Over the next two weeks, I kept practicing with the team, and could actually skate with them if they were doing slow stuff. But, I had greatly improved since that first dreadful day on the ice. Matt timed my one lap time earlier in the week and I ran a 33.7. This was much better than my first day on the ice, where I was probably running somewhere in the low to mid 40s! A few days later, I completed my first full drill, which was somewhat hard for my teammates. We did 8 laps 5 times at about 37 second laps. I was pretty content with the way I skated that day, and I’m pretty sure Matt was also. By that time, I had started touching my outside edge on my left skate, which was a big feat for me. A couple days after the 8 lappers, Matt got my one lap time again; this time it was a 32.4. I had lowered my time by a second and a half in 3 days. Yesterday, I had a one-lap time and a two-lap time to skate. My one lap time was a 31.0. Once again, I had lowered my time by another second and a half. In the two lapper I had two things happen to me for the first time. The first lap, I ran a 30.08 (so I ran a 30 for the first time), the second lap, I was coming down the back straightaway and went into the corner too early. I felt it coming, my left skate started doing something crazy, and next thing I know, I hit the ice and I start sliding really fast toward the pads. One thing you should know, when you fall on ice, you start going faster! So I’m sliding toward the impending cushion, and I remembered just in time to lift my feet up. I hit the pads with my right side, and to my surprise, I wasn’t in any pain. A lot different than an inline fall! After I got up, I went up to Matt, and he seemed really happy that I ran a 30.08. He said that I was hitting my left edge really well, and that my corners didn’t look too bad either.
Now that this is up to date, I can tell you that I can actually skate decently on the ice, and I think that I’m starting to lose the title of “that JO kid.” I will update this once or twice a week with new, hopefully faster times, and other hilarities that happen to me as I make my transition from inline to ice.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Stil that JO Kid
The next day I go to the oval, with laces in my skates, and blade guards! I get on the ice, and after the first 20 minutes of screeching every step I can now limit it to only every other step. My coach, Matt Kooreman (whom I’m sure was quite enjoying this comical event), was helping me out, and I was starting to some what get a feel for the ice. But needless to say I was still “that JO kid”.
I’m not going to drag this out, so I’m going to summarize the next week. I got to the point where I would only screech every few laps or so only if I came out of a corner wrong, or pushed some weird way. That week, I had my first practice with my team; it was not on ice though. It was dry land drills. Before this, I hadn’t trained since nationals, which was four weeks before that. That night, I felt like I had been hit by a freight train. The next morning was worse.
I’m not going to drag this out, so I’m going to summarize the next week. I got to the point where I would only screech every few laps or so only if I came out of a corner wrong, or pushed some weird way. That week, I had my first practice with my team; it was not on ice though. It was dry land drills. Before this, I hadn’t trained since nationals, which was four weeks before that. That night, I felt like I had been hit by a freight train. The next morning was worse.
That JO kid
So the first step when you move somewhere is to unpack and get your room set up. After a few trips to Wal-Mart, and TJ Maxx, it was official; my new room was finally finished. I had orientation on the 12th, which was very long and boring, at the University of Utah. I finally got registered for three classes: Sports in American Society, History of Rock and Roll, and Math 1050. Needless to say, I have a pretty awesome schedule right now. The next day I made it to the oval, which is one of the most awesome facilities I have ever been in by the way, and got on my skates for the first time.
That first practice, I felt more JO than I have ever felt in my life. I forgot my laces for my boots at the house, and had about 10 people ask me why I wasn’t skating with laces. I told them I don’t like the way they feel. I forgot my blade guards at the house as well; I had to borrow someone else’s. Finally, I get on the ice and I thought that it was going to be so awesome (let me point out that I have not set foot on ice with speed skates in over 2 years). Needless to say, it was not awesome. My JOness continued. I try to start skating and get the feel of things, and I start to get up to slow, and my blades start making this awful screeching noise. It’s almost like a cross between nails on a chalkboard and a crying baby. But at the moment, I have no idea how to stop it, and everybody was at the oval for training. I’m talking national short and long track team, and other slow skaters who are all probably busting out laughing at me attempting to skate. Oh, and by the way, whenever I screeched, it would echo throughout the vaulted ceiling and I’m pretty sure that everyone in there could here me, even when I was on the other side of the oval. So I continue my god-awful screeching for the next hour, and by the end I could at least attempt to control it. This was the most embarrassing moment I have had on any set of skates since I started skating. I was “that JO kid.”
