So the 1000m didn't quite go how I would I have liked. The result is quite misleading actually and doesn't really give an accurate indication of how well i skated.
14th - 1:10.03...to put in perspective, the last Olympic spot was 1:08.66
I skated very well today, but i lost all my speed in 2 bad slips where i almost fell. I started in the inner lane...here is how my race was in a nutshell.
BANG! gun goes off.
Great first 50 m, really aggressive but solid. Great corner entry, lots of pressure as i push...and SLIP #1 about 2/3rd of the way through the corner.
I recover, and accelerate down the homestretch (which felt great and Luc said it looked awesome). Great corner entry into the first corner, keep building through the corner and SLIP #2. Hand goes down again and I recover but instead of carrying my speed from the opener and from the first corner and buidling into the first backstretch, I'm accelerating again trying to get my speed back.
From that point on, I continued skating well, built my corners and had a very good drop off. The drop off is the difference in time from laps 1 to 2. I skated 25.85/27.09, so the drop off is just over 1.1 seconds. An average drop off is somewhere in the 1.5-1.8 range, 2+ sec is a big drop and anything 1.2 or lower is really good. The thing is that having 2 major slips in my first 400m just left me with no speed going into my first backstretch. Sometimes you can get away with 1 slip, but not 2.
To give you an idea of how the slips affected me, imagine driving a stick shift car but you don't quite find the gear and the gears slip or kicks out as you shift. It was almost like i was doing intervals. Accelerate...stop briefly, accelerate again, stop briefly again...Accelerate again. I wasted alot of energy accelerating over and over instead of carrying my speed and further accelerating and saving it for later during the last lap.
It may sound like I'm all doom and gloom, but that is hardly the case. I'm not sad or depressed about the result. I'm more mad and motivated or driven because of it. I know that I skated very well today and without the 2 slips I know that I would have been in the mix with a high 1:08 or low 1:09. I might not have qualified the last Olympic spot, but I would have definately been close for the 5th spot which would get to go to a World cup in Erfurt, Germany in March.
There were lots of positives to take out of the race today. I skated well today so I'll take that and use it for Friday when I race the 1500m. On top of all the positive from today, this is exactly what happened in my 1000m in Richmond at Fall Trials: I made a few mistakes (then i didn't execute, today I slipped twice) and I didn't make the same mistake again. Also, I feel exactly the same way that I did after the 1000: My legs are fresh, I'm mad about the mistakes and i know exactly what those mistakes were, and I wont make them again. We all know how the 1500m turned out in Richmond, maybe history will repeat itself....
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
Merry Christmas
First, A Merry Christmas to everyone. I hope everyone can spend the holidays with their friends and family and truly enjoy the season. This is the time of year to reflect on the past year and appreciate everything and everyone that we have around us.
Olympic Trials start on Sunday with the 500m. I will be racing 2 distances, the 1000m on Tuesday the 29th and the 1500m on Friday, January 1st. Its incredible to think that the reason I've spent so much time training for is coming up next week. This whole journey started in May 2008 in Las Vegas when my coach sat down the group and introduced us to his vision for the next 18 months: How he was going to get us ready to have the race of our lives at Olympic Trials.
At this point, there isn't much more preparation to do, all the work has been done. I raced a 1000m last weekend for the first time since Berlin and it couldn't have gone any better. It really is something special when I race and I'm completely in the moment with no other thought or care in the world. I was completely present and executed the race very well. It was the fastest I'd gone all season on ice that was far from magical (You may be surprised, but ice can be really 'fast' or 'slow' depending on the weather outside, air pressure, humidity etc)
Over the last week or so, I've realized a few things about the my optimal mental state for performing my best. It sounds so simple but its really quite difficult to achieve. For me, I perform my best when i'm completely present, in the moment. Just like during my 1000 this past weekend. I've always had the pieces and strategies to 'get in the zone' but I was never quite sure why, or how they fit together. Now I know and it couldn't have come at a better time.
