Bruce Connor: An Accomplishment to Applaud

Anyone who reads this blog knows that the accomplishments of older athletes are my thing. I strongly recommend that you link to Andrew Love's blog, Zen and the Art of Speedskating (see column to right) and look at the pictures and text about long-tracker Bruce Connor. I have never met Bruce but I want to shake his hand. At the age of 53, he has qualified for 2009 Olympic trials with a 500m time of 38.xxx seconds!!!!! I'll have some of what he's eating, please!

The End of A Season

The cycle ends, the cycle begins.  New job, too much commuting, too little practice resulted for me in a season that was a lot of fun, but more of a plateau than an advance. For Liz, a completely different story: she came in to her own this season in Salt Lake, as a skater and as a young adult.  It was so much fun to serve as a timer in Midland MI at American Cup Finals and see her and her teammates, both from Salt Lake and Rochester skate so very well...both those who won, and those who those whose efforts deserved better outcomes (yes, Matt, I am thinking of that great display of aerobatics!!!  I have no idea how you stayed on your blades).

Midland also brought four days of what I love most about our sport...the company and friendship of really good people, parents, skaters, officials. It's a privilege to be part of a sport where so many of the people are open, supportive, genuinely friendly.

Now, a deep breath, a short pause and begin again.  Yesterday I brought my bike to the shop for a tune up.  Like the first robin, the tune-up is a sure sign of spring and, of course, of dry land practice!

Skate the Bay, February 7-8, 2009

"Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth..." Proverbs 27:1   A biblical lesson was reinforced in Webster NY this weekend, at Skate the Bay: one should never miss the opportunity to skate on the FIRST day of the meet...carpe diem!

Robert & Karen Verrone,  and Eric Young and their other volunteers, reached into the waters of Lake Ontario and brought forth a natural ice long track for what turned out to be a wonderful, but truncated, speedskating adventure. Race director Tim Doherty was out there at 2AM the night before dealing with cracks, etc. in the ice....a LOT of work went into the creation. Thank you!!!!  Even ice sculpture speed skates decorated the shoreline (see photo, taken JUST before the heat wave finished its work).  An adventure,  because the weather gods, who had provided temperatures near zero for a week,  chose the weekend of the meet to send temperatures into the 50s F, and the that sent our blades--a motley combination of long-track, short-track, hockey and at least one pair of figure skate blades--into ever softening ice. Rochester, we must remember, sits on the SOUTHERN edge of the Canadian Shield! 

 Thanks, by the way to all the sponsors, and to Webster recreation, and to Bob Buono and the staff of the Bay Side pub (a very friendly little neighborhood  place right on the water or ice, depending on the moment you look, with great food, by the way).

Happily, it was possible to run three events, including the 50 meter race before weather conditions really got out of control, so the first full day of racing happened.  And what a memory!  There were lots of people around to watch our "niche sport" and that was a lot of fun by itself.  Skaters from as far as Western Canada and North Carolina as well as from the NY clubs and Quebec.  About thirty or so skated the 50K and almost all of them finished with Jim Cornell in the lead at least eight of our own Rochester Speed Skating adults (and Wes Rossborough, who should be very proud of his accomplishment) competing at that intimidating distance (a lot more of the RSST members did skate one or both of the shorter races and most of us were primed for today). For me the goal was to overcome some fear garnered in the prior week, and that much, at least,  I managed....without the slightest nod to style or skill, having my fourth fall just beyond the finish line in the shortest distance....oh, well.  I was registered for the 10K today and like to think I would have done it! Wait 'til next year!

And then there was snert.  Rochester Speedskating Team members who do a lot of long-track had shared with the people at Bay Side Pub three recipes for a traditional Dutch soup, called snert (or erwtensoep) that is apparently served at a lot of European long-track meets.   It's a pea soup with ham and onions etc. in it that really hit the spot...delicious!  Sort of fun to see a soup so thick the spoon stands up too!  The chef told me that he started out with about seven gallons, and that it cooked down to 4-5.  He also said it sold out!

I imagine that a lot of potential skaters waited for day two, the 10K and 25K races.  As Julia Roberts said to the shop clerk in "Pretty Woman":  "BIG mistake....HUGE!"  Nature gave us one good day this year, and anyone who missed it missed a wonderful day of skating and fun.  A couple of miles away, another group was having their polar bear dip in Lake Ontario today.  They may have needed SPF 40 sunscreen.

