Dinner Last Night & Breakfast Today

Last night i was stuck in a hotel in atlanta because there was a flight delay, regardless, i was hungry and looking to order a pizza. I decided that would take too long and it was too expensive anyway (im really cheap) so i walked out of the hotel only to find KFC right next door; could my night possibly get any better?! YES... I look to my right and what do I see? WAFFLE HOUSE! Now, anyone that knows me, knows that i'm a fat kid that loves to eat; more specifically, i love to eat food that isnt good for me haha.

Bacon, egg & cheese melt on texas toast
hash browns
biscuits and gravy
waffle
water (gotta keep it healthy)


Breakfast was Qdoba at the airport:

chicken queso burrito
water

I guess im taking a few days off, not that i need them, i haven't been doing a damn thing for training apart from some easy indoor practices... that's all going to change really soon though, along with my impeccable diet!

Yesterday & Today - The Ketchup (get it?) haha

Yesterday i skipped breakfast, had lunch at mongolian grill with water


i had some pineapple and strawberries before practice


Indoor Practice:


pace line warm up


30 lap staggered start open
pyramid relay 1 to 5 to 1
50 lap open


Ive been vague with the entries lately, that will get better soon, i've been absolutely swamped with a LOT of things. Mainly, NSC, it's a lot of work to put on an event like this. We need as much help as we can get to get the word out and make the event a success, so im asking everyone that reads my entries to go to ProNSC and participate in the forum polls (there is a link to the forum all the way on the right side of the menu bar up top). Also, our first event is november 9, which is right around the corner, we will have LIVE FEED available on our website, which means even if you cant make it in person, you can watch the most exciting night of racing you've ever seen sitting exactly where you're sitting right now! Spread the word on your facebook, on your myspace, on your twitter, GET IT OUT THERE! When our sport has the ability to provide a legit career for ALL the professional athletes, you can say you helped get it there. Thanks guys, i really appreciated it!


dinner was cinnamon life and apple cinnamon cheerios again






Today, im traveling to venezuela for a world cup, im hella stoked for some warm ladies and hot weather... wait, switch that, reverse it haha. 


Breakfast was wendy's in the airport:


sausage egg & cheese biscuit
biscuit and gravy
hash browns


OJ




Right now im sitting in salt lake city because we had to stop (was supposed to be going to atlanta), apparently there was a problem with our plane so we had to stop and change planes, should be back in route soon... 


Again, go to the site, check out the interviews, register on the forum, spread the word- it would be a huge favor to myself and to the sport we all love

Yesterday

Skipped Breakfast


Lunch was chicken katsu with fried rice and 2 egg rolls
water


Dinner was pizza from pizza hut, some chips and gatorade


Indoor practice:


pace line on small track


pace line - big track, small track


passing drill, 5 open at the end


1 leg glides through corner

Yesterday

i gotta get caught up! haha

skipped breakfast

indoor practice:

pace line

slow pace:
exaggerated arm swings
right arm swinging only
10 laps open

5x pace 5 sprint 3

double backs

triple nickle 3 person


Lunch:

Chicken fajita quesadillas
water

Dinner @ burger king:

8 chicken nuggets
double bacon cheeseburger
fries
dr pepper


IM FAT! diet starts when i get back from venezuela, im NOT looking forward to it what so ever... i might have to check myself in somewhere to clean up the diet haha

Show Your Support!

NSC FORUM

Go to the link, register, and VOTE!

Vote for who you think will be there sprint champion and who will be the distance champion at NSC1 Intiation set to take place November 9th!

You can find the polls under the National Speedskating Circuit forum... NOW GO!

