Step 1 Towards the Journey of Success.....

So here is the first step in getting things right and that is getting the equipment to work the way it is supposed to. Here you see James, who I call "King James", working on my skates. James coached me last year for a bit while I was club skating and I found that he was really good......always pointing out some technical stuff and providing constructive criticism.....that's why I made him an offer to coach me this season personally and he agreed.....Awesome....step #2.
King James also runs the Oval Pro Shop so of course, I trust him with my equipment.....in speed skating terms, he rocked and put some bend in my skates and on Tuesday morning skate.....what a difference!! So last season I wasn't up to par with equipment so I can only wonder how that hurt me, if it did??
So now equipment is good to go....check, coaching is good to go......check, step #3 is all about me....hard work, committment, discipline, motivation, heart, determination......might as well check this one off too cause I am good to go!!!!!!

Peace

Precious moments....

As my time draws near for the big move to Calgary, moments with my daughter seem to carry more preciousness than ever. Over last weekend, we went go-karting and after feeling out the track for a couple of laps, she took over and drove like a Champ....passing people, learning the high-low-high in the curves, navigating traffic....I was impressed but then again, she did have a great teacher...heh heh.
She also gave me my monthly haircut....a number one cut......she was all over the place but eventually, we got 'er done.....she calls the cut a "Baldini".
Anyways, I just flew in from Calgary tonight and while in the air, I couldn't help but look down at the terrain thinking, I will be driving all of this right back in a few days.......my how the summer flew by.....

Peace.

Fear and Fire......

Fear, it's in all of us for no matter what reason....some people are afraid of heights, some people are afraid of confined spaces, some people are afraid of other people, but, your internal mental fear is the hardest to conquer.
This is what makes an athlete, but in the same token, all athletes go through this and I believe the older you get, the more it plays on your mind......I mean heck, I wouldn't get what I'm trying to say now if I was 20 years old......
I have been living this fear since I got my knees fixed late March.....am I making the right decision, am I fooling myself, fear of, not failure but of letting everyone else down, fear of what others think, fear that I won't be able to honour my parents the way I want, fear of leaving my family behind.......it's been mentally tough the past few months.....all that aside, for the exact same reasons, I welcome the challenge and the new adventure that awaits me but I would be a liar and a fool to not acknowledge this very prominent trait called fear......and all my life, I thought I was only afraid of mosquitoes......
But with this contradictory emotional element comes fire.....the burning desire to succeed and to accomplish what I have laid out in front of me....the fire must continue to burn. I realize that sometimes, along the way, that fire might fizzle down to simple embers, it is called the ups and downs of training and maintaining motivation, as long as it does not extinguish. A fire burns in everyone of us, we all have a little pilot light somewhere, it's how to turn that pilot light into a burning inferno that will bring results.
So yes, I fear, for all that is in store for me and I will use this fear to fuel my inferno, cause my fear.....doesn't scare me....it just keeps me real!!
Pics.....sitting by the fire during the full moon.....a favorite and peaceful pastime of mine.
The full moon.
The way I view fear....there it is but...HA HA.....deal with it!!

Peace.

First race is now history....

The Summer Classic has come and gone......a race that many choose not to do simply cause it's too early in the season to start racing and no one is really in race shape.....I used it as a benchmark for the rest of my season and also to see if any of my dryland paid off.

Even though I PBd (personal best) in the 1,000m and 1,500m races.....I was still a little disappointed with my performance....that's the problem with this Summer Classic....even though we know the times won't be spectacular......we still want only the best all the time.

On my 500m, a good thing my race partner didn't show up (it sucks to race alone though)cause I ended up in his lane on the 2nd turn......too fast. The start was good, the first 100m was good, the first turn was good, I was feeling good telling myself to stay low the whole time, the backstretch was smooth and low and fast cause before I knew it, there was turn 2 and I have never seen it coming up so fast before so I was doing something right.....I had too much speed for my own good and didn't know what to do with it so maybe I chickened out but I didn't "trust the lean" as they say and I drifted out a bit and then managed to pull it back on the last stretch but the damage in time was done.

Now more than ever, I can't wait to skate everyday so those things could be stuff of the past....I can't wait to have that race where it all comes together at the same time. For now, even though things went 'okay', I could see myself making the mistakes in stride while skating so I know I am aware of it....good starting point.

It's all good at moderate speed, but when the speed picks up, form and tecnique go out the window........that's what we're gonna work on now.

It was a Daddy/Daughter trip this weekend and I think it was the best part of the whole weekend. My daughter got to see where daddy spends his time and she got to see me race.....we even checked out a place to live and she gave me her opinion on that too. She was so patient at the Oval but she kept herself busy by warming up with me (on the bikes), doing cart wheels, jogging on the track, cheering me on, and rubbing elbows with the likes of the one and only Jeremy Wotherspoon, the best 500m sprinter in the World (pic sitting down), and also Chris Tsimaras, the Greek athlete with the best chance for 2010 (I believe he will be there).

Then it's her turn.....back at the hotel where she swam forever, everyday, twice a day......who the heck is MARCO POLO anyways??.....sheesh.....I needed ear plugs but I would never trade these experiences with her ever. We also checked out the Eau Claire Market where they were hosting 'a taste of Calgary' where they have different tents set up with different foods (pulled pork sandwich in pic)....so we chowed down....by the beer tent of course and I can't deny that she didn't wet her lips a bit......we had a great time.

This is all part of the experience and it is starting off great.....

Peace