Zen and the Art of Speedskating

Yesterday was the first long-track race of the season at the Utah Olympic Oval, and the atmosphere was very much like a spring training baseball game. The races really didn’t matter, and the coaches were urging their athletes to skate technically well at a controlled effort level.

However, put a bunch of truly competitive athletes on the starting line, turn the electronic timing system on, and people tend to try hard.

I have fast enough qualifying times, that often when I line up for races, there is a fellow wearing a USA in the lane next to me.

It always gets my adrenalin going to be racing one of those guys, and I have a ton of respect for every single one of them. Someday, if I keep working very hard, maybe I can earn those three letters too.

For this first race of the season, in the 500m I was paired with national sprint team member Tyler Goff. I am an uncannily consistent skater, and Tyler is absolutely a big-race skater, who can pull off huge races when it counts.

(Tyler is in the red & blue USA skinsuit, and that’s me in my deep navy).

We were paired together last year at the fall world cup competition, and he squashed me on that day by over a second in the 500. But today, since nothing was on the line, after 500m I crossed the line first.

However, as a two time Olympian once told me:

“You must race in your own lane, and I mean that mentally as well as physically”.

Even from within my own lane, I am really happy with how this first race went. My opening 100m was ugly & spastic, but the snap and power was there. Even my own personal technical demons of relaxation, knees together, absolute top speed, and handing that scary final inner turn, all seem improved.

My final time was a 37.77, A good deal faster than the 38.44 I skated at this race last year. I say I am scary consistent, for example; on Friday I skated a 400m tempo at 27.1 seconds. I always seem to do a Saturday race very close to my Friday pre-race tempo time, in the race I skated a 27.2!!!

Here is another example of scary consistency in 500m racing:

2003-04 season
First Race 40.1
Season PB, 38.69
Improvement 1.41

2004-2005
First Race 39.08
Season PB 37.41
Improvement 1.67

2005-2006
First Race 38.44
Season PB 36.72
Improvement 1.72

This year, 2006-07
First race 37.77
I have a goal to skate sub-36 this year, so my spirits are lifted by hard numbers showing that I am on the right track.

I also raced a 1500m as well, but the less said about that race, the better, as it was mostly “an exercise in relaxation“, like relaxedly wading into a pool of molten lava, How people enjoy this distance is as far beyond my comprehension as what it must be like to walk on the moon.

Afterwards, I went over to my coach and said: “OOUUUCCCHH!!” and Scott deadpanned “You are welcome”.

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Filed under: RACE DAY

Life is good, training is hard, and the taste of fall is in the air. Jeans and sweaters are emerging from closets, and speedskaters all over the world are eagerly anticipating the race season now only a few weeks away.

Also, in Utah, now it’s possible to now to stand outside at noon without the high altitude sun feeling like a propane blowtortch.

Thanks to all who commented on my last post. Maybe I shouldn’t try to write when exhausted, but I have come out of it pretty well, and my fitness & speed are improving every time I step on the ice.

Here are some briefly noted items in the news:

US speedskating found a new allaround coach in Chris Shelly, he arrived today in Salt Lake, and I had a nice chat with him, as we are both Lake Placid folks.

US speedskating is also very close to a major sponsorship agreement with dutch bank DSB. And if that deal goes through, it would solve MANY conflicts. How many bank websites have a speedskater on their home page? This one does.

Speaking of DSB affiliated skaters, Chad Hedrick not only one of the world’s best speedskaters, he also passed the Lilly test extremely well. He is very much a dog person, and was Lilly’s best friend in a few moments. Lilly was quite abused before we got her, and is often frightened of new people, especially men.

For most Homo sapiens, Chad’s accomplishments pre-dispose a positive reaction to him. But for a Canis lupus familiaris, a gold medal means less than a dog biscuit. Lilly can be one finicky dog to impress, but within a few moments of this photo (and a few biscuits), she was sitting on his feet with complete trust.

In other interesting tidbits, I came across this cool video shot from the middle of a huge paceline of older guys doing nighttime endurance skating at the Haarlem oval in the Netherlands. I think they are crusing along relaxedly at 22-23mph

(let me know if this video link gives your browser trouble, or screws up how the blog loads, you can acesss it directly here.)

This video struck me because I was speaking with a teammate of mine about nighttime skating this morning. Although her associations are from the Minnesota Roseville 400m oval and mine from Lake Placid, we agreed that there is a wonderful feeling when the lights come on, and how on certain mild evenings, one can truly feel flight, and simply want to skate forever.

When the session ends, and you step off the ice, it often feels like one is leaving something temporary, beautiful, and magical behind.

We also agreed, when it’s brutally cold or blizzarding, then nighttime skating can be pretty awful, but we prefer to remember the beautiful evenings.

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Filed under: from the coffee shop