Liz called this past weekend from Salt Lake, very excited. In practice, she'd done 9.9 and 9.7 second laps! It's a thrill to share those plateaus she reaches as her training intensifies out there!!!Meanwhile, back in New York, the plodding continues. On the ice, there is one clear similarity between my skating and that of a great skater say, Apolo Ohno or Jordan Malone: we all circle the track to the left. Off ice, however, we really do have something in common: Stay Bent Frames, the world's greatest sharpening frame! Mine (pictured) got delivered to me at practice the other night in Rochester by one of the designer/creators, Jerry Whitmer. I can't say too much about this frame: it is designed to align the same way every time, and it's swiveling clamps hold the speed skating blades in such a way as to hold the bend, and improve the sharpening effort. I was sold when I saw the early prototypes that Jerry and Marty Medina built. I was absolutely hooked when teammate Craig Pielechowski (an excellent skater) started using them and discovered that he got a better edge. Don't take my word for it: roam around any US meet where the top skaters are racing, and take a look at what they carry. More and more of the really good skaters are using Left Turn Dynamic's Stay Bent Frame. And now the secret is out....even some of us amateurs are using the Stay Bent to remove one more excuse for not getting to that next plateau. Check out the web site at http://www.staybentframe.com and see for yourself! As for the engraving, Jerry came up with this: "Michael Looby -You Know, Liz's Dad" Very cool, Jerry. Thanks! Oh yeah, don't call it a jig.
