It seems...

It seems time is so short during the winter break.

I guess it's a busy time of year, and that feeling is to be expected.

I mean, my time home was longer than the "usual"... That's for sure. Normally, if I'm lucky, I get two days at home. This year I managed to sneak in four and a half! The time back home was really good, but again it seemed short.

I also miss getting up to Edmonton to see the rest of my family! I just received a call from my sister, and I guess I'm missing out on the belated family Christmas dinner...

The thought of all that good food and company makes it tough to miss because of training!

It's going to be a short visit here in Calgary though. I'm shipping off to Kingston for a couple days and then back to Montreal for some training with the team there.

We'll be losing Jon for a bit as him and his wife Veronick are about to have a baby. So heading off to Montreal is probably a good time as he'll be very busy this month!

It should be good to get away though. This time while I'm there, I need to crack down on studying and get things done!

Haha.

Just a heads up, look forward to my January 8th posting. It should be an exciting one!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

(I believe that's politically correct)

Here are some photos from home in Medicine Hat.

Our neighbourhood was visited by a great horned owl today. It was eyeballing my Mom, Dad and I this afternoon while we were outside checking him out.

Another strange visitor occurred a few weeks back...

Picture of a Coyote in our backyard tree. My Dad thinks it was eating the berries from it.

Again, Happy Holidays Everyone!

National Team Trials #1 - Calgary

The up and downs of sport...

There is no denying it - both for results and emotions.

I had a great day on Saturday. Came 3rd in the 1500 m's, which for most people seems very uncharacteristic for me. But looking at the results, the whole weekend should be classified as unusual...

There was Sunday.

I'm sorry if I was a little depressing in that last blog entry. Looking back at it now, it wasn't a great moment for me. Writing that entry was tough, maybe I shouldn't have. But where's my honesty in that?

It was tough and it was how I felt.

I was really disappointed with the results. Nothing anyone could say could change my viewpoint for that moment. Especially, considering that it was the second Canadian Record stripped from me that weekend (even though SSC never acknowledged my 1500 m, set Friday February the 13th, 2009).

I won the C Final and came 9th in the 500 m's.

Monday was revitalizing. Somewhat...

Physically I was unwell.

I woke up with a pretty bad headache, sore throat and a plugged nose. I had felt the beginning stages of it Friday evening, but I wasn't too stressed about it. I knew I had a few days before I was going to feel the fatigue from it - which meant after the competition.

Mentally I was strong.

I was resolved on making the 1000 m's my best distance of the weekend. In truth, it's usually one of my worst distances though, but as I said... not this time.

I pulled every lap "wire to wire" in the Heats, Quarters and Semis - I was too stubborn to let anyone else take command of the races. I bulldozed myself into that A Final and finished 2nd behind Remi.

I maintain that I deserved the win, but it's Short Track. I won't get into the logistics of it because it would be reiterating everything I said from the outcome of Olympic Trials...

To finish of the weekend we had a 3000 m and a relay. I ended up coming in 6th in the 3000 m. I'm "OK" with that. I'm not very fond of that race.

In the relay, Marc-Andre got a strip early in the race and our team was shortened to 3 man exchanges... It was very tiring.

All in all, Monday was a very long day... I'd say, probably one of the longer days I've had competing. I got a full 8 hours last night, but my cold is out in full force. Fortunately, I have a day off to recover.

What luck!

And there you go, the "ups and downs" of National Team Trials.

If this were previous years, my best performance would have been the 500 m. I feel like it was the only thing that kept me on the team from year to year.

I'm still extremely strong in the 500 m's. But, bad luck happens... Ice breaks away and it's a good thing I can make up for it in the other distances.

In the end, it was a pretty good weekend. Thank you everyone for your support, especially to the family that came in from out of town to watch!

All the photos I've used here are from Alex Seleznyov, you can visit his website at:

http://alexseleznyov.com

Also, this last photo was taken by my sister of the posters that were set up for the trials!

*Sigh*... What a day...

40.437...

40.437 is the new Canadian Record in the 500 m and unofficial World Record... Except this one was not set by me, but fellow teammate Michael Gilday.

Yes in two days, he has taken down two of my records... sigh...

I'm happy for him but I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty choked that they're both gone.

If that wasn't enough, I fell in my quarters... I was moving pretty fast with less than a lap to go... May have even been a new Canadian Record for me... But for some reason the ice decided to give out on me. My skate just broke away and carried my body with it.

I ended up coming in 9th in the 500 m. Not something I'm very pleased about - I managed to win the C Final.

The only real positive thing I can take from this day is that of all races I stayed on my feet for I skated in the 40's... And one of them was from position 4 on the line! Also, that our C Final was about half a second faster than that of the A Final.

This is part of sport, especially Short Track. Anyone who does high performance sports knows these ups and downs all too well...

But tomorrow is another day and still big points up for grabs as we continue on with the 1000 m's and 3000 m super finals. It should prove to be a long and grueling day!

Photo above is compliments of Tracy Hillis!

News Articles

Two news articles from the Calgary Herald today...

Michael Gilday...

http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/Race+lifetime+ease+Olympic+heartache/2335484/story.html

Mine...

http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/Maybe+make+sense+2014/2335482/story.html

*sigh*

Day 1 - National Team Trials Calgary

Well today was interesting. My heat involved me chasing a few guys down who decided to go for time... No idea why... All I remember is shaking my head when I saw them go. I passed them and finished 1st.

The Semi final was a little better (since no one went for time), I won the race and advanced to the A Final, where I met up with fellow team mate Michael Gilday.

