
17. Brandon Andrews 39.75
18. Patrick Meek 39.97
19 (reskate after fall) Matt Plummer 40.57
20. Keith Carney 41.22

Women’s 3000m

1. Catherine Raney 4:14.46
2. Anna Ringsred 4:19.84
3. Maria Lamb 4:22.06
4. Mia Manganello 4:28.93
5. Ericka Hawke 4:34.92
6. Jessica Smith 4:40.57
7. Ashlee Barnett 4:42.55
8. April Medley 4.43.66
9. Melissa Dahlman 4:48.75
10. Netanya Mintz 4:52.08
11. Heidi Shockley 4:55.8
12. Hannah Dyrud 4:56.97
13. Lisa Hambly 4:59.59
14. Carla Langenthal 5:09.77 (fall)
Rebekah Dyrud (dq)

Mens 5000m

1. Shani Davis 6:24.93
2. Chad Hedrick 6:25.47
3. Charles Leveille 6:46.51
4. Paul Dyrud 6:49.21
5. John Loquai 6:57.85
6. Justin Stelly 6:59.46
7. Daniel Frederick 7:01.43
8. Liam Ortega 7:03.02
9. Patrick Meek 7:09.54
10. Kreg Greer 7:09.83
11. Eric Cepuran 7:18.09
12. Nate Defranco 7:19.4
13. Ronald Macky 7:19.45
14. Keith Carney 7:19.57
15. Matt Plummer 7:19.67
16 Mitchell Whitmore 7:19.99
17. Michael Stein-Stewart 7:21.96
18. Daniel Beck 7:30.53
19 Matt Hotchkiss 7:31.63
20. Brandon Andrews 7:52.41

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Filed under: RACE DAY, on the road

The Whole Foods supermarket announces over their loudspeaker that the Packers game has just started, the Pack is ALREADY losing 3 to 0, and that you can go over to their lounge where the games is on, have some organic bratwurst and beer, and watch.

I am working at the free wi-fi in the whole foods market coffee shop, and am pretty much dying with laughter as I write this. There are SO many interesting contradictions in this!

I wonder if they will give score updates on the store loudspeaker as the game goes along… hmmmm.

Maybe I will just have to go buy some Green Bay Packers Gorp, and check out the modern & unique convergence of “health food shoppers/harcore Packers Fans.”

Or as my brother explained when I told him this story: “this proves there are organic cheeseheads”.

Update: the lounge is full of fans & shoppers, & employees on breaks.. the Pack is now leading 10-3, and organic bratwurst is quite good.

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Filed under: on the road

Thanks to everyone who has commented & written…. Thank you so, so much… I still feel pretty crummy, but it’s in these moments when the good people in your life shine through like the ship of reality to a wave-tossed man swimming alone in his own misery ocean.

actually, this image is a fella having a great time surfing in lake Michigan a few days ago, but you get my point.

But my story is only one of the 38 athletes competing here over the past few days in 126 different individual races. When I was done with my own time on the frozen 400m hamster wheel, I grabbed my camera, headed for the stands, and enjoyed being a fan of this wonderful sport.

Here are some images.

John Loquai made his father & whole family so proud as he earned his 2nd world cup spot in the 5k here. He did it suffering through a below average day (I have not asked him, but it looked that way). His spot came at the expense of Liam Ortega, who skated a personal best in the 5k. Over 5000m, the difference between these two for that spot was .34 of a second!!!

Here is John at 400 & 100m to go in his 5k. Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.

Catherine Raney. The working title for the photoshop document that became what you see here was power is beauty, I think it fits this Torino Olympian quite well.

Liam Ortega and Nate Defranco 100m, and then 500m into a 1500.

In a huge surprise, Mike Blumel won the 1500m, its even more impressive since he has not had a lot of ice time this fall. Here he is blasting off the line in that race with Brent Aussprung. One of the tricks of starting on blades as opposed to sprinting in running shoes is to drive the knee straight forward yet keeping the ankle turned out ready to land on the ice. Many skaters don’t do it that well, but the best sprinters are fantastic at it. Mike does it like a rockstar.

Tom Cushman urging Torino Olympian Charles Leveille onward in the 1500m. I think a lot of the coaches completely blew out their voices urging their skaters onward.

Roughly 29 seconds after the previous picture, 300 meters from the finish of the 1500m, the sound track for this image is Ryan Shimabukuro screaming for Chris Needham “USE THE DRAFT! USE THE DRAFT” Chris did, took a long walk through lactic-hell, and missed 3rd place (and the final world cup 1500m spot) by .03 to Kip Carpenter.

One of my training buddies, Michael Stein-Stewart, 350m into his 1500m… when folks talk about “blade direction in the turns” & pushing to the side, not back, this is how it should be done, Maple gold blades also catch the light nicely.. whoosh…

Anna Ringsred is one of a handful of Americans training up in Calgary this year. This is the last few meters of a fast 3000m raced step for step with Maria Lamb. Her technique looks quite a bit better here after 7.5 laps than I do staggering to the finish of 2.5

Matt Plummer has several Junior National Short track championships in his background, he is also a talented cross-country runner as well, so this season he is trying Long Track. As he lined up for his 5k, he drew a fairly intimidating pair in Torino 5k Gold Medalist Chad Hedrick.

