Tuesday, November 17, 2009
World Cup #2 - Heerenveen
Week two in the Netherlands was similar to week one in Germany: Really good training all week, racing, not so much. But regardless of the result, I'm learning more and more from watching the best.
Volvega is the town we stayed in, located about 10 min south of Heerenveen down the A32. Its a cool town, very dutch, very european with narrow streets, cobblestone everywhere and great people. Unfortunately I lost my camera somewhere between the bus from Berlin and the Hotel Wolvega. The hotel, a.k.a. the Van der Valk, was incredible. Well, mostly the food was incredible, and I'm told its the best on the circuit. How can a buffet with everything you could imagine really get any better?
Thialf is such a great oval. Thialf is like the Saddledome for speedskating. Thialf has capacity for about 10,000+ spectators and there are 3 restaurants/bars on the main concourse overlooking the oval. The dutch go crazy and make lots of noise for A group, especially when their own are racing. The atmosphere is something else, one of a kind.
I really liked the ice at Thialf, and I became very comfortable with it. It can be difficult to adapt to different ice surfaces: not every oval is the same. During the week I worked on some technical pointers that i noticed in video from races in Berlin, and felt very confident going into the weekend. Race prep on Wednesday went very well, so I was ready.
Racing.
1:50.87, 21st.
The 1500 on Friday was definately not my best race of the year. I've worked really hard on how i prepare for races, so that when I go to the line, I'm calm, comfortable and confident. My preparation was great for all aspects: mental, physical, and technical, but despite me being ready and focused, I didn't execute very well. I was confused after the race for many reasons, but mostly because what I felt during the race didn't match up to the feedback I got from Marcel and the video. My preparation and video looked ok, but something wasn't right, so i decided to take note of the little things when watching the best race.
The best way to learn is to watch the best. It's that simple. Shani Davis managed to knock another few races out of the park, showing why he is the man to beat right now. There were some other great races by Stefan Groothuis, Simon Kuipers and Havard Bokko. They are so smooth and are always building speed and they never waste a stride. After watching the 1000s and 1500s, I went back to video of my race prep (where I skated very well) and my race (where i didn't skate well), and i noticed some things I hadn't before. Now i have a few things to focus on.
As you can see, the process is rather iterative. Watch, try, learn, repeat. These are the things I'm taking out of my first two world cups, even though I didn't race well. This is why I'm also not disheartened but actually excited about the next few weeks. Sure, I wanted to race really well, but I have to respect the process and not get carried away looking ahead into the future.
I'm back on ice on Thursday, and after a few days of rest I'll be ready to go. 3 weeks until Calgary...
Volvega is the town we stayed in, located about 10 min south of Heerenveen down the A32. Its a cool town, very dutch, very european with narrow streets, cobblestone everywhere and great people. Unfortunately I lost my camera somewhere between the bus from Berlin and the Hotel Wolvega. The hotel, a.k.a. the Van der Valk, was incredible. Well, mostly the food was incredible, and I'm told its the best on the circuit. How can a buffet with everything you could imagine really get any better?
Thialf is such a great oval. Thialf is like the Saddledome for speedskating. Thialf has capacity for about 10,000+ spectators and there are 3 restaurants/bars on the main concourse overlooking the oval. The dutch go crazy and make lots of noise for A group, especially when their own are racing. The atmosphere is something else, one of a kind.
I really liked the ice at Thialf, and I became very comfortable with it. It can be difficult to adapt to different ice surfaces: not every oval is the same. During the week I worked on some technical pointers that i noticed in video from races in Berlin, and felt very confident going into the weekend. Race prep on Wednesday went very well, so I was ready.
Racing.
1:50.87, 21st.
The 1500 on Friday was definately not my best race of the year. I've worked really hard on how i prepare for races, so that when I go to the line, I'm calm, comfortable and confident. My preparation was great for all aspects: mental, physical, and technical, but despite me being ready and focused, I didn't execute very well. I was confused after the race for many reasons, but mostly because what I felt during the race didn't match up to the feedback I got from Marcel and the video. My preparation and video looked ok, but something wasn't right, so i decided to take note of the little things when watching the best race.