Yesterday

Breakfast was cinnamon life and apple cinnamon cheerios

Gym workout:

100 bar squats- 10 reps, 10 off the bottom

2 sets of 20 slow ducked squats

leg press 4 plates (180lbs)- 20 slow squats, 20 throws in and out, 10 reps with 5 slow off the bottom each time

decline sit ups touching toes - 2 sets of 20

10 reps of specials

10 reps each side crunches

Lunch was orange chicken and fried rice, with egg rolls

water

Dinner was french fries and beer (again, i dont condone drinking)

Yesterday

Breakfast:

cinnamon life


Lunch:

3 sushi rolls
water


i went to the rink after session, trying to put as much time as i can in on my skates, trying to get comfortable on the new boots indoor. I just skated circles and laps.


Dinner:

fruit
chips
gatorade

Yesterday

Breakfast:

Apple cinnamon cheerios and Cinnamon life


Lunch:

orange chicken
fried rice
2 egg rolls
water


Dinner:

Peanut butter & jelly
roast beef sandwich with pepperjack cheese and mayo


Indoor Practice:

pace line 1 lap in front
burn pace with opens
15 lap straight race
starts
right foot left foot
one food glides
high speed passing
30 lap open

Back On The Fresh Coast

Back in WA setting everything up for NSC on nov 9th.

Last night we made a trip to jack in the box-

spicy chicken sandwich
medium fry
sausage egg cheese biscuit
hash browns
lemonade


Lunch today was taco bell-

nacho cheese chalupa
1/2 pound burrito
chicken quesadilla
empanada


I went to the rink and skated about 35 minutes (it was just open laps) and worked on some circles and tried to dial in my frame position before practice tomorrow at pattisons

Today Was A Good Day

Woke up and went for a little skate with dave simmons and his buddy bryan; they were both on bikes, I was on skates. I had a brand new boot that dave just made me on and its been a long long long time since I've felt so much of my push, I was giddy like a little kid on christmas. We skated about 13 miles and I just wanted to keep going. I did a few accels and the response from the boots was incredible. All I can say is wow.

Breakfast was eggs and toast with water

Lunch was a smoothie from smoothie king and a cheeseburger

I'm sitting in the airport right now, waiting for my flight to seattle to prepare for NSC 1.

Dinner was airport chinese- yum yum... Fried rice, orange chicken, and 2 egg rolls with water.

Indoor & Dinner

Off Skates Squats:

shoulder width, straight feet - 1 min

shoulder width, ducked - 1 min

wide, straight feet - 1 min

wide, ducked - 1 min

shoulder width, straight feet - pyramid - 5 squats, 5 off the bottom, 5 sec hold, 4 squats, 4 off the bottom, 4 sec hold, and so on down to 1 and back up to 5

back to back wall sits - 2sets x 2 min

Skating:

right foot left foot

starts into a large double back, finish the lap and hawk

1 leg glides- gliding around the corner on one leg, switch each corner

duck walk

walk trot walk

walk trot run

laps working on technique

Sushi (4 rolls) and water for dinner

Breakfast & Lunch

Scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast

Pepperoni pizza and water for lunch

After lunch I went out with dave on the boat and cruised around for an hour or so- had a couple of drinks.

When I come back to florida, I'm looking for a house.

Indoor, Lunch & Dinner

Indoor practice with Renee was fun today; like outdoor, i spent most of it dialing in my equipment and learning how to skate again.

open warm up

right foot left foot
squat drills
duck walk
walk trot walk
push starts
starts
30 laps - very slow, only technique
2 line relay

my ideas from this morning revolve around weight and the transfer of it... just like i've been dissecting since i started this journal. Ive been so focused on the hip load that i didn't pay attention to the fact that unlike classic mario, i live in a 3 dimensional world; moreover, there are more options than pushing my weight left or right. I have the option, using my torso (angle of upper body), to distribute weight from my heals to the the balls of my feet. I stumbled upon a huge mistake i have been making for the past year or so... ive been skating with my back too vertical in the corners. So to fix this, I used my belly button as general point of my center of gravity- it sounds weird, but if u had a string with a weight on it and it was attached to your belly button, where ever that weight found itself at rest, is where your general center of gravity is (where your weight is). My goal is to have my center of gravity directly behind the ball of the foot that i'm stepping onto, which in turn, creates instant pressure and stability as soon as the wheels hit the floor. I was able to get there by bending more at the torso and leading with my whole body, instead of just my hip going into the corner. Instantly, it was easier to turn, and much more efficient each push.