Lessons on Clap Skates -- Lake Ontario Feb. 1, 2009

I tried to skate on clap skates today, on natural ice on Irondequoit Bay, Lake Ontario, getting ready for Skate the Bay next weekend.  Many important lessons:  one: when the weather gets up to 40 F. the ice is not wonderful; two: when the wind is blowing hard and you start to slide backwards, clap skates are not your ally; three: wind and temperature are why they created indoor ovals;  four: when you fall and hit your head, your head loses; and five: don't slide backwards into docks.  On the plus side, by getting the bad karma out now, all should be well next week! Robert Verrone and his crew have made a wonderful track, and are working very hard to get and keep it in good shape.  The ice fishermen have been respecting it pretty well, and sticking holes elsewhere. It's going to be so much fun!   I recommend a visit to www.skatethebay.org.  And a visit to Webster NY next weekend!  Anyway, my daughter in Salt Lake wanted me to post the photo from my little mishap, so here it comes, to complete my embarrassment!  More of a wound to dignity than to anything else, but it did remind me not to get to overconfident!

Something in Common with Apolo

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.  

Day 2, Short Track Junior Nationals, Bay City MI

As a father and as a fan (and having a ringside seat in the timer's box except when Liz skates) the first two days of Junior Nationals have been unforgettable.  On day one, while sharing timing duties with Saratoga friends Don Acker and Bill Ralston, it was a thrill to watch Katie Ralston of Saratoga break 01:43.500 in the 1000 meter time trials, to qualify for A group, while being torn up to see Liz miss the cut four the top sixteen by six thousandths of a second.  Day one was frustrating for Rochester skaters and also for two young  Salt Lake skaters I've been happy to befriend, Matt Ferguson and Andrea Dahnke.  Day two was a new day for Liz:  three races, three personal bests:  she went under 50 seconds for the first time in the 500 heat, and then beat her new best to win the A Final at 00:48.832.  What a great way to shake off the disappointment of day one!  But she was not done:  leading wire to wire in the 1000 meter heat, she met the A cutoff by nearly a second, scoring 01:42.736 (perspective:  she is consistently about twice as fast as her dad!!).  Meanwhile , strong performances from Mitch Connelly, Lily Swartz and Mikey Burdekin (who turned in the smoothest race I have ever seen from him) rounded out RSST the day.  Andrea and Lily were within thousandths of each other, while Matt's frustration continued with some falls and some bad luck that just defies explanation.  Matt has been a fine example of sportsmanship, however:  his frustration shows, but do does his class and determination.  Marty Medina noted that progress in speedskating tends to come in chunks, and that Liz was posting some times in the last couple of meets that demonstrate that. By the way the photo above is a copywrited photo taken in Minnesota this fall at American Cup I by Jerry Search, and is reproduced here with gratitude.  Anyone interested in a gallery of wonderful speedskating photo's should visit Jerry's site.

Ohio Invitational/American Cup II Nov. 1-2, 2008 at Cleveland Heights

There are certain advantages to being an older speedskater, such as when your times are converted to age groups, the group itself is small enough that on paper your performance looks decent.

The Ohio Invitational had all sorts of attractions as my third meet of the season.  First, it was run in tandem with American Cup II, which gave us our first chance to see our daughter Liz skate since she began training in Utah.  She had grown in confidence and skill, and looked stronger.  Injured in practice on Sunday, she nevertheless finished first in the B group, winning three of four events!!! 

Second, the meet presented my second chance to skate the event, and a chance to compare my effort with the prior effort last January.  Mixed bag...a couple times better, a couple worse, but a rollicking good time with a LOT of very good people.  What was clear, though, was that my ability to skate was much better, even if the times did not show it.  Cleveland Heights is a wonderful, wide rink.  For someone of my limited speed, that means moving to the outside really adds distance... oh well, maybe next year!  Tom Frank's crew runs a really smooth meet in Cleveland, and the officials were terrific....can't wait for next year.

Ohio also gave me my third meet of the year, and my third in three weeks (never bunched them like that before).  It was interesting, in a frustrating sort of way.  Apparently I packed a different skater for Cleveland than I had the weekend before for Rutland.  For reasons I could not absolutely define, my confidence and comfort on the ice was less, and the times were consistently worse than the prior week.  Perhaps a flu shot the day before the meet was a factor....perhaps I'd put pressure on myself because my daughter and her teammates were there...perhaps an equipment malfunction?????  I'd been experimenting....I'd moved my blades back a notch, and it had seemed to help during the Rochester and Rutland meets.  In the two weeks since, I had also realized that the old sharpening stone I'd inherited seemed to have seen better days...for my most recent practice, it took 90 minutes of steady work to sharpen well...Finally, I decided to move the blade a little bit to the right on my left boot.  Only one practice, and maybe its a head game, but it felt more comfortable, and my bucket drills actually resulted in crossovers (a minor miracle, that.).