Before stepping out onto the ice for our race, Antoine Gelinas-Beaulieu asked me if I "was ready to hurt". I shrugged, I wasn't exactly sure what he meant since 1500 m's always hurt for me. I should have guessed that he would go out for time... He pulled the first 10 laps of the race at an extremely fast pace, Gilday took over at that point and finished with a 2:06.565...

Yes, a 2:06.565...

Don't believe me? Check yourself...

That's like 4 seconds faster than the world record (2:10.639)... (Picture above is compliments of Alex Fishi!)

I managed to work myself from 6th to 3rd in the last 2 laps. I came in not far off Gilday, so needless to say I have an even faster 1500 m time now (to be accurate 3rd fastest in the world I'm guessing).

I'd like to note, that I did own the original Canadian Record, even though Speed Skate Canada never acknowledged it. It was announced that Michael broke Turcotte's old record, but it was actually mine. I did it last year at Winterfest... But it was ignored.

Anyways, congratulations to Gilday and nice work Antoine!

Tomorrow will be an eventful day as well, since it is the 500 m's!

National Team Trials #1

Trials on an Olympic year seem funny, but there are still a few spots remaining on the line for next years team. They start today with the 1500 m's. We'll be doing 3 rounds of 1500's starting at 10 am today.

The rest of the weekend will be:

Sunday 10 am start time: 500 m's (4 rounds)

Monday 10 am (I believe) start time: 1000 m's (4 rounds), super 3000 m (just one final), and a relay with the top 16 from the competition.

It will be a good weekend. Our group is strong right now, and we're skating smooth!

Canmore and things...

So I only went to Canmore on Thursday. A few of the other guys and gals went for Friday, but it was a long drive and the roads weren't great so I packed it in for the week.

Thursday was great though! I'm hoping I can get a group picture up soon but we'll have to see. The Canmore club skaters had the opportunity to come out and skate with us... Like I mean, literally skate with us. They were nervous at first, but after skating side by side with us in mixed relay groups, they soon learned that all we really are, are big kids. So needless to say we got along rather nicely!

The ice there is actually really nice! Very smooth and can hold our bodies on turns really well. The only thing is that mats come up quick with it being an NHL sized rink... Oh and it is very cold. Those kids are tough as nails to train there all week!

The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out at the Long Track World Cups with Matt Lipsett, a good friend I used to skate with "back in the day" (Ha). It was great catching up on old skating stories with him - what memories!

Now it's time to gear up for trials. They'll be running from Saturday the 12th to Monday the 14th.

One last thing, congratulations are in order for our Juniors here in the Oval Program. They all skated really well. We have three Juniors heading to Junior Worlds! Congratulations Kristy Shoebridge, Mikhail Choi and Rob Watson!!!

Some R n' R from the Oval

So today they took out the short track mats at the Oval for the upcoming long track World Cup. I'm surprised they left them this long, as the competition starts soon. But, it was awesome of them to leave them on this long!

Tomorrow we're shippin' out to Canmore for a couple of practices. It should be fun, then a nice relaxing weekend full of recovery!

Round House Kick to the Chest

OK, so the Oval is a little busier than usual. The Long Track World Cup is in Calgary this weekend and there is a large number of athletes on the running track during my morning warm up.

While doing my warm up jog I unfortunately got blocked by the Chinese team. Now these aren't normal sized Chinese people, they are huge with very powerful legs (as I soon learned from first hand experience)... Like I think the tallest girl is like six and some feet...

No Jokes.

They run pretty slow to begin with, but they had just finished their lap jog and started doing dynamic stretches - they were now spread out in front of me and moving very slow.

I saw a break in the group and started to maneuver my way through the pack. They had been doing front swing kicks for the majority of my pass but as soon as I was about to pass the lead person, she switched exercises on me, swung her leg round the side of her and snapped straight back into my chest... So strong it knocked me right off my feet.

I was in complete disbelief.

I think she was too, she had no clue I was coming up on the outside of her. She was very apologetic, but I said that I was "OK", brushed myself off and callapsed on the long track mats. I'm not sure what was worse, being winded or my ill attempts to hold back laughter.

Anyways, enough said...

Also, Congratulations to my cousin Chris and his wife Amanda, they had a baby girl today... Presley Riana Davidchuk! Now I've got to teach Kadan (their son) how to deal with a little sister!

Here and There

Hello, yes it's been a while. I will be returning to blog writing soon. Especially since National Team Trials 1 will be coming up in less than 2 weeks.

I've been here and there with things, a few guest appearances on the ice with various Short Track groups, which were all really fun! It may sound funny, but it's almost more inspiring for me to watch those kids with all their energy and enthusiasm!

Training has been going well, which is good with Trials approaching.

I'll fill in the blanks more soon.

40.572

The World Record is 41.051 held by Korea's Si-Bak Sung.

This weekend I basically tied it in my Quarter final at Oktoberfest, I went 41.054. At the time I was pretty choked, as I've always wanted a time below the World Record (you know, somewhere in the 40 seconds). But needless to say, I was happy to finally have a 500 m time that is one of the fastest in the World.

I wasn't done there, later in my Semis I went 40.886!

This was exactly the type of time I wanted, unfortunately though, I realized that Cory Rasmussen (a teammate of mine in Calgary) holds the Canadian Record of 40.866... I joked with Cory after that race, he only had 0.02 seconds on me in the 500 m now, and that I was coming for him!

I was pretty tired at this point, we had skated two 1500 m's in the morning and two 500 m's (both World Record pace) prior to the Final - I was having trouble staying optimistic about getting another good time. A number of people approached me before my last race, and urged me to go for time, but I set it in my mind that I just wanted to win the race. Sorry, but this is how a real Short Tracker thinks!