Like i said, the prep is done. I'm not sure i could have done any more. Things played out the way they did for a reason, to get me ready for Trials. A quote I really like from the Power of Now is this:
"The answer, the strength, the right action or the resource will be there when you need it, not before, not after."
That is why I train, get stronger, work on my mental game and work on my technique. So that when I need them, I don't need to think about it, they'll be there.
So, here we go: Trials are here and I am in mix to qualify for 2 distances. That is all I could ask for, a chance. Who knows how it will play out....
Olympic Trials start on Sunday with the 500m. I will be racing 2 distances, the 1000m on Tuesday the 29th and the 1500m on Friday, January 1st. Its incredible to think that the reason I've spent so much time training for is coming up next week. This whole journey started in May 2008 in Las Vegas when my coach sat down the group and introduced us to his vision for the next 18 months: How he was going to get us ready to have the race of our lives at Olympic Trials.
At this point, there isn't much more preparation to do, all the work has been done. I raced a 1000m last weekend for the first time since Berlin and it couldn't have gone any better. It really is something special when I race and I'm completely in the moment with no other thought or care in the world. I was completely present and executed the race very well. It was the fastest I'd gone all season on ice that was far from magical (You may be surprised, but ice can be really 'fast' or 'slow' depending on the weather outside, air pressure, humidity etc)
Over the last week or so, I've realized a few things about the my optimal mental state for performing my best. It sounds so simple but its really quite difficult to achieve. For me, I perform my best when i'm completely present, in the moment. Just like during my 1000 this past weekend. I've always had the pieces and strategies to 'get in the zone' but I was never quite sure why, or how they fit together. Now I know and it couldn't have come at a better time.
Like i said, the prep is done. I'm not sure i could have done any more. Things played out the way they did for a reason, to get me ready for Trials. A quote I really like from the Power of Now is this:
"The answer, the strength, the right action or the resource will be there when you need it, not before, not after."
That is why I train, get stronger, work on my mental game and work on my technique. So that when I need them, I don't need to think about it, they'll be there.
So, here we go: Trials are here and I am in mix to qualify for 2 distances. That is all I could ask for, a chance. Who knows how it will play out....
Monday, December 14, 2009
Picture of me racing the 1000m in Berlin
Here is a really cool picture that i mentioned a few posts ago... You can see me in my element!
Update from SLC
Hello from Salt Lake City, UT!
What a beautiful city. It’s set in a mountain valley with large mountains on all sides. I haven’t seen much of the city because we are staying in West Jordan, a suburb close to the Oval, which is in Kearns.
Today I raced my last 1500 for the fall World Cups, and it was a good race. Nothing spectacular, but a good solid race. I’m quite happy with it because there were many good things to take from it. I also had my best finish of the fall and was only 1 placing away from collecting my first world cup point! So close!
10th place, 1:46.91
That time is about a half second off of my personal best, and my fastest time of the year, but, I know that I’m capable of much faster. What’s positive about this race is that I’ve turned things around from earlier in the fall. I’m enjoying being in SLC and am appreciating how lucky I am to be a part of this all! I know many people would kill to be in my situation. It was really easy for me to get so caught up with performing and results and the hype and everything that I forgot to just sit back and enjoy it.
I’m now finished my inaugural world cup series. 4 world cups, 5 races. Olympic trials are only 2 weeks away. I remember thinking how trials are 7 months away..6 months away... and now they are almost here. I don’t know if I will qualify for the Olympics, but regardless of whether i do qualify, I will always have all of the experiences from the last year leading up to the Trials. Back to training and final preparation for trials this week!
What a beautiful city. It’s set in a mountain valley with large mountains on all sides. I haven’t seen much of the city because we are staying in West Jordan, a suburb close to the Oval, which is in Kearns.
Today I raced my last 1500 for the fall World Cups, and it was a good race. Nothing spectacular, but a good solid race. I’m quite happy with it because there were many good things to take from it. I also had my best finish of the fall and was only 1 placing away from collecting my first world cup point! So close!