That first practice, I felt more JO than I have ever felt in my life. I forgot my laces for my boots at the house, and had about 10 people ask me why I wasn’t skating with laces. I told them I don’t like the way they feel. I forgot my blade guards at the house as well; I had to borrow someone else’s. Finally, I get on the ice and I thought that it was going to be so awesome (let me point out that I have not set foot on ice with speed skates in over 2 years). Needless to say, it was not awesome. My JOness continued. I try to start skating and get the feel of things, and I start to get up to slow, and my blades start making this awful screeching noise. It’s almost like a cross between nails on a chalkboard and a crying baby. But at the moment, I have no idea how to stop it, and everybody was at the oval for training. I’m talking national short and long track team, and other slow skaters who are all probably busting out laughing at me attempting to skate. Oh, and by the way, whenever I screeched, it would echo throughout the vaulted ceiling and I’m pretty sure that everyone in there could here me, even when I was on the other side of the oval. So I continue my god-awful screeching for the next hour, and by the end I could at least attempt to control it. This was the most embarrassing moment I have had on any set of skates since I started skating. I was “that JO kid.”
The Move
On August 8th of this year, I left Greensboro, NC to move out to Salt Lake City, UT; exactly 2074 miles from my parent’s house to my new home. I have skated on inlines since 1999, and though there have been plenty of tough times, as of right now, my heart still lies with inlines. The one thing that ice does have that inlines doesn’t is an Olympic stature. That is my ultimate goal, though it may be a long shot. Since I was a kid, I have always wanted to skate in the Olympics.
Ever since the blog craze started, I have always wanted to start my own, but I never had anything interesting enough to write about. Now I do. This is going to be a chronicle of my trials and tribulations of my step from being an inline skater to an ice skater. Now don’t get me wrong; I will still be skating inlines up until 2013 (the year before the Olympics), but at the same time I will be trying to work my way up the ranks on ice as well.
So it all started on August 8th. My mom and I had a 30-hour drive ahead of us so we loaded up the car the night before and got on the road at 4 am. That day we drove for 16 hours and stopped about an hour past Kansas City, MO. After a long and tiring day of driving, a good night sleep was much needed. We woke up at 5:30 am and set out again. About two hours later, we drove through the inline speed skating capitol, Lincoln, NE. The only significance of this was that we successfully made it from Greensboro to Lincoln in 18 hours. My coach, Tony smith, said it couldn’t be done. But anyways, after Lincoln the speed limit bumped up to 75 mph. We had the cruise control set at 85 mph, and we were only doing 10 over! After driving through the desolate Midwest, with the only attractions being windmills, Cheyenne, and the northern part of the Rockies, for 14 hours, we made it to Salt Lake City. When we got there, my new roommates, Josh Wood and Brandon Andrews, had the stereo blazing, and I instantly knew that I liked my Apartment.
Ever since the blog craze started, I have always wanted to start my own, but I never had anything interesting enough to write about. Now I do. This is going to be a chronicle of my trials and tribulations of my step from being an inline skater to an ice skater. Now don’t get me wrong; I will still be skating inlines up until 2013 (the year before the Olympics), but at the same time I will be trying to work my way up the ranks on ice as well.
So it all started on August 8th. My mom and I had a 30-hour drive ahead of us so we loaded up the car the night before and got on the road at 4 am. That day we drove for 16 hours and stopped about an hour past Kansas City, MO. After a long and tiring day of driving, a good night sleep was much needed. We woke up at 5:30 am and set out again. About two hours later, we drove through the inline speed skating capitol, Lincoln, NE. The only significance of this was that we successfully made it from Greensboro to Lincoln in 18 hours. My coach, Tony smith, said it couldn’t be done. But anyways, after Lincoln the speed limit bumped up to 75 mph. We had the cruise control set at 85 mph, and we were only doing 10 over! After driving through the desolate Midwest, with the only attractions being windmills, Cheyenne, and the northern part of the Rockies, for 14 hours, we made it to Salt Lake City. When we got there, my new roommates, Josh Wood and Brandon Andrews, had the stereo blazing, and I instantly knew that I liked my Apartment.
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