From the start of the race Cory was putting a ton of pressure on me, I could feel him close behind me every corner. I managed to pull from start to finish though, with a new track I've been working on it allowed me to maintain my speed and defend at the same time (only set back, it's really, really tiring).

As I crossed the line, I was dead tired. I remember the corner after the line, how fast I was gliding around that corner. But, I thought the race had been pretty slow, it seemed to go on forever! I didn't think much of it at the time, but I sensed some stirring in the coaches box. All of a sudden there were screams from various parts of the rink. I was really tired and I didn't think it had anything to do with the race until I was called over by Jereon to the photo finish box, he had already run over to find the finishing time...

"New unofficial World Record time in the 500 m, 40.572!" - Announcer (teammate Tyler Derraugh)

Redemption.

I couldn't believe it. I almost burst out laughing! All I wanted was the win, but here I come out with the fastest time in the world in the 500 m.

After everything with Olympic Trials, it was good to bounce back with this. It's a little bittersweet, since it clearly means I deserve to be there at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

Our group has been training really hard lately, a lot of laps and high intensity programs outside of ice. It's been really demanding physically as well as mentally!

So now I hold two Canadian Records, both leagues beyond what the World Records are (both the 1500 m and the 500 m).

Hitchhiker's

I've been reading the Hitchhiker Trilogy all over again from beginning to end. I tell you, the jokes only get funnier with age. Plus it makes a lot more sense this time around.

While I was in Vancouver for Olympic Trials, I was in the process of reading a book on "optimal experience". It was an awesome book, but it wasn't giving me any “down” time away from skating or trials. I would pick up the book and start to read and within seconds my mind was racing with things pertaining to skating and competing.

So I went out with my Dad one day in search for a few books that would take my mind off skating, and would allow me to have the proper mental recovery I needed (I still read the book on optimal experience each day of competition).

Somehow we got on the topic of Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy and ultimately I left the store with copies of the first two books. My Dad bought them for me as a gift (very nice of him), as I had read his copies back in high school and didn’t have my own.

I found it fitting to be reading them again. Not only because the books have a great message, but the new copies have those big bold friendly letters "DON'T PANIC" printed on the cover!

Ha ha.

Which considering the week I was going through, was the perfect advice.

I'm on book five right now, Mostly Harmless, it's a trilogy of five books. I'm sure it will make sense later people...

Back!

Sorry, I know I promised I would update on Wednesday but I ended up getting in later than I expected from Medicine Hat.

Oh well, I'm back now. Officially! I guess, because "back" for me means back to skating. It was the first time in a week that I've done anything even remotely active... and it felt great... I've been holding back mainly to rest my ankle and also because of my mouth. I got an implant in and a bone graft done on last Thursday.

Both my mouth and ankle are doing a lot better though. I still feel some minor pressure points in my boot while I skate, but there is little to no pain! I even went out a did part of The Euro's lactic capacity program today (only one set but I hurt!). Don't ask, I more or less just do things based on feeling of the moment. And I don't regret it.

As for the vacation, it was great. Although, I don't think it made even a dent at those vacations I've missed out on. I didn't really get away from the thoughts surrounding trials. While in Medicine Hat I ended up doing a couple of interviews, even an in studio one with Chat TV yesterday. Doing them always brings up suppressed emotions.

I made it up to Edmonton for a few days to see my Baba and Gido (Grandma and Grandpa in Ukrainian) who always spoil me and give me tons and tons of homemade gingersnaps! As well as my sister Shalon. Who by the way is a complete and utter nerd... I mean that in a good way, she's super smart (much like my parents, damn her getting the useful genes), and even has some published physics papers with her name in them. She's not even done her undergrad! So with out a doubt, a nerd...

The funny part relating to all this, was some how I found myself stuck at one of her friends houses. Except, all the four of them talked about was work (nerd work), school (it's summer so... nerd) and scientific nerd shtuff they had heard or were in the process of reading up on... I think there was a moment of tension when someone brought up the finer points of string theory...

Cough, cough, yes exactly...

I was trying to be polite, but after about an hour and a half I couldn't take anymore... I started to drift off, I think at that point I turned around and attempted to pass out on the couch.

As for HOME, it was great! I didn't go outside of the house that often, other than to see my Grandma. Most or all of my friends from back home have either left or... Well I don't exactly know what happened to the other ones. That in itself may be the reason. But, mostly I stayed at the house, reading and relaxing as much as I could. Which was key. Being with my parents for more than a day was also important. They come through Calgary every so often, but it's never an extended visit. Which is what I really needed. My Mom even contracted me to bake a cheesecake for when my Uncle and Aunt came to visit! Of course I took all of the leftovers and am in fact consuming a very generous piece whilst I type. YUM!

Vacation

Vacation Time for me. I'll update come Wednesday I promise. For now, trying (emphasis on trying) to make it a vacation at least! If anything it's great to be hanging around the family again.

Until then, enjoy!

Goodbye Vancouver...

I hurt my ankle when I toppled past the line Monday, a minor bone contusion and a slight ligament sprain (as if, eh!?). It made it difficult to put my boot on during the 1500 m's afterwards but I pulled through with a win in the B final (7th).

Unfortunately, today during the 1000 m semis with an almost sure advancement to the A final, I tweaked my ankle in the last corner before the finish and went flying into the boards. At that point I was done... Not mentally, but physically. I wanted to get back out there, but both Jon and Paul (physio) recommended I back off and not skate the last race. They didn't want me running the risk of turning a minor injury into a severe one.

That's not the way I'd like to have finished my first Olympic Trials. But, to be honest I guess it went well, although I'll carry the pain of that 500 m DQ for the rest of my life. Sounds depressing, but it's part of sport.