If you feel like there is never anything behind your pushes or you're fighting the corner, give this a shot and see if it works for you (no promises, but it did wonders for me)

Lunch was a chicken cesar from chilis with water

Everyone needs a jennifer simmons to cook for them- she made some awesome chicken with cheese and bacon on top, it was unreal! Add some corn and thats what i had for dinner.

Outdoor Practice

Wow, I left colorado because I was trying to get away from the cold, but apparently the cold likes me way too much! Still getting over the plague, I took it really easy and only worked on fixing my corners - doing circles.

I'm learning more and more about how to control my body weight and all the different tweaks there can be to fix problems. I've been so focused on lateral wight shift that I completely forgot about there being any other dimensions. I will test some theories indoor and write about them tonight.

Breakfast Of Champions

Yesterday for dinner I had buffalo wings and water

Today for breakfast I had a chicken biscuit, hash brown and OJ. I saw the olympic rings on the side of the bag and knew this was the stuff that would get me to the olympics, why else would the rings be there? Hahaha

IM ALIVE!!!!

The doctor said a bunch of medical stuff i didn't care to remember and sent me with a prescription for a z-pack. I started feeling much better yesterday evening, but my sinuses were killing me- headaches and sneezing.

Last night we went to carrabbas for dinner:

calamari for appetizer

bread

pasta weezie, no mushrooms

water

my appetite has been terrible lately, im barely eating, but thats kind of typical considering.

Today i woke up and went to indoor practice; i coached. I was relaxed because 1. technique is the important thing to be doing right now, not racing & 2. i'm not yet fully recovered from the plague

right foot left foot

right foot left foot hold

circles:

right foot only

crosses keeping right foot on the floor

push starts

reaction starts

dry land: 10 reps each

leg kicks

wide steps

step cross

dynamic crosses

baby steps

stretch

came back to the house and had a few eggs and toast

SICK- Swine Flu?

Yesterday I passed out at 4ish and slept til 9... Woke up coughed a lot, passed back out until 10 today

Had a couple eggs and some toast.

Been drinking pedialyte, trying to stay hydrated.

Now at the doctor

Dinner & Breakfast w/ A Difficult 20k

Last night when i got in to florida, we went to bonefish grill. I had bang bang shrimp and coconut shrimp, with water.

I have been coming down with some kind of cold or flu, today i felt like garbage. I woke up at like 630 and had about 4 glasses of apple juice and 2 bananas.

20k - Despite feeling like crap, i wanted to go out and skate because it usually makes me feel better; this time was an exception. I got half way and started coughing my brains out, to the point i started gagging. By the time we got back to the house i was so tired i just took a cold shower and relaxed.

For lunch i had fish and chips and water.

The Countdown Begins

Last night I had sushi again with a couple beers- I don't condone drinking so don't think u need to drink beer to skate well lol.

This morning I woke up and felt like garbage, between my body being drained from the spin workout yesterday and me being sick AND having to catch a 630 flight...

Right now I'm sitting in dallas on a layover, eating a chicken cesar and drinking water.

The countdown is how many days I have left to eat junk food- I'm going to go with 20. I get back from venezuela on the 4th, so that's about a good time to start because its really really hard to stick to fruits, veggies, and lean meats while traveling.

Band Work

Active warm up

No set number of reps, working on my left stroke on the cross- paying specific attention to where the weight is on my right foot when I cross it over (should be in the middle). Locking the hip and staying low is also very important. Trying not to turn my hips, despite the band yanking me back. Did this for about 30 min.

Went to sports med and iced my shins for 30 min.

