2015-2016 Season in Review

When I think back on this past season it's kind of hard to quantify since it was so different than previous years and I didn't compete in the same competitions that I normally do so I have very little to compare it to.

Andy Young SunPulse 

The first kind of 'bigger' competition I skated this season was the Inter-Continental at the Oval in Calgary.  Calgary invited a bunch of international skaters to compete and a select number of the Oval Program skaters got to compete against them.  For me this competition went spectacularly terrible.  It was a complete train wreck.  Because of where we were in the training period I felt exhausted and I was so tired that I felt physically unable to do my normal passes and strategies because I simply didn't have the energy in my legs.  I became very frustrated and very upset because I felt that I was skating so bad and I was embarrassed that people would think that was how I skated and I didn't feel like myself.  I think I only had one race that I could feel even a little bit good about that I managed to pull off through sheer will and anger but that was kind of taken away from me when I heard that someone I trusted and had depended on in the past for support and advice in skating had said something pretty hurtful during and after that race.  After that competition I was so hurt and upset and in such a bad place that I just wanted to be done.  I just didn't want to feel the way I was feeling anymore and I think that if I hadn't already booked plane tickets for later in the season I might have just packed up and gone home.

Instead of skating the Canadian circuit this season I went and trained with Great Britain's national team for three weeks, something I was able to do since I have British citizenship through my dad.  While I was there we travelled to Sweden to compete in a Star Class competition.  By that point I was feeling a lot better about my skating although it took me a long time to feel confident racing again but it was nice to compete against a field that was almost all people I didn't know and who didn't know me.  It felt like there was no pressure and no expectations of me so I was more free to try things and not be so stressed out.  In some races I feel like I could've finished higher or done better but I came out of the competition with a third place trophy and I didn't cry once so I'm putting that one in the win column.

It's the end of this season that feels the most weird for me because I really didn't have a big end of year competition like I have had in the past.  I skated Winterfest, the final competition at the oval where I had some decent results and some good races and then I was done.  I think I had some good experiences this season and some good races but it is a little difficult to tell since I don't have any results to compare to previous seasons.  This season I really wanted to get a new 500 time and unfortunately that didn't happen but I'm happy with the skating I did nonetheless because I feel that although I didn't get any faster times I got a lot better and more confident in my racing.

Canadian Open Selections 2015

As I mentioned in my previous post I recently had my final competition of the season.  Now if I'm being completely honest this season has not been my best; I didn't get the results I wanted at National Qualifier and I didn't make Canadian Open like I have the past two years, but guys, it went so much better than I expected.  Now I'm not saying I was pessimistic or had a negative attitude going into the competition but I did go into it with no expectations because I had basically no results I had nothing to lose.

The first day was preliminaries and I had a couple good races and made it through to the 1500 semi finals.  I got a little bit lucky in the 1500 when a bunch of people fell and I ended up in the A final with a 6th place finish. I also followed that up with some good results in both the 500 and 1000 to place myself in the top 16 and into the 3000m final for the first time (only the top 16 ever get to skate the 3K). 

That weekend I finally got back the feeling that I've been chasing all season and was reminded why I liked skating because honestly in the middle of the season I was reconsidering my whole skating career (although after skating a few long track races for fun the week after I have decided it might be time for me to retire from long track).

I finished with a 12th place overall which is my best Canadian Selection result to date and now it's time for the much anticipated and oh so short off season before we start up training again in April.  I'm a couple weeks into the off season now and to be honest I'm kind of bored?  I'm sure I will be wistfully looking back on these lazy days once summer training starts up but for right now I'm almost looking forward to training and skating again.

All photos property of Bill Christ

National Qualifier 2014

The first competition that actually counted for something this season happened at the beginning of December.  I know that it’s the end of December now but after I got back from racing my life has been a whirlwind of training exams and practice races; this is the first chance I’ve had to breathe and it’s because I’m currently sitting in an airport waiting for my flight home for Christmas.

