Now let's get down to some real speedskating business. I'm sure that people want to know why I chose not to go to the Fall World Cups, even though I qualified for a spot in the 1500 meters. This is because my coach, Boris Leikin, and I decided to train through this part of the season in the hopes of getting better results later on.
One of the main reasons why I chose to train with Boris this year is that I did not like the way my speedskating career was heading and I needed to make a major change. Boris has been watching my skating career since I came back in 2001, and at the end of last season, he seemed to be the only coach who had some real solutions to the problems with my skating.
The last thing I wanted to do this year was to repeat a training program that didn't work the last time. Throughout this summer and fall, Boris has helped me fix some problems with my technique, through exercises that give me specific strength in the skating position.
I knew I was taking a big risk by deciding not to train with one of the teams here in Salt Lake City, but from my results so far this year, I believe I made the right choice. Though I haven't turned in any awesome times yet, my races have at least been consistent.
I'm also taking a step back from racing my favorite events in order to learn how to be a better sprinter. I've gone to Allround world cups and not felt too out of place, but when I watched the sprint World Cup in Salt Lake City last year, I realized that all of those sprinters skated way better than me! It wasn't just that they had more fast-twitch muscles, either. On average, the sprinters seemed to have much better, more efficient technique.
Fortunately for me, Boris knows a lot about training the sprint. No matter what happens in the races this season, I'm hoping that with the sprint training I have been doing, I will be able to increase my top-end speed and be able to skate a better 1500.
One of the main reasons why I chose to train with Boris this year is that I did not like the way my speedskating career was heading and I needed to make a major change. Boris has been watching my skating career since I came back in 2001, and at the end of last season, he seemed to be the only coach who had some real solutions to the problems with my skating.
The last thing I wanted to do this year was to repeat a training program that didn't work the last time. Throughout this summer and fall, Boris has helped me fix some problems with my technique, through exercises that give me specific strength in the skating position.
I knew I was taking a big risk by deciding not to train with one of the teams here in Salt Lake City, but from my results so far this year, I believe I made the right choice. Though I haven't turned in any awesome times yet, my races have at least been consistent.
I'm also taking a step back from racing my favorite events in order to learn how to be a better sprinter. I've gone to Allround world cups and not felt too out of place, but when I watched the sprint World Cup in Salt Lake City last year, I realized that all of those sprinters skated way better than me! It wasn't just that they had more fast-twitch muscles, either. On average, the sprinters seemed to have much better, more efficient technique.
Fortunately for me, Boris knows a lot about training the sprint. No matter what happens in the races this season, I'm hoping that with the sprint training I have been doing, I will be able to increase my top-end speed and be able to skate a better 1500.
posted by Eva at 2:33 PM
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