Anyways, after racing today my teammates and I took a well deserved trip to the beach for a few hours or R and R. I've just returned from a party that Red Bull put on for us at their private lounge downtown but now looking forward to returning to Alberta and spending some quality time with my family! Try and make up for the last 3 years of missed vacations and holidays when I was out competing and/or training.

Oh and that picture above, I'm not angry, I'm actually really happy! Super tired and sore, but still happy! That's me after my semis where I advanced into the 500 m A final Monday. AND YES, I'm missing a bottom tooth if you haven't figure it out yet... It's getting fixed. *sigh*

Peace out Vancouver!

PS: Here are some articles.

Vancouver Sun:

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2010wintergames/Speed+skater+Jessica+Gregg+heading+Olympics+first+time/1902922/story.html

The Province:

http://www.canada.com/sports/Skater+near/1904516/story.html

and last but not least The Medicine Hat News:

http://www.medicinehatnews.com/content/view/127343/110/

Thanks Sean!

...........

It's Tuesday morning and we still have to race a set of 1000 m's.

Yesterday I went through one of the hardest things I've ever had to go through. The insanely calming high of making the Olympic Team, to the devastating train wreck of my 2010 Olympic dreams. Dreams that I held so close to my heart these last 3 years.

I know a lot of people didn't think I'd be a threat leading into the Olympic Selection, but for me I believed I would be. And well, I was. Claiming 5 A finals and "technically" 2 wins, there is no denying it.

Now on to the race that changed me:

Everything in the last 3 years flooded in my mind as I waited to step onto the ice for the 500 m A final yesterday. The success, the falls, the injuries and the triumphs! In a nutshell though, I was a wreck. No joke, Michael Gilday said afterwards that he wished he could have calmed me down. My heart was racing a million beats a minute, my breathing was heavy and hard, I guess I know how my Mom feels now when she watches me... Haha. But despite the nerves I managed to keep my smile and confidence.

After I had won the start from 3rd on the line, two laps in I was already lost in the moment, in my mind I had already won the race, I just needed to go through the motions of the last 2 laps, maintain my focus. When I crossed the line I lost control and fell. Excitement, fatigue... Relentlessly wanting to win it and declare my victory - I straight up fell.

It happens.

Unfortunately, it had to happen on the most important race of my life.

So I was disqualified.

I still am having trouble coming to terms with the whole situation. I am the fastest and most consistent 500 m sprinter out there right now, and I'm not on the 2010 team because I fell after the line. Even if I had come 2nd I would be going right now.

I'd like to thank everyone for their unwavering support over the last few months. Especially my coaches Jon Cavar and Al McIlveen, the support staff Paul Hunter and Danelle Kabush for being there for me when I most needed it, my whole family (Thanks Dad and Uncle Ken for being my biggest fans at the trials!) for all of there support, and of course those close friends (you know who you are!). Oh ya and also all yous Euros! Haha!

Anyways enjoy!

Day 3

Day 3 ended on a fairly good note, well kind of.

The 1000 m went a little better for me, I ended up in the B final coming in 6th overall. There was a tight pass in the semis that literally knocked me back with less than two laps to go... And as a result I didn't advance to the A final.

Then with a little luck on my side pulled myself back into the 1500 m A final where I came 5th. I was sitting well with 3 laps to go (in 4th behind Olivier) but got taken out when Gilday and Marc collided hard and skated into the back of me. Both Marc and I went down, both of my skates ended up tightly packed beneath the mats.

Olivier Jean and Kalyna Roberge have clenched positions on the 2010 Olympic Team with back to back wins in the 1000 m's. Congratulations to them!

Tomorrow is a big day for me, being as it is the last set of 500 m! Today will be spent trying to relax and recover, but tomorrow I will be ready and geared to skate strong and fast!

As it stands for me right now I have:

500 m: a 1st and 4th place.

1000 m: a 6th and 9th (Yuk! haha can redeem that in my next 1000 m) place.

1500 m: a 5th and 6th place.

Cheers.

1 mm

So when I got on ice last week Thursday in Vancouver I didn't feel quite like myself, something was throwing me off. But I set it in my head that it had more to do with adjusting to the ice rather than anything to do with my equipment.

Apparently I was wrong.

My left blade was 1 mm too far to the left at the toe - in other words the offset (angle) of my blades was wrong. Seems like a weird mistake to make, but I'm dealing with new cups and it's made traveling with my equipment a little different. As soon as I changed back to what it should have been I could do little to keep my teeth (sans one) from showing. The comfort was back.

1 mm doesn't seem like a lot, but in speed skating it is. It could mean the difference between 1st and 2nd (referring to Dustin's and my 1000 m final yesterday, guy tried to sneak me at the line after I had lead 9 out of 9 laps, haha - 1 mm difference) or it could mean the difference between feeling comfortable or not, especially leading into the 2nd round of 500 m's. I needed that comfort back!

But it definitely helped me out in my performance yesterday in the 500 m. The little slips seemed to have vanished.

Apparently a lot of people have already seen the article, many way before I was aware of it. But here is a link to the Vancouver Sun:

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Speed+skating+Medicine+speed+skater+flies+under+radar+wins/1886680/story.html

Enjoy.

500 Win

So I'm going to keep it short, I'm really tired... I won the 500m today. It's the second out of 3 sets. Right now I'm ranked 2nd overall in the 500m, but looking for that overall win! Which will come next Monday.

1000m didn't go so well. But I came 9th.

Anyways, night!