The best way to learn is to watch the best. It's that simple. Shani Davis managed to knock another few races out of the park, showing why he is the man to beat right now. There were some other great races by Stefan Groothuis, Simon Kuipers and Havard Bokko. They are so smooth and are always building speed and they never waste a stride. After watching the 1000s and 1500s, I went back to video of my race prep (where I skated very well) and my race (where i didn't skate well), and i noticed some things I hadn't before. Now i have a few things to focus on.
As you can see, the process is rather iterative. Watch, try, learn, repeat. These are the things I'm taking out of my first two world cups, even though I didn't race well. This is why I'm also not disheartened but actually excited about the next few weeks. Sure, I wanted to race really well, but I have to respect the process and not get carried away looking ahead into the future.
I'm back on ice on Thursday, and after a few days of rest I'll be ready to go. 3 weeks until Calgary...
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
World Cup #1 - Berlin
So week one of my first world cup experience is finished! The city and experience was great, the racing was not too bad.
- Checkpoint Charlie
The first few ice sessions, I took everything in. I was watching how my teammates and the best in the world trained and prepared. For many of them, they have been doing this for years, but at one point, they had to skate in their first world cup. Training leading up to world cups is very different: so many people are skating at once that at times I felt like I was playing 'Frogger' instead of skating.
1000m: 1:11.65 - 18th
1500m: 1:49.72 - 15th
Both races were good, but nothing special. I was happy to get the 1000m done, so I had an idea of what to expect. I did make some tactical and technical errors in the the 1000m, but after watching video, I was clear on what I needed to do for the 1500m.
-a piece of the Berlin Wall at the Checkpoint Charlie Museum
Berlin is a great city with so much history and I was lucky enough to be in Berlin during the week leading up to the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall (Nov, 9). I was able to take an afternoon to see some of the sites I've learned about and have always wanted to see: Brandenburg gate, Jewish memorial, Alexander Platz, Postdamer Platz and Checkpoint Charlie. When i was at Brandenburg Gate, a stage was being set up for a free U2 concert that coincided with the MTV Europe Music Awards. I really enjoyed downtown, but the reason i was in Berlin was to race and learn.
- Checkpoint CharlieI will always remember Berlin, my first world cup. I learned so much this week, and I have so much more to learn. It doesn't really matter how ready I could be for this, until I experienced it, I had no idea what to expect.
The first few ice sessions, I took everything in. I was watching how my teammates and the best in the world trained and prepared. For many of them, they have been doing this for years, but at one point, they had to skate in their first world cup. Training leading up to world cups is very different: so many people are skating at once that at times I felt like I was playing 'Frogger' instead of skating.
My teammates were giving me a little bit of a hard time: I was the rookie, or rook, but it was all in good fun. Someone even decided to leave me a little gift for when i got back to the hotel from downtown. All of my stuff was taped. On my bed, my entire racing suit and warmups was laid out, complete with glasses and skates. My pen, shaker bottle, weight shoe, tshirt and other things were taped to the ceiling. My shorts: tied to the vent. My jackets were taped to the hangers and my pants were taped in a ball. I still haven't figured out who it was, but it was entertaining, and made sure I was nice and loose.
Finally, racing. I competed in the B group which excludes the top 24, but still has some serious competition. My first two races are set in stone
1000m: 1:11.65 - 18th
1500m: 1:49.72 - 15th
Both races were good, but nothing special. I was happy to get the 1000m done, so I had an idea of what to expect. I did make some tactical and technical errors in the the 1000m, but after watching video, I was clear on what I needed to do for the 1500m.
I skated very well in the 1500m, but I was a little tense. That is the difference between the best in the world and the rest. The best skate very well, but, they do it while being smooth and relaxed. This way, they can skate the early laps using the least amount of energy, saving energy for the end of the race. That is my next step. I know how to skate smooth and relaxed, and I know how to skate well technically. So this weekend, I will do both: skate well, and skate smoothly. Sounds so easy, but its not!
Even though this weekend wasn't the best I've skated, I still have a smile on my face. This is the first of many world cups: Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither is a world champion. Very few people have incredible races for their first international races. On top of that, I have to keep my eye on the prize: I don't get an Olympic spot in Berlin.....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)