The path to becoming a better skater is one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. If you want to walk that road, it can be painful, difficult, lonely, frustrating, and containing an endless variety of training methods that make your legs scream.
But as an ex of mine was fond of saying: “all things excellent are as difficult as they are rare.
When she said that, she was referring to herself, but it’s also true of speedskating.
This is Trevor Marsicano on the right, after already racing in the morning, doing endless lunges. He’s wearing a weight vest, and carrying heavy dumbbells in each hand.
As E.T. would say. ” Ouuuuuuch. “
But one does not always travel that long cold hallway alone. In metric long track, skaters are often paired together by their personal bests. So if there is a skater at your track who has a personal best very close to yours, it’s quite possible to end up racing them almost every weekend.
Last season, I was in the Tyler-Goff zone, and the two of us had a lot of fun with it. This season, the rivalry most noticeable at the Utah Oval is Keith Carney & Matt Hotchkiss. Between 1500’s, 3k & 5k’s, It seems they are always flying down the track shoulder to shoulder.
This weekend was the 3rd 5k they have raced against each other this year!
Keith was a little stronger on this day, and edged Matt by a few seconds at the finish. Both were absolutely shattered by the effort. You can actually see the whole race here on YouTube.
Afterwards, I came across them recounting, blow by blow, their 12.5 lap lactic waltz, I asked them a few questions:
Q: Matt, what is the great thing about racing Keith and what is the hard thing about racing Keith?
Matt: The great thing is that we always start out the same, but Keith has a little more endurance than me, so he really makes me push it at the end.
Q: Keith, what is the great thing about racing Matt and what is the hard thing about racing Matt?
Keith: Matt is a much better skater than I am, all I have is my endurance during the last 5 laps, Matt is really a much better skater, and I tend to fall apart at the end.
There were some other interesting faces at the racing this weekend. Sarah Elliot appeared at the Utah oval for the first time in several years. This former 1500m junior world record holder looked good, here she is about 250 meters into a 1500.
The Short track national team is also doing some big ice racing. Ryan Bedford, Cherise Wilkins & others tried their hand on the Long track.
Here is ST stud Alex Izykowski racing a 1500m shoulder to shoulder with Tony Sargent.
But skaters would not do it if we did not believe, in some irrational parts of ourselves, that all that hard off ice work-
Would one day become into speed on the ice, on the day it matters. Or at least that is the goal (Matt Plummer is the fellow in the above & below images).
However it does not always turn out that way. Matt crashed at the start of his first 500m today, but he picked himself up, hopped into an open slot in the very next pair, and still skated within .46 of his PB. You can see the 1000m he skated on this day vs. the above pictured Trevor M, here on youtube.
Sometimes it just takes irrational determination, in pursuit of what is difficult, excellent, & rare.
Here is Ron Macky, who has the best “pain face” in all of speedskating, it a world of hurt, 400m to go in a 1500m.
I ran into Ron at a bar later that night (have I ever written those words in this blog before?) and I asked him how his race was, he said:
Did you see me throw up after the finish? No? You didn’t? Well, I don’t mind it too much when that happens if I skate a good time, but today’s time was crappy & slow. I think that if you are going to throw up, at least you should go fast & get something out of it.
That’s… Classic… Ron… Macky…
Personally, I don’t ever seem to puke, and I think I am finally getting stronger in the gym, not like last year, but finally I’m better.
But not strong enough to have any chance of skating a top 10 at nationals this year. After I was done with my sets, I saw 18 year old Mathew Shanahan do that same amount of weight with one foot!!!
How much speed difference does that strength difference make?
Well, technique matters more than strength in speedskating, but Matt & I were paired earlier that day in the 500m, and he skated 37.15 to my 37.69
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Filed under: RACE DAY
So many times I have been there, giddy & joyous on opening day. Ripping around like a kid on a rockin big wheel. You can see the webcam here. This is an image grab from 
