Zen and the Art of Speedskating

12 Responses to “Transformation”

1. Liz, on August 23rd, 2007 at 6:05 pm Said:

   I dont know about that, putting on the blades is pretty tough for me! I sometimes put them in the wrong spot.

2. Uel, on August 23rd, 2007 at 10:40 pm Said:

   does this mean your done inlining for the year?
   sad news for the friday morning crew if it does.

3. Tim, on August 23rd, 2007 at 11:25 pm Said:

   It’s really not that bad until you change from inlines to ice and back all in the same day, then repeat several days in a row. It still would not justify the cost of buying another pair of boots until the time spent switching back and forth exceeded 40 hours worth of time.

4. Jules, on August 24th, 2007 at 3:29 am Said:

   i finally decided to buy another pair of boots - the raps clapping mechanism was too subtle for my clumsy fingers. Big advantage: i can skate on the outdoor oval in the first days of october-ice and inline the next day when the october sun is nice, warm and gentle. the feelings of ice and sometimes heavy and then again smooth roads and pavements are so different and yet very tempting the same.
   we need more lives - and all transformations are welcome (if you notice)
   jls

5. David Love, on August 24th, 2007 at 8:46 am Said:

   Look at that sexy big gulp!!

6. andrew, on August 24th, 2007 at 1:04 pm Said:

   Bro,

   addiction is never sexy, unless you are an exercise addict… that’s damm sexy

   and the big gulp is YOUR fault bro… I was a normal coffee drinker, and you got me hooked on “the afternoon Diet Coke”…

   

   Uel, I am done on the wheels, at least the intense stuff, I will still roll around & go for goof skates.. I will miss Northshore, but the ice season calls…

7. Steph, on August 25th, 2007 at 8:16 pm Said:

   Mmmmmmmmmmmm, you gotta love the afternoon diet soda. It’s not the healthiest, but it tastes sooooooooooooo yummy!!!!

8. Jo, on August 25th, 2007 at 9:23 pm Said:

   Hi Mr, Love,

   Are you a full time athlete(even though some may have to work/study at the same time, but still…)?

9. andrew, on August 26th, 2007 at 12:51 am Said:

   Jo,

   fair question-

   in the 2003-2004 season, I qualifed for & competed at US national championships…

   while I was there, I realized that of the 50 guys racing, only 2 had “real jobs” (although many were students, that’s different) and I was the only one of all of them who did not live at one of the 3 indoor long track ovals in north america…

   to compete at the top level demands 100% commitment, training is really your job.. (and it’s an exausting one)… and for me it really rules out a “typical” 50 hour a week 8am-6pm office job like the one I had at the time..

   I made the difficult decision (with the encouragement of my wife & family) to make speedskating my #1 priority, as I was training for Olympic trials…..

   I still worked, as I had been in the tech world, and I had many independent web design clients. But training was the focus & objective of my life, & I moved across the country to live in Salt Lake.

   All in all, I spent 3 years as a “full time” athlete, part time tech worker…

   I am working a lot more right now.. I’m still doing independent design, and the flexiblity of that allows me to travel & train more than when I was a cubicle-jockey..

   but skating is not 90% of my life anymore… its more like 50%

   I built up a lot of fitness & foundational strength in those 3 years I was full time, so I think I can still go quite fast for some years to come, even with a reduced training load…

   but improving will be difficult, except through better techique… but isn’t that always the case???

10. Jamie Cowen, on August 26th, 2007 at 8:07 am Said:

    Does this mean winter is coming?

    Congrats for fifteenth in your div at the SPIM!

11. Bri, on August 26th, 2007 at 10:18 am Said:

    even with my real job, i’m going to happy about living behind the oval and able to train much easier because I can ride to the rink and back.

12. carla, on August 26th, 2007 at 7:59 pm Said:

    It’s interesting that the wheel-switching and work topics ended up here together… When I got custom short track boots, I used my old short track boots for inline. Even without enough money, I’ll do something like that if all the time I save adds up to lots of sleep, lots of work hours, lots of workout time… I need every extra 5 minutes I can get. Skaters “can’t” work full time and train full time only because of ice schedules AND other people (not Andrew or any of you, don’t worry) saying we are not “dedicated” if we HAVE to work. I mean, really, someone who makes a decision to train - hard - giving up other stuff, but also needs to make a living? Really. I’m pretty happy to go along with most things, but that is one attitude I will always complain about

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