Pictures courtesy of my aunt who came to watch some races

If you’ve read my previous National Qualifier post you’ll know that it’s important for me to do well at that competition so that I can qualify for National Team Trials and the Canadian Open completion.  I’ve skated Canadian Open the past two years and have previously managed to qualify for it without too much trouble.  This year however, everything did not go as planned.  Qualifier wasn’t a terrible competition; I had some good races, and some not so good races, and a little bad luck like with any meet but unfortunately this time the best that I could do wasn’t good enough to qualify me for the next competition.  Obviously I’m disappointed because I want to keep working my way up the ranking lists instead of down them but I’m using this small setback to re-evaluate some things and to consider my options moving forward.

big outside pass

On a happier note I’m going to be taking a bit more time for myself over the next few weeks so hopefully I can try to get back into a routine of writing a blog post once a week!  Mostly I’m just excited to get a bit of a break from skating and school and spend some time with my famjam over Christmas (even if it’s only for a week).

Mini Update and Work Stress

Oh hey there, it's been a while.  If I'm being completely honest I've been finding this whole working and training very overwhelming lately so any time I've had at home (and it's been very limited) I have spent sleeping or sprawled out on the couch getting caught up on the many TV shows I watch.

Since I last blogged I've been to Salt Lake City where I raced the first competition of the season (just for fun it didn't count for anything) and then I came back to Calgary and worked 6 evenings straight.  So for 6 days I trained all day and then worked until 10pm and on the 7th day I left for Ottawa for a visit to see friends, family, and to spend some time at my cottage.  The visit was short and sweet but a much needed break from my day to day routine and of course it was nice to see family and friends that I hadn't seen in a very long time.

Then after my nice trip home I came back and worked 4 evenings straight, great.  Adding school into the mix life became very stressful.  As of right now I'm a little stressed out and sick (because apparently I'm always sick) but I'm managing to balance it all (just barely) I'm just hoping that if something goes south it's anything but skating.

National Team Selections

So I've taken some time off, this post wasn't something I was ready to relive right away but I feel better about it now after distancing myself from it a bit and here we are (buckle up this one's a bit of a bumpy ride).

We travelled to Richmond for the National Team Selections early and had three training days on ice before racing started.  The first two practice days went well and all we had to do on the third day was some practice relays.  In the third relay I fell on my own and crashed awkwardly into the boards.  I injured some muscles in my back and was in quite a lot of pain (still am a little bit).  On the first day of racing my back hurt so much that I honestly didn't know if I was going to be able to race but luckily I was able to see a physio and make it through the day.

The second race day I fell again and hit my head hard enough to break my helmet.  I didn't finish that first race and was still getting checked out by the doctor minutes before my final and didn't end up skating that race either.  The rest of the competition kind of went downhill from there with some bad luck and bad races and I ended up finishing about ten spots lower than my original ranking.  I spent more of the competition than usual in tears and it was honestly probably the worst competition I've ever skated.

It was a rough way to end the season and suddenly instead of being happy that the season was over I was wishing I had more time, a chance to try again.  On the plus side this whole experience has allowed me to re-focus and I am now motivated to start summer training and working towards next season.

time to move on and keep looking forward
(Source)

Now that we're officially into the off season I will have time for more posts and less "skates" and more "and stuff" I'm thinking of doing some nutrition and health posts but if you have any other suggestions or interests let me know!

The Last Competition

The last competition of this season starts on Thursday so I don't have a lot to report today.  We travelled last night to Vancouver since the meet is happening at the Richmond Olympic Oval.  We have practice ice and weights sessions between now and the start of racing to get used to the ice and the altitude and the time change and then four days of racing and then it's all over.  This is the last competition of what feels like the longest season ever and I'm so excited to be done but first and foremost I'm excited to race; racing is the fun part of skating and I haven't done it in a while since I was sick during the most recent competition.  Right now I'm just trying to keep positive and motivated so that I can have the best competition possible and know that I have done everything I can to succeed.

(source)

sidenote: obviously I will not be posting anything next weekend as I will be racing

The Final Push

I know I told you that new post day would be Saturday and to be fair I did start writing this post on Saturday.  The original post was going to be about the run up to last trials, the 'final push' as it were, it was an upbeat, light post with little substance.  On Saturday that was honestly how I felt; light and upbeat and even excited about competing again since it has been so long since the first trials before Christmas.  I'm still excited about going to Vancouver because I'll get to see my parents and even a little bit about racing because that is the fun part of skating but I'm also feeling very stressed, worried, and overwhelmed.

If you keep up with this blog you might be aware that I had the flu a few weeks ago and I missed over a week of training and a weekend of racing.  I'm back training full time now but I feel like I'm still recovering and I feel tired most of the time and slow.  Even as I write this I haven't done anything all day (it's our day off) and I still feel like I'm only half awake.  I worry that I might be getting sick again and I'm struggling with doing both school and skating this year so I worry about my marks.  For me at this moment skating takes precedent; I don't want to go into National Team Trials feeling underprepared or feeling like I didn't do everything possible to succeed but I think I would feel a lot better if one thing was going well instead of struggling with both.