Spin bike out of the saddle, light tension 1 hour

Specials

Side crunches

Stretch

False Start

Last night i wasn't really hungry after my workout so i didn't eat, i guess lunch could have been considered dinner.

This morning i woke up and packed to head to florida for a week- meeting with dave simmons and schankel. I'm not as sore as i thought i was going to be, my butt and hamstrings are a little bit tight. I missed breakfast so i went right to lunch; my flight didnt take off until 230. We ordered subs from jimmy johns:

italian with guac
bbq chips
powerade

i headed to the airport, only for them to tell me that the first flight was delayed so i would end up getting stuck in dallas; i had them just put me on a flight tomorrow. I did get first class out of the deal, so thats pretty cool.

I have been setting up clinics all over the world- i have one in colombia nov 25-26. There are a handful others in the works including india, canada, florida, and pennsylvania.

Im super pumped about going to florida to train for the winter, we should have a really good group of people out there.

Stretch Armstrong

After making my legs burn just about as bad as they could have today, I was able to stretch much farther and deeper than normal; now they're shaking from fatigue

Lunch & Workout

Lunch was 2 philly cheese steaks, pudding with strawberries, cake and chocolate milk

Active warm up

Baby steps w/ 30lb in each hand

7x Static squats @ 15 seconds with 30lb in each hand, 5 seconds between each

5eax one leg squats hold for 5 seconds at bottom on bosu ball w/ 30lb in each hand switching legs each rep

12x one leg squats on bosu, straight through with each leg

Squats with 45lb bar- 10 deep squats, 10 pumps off the bottom x5 without rest = 100 reps

Squats with 45lb bar- wide stance targeting butt, 5 deep squats, hold for 5 seconds down x10

(That last one hurt way way way more than I wanted it to)

Stretch

Do What You Set Out To Do

Today i woke up at 10 and went straight to the gym to work on technique.

Active Warm up

30 min on slide board- roughly min on min off

i have a bad hesitation on my left stroke, i need to work on making each side symmetrical. The arms are feeling good, starting to be more and more natural.

stretch

i ate 2 bananas, a boost and powerade


The title of this post means a lot, no matter how big or small the scale. If you set out to do a technique drill and you know you're supposed to do it with certain criteria, then DO IT; you have no interest in changing it just because you want it to be easier. Keep in mind sometimes you do things in technique drills that over exaggerates the normal skating technique, this is the goal. Technique drills are painful, they are supposed to hurt; if the drills you're doing don't hurt, you should revisit your process and make sure your actually getting low enough.

I have a few personal rules that i never break when i really want to get better:

1. do each lap of each drill like it is the last, when the pain comes, learn to deal with it
2. never change the drill or workout for the easier, never stop short of what you set out to do
3. don't cheat

(dont over analyze these rules, just keep them simple)

Speed is NOT important right now. Take a step back and look at the BIG picture. If you do all the technique drills following the 3 rules above, you will be strong enough to race without having to do speed work.

TECHNIQUE TECHNIQUE TECHNIQUE!

Lunch & Dinner

Lunch was wendys AGAIN (i gotta stop this)

10 nuggets w/ bbq
double stack
homestyle go wrap
large fry

vanilla frosty
water

Dinner was sushi, i polished off 4 rolls and drank water

not a very eventful day

Dinner Last Night, Breakfast This Morning

Last night I went to chilis and had country fried steak, mashed potatoes, corn, and garlic bread

Today I woke up and looked out my window and up there is what I saw... Colorado weather sucks! That's why I'm going to florida...
Breakfast was a belgian waffle and milk
Today is my day off, so there won't be anything exciting goin on... At least not related to skating

Clinic Teee & Lunch

Been working on the clinic tee, rough draft...

