Zen and the Art of Speedskating

After all my Friday-post workout irrational fear, this weekend I had some of the most solid technical and physical races I have ever skated. I feel things are coming together at the right time, my fear is being replaced by cautious optimism (just wait, next weekend I will probably yo-yo back to fear again!!).

I raced my finest 500m ever on Saturday: off the line like a relaxed rocket, great first corner, fantastic draft chasing my pair John Loquai down, I slammed through the final corner as cleanly as I am capable of, terror and lean like I was skating short track, and crossed the finish line in 37.1 seconds

I still can’t bust into the 36’s! and this great feeling race was not even a personal best! It was within .02 of my PB on that crazy fast ice just before the world cup, but still…. I was happy simply because it felt great, and that is enough. After the 500’s were over, I looked at the scoreboard, and was 5th of the 42 skaters who raced that day, I finished in front of some really fast guys who I respect tremendously, and who have beaten me all year. Although this shot of the scoreboard only shows the top 8, there were 12 of us who finished all within 37.1 and 38.1. One misstep in this tough group… I have never finished in front of Donald Stewart before, ever, he says according to his most recent x-rays his foot is “still quite broken, and only hurts in the starts and turns, but it hurts a lot!”

On Sunday, I iced the cake with a 1000m personal best, 1:15.08. Ya’know the feeling when you have a hammer or a tool with a handle that just fits so perfectly into your palm, heft is pleasure? I felt that “sweet spot” on my blades this whole weekend, especially in the straightaway, and I have built that feeling, that handle on my blades, simply through hard work, it’s a nice feeling. Here is a sweet spot moment 250 meters into my 1k PB. It’s really difficult technically to drive that support leg forward aggressively and also keep the pushing leg’s blade pointed straight down the ice, but I am slowly and surely getting it.

I don’t hope for a miracle during Olympic trials, just to be the best Andrew I can be, that will feel miraculous enough…

Filed under: sweat, from home