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

That Time of the Year Again

It's that time of the year again; we're getting to the end of the season, a lot of the really hard training is done and the only thing left to do is race the final competition.  It's been a bit of an up and down season for me, a lot of it down, and in the middle of the season I struggled a little bit with motivation but (fingers crossed) I'm back on an upward swing.

Practice has been going better and I'm getting more confident again.  We did some practice races this weekend and although I wasn't 100% rested I'm feeling cautiously optimistic about the big competition in two weeks (and also really looking forward to the short break at the end of the season but gotta race first, think about that later).

For the next few weeks I will be trying not to worry how things go (harder than it sounds for me) and try to be confident that I've done all the hard work and that no matter what happens it's not the end of the world.

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).

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!