10th place, 1:46.91
That time is about a half second off of my personal best, and my fastest time of the year, but, I know that I’m capable of much faster. What’s positive about this race is that I’ve turned things around from earlier in the fall. I’m enjoying being in SLC and am appreciating how lucky I am to be a part of this all! I know many people would kill to be in my situation. It was really easy for me to get so caught up with performing and results and the hype and everything that I forgot to just sit back and enjoy it.
I’m now finished my inaugural world cup series. 4 world cups, 5 races. Olympic trials are only 2 weeks away. I remember thinking how trials are 7 months away..6 months away... and now they are almost here. I don’t know if I will qualify for the Olympics, but regardless of whether i do qualify, I will always have all of the experiences from the last year leading up to the Trials. Back to training and final preparation for trials this week!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Some cool media stuff I've done....
Well, the world cup in calgary is coming up this weekend and I'm getting ready to race again. I'm a little nervous, but also excited to get back at it and improve on my results from the European World Cups. This past week both Luc and I have done a few different media events.
Jolanda Abbes runs a cool website, www.speedskating-online.com all about the wonderful world of speedskating. I answered a few questions for her. Here is the link.
http://www.speedskating-online.com/mykolamakowskydec2009.htm
Luc and I also sat down with Glenn Reid from CBC Regina for an interview. It was lots of fun, and its great to know that the Regina Media outlets are following along. I did a short spot for CBC radio one, another for the online page and a 20 min camera interview...hopefully they turn out ok! Keep an eye and ear out on CBC for us!
Lastly, on DESG photo you can see some pictures of me racing in Berlin. There are some really cool ones that I'm trying to get a hold of. Photos 1,2,3 and 6 are really great. Here is the link.
http://www.desgphoto.com/desgphoto/gallery/index.php?p=athlet&id=2680
Jolanda Abbes runs a cool website, www.speedskating-online.com all about the wonderful world of speedskating. I answered a few questions for her. Here is the link.
http://www.speedskating-online.com/mykolamakowskydec2009.htm
Luc and I also sat down with Glenn Reid from CBC Regina for an interview. It was lots of fun, and its great to know that the Regina Media outlets are following along. I did a short spot for CBC radio one, another for the online page and a 20 min camera interview...hopefully they turn out ok! Keep an eye and ear out on CBC for us!
Lastly, on DESG photo you can see some pictures of me racing in Berlin. There are some really cool ones that I'm trying to get a hold of. Photos 1,2,3 and 6 are really great. Here is the link.
http://www.desgphoto.com/desgphoto/gallery/index.php?p=athlet&id=2680
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
World cup schedule for Calgary - Dec 4-6
Well, it has been awhile since I've last posted. I took some time to recover from the trip to Europe and have spent the last 10 days getting ready for the World Cup this weekend here in Calgary. I hope everyone around Calgary will come out and watch some skating. This is a great chance to watch the best skaters from around the world.
I will be racing the 1500m on Friday late afternoon or early evening. Once I know the exact time I'll post it up on the blog. I am in Division B, so there isn't even an entry fee!
Lucas will be racing the 1500m on Friday, 5000m on Saturday and the Team Pursuit on Sunday.
Here is the rest of schedule for the weekend.
Friday, Dec 4th.
12:30 pm start
Ladies and Men's 500m
Ladies 3000m
Men's 1500m
Saturday, Dec 5th.
12:30 pm start
Ladies and Men's 500m
Ladies 1500m
Men's 5000m
Sunday, Dec 6th.
11:53 pm start
Ladies and Men's 1000m
Team Pursuits
I will be racing the 1500m on Friday late afternoon or early evening. Once I know the exact time I'll post it up on the blog. I am in Division B, so there isn't even an entry fee!
Lucas will be racing the 1500m on Friday, 5000m on Saturday and the Team Pursuit on Sunday.
Here is the rest of schedule for the weekend.
Friday, Dec 4th.
12:30 pm start
Ladies and Men's 500m
Ladies 3000m
Men's 1500m
Saturday, Dec 5th.
12:30 pm start
Ladies and Men's 500m
Ladies 1500m
Men's 5000m
Sunday, Dec 6th.
11:53 pm start
Ladies and Men's 1000m
Team Pursuits
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