Video: A Finals

Here are the links to the A finals of yesterday already posted on Youtube:

500 m (I'm third on the line):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOUCEpe7kMM&feature=channel_page

and 1500 m (I'm forth on the line):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hprTg8XREso&feature=channel

Enjoy.

All "A's" Baby...

Canadian Olympic Trials - Day 1.

I'm not exactly sure how to start this off, but... Today was a really good day for me! Kind of...

I don't think a lot of people expected me to make both A finals today - 1500 m and 500 m. I unfortunately "crapped the bed" in the 1500 m final coming in 6th, but needless to say that's actually pretty darn good considering I was ranked 16 out of 16 going into the distance... Michael Gilday however, my Calgarian teammate, won the race! Congratulations to him!

In the 500 m I was hurting pretty bad as well, having spent a ton of energy in the 1500 m's. But I managed to focus enough energy and power myself into the 500 m A final again. I was third on the line, but I through down a quick start and pulled into 1st. However, that's where I spent most of my energy and after 2 laps of pulling the best I could, I fell to 2nd... then to 3rd... and then at the finish line... Bam, 4th. Oh well, two A finals.

Jessica Gregg came in 2nd behind Kalyna Roberge in the 500 m A final.

There was some bad luck for the remainder of my teammates, but morale is still high, everyone seems very supportive of each other. I think that's what kept me strong through the 500 m, having so many people from Calgary competing with me at Olympic Trials is uplifting.

Well I'll get the final results of everyone from Calgary posted tomorrow.

Night.

One...

One day left before Olympic Trials begin.

Yesterday my legs felt a little "flat" on the ice. But despite them feeling like giant blocks of concrete, I maintained good, smooth, relaxed technique. In the past when my body suffered tantrums from my legs, my technique usually went out the door as well. But I'm pleased to report that wasn't the case.

Today, ice is at 3:45 pm and we'll be settling back into some speed!

The ice has been different each time we've been on it. One session was super soft and another super brittle. I think they're having trouble regulating ice and air temperatures because there has been so much activity inside the Coliseum. Us and the other workers...

They're STILL doing construction! It's pretty ridiculous if you ask me... Haha. I mean the place is starting to come together really well, but having to hear power saws and drills for the 3 hours at the rink is getting old. The whole camp in June/July we had paint fumes engulf us for the entire 2 weeks of training.

Here's a link to a Medicine Hat News article titled "Our Next Olympian":

http://www.medicinehatnews.com/content/view/124794/110/

Enjoy.

Two

Two days to go. Two days until Olympic Trials.

We're back in Vancouver now! It seemed like only yesterday that we were here.

Vancouver is so beautiful, I love being here. Normally we luck out and get sunny days, but I think we brought the clouds with us from Calgary. In the previous weeks (6 total) that I've been here for either training or racing I think there has only been 2 days of cloudy weather. But since we've been here I haven't seen the sun yet. Oh well, from what I hear on how things have been going with the temperature and fires, it's probably a good thing.

Yesterday was also our first day back on ice at the Vancouver Coliseum. Suffice to say, things are going well. We had two on ice programs yesterday tied in with a weight program. I'm looking forward to the ice session today, we have some longer laps I think.

The rest of the time is spend trying to relax.

Enjoy.

Spares

Normally, when I rocker and bend a spare pair of blades, even if I don't do them myself, it's not often that I take the time to try them out before I absolutely need to. By "need" I mean when I can no longer skate on the pair I've got on. Sometimes, during a competition I'll get kicked so hard by another skater that it'll shatter my blade or warp it so much that I won't be able to turn properly.

My coach, and others, probably think this is crazy... I'm not entirely sure why, but I've always done it that way (maybe I'm just lazy). I don't like to fiddle with my equipment, unless I absolutely have to! It drives me insane, literally. For a little while I tried to be more compulsive about it. But it eats you up, I've learned to trust the work done on the blades. Seeing the numbers on the gauge is good enough for me. I hope that mentality will stick with me through the next few weeks. Luckily, I'll have two great coaches to take care of it for me if things should go wrong! Haha.

Haha, did I really just write that?

There is the occasion kick and fall that take out bend from my blades, but that's no biggy - just hop up on the side mats and Jon or Al will pound some bend back in for me.

Today was the exception, I thought it might be a good idea to actually try my spares for once. I was hesitant at first but seeing as this is Olympic Trials, I just wanted to be sure. Turns out they were awesome, I could barely tell the difference from my actual pair! Erm, or so I thought.

The only adjustment that Jon recommended I make was to take some blade off of the front. He mentioned I had been kicking myself more than normal. Haha, funny eh?! Truthfully, I didn't even notice. So we (cough, Jon) shaved part of the front off... Potential problem adverted. It was probably a good thing I checked them out I guess!

Stolen Box of Golden Grahams

So a couple days ago I was over at my buddy Michael Gilday's house and I happened upon a giant shipment of cereal General Mills had sent him. All the box' consisted of ones that his picture had been printed on the back of - Whole Grain Cheerios and Golden Grahams.

I thought to myself, "Hey Liam, you could write a blog and help this guy get more donations... Maybe in return, he'll give you a percentage cut from his earnings!?".

Haha.

"Ya right Liam..." But I thought it'd be a funny blog anyways, so nabbed a box of Golden Grahams.

The next morning I went downstairs and poured myself a reasonably sized bowl of those deliciously sugar blasted Golden Grahams. As soon as I turned the box around I instantly recalled my plan to help out Gilday.

So I finished off what was left of the Golden Grahams and bounced (all that sugar does wonders for the soul) myself up stairs to where I could donate a dollar to my fellow teammate.