For lunch i had a BLAST - its like a BLT on steroids:

Bacon, lettuce, avacado, swiss cheese, tomatoe
sweet tea

Today has been a pretty chill day, just gettin some work done

Dinner Last Night & Slideboard Today

last night i was a heifer and went to wendys, they screwed up my order, but food is food, so i ate it haha:

spicy chicken go wrap
double stack
classic double
large fry

lemonade



Today I woke up about 10 because i forgot to close my curtains, only to find that the weather outside was frightful... i think about 20 degrees and misting/snowing. Skating was kind of out of the question, so i went to the gym to work on... you guessed it, technique.

Active warm up

slideboard- a lot of people have been asking me what kind of sets im doing on the slideboard; right now it doesnt matter. What i have been doing is setting up the camera for a 45 second delay, going about 45-60sec and then watching my playback on the monitor looking for flaws. I then just try to fix the flaws while capitalizing on my strengths.

Again, today was mainly focusing on arm swing and loading my hip. Each day, it comes together a little more. I need to really pay attention to the recovering leg and what kind of motion its making. I need a more complete circle and should be driving the knee in through the back door.

After slideboard i did baby steps with 30lb in each hand. I focused on keeping the butt down, proper weight transfer, and really taking my time to strive for perfection. I only went about 15 feet on each set (2 sets), but when you do it absolutely correct, thats all you need with a 60lb load.

Stretch


Lunch:

boost
powerade

3 pieces of spicy cajun chicken
pizza casserole

Slideboard, Lunch, Dryland

active dynamic stretch warm up




stretch

There are still a TON of things im not doing correctly in that video, but the main focus today is arm swing. I try to tackle one flaw at a time, master it, and move on. This is the key to perfection.

All i had for lunch was a boost and some powerade

I went back to the gym and did an active warm up then drylands:

dry skate - 2x 1 min
squat jumps knee-to-chest - 10
static kicks - 10ea
dry skate jumps - 10ea
static circles - 10ea
squat jumps w/ static bounce - 10
static side extension - 10ea
squats - 100
static cross - 10ea

i then did some work with a fixed band, working on my left push of the cross. Started off with all my weight on the left and held the band close to my body. As i began to push i extended the arm that was holding the band to allow for motion; the focus was to not put any weight on my right until i was completely done pushing with the left

stretch

Breakfast

woke up today at about 10 and expected to be really sore from all the slideboard work yesterday, but i wasn't... which is great news because 1. being sore sucks 2. im in better shape than i thought

i went to ihop and punished some food today:

stuffed french toast with strawberries
2 pancakes
3 sausage link
3 pieces of bacon
hash browns
2 eggs scrambled with cheese

water

Dinner

I destroyed so much sushi tonight, i probably won't need to eat again until november.

I'm feeling really good about how things are going and how this year is going to pan out. My main focus for the next 3 or 4 months is not how fast i can go, but how close to perfect i can get my technique. The older i became, the less importance i placed on the things that made me who i was as a skater; these things will not be overlooked this year. I started having issues with my skates and instead of using the tools i had and continuing to work on perfecting my form, i just became discouraged because it wasn't fun when i couldn't skate to my ability. Now i'm comfortable, happy, and completely focused on what is important. I'm stretching multiple times each day and discovering new ways to better my skating, which in turn is providing me with peace of mind and some much needed motivation.

Ground Breaker

For me personally I just discovered a far more efficient way to swing my arms, I need to see if it will work on skates. Leading arm comes down as close to the recovering leg as possible right as the foot is coming in the back door. As the leading arm is swinging back, the leading leg can now occupy the space the arm just swung through, and you can stroke. The trailing arm comes directly across the front and as close to the legs as possible, finish across the body. The timing is crucial here, you want the momentum of the arms to match that of the legs. I'll try to make a video of this soon.