Ron Macky & Mitchell Whitmore sprint shoulder-to-shoulder for the finish of a 5,000m race. Ouch. Exciting racing to watch, but as Ron told me afterwards, sometimes it’s not a lot of fun to do.

As I was leaving the rink, I heard an athlete who had a disaster of a weekend announce loudly that the Jagermeister shots will be in his hotel room tonight & everybody come on over! It was tempting, but I have dealt with my own disappointment in other ways.

Skating is not life or death, it’s not as important as your family or other loved ones. Those things, and MANY others are far more important. But for pretty much everyone on the ice at this competition, it’s our absorbing passion, and what we spend the majority of our lives doing. When its good, its really good, but when things don’t turn out well, it can make for a long plane trip home.

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Filed under: RACE DAY, on the road

5:45am, I am awake before my alarm goes off, alert & focused, rested and super ready for possibly my most important race of the year.

In a few moments I am warming my hands on a race-day sized mug of coffee. My laptop screen glows to life, and I get a message from my brother-

Rock like never before.

Coming from a professional musician, who rocks for a living, these are strong words, and it’s in my mind all through warm-up. I feel super strong, solid in the turns, and even when my left skate blade comes loose, and I have to futz around with it, I keep repeating this.

I have an ambition of being top five here in the 500m. It’s one of the reasons I kept skating this year. Choosing the World Cup team is not up to me, and I am probably too old to be picked even if I did make that top 5 (it’s better to spend the money on an up and comer, not a 35 year old). But I want to know in my heart I belong in the top 10 sprinters in the US.

My pair is Donald Stewart, he starts on the inner, and I am on the outer. I never quite got my loose blade exactly back to where it was, but no time to worry, confidence is everything, I tell myself this new feel might even be more pressure into the ice! I used to call Donald my “barometer”, as I have raced him repeatedly over the past 5 years. He is very talented, and usually crushes me by over a second.

I ignore the commotion and times being set as the races start. I don’t look at the scoreboard as standings accumulate. The pairs count down, and now it’s our turn. Donald and I wish each other luck, and go to the start line.

GO TO THE START…. Relax, loosen upper body, hips narrow every step…
READY…. weight on front foot… exhale,,,,,,,,,,,,,
BANG!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!

I get a fantastic jump off the line, by 40 meters in I have passed Donald. I skate deep into the first turn before I lay it over and start crossing. I get good pressure the first few steps, Donald comes by me on the inner lane. Something’s not right in how my body is set, and my left foot slips on the exit and I pop momentarily out of skate position. I snap back into motion entering the backstretch and chase Donald down as we switch lanes, I briefly feel a draft behind him, lean hard into the final inner turn, fighting the swirl of G-forces and fear. I pass him for the final time, nail the exit, sit low and drive the final 100m. Boom! the finish rushes past at 33mph…

37.21, another Milwaukee personal best, and I beat my long time “barometer” (to be fair, his right skate blade is FUBAR). My opening 100m was a 10.12, FAR and away my fastest ever, and absolutely in the ROCK LIKE NEVER BEFORE category.

Of the 17 men competing today, only one (Tucker Fredricks) went quicker down the 100. But its not a 100m race, it’s a 500m, and my slip cost me dearly. Overall I am in 6th place. But there pretty much is a 3 way tie between 5th, 6th & 7th, as we are separated by only .1

Later in the day I PB’ed in the 1000m as well, 1:16.19, even with another left foot slip, but was quite far down the results list. Tomorrow will be quite interesting.

Sorry no photos, I was a little busy…

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Filed under: RACE DAY, on the road

This weekend I skated possibly my most “perfect” race ever, a HUGE Milwaukee Personal best; 37.42 for the 500m. I am happy happy happy, everything felt incredibly solid.

Here I am at top speed, 75 meters to go. Knee bend is good, body is centered well, but my leg did not completely extended at the end of the stroke. There always is more power to be found, even in what feels “perfect” at the moment (my first few steps off the start was ugly too). If I can just do this again next week!!!!

2 of my best friends in this sport lined up for a 5,000m race. Olu jumped out to a big lead in the first few laps of this 12.5 lap race, and then barely held off the “last lap Langenthal” tractor beam, as she came roaring back in the last 800 meters.

Again, this photo illustrates the essential truth that there is no ideal body type for skating. Look for Olu to fly at world masters championships in Calgary later this year.

Only 6 weeks ago at inline world championships in Korea, Jessica Smith won 2 gold medals in the relay, and an individual bronze, now she is here is on the ice, 600m into a 1000m. She has an astonishing amount of starting line power & speed.

Tani Mintz, came within a second of the fast time needed to qualify for US fall world cup trials in the 3k, like Olu, she was also skating fast in front of the “last lap Langenthal” tractor beam.

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Filed under: on the road