I booted up my computer and entered the web address displayed on the back of the box of cereal:

www.everydaycelebrations.ca/aspiringolympians

There it took me to a giant map that displayed a number of different Aspiring Olympians spread all across Canada. There was so many to choose from, so I panicked and accidentally pressed on Alexandra Duckworth.

I thought to myself, "Uh oh, Gilday's not going to be happy I donated a dollar to someone else... Oh wait, I guess I could go back, but that requires me dragging the curser up and clicking the back button. Oh well, I've gone too far I can't afford to turn back now." I was coming down from my sugar high, crashing hard.

So I scrounged up what energy I had left and entered he donation code I found on the inside of the cereal box. And submitted the dollar donation.

I started feeling little bit remorseful for not having donated the dollar to Michael Gilday...

But then I realized that the box hadn't been mine in the first place. I hadn't lost anything! I did however help out an aspiring Olympian. Which brightened up my day! On top of things, I had been entered for a monthly draw for a free T-shirt! It was a double win for me.

It's August!

Oh boy! It's finally August! Which means we've finally arrived at Olympic Trials month. Tomorrow will be exactly one week from when we start our first set of races - the first set of (out of three) 1500 m's and 500 m's. This is probably one of the most important competition of my skating career. There is so much depth in Canada for Short Track talent. So it is going to be an intense week and a half. I general have that feeling when it comes to skating Canadian trials, but I know this'll be different.

Normally, Canadian Trials are only one set of races, that run over a 3 day period. However, there's more on the line this time. Everyone in the top 16 is fighting for one of those 5 spots that'll send you to the Games in 2010! Of course, the Mens team is now down to 4 remaining spots! As Charles Hamelin has already been named to the team.

The competition will start on the 9th of August and run through to the 18th of August. The race days will be as follows:

Sunday August 9th: 1500m and 500m

Wednesday August 12th: 500m and 1000m

Saturday August 15th: 1000m and 1500m

Monday August 17th: 500m and 1500m

Tuesday August 18th: 1000m

We ship off to Vancouver on Wednesday evening.

Inspiring Book

A lot of my free time over the last month has been devoted to reading. There are a couple books that stick out in particular, but Skiing Zen by Rick Phipps pulls in at #1.

Leading up to May my library strongly consisted of science fiction novels. They're a nice escape from reality, but I felt the need try something new. So I started reading Biographies! Throughout that stint I got a hold of Michael J. Fox' books: Lucky Man and Always Looking Up. They were both great reads, having finished them both within a 6 day period even! It's not like I could closely relate to how his life has turned out, but it was more how he wrote that pulled me in. I noticed how I felt after reading his books... I honestly felt better about things, I was happier! The optimism jumped straight off the page and into my mind.

I noticed how it had affected me, so I started looking for other books that held a similar hold on me. Unfortunately, I haven't had too much luck, but it did open doors to a number of interesting books that I took neat ideas and concepts from. I tried to manipulate those thoughts and tested them out in training. Some worked, some didn't.

Before my meeting with my Sport Psych, Danelle Kabush, last Friday I asked her if she had any ideas for books. She had a couple suggestions, some I had read, but one in particular that I hadn't: Skiing Zen. I pointed out that I wasn't a big skier but she suggested that I borrow it anyways. It was amazing. It wasn't a particular optimistic book, but it was extremely inspiring and motivational. The first half is a little slow (interesting nonetheless), but middle of the way through, BAM! I was reading it at one point before going to bed, and all of a sudden I noticed my hands were sweating and my heart was trying to beat its way out of my chest. That night I read another two hours, despite being initially tired. I'm not going to go into the story at all here, but it's about attaining spirituality through sport, and at the same time it contrasts Eastern and Western thought patterns.

Another funny note, mid way through the book, Dr. Randy Gregg, Jessica Gregg's (another teammate of mine) father shows up and there is a whole chapter with him and Rick discussing Japanese culture. Anyways, I really enjoyed it and just wanted to let people know!

Thank you Danelle for introducing it to me!

Some Photos

Alex Fishi is a Short Tracker from Israel, he's been training with the OVAL program for the summer. Turns out he's a great photographer! Here are some of the pictures Alex' snapped since we've been on ice at the Olympic OVAL.

Warm up on our first day back on OVAL ice. "It's good to be back..."

Some relaxing relays, Reid Van Drecht is on my outside there about to exchange with Rob Watson. I think this was also the first day I was on raised cups. I stand a little taller now, haha, 4 mm actually. So for all the ladies that think I'm vertically challenged... I'm not anymore (at least on ice)!

Some "Harnessed Racing", it's a little slower paced because we're supposed to work on track pattern and passing strategies. But lets face it, they always end up turning into an all out race! Tyler Derraugh is directly behind me and Junpei Yoshizawa of Japan is closing a gap at the back.

Update!

Sorry it's been a while since I've blogged, it's been an extremely eventful and positive month since I last posted. Training is going notably well, all the right pieces are falling into place. Things are becoming more and more natural and refined.

The Vancouver camp went extremely well, we had a couple amazing talks done by Rick Hansen and Frank Dick. Both very inspirational people.

The ice actually felt really good, I couldn't wipe the smirk off my face on the first day we stepped onto it. After training months at Centennial in South Calgary I imagine anything would feel better than that ice, but it was a welcomed relief to be back on good ice.

Olympic Trials are nearing, we leave a week today to Vancouver and our first day of competition is August 9th. I will try and keep things more update now.

Training at the Calgary Olympic Oval has been energizing as well. Refining technique and having fun have been a big part of my lead up to these coming trials. I think they've been paying off. I believe our last "hard" practice day is today. It's going to burn something fierce! I'm still a little tired from last weeks training. But we taper after this, meaning lots of recovery!