Slideboard

We have this awesome camera system at the training center that allows you to use multiple angles on a designated delay. Video is a great way to pick out the flaws you didn't see in the mirror.
I did an active warm up and have just been doin 30-60 second sets working on arm swing and really focusing today on not puttin any weight on the other foot until I have completely finished the stroke.

baby steps with 30lb in each hand

Dirty 30's
Knee lifs with 10lbs - 20
Stretch

Lunch!

so I've been stuck in the batcave again, just working! I have a ton of stuff on my plate right now, the best of it being what you see up there haha... Sponsors, blog, nsc, clinics, the list goes on and on and on, so I'm just gonna enjoy this here chicken and taters and relax for a minute

Dinner Last Night & Breakfast Today

Last night's nutrition consisted of 3 dunkin donuts and taco bell:

nacho cheese chalupa +guac
1/2 lb nacho cheese burrito + guac
cheesy fiesto potatoes
chicken quesadilla
carmel apple empanada

nestea

i stayed up until about 3am workin on the internet haha, which has got to stop

i woke up at about 10:15 surprisingly, went down to get some breakfast:

2 fake eggs w/ onions, tomatoes, and ham
lemon lime powerade

I plan on going to sports med to take care of the psoas/groin strain ive been fighting, as well as asking about this nasty cough i seemed to have picked up in asia (thanks china, so nice of you haha)

Slide Board & Arm Swing

Woke up today about 11 and skipped out on breakfast. Ate lunch at a chinese buffet:

fried shrimp
fried rice
spring rolls
sweet & sour chicken

water

GYM:

dynamic warm up (butt kicks, high knees etc)
stretch

I do a ton of work on the slideboard, i think its an incredible way to critique technique and really feel the load on the hip. Today my focus was on arm swing. I have a bad habit of starting to bend the elbow before i need to:





I thought about track runners and ice skaters who swing from the shoulder instead of the elbow and incorporated that into my technique:




I start off just stationary watching myself in the mirror, making sure that my arm swings as one until the elbow meets the body. I also tried to focus on synchronizing my arm and leg movement.

i need to exaggerate this a little more; this is my first day making this change.





From the side i need to tuck my butt in a little more and make sure the weight is directly in the middle of my shoes; need to bring the shoulders back a little relative to the knees. Still need just a little more exaggeration.


After slideboard, i did some abs:

specials- 10 scoops, 10 circles left, 10 circles right, 10 scoops, 10 left, 10 right, 10 scoops



Side crunches - 10 each side

After the workout, i had 2 bananas

Extra, Extra, Read All About It

Been gettin requests for and RSS feed to my site... its available, just a little tricky to find so here it is:

http://mantialog.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default#

Im just going to create a little unordered list of things people have been asking about & things that i want to put out there...