I know deep down that this one competition isn't the most important thing in the world and that once skating ends this month I'll probably have time to turn my school marks around but it doesn't mean I don't worry.

I need a job so I can afford a vacation.

(picture found on Pinterest)

Canadian Open

If you read my last post you will remember that I was in Montreal for National team trials #1 (aka Canadian Open).  I worked very hard to qualify for that competition and was looking forward to carrying that hard work and the success I had at National Qualifier to these races.  I don't want to go into too much detail but I will give you a small recap of what happened.

I had some good races, some ok races, and some awful races.  I was able to pull off longer distances like the 1500m and 1000m but I struggled with the sprint distance.  It was very upsetting, I felt like I was going in slow motion, I was losing, and to top it off that was the day that a lot of my family had travelled down to watch me and my cousin.  I managed to turn it around the next day and skated alright but it still affected my overall ranking and I finished lower down the list than I wanted to.  I guess that just means I'm going to have to work on strength and power in the weight room and technique and starts on ice before the next trials in March, new training block starts today.

National Qualifier

So here we are: the first big important competition is over, what I trained for all summer has come and gone and now it's time to shift focus to the next one.  But first I'm going to tell you all about my emotional National Qualifier experience. (yay!)

National Qualifier this year qualifies the people who didn't make Olympic trials for Canadian Open aka national team selections #1.  Basically this year I had to finish somewhere around top 12 to make Canadian Open.

The first day (Thursday) we skated the preliminary rounds of the 1500 and 500 to qualify us for the final rounds which would be later in the weekend.  Only 14 skaters in the 1500 and 12 in the 500 out of 48 made it to the final rounds on the first day.  This should have been completely do-able for me since I went in to the competition ranked 9th but then in the first race of the day, the first round of the 1500s I fell.

posted to my tumblr shortly after the fall

I tend to be a rather emotional skater so after this happened I was rather upset.  I will admit that I cried and I saw my chances of skating Canadian Open fading off into the distance.  At one point I walked by the coaches box and told the coaches to yell at me so I would stop crying because I still had to skate 500s later in the day.  I managed to make it through to the top in the 500 even though it's not my best distance and then day 1 was over.

The second day (Friday) was 1500 day.  Because I didn't make the top on Thursday I had to skate what's called the repechage.  Basically everyone who didn't make it through on Thursday skated three extra rounds and the top 4 from that got to compete against the top 14 in the final rounds.  I made it out of the repechage and then had an amazing race to get me into the A final and ended up 6th overall in the 1500 (even though I was so tired from skating three more rounds than everybody else in the final that I didn't really do much).

(after making it out of the semi and into the A final)

I finished 9th in the 500 after a kind of uneventful Saturday and then 5th in the 1000 on Sunday.  In the 1000 final (and also last race of the competition) I had what was probably the best race of my life winning the B final when almost no one expected me to.

I ended the competition in 6th overall and earned myself a spot in Canadian Open next month.  All in all the competition was probably one of the best ones I've ever had and while I'm currently physically and emotionally drained I'm still buzzing over how well it went and excited for the races coming up.

text message I sent to my friend Monday after the competition

Race Day + Finishing the Build

So I've been trying to write this blog post for weeks now but I've been putting it off (like everything else in my life) so I have finally sat myself down and am not going to let myself open a new tab until it is done.

On the 24th and 25th of August we had our first real competition of the season.  The meet was on home ice with us Oval program skaters being the top of the group.  The competition wasn't super difficult and we were training right through it but I was still nervous and unsure of what would happen since I was coming out of a two month 'rough patch' of being exhausted and sick and couldn't actually remember the last time I finished a program on ice.

But I wore my lucky shirt to bed the night before so what could go wrong?
(I'm not even kidding this is an actual thing that I do)

All in all the competition went better than I expected. I'll admit that I started off a little hesitant but I finished second in almost every final (behind my training partner) and even managed to pull off a first in the last 1500.  The meet didn't mean anything but it did give me a little bit of a confidence boost which I carried into the final week of our training build.

Now I'm finally on recovery week (and sick again, ugh) but actually starting to look forward to training and racing which is a big turn around from how a felt just a few weeks ago.