As for outcome, I hope things go in my favour, but good or bad... I'm exceptionally pleased with everything leading up to now.

Here is a link to todays Online Calgary Herald:

http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/Short+track+speedskaters+track+2010/1838398/story.html

Oh and that photo up top was taken by a Herald Journalist at our practice yesterday. We we're doing some electronic timing of starts. That's Tyler on my inside.

University... Arrrg... (a lil' bit of whining)

You know it's not that I don't like school... It's just that I don't enjoy doing school right now. I know some of my fellow team mates can relate to me on this.

My focus is completely and utterly resolved in other areas right now. One namely, and has been for the better part of the last 3 years, - Short Track. This leaves me with not a ton of room for me to excel in school. And when I don't get top grades, which I know I can achieve when I pour my heart into it, it's rather discouraging.

My feelings on this are renewed every year around this time, when I have to sit down and find classes to take. Either I can't get into them because they're already full, or I can't take them because it conflicts with my training times. And thus, leaving me with very few second pick options.

Don't get me wrong, there are those that can succeed in both simultaneously. Good for them! But you know what? I'm not one of them. I just don't like doing multiple things mediocre. I know my potential, and I'd prefer to do one thing exceptionally well. When it comes time for me to pull away from skating and finish off school I know I'll be way more enthusiastic about it.

I attribute (not all, but some of) my success and accomplishments in the past 3 years from the focus I drew upon that would have normally been spent on my University Studies. Everything else from either my very supportive family and good solid coaching, thanks Jon! Ha ha.

Highwood Pass 2009

Our newly formed ritual of going to Highwood Pass in Kananaskis Country was a success.  We've headed out there a few times now, 4 days last year (weather was god awful and miserable) and now for 7 amazing days this year.  Although, the first weekend we didn't have that great of luck on weather it still proved to be a fun few days.  As you can see above and below there was a lot snow and needless to say, it was a very cold couple of rides.  Both days I returned wet and cold with no feeling left in my feet or hands.  

Marie-Eve making it up the first time.

We also saw a variety of wildlife on that Sunday, including a...

Grizzly Bear!

Despite the gloomy forecast scheduled for this past weekend, we lucked out with amazing weather!  I think it only rained on me once, which was Thursday evening sitting around the fire pit.  Otherwise, it was semi clouded skies and warm weather throughout our training camp.

On our day "off" last Thursday a few of us indulged in yet another annual tradition - "river jumping".  Similar to last year, we noticed a few fish that had been swimming around in some of the deeper parts of the river.  Last year we tried to catch one of these fish... Unfortunately we were unsuccessful.  Of course, that didn't mean a few of us weren't going to take another crack at it.  After a few hours of sitting with the majority of the group playing some sort of Volleyball game, I heard some loud cheering coming from a concealed area of bushes.  A few moments later the 6 hunters (Top left to Bottom Right: Yasu, Dustin, Cory, Blake, Jon, Michael) emerged with a huge rainbow trout.  They cooked it up and greedily ate it that night!  Below is a picture of Reid making a huge leap across one of the rivers.  Believe it or not, HE DID MAKE IT!  It's well worth the bragging rights...

On the final day of riding, Gilday, Ty, Dustin and I took a gravel road that winded itself upward towards what was supposed to be a waterfall.  Unfortunately it did not lead us to said waterfall, but to a picnic area.  So we followed a separate blocked off trail even farther, until we came across the bridge we had seen each day from the road leading up to Highwood Pass.  Luckily though, hidden behind this bridge was a beautiful hiking trail that lead us to a waterfall.  Mission accomplished.

By the end of it all I was an extremely tired camper, living in a tight RV with 6 other athletes was very cramped and I didn't achieve a lot of sleep.  But I think the added elevation to our training will give us an upper hand come training in Vancouver, and ultimately this August at Olympic Trials.  I'm definitely looking forward to next years Highwood Pass trip!

Thank You Yvon

This past Friday I said “goodbye” to my long time and close friend Yvon De Blois.  It’s not like I’ll never see him again because he’s promised to keep in touch, and may even make it out for Olympic Trials[?]) but he’s been such a significant part of my skating career, so I’m going to miss him a great deal.  

He recently retired at the end of the season and as of Saturday he’s back home in Québec with his family.

A week ago, my Mom came through Calgary and she and I managed to get him out for a late lunch.  It was great to chat with him about all his experiences; he’s had a long career.  My Mom pointed out that he should write a book about all of it.  It would be a great read, no matter who you are.

We talked a bit about my development in those years.  Yvon’s played a big part in keeping me in Short Track.  When he saw me compete nearing the end of the 2001 season he approached my father and they talked about my coaching and training situation in Medicine Hat.  It wasn’t great to be honest. I didn’t have anyone my age or ability to train with and the coaching wasn’t suited for the level of athlete I was striving to become.  He saw something (my ambitions) in me and he started sending me programs.  

Every week.  

All year round. 

It was great. He even called every few weeks to make sure I was doing OK.  There's a particular day he called that sticks out in my mind.  He called on a Friday night or something and one of my friends answered the phone for me:

Jesse: “Hello?”

Yvon (thinking it was me and with a thick French accent): “And how is my little boy doing?” 

Jesse: (turns pale): “Ummm, WHAT... sorry... erm, Liam!?  Heh, I’m hoping it’s for you...  I think...”

I had a good laugh about that.  Just Yvon being good ol’ friendly Yvon!