Green Mountain Invitational Short Track, Rutland VT 10/25/08

The Green Mountain Speed Skating Club hosted their first meet this weekend, and I am very glad I went over to Rutland, Vt.  Fast moving, fun event and perfect for young skaters and us not so young ones! The ice conditions were near perfect, and the facility is comfortable, clean very pleasant.  It's a non-profit operation, not a municipal one, and the pride of ownership shows.  This one should be on the radar of everyone in the Northeast and eastern Ontario/western Quebec next year.  One great feature:  the Castleton State College men's hockey team served, in shifts, as the block chasers and squeegee guys all day.  What a good volunteer service!  Thanks guys!

Thank you first of all to my teammate Beth Burchill for outstanding moral support (and congrats on some very impressive personal records!!!!)  Thanks, too, to many of the adults at the arena for their friendship and support (Don A., Rick T., Fred M., Chris & Ramona H., etc.) and to the other three members of my age group for the competition--Fred Cole of the Saratoga Winter Club and John Murphy and Paul Cantella of the Pittsfield (MA) Speed Skating Club.  They are much stronger, faster skaters but once again proved what a friendly, supportive activity speed skating can be and usually is.  It was a pleasure to kibbutz with them all day, and to try my best to keep up (and out of the way, once passed!!!).  The good news for me is that two 500 meter races were both PBs, and I am beginning to hope that I'll be not quite so far behind soon.  Moving the blades back a bit seems to have helped two weeks in a row!  A 01:37.345 for 500 meters may not be all that impressive, but it's a full six seconds faster than my previous best, and is encouraging.  

There was one little glitch for me early in the day.  The races started with 1000 meter heats and finals.  My heat time was objectively slow, but pretty good for me.  In the final, I felt great and was sure that I was on a PR time.  I was coming into my bell lap (I'd been counting carefully, after going a lap too far the prior week in Rochester, and my count matched that of a couple of officials as I passed), but unfortunately the chief up thought I was too slow and that I had more laps to go and called the race.  The numbers got posted.  It WAS going to be a personal best by a lot.  To say that I was pretty fried was putting it mildly.  Beth Burchill to the rescue on that score!  No complaints though.  The official and I wound up the day on the same page and all is good. I've been an official at enough events to know how hard those jobs are, anyway.   Since the timers did report the time, I was able to figure the pace and see progress, which was my goal.  And for as long as judgment is part of the sport, there are going to be days when I, or any other skater, will get a break we did not expect or perhaps deserve.  Those cut both ways... sometimes the luck is good, too, and the judgment call goes your way.

Rochester Invitational Oct.18-19, 2008

Day one, marked by frustration, wobbly knees, slow times and my usual place in the back of the pack....arrgh.  More in the nature of a Hail Mary pass than anything else, I decided to move my blades back a little on the boots.  Day two.  Two skaters on the line:  my good friend (and better, faster skater) Don Ducharme and I.  The gun sounds.  A much better than usual start and I have the lead!

Passing the apex on turn one, the announcer, Tom Connelly, with some incredulity in his voice, calls my name as the leader!  I've never been in the lead...what to do now!!!  I try to focus on form, getting as low as I get, milking glides for as much as possible......bell lap....still in the lead!  People who have cheered me on for a year are yelling!  Tom's voice on the PA.....Ducharme gaining...who wants it more....last turn.....I can see Don in my peripheral vision....running out of gas....never mind form....break into a run down the last straight.....focus...push....and across the line with six-hundredths of a second to spare!!!!!    What a rush!!!!  Don leaves me in the dust a little later at 1000 meters, but for the first time, in the first meet of my second season, I've won one heat....feeling really good....this sport frustrates, but it also rewards.....

When teammates help the most

A week from the opening meet of my second season, the discouragement is palpable. It is so incredibly frustrating to feel that skills are no better, and some worse than at the end of last year, and to see the performance gap increasing. At one practice, Tina said "you're so tense...there is no smile and you don't look like you're enjoying it." The inner demons are at work: fear of speed, fear of falling, fear of embarassment. Still, my team mates keep encouraging me on: an idea to exaggerate the kick, to make more of a pendulum and to glide better... a suggestion to go back to one of Jim Cornell's dryland drills to finally get a crossover... a "thataway" from inside the circle at a practice... an invitation to stay on ice and help with the youngest kids....the invitation to sit with "Coach Sam Adams" after practice...I have been part of a lot of groups and organizations over a lifetime, but the men and women and girls and boys of the Rochester Speed Skating Team are the greatest. They meant it when they called it a team and not a club.
If I ever develop any real skills in this sport, it will be as much because of the support and the patience of my team, as it will be of effort on my part. But I will keep plugging until then...see the post from August 18th on the "late bloomer" at the Summer Olympics.