The Second Season

It is dry land training time. Intense Tuesday workouts. Sore muscles two days later. But having had so much fun as a first year speed skater at 57, and had so much acceptance from others, on home ice but also in Pittsburgh and Cleveland and Syracuse and other venues, I am anxious to do it again, but better. We'll see . At a time trial near the end of last season, Mitch Connelly of Rochester Speed Skating teased that he was "only" twice as fast as me at 500m (but he was recovering from a tib/fib fracture and I had no such excuse other than being "slightly" older.). I learned that in speed skating, there is room for everyone. When on ice, its almost zen....the world narrows down to the contact of blade and ice, and to a spot on the ice about 15 feet ahead. But at practice, each muscle just yells "are you nuts?" And always the nagging question: why is it so much easier to do crossovers in figure skates than it is on short track blades?