The latest call from him was this past Friday, He needed help moving things into a cargo container that was heading out to Québec the following morning.  Some of it was heavy lifting so he needed a second pair of hands.  It was amazing; while moving I came across a number of boxes containing old credentials from World Cups and Olympics, awards, and pictures.  I was blown away by it - a poster of the 2002 Olympic Opening Ceremonies with all of Team Canada’s Athletes and Coaches signatures on it, Newspaper clippings of his coaching and my favourite, a black and white picture of a younger Yvon accepting the award for the best coach (out of all sports) in Québec.  When we were done, I choked back some tears and we said our goodbyes.  I was so happy that he called me to come and help him.

Thank You Yvon!

Up-Downs were a bad choice and Anna Advice

First I should note that the ice we skate on as of late is probably one of the more challenging ice surfaces that we’ll ever have to train on.  For example, after about a 1000 m (9 laps) the ice gets so chewed up that it’s comparably worse than the ice at the end of a Mens 5000 m (45 laps) Relay.  It kind of gets dangerous but in some ways it’s a really good thing.  I’m fairly confident that it’ll make us more comfortable when ruts get nasty on good ice.  

We had a ton of laps at pace to do today with not a whole lot of time for rest (for me that's a bad thing) as we now share the ice time on occasion with Groups 2 and 3 of the Oval program.  We get an hour, they get an hour.

Everyone seemed to manage themselves fairly well, we pushed through the program and finished it in our alloted time.  Normally after a tough program like that we’d have a fair number of hours off before our next program...  Not today though, we had a dry land program which is argumentatively one of the more challenging off ice programs we do all year.

After finishing the first set, my mind mulled over two important questions:

“Why on Earth did I do all those extra Up-Downs the day before?  Knowing full well that today was going to be like this...”

and

“Are Jon and Jeroen on crack...?!”

Needless to say we finished it...  Barely...  If I’m not stronger physically...  Well then maybe I’m stronger mentally!?  Maybe.

Anna Advice: “Liam, you probably shouldn’t be allowed to play with yourself...”  (On the topic of my teeth incident, my skating and my in-lines)  

After she said it she instantly burst out laughing.  Maybe this was embarrassment but my bets are on the stunned expression swept across my face.  Anna is one of my amazing and awesome physiotherapists that keeps my body functioning at 110%.

Making sense... I think...

You know it’s kinda funny...  I set up this blog a number of days ago with the intentions of writing something about my life as a Short Tracker and the group I train with.  When I finally sat down it became apparent that it is difficult to write about the things we go through from day to day.  For me it’s the norm, I wake up like everyone else, eat breakfast like everyone else and brush my teeth just...  like...  everyone...  else!  But the difference is, when I walk out the door of my condo complex, I’m not dressed up in a suit and tie and on my way to a job where I get paid on salary, I don’t walk out my door with a bag full of school texts on my way to some class at the University...   I walk out my door in training short and a t-shirt with the relief knowing I get the opportunity to go and do the thing I love doing more than anything else in the world:

Short Track

Note: I’ve decided not call it speed skating anymore...  We’re not long trackers, those are the “real” speed skaters.  It’s not that we don’t go fast or anything, just our sport’s evolved and moved on.  We’re all tactic and agility, where our success depends on our judgement and ability to think quick on our feet.  In my opinion you can’t interchange the two.  Some short trackers seem to excel in Long Track, but in their hearts they’ll always be Short Trackers.  And Long Trackers...  Well they’ll always be Long Trackers.  Sorry Jeremy...  Plain and simple.  

Any who, That’s why I’ve decided to focus on the things that have kept me in this sport.  

As I've said, I’m lucky to be doing what I love so much.  It started out as something I did outside of school when I was younger.  It kept me active, I met some great people that became close friends, it allowed for family bonding on weekends at numerous competitions throughout the season and for my parents it was something to keep me out of hockey.  It’s kinda crazy actually, they had this strange notion that I would get myself hurt playing hockey.  You know, turn out looking like one of those stereotypical hockey players - Hernia, repeated Concussions, missing teeth...  

Ha. 

Boy were they wrong...  I turned out exactly like one of them anyway, but in a completely different sport!  Including those top three but add: severed tendons and nerve in my wrist (still no feeling in the back of my right hand), countless ice burns and bruises, and the back of a 80 year old...  And not one of those spry 80 year olds.

But you know what?!  Other then my teeth, I have no regrets.  For the few hours or days of pain I experienced with each injury, I have a thousand other great experiences to latch onto that moved me forward from those first few wobbling steps around the cold Moose Rec Centre of Medicine Hat, to my cool and confident strides in the (unnaturally humid) Vancouver Coliseum where the Canadian Olympic Trials will be this coming August.  I look forward to competing there!  

It turns out I've made a lot of friends along the way, and I value them greatly for what they have given to me.  I guess I’m a reasonably social person by nature, but the sport forced me to meet people outside of Medicine Hat and as a result I have created many lasting bonds that I will always cherish (even if they’ve moved on from the sport and started different lives for themselves, I’ll still always treasure the times I had with them).  Be it coaches, athletes or parents, they’ve all given a little bit which formed the type of skater and person I am today.  I especially remember all those neat experiences I got to share with them...  Alberta Winter Games, making the Alberta Team, Canada Winter Games, countless North American and Canadian Championships and even a couple times to and from China (once for University Games).  

I’m never going to forget those little things that people outside the sport don’t see.  For outsiders that might just be a list of accomplishments or events I’ve attended, but for me they’re things I can fall back onto when times get tough (which they sometimes do) and if I question if it’s worth to keep going.  And it always is (worth keeping going that is).

 

Three years ago I set a goal, to be among the top 16 in Canada and be eligable to skate the Olympic Trials for the 2010 Olympics.  I’ve made that reality, now it’s time to take it to the next level and dream even bigger!