• My diet is bad, i know this. It WILL change in a month or so, but right now i just want to eat and be happy and fat haha. I was on a fruit, vegetable, and lean meat only diet (dairy free) for about 2 months and i have to say, i have never felt so healthy or had more energy before in my life. I will return to this diet shortly, but it's not the easiest, so i might ride the junk food out just a little while longer... it IS october. So if you're wondering if I think diet makes a difference, the answer is yes 100%.
• Right now im heavier than i want to race at. I have some body fat as well as muscle i look to shed in the next 3 months. I currently am weighing about 168 and i want to race at about 159. This will come pretty easy when i start cycling, long skates (40 mile+) and dieting...
• Tons of people are really confused about the terminology i use to describe the exercises i do and I plan on fixing that. Understand that right now what you're getting from my blog is a well watered down version of what i plan on being able to produce. Currently you get a list of food and exercises, occasionally an extra blurb. The future holds in depth analysis of each workout from physical to mental... including product, weather, and training partners. It will have video clips of workouts and interviews. Photos of venues, meals, and product. I will also create a 'cheat sheet' of all the drills i do so you can reference them by name when you see them listed in my workouts. I'm hesitant to do videos of these drills because i plan on creating a production video with everything i know in it; i feel as if me putting all that content here might render that video useless. Look for the cheat sheet around November.
• If you have a company or website you want to advertise on my site, it is openly welcome whether or not its related to skating; Contact me via email
• Since I've put that little donate button up in the top right of the site, I've had quite a few coaches and athletes support the cause which is awesome considering I didn't think I would get any serious donations, so thank you guys for the appreciation, know that it goes both ways. I kept this blog private last year when i was logging my training, but decided to make it public this year because when i was coming up i never had anything like this to read or follow, but i would have wanted it... so do unto others right?
• I really enjoy teaching people who actually want to learn... There's nothing cooler than fixing someones form and them being excited enough about it to spend time working on what you just taught them; I love looking at someone skating, figuring out what they're doing wrong, and coming up with a simple way for them to understand how to fix it... I usually learn easier ways to correct my own flaws this way as well. If any coaches out there, american or otherwise, have interest in me coming to teach a clinic (indoor or outdoor), let me know via email. I'm not trying to step on any coach's toes when i say, as a skater i know that if i can see something done correctly, i have a way better understanding of how i need to do it; sometimes having it worded differently allows me to pick it up quicker as well.
• Help me spread the word! Technique is soo soo important in our sport; if you don't know how to skate correctly, you are most certainly short changing yourself if you plan to accel in inline speed skating. Tell everyone you know about this blog; if they can pick up just 1 tip that helps their form, i feel like there's purpose in this. I feel like the more eyes that see this site, the better chance there is of that happening.
• I'm driving BACK to florida to train with renee hildebrand, my coach growing up who taught me the vast majority of my skating knowledge; she is a technical and training genius. I will be there from late november until at least february, possibly longer. We have Son Qing Yang from taipei (the kid that was a monster in junior at worlds) coming to train. Hopefully, many more will want to come and we will have an incredible camp for the winter.

THANKS TO ALL THE READERS, FANS, AND ACHIEVERS

Everything All Wrapped Up Into 1

woke up at 8 and hit the snooze button about 4 times and then decided that i would just turn off of the alarm because i was too tired to get up... but a part of me knew i should get up and go to the track so i just layed in bed until about 9 and headed over. i skipped out on breakfast.

at the track we did an active warm up, it was so cold i had on about 4 layers up top and 2 on the bottom plus gloves.

butt kicks
high knees
carioca w/ high knee
carioca @ 45
hip swings
high knee skips
high knee kicks
up and overs
jog squats

stretch

2 laps in front, right foot left foot

2 foot squats
outside edges
one foot only
one in front of the other
lunges

straight away loads

stretch



LUNCH:

chicken thai stir fry
pineapple cake
cupcake
sweet tea & lemon lime powerade


2ND SESSION:

i changed my frame to george neals frame to try it out so i missed the group warm up and stretch.

Initial reaction on the frame was really good. I felt like i could turn easier on it, id like to spend more time on it and use it indoor to get a fair test.

I spent this entire session really concentrating on where i needed to put pressure on my skates to get the best push. I realized the importance of ankle bend; the more i bent forward, the more push i was able to get. I've still been working on the right stroke not being so far behind me and more next to me in the corner. The left seems to get a better push if i don't completely tuck it up next to my right foot on the cross through, rather just push in a more natural direction, keeping all 4 wheels on the ground and pressure in the right spot. I learned that i have a bad hesitation on my right foot, when i cross over, i plant the right foot, pause and kind of wait a split second before i push. I fixed this problem by just letting my foot start to drift as soon as i lay it down on the edge, but still maintaining pressure. This smoothed up my cross tremendously.

I spent some time going around the corner on just my right foot; this is a tell all. If you can lock the hips in and ride the single leg all the way through the corner, you are on the right track... if you have problems (which i do) then you have to figure out why. For me, its heavily related to lack of ankle bend as well as not having my right foot far enough into the corner relative to my body. This makes me want to fall in and twist in an attempt to turn. I added forward ankle bend and it started feeling much better, but not perfect; this is something i will be working on.

i also worked a little bit on my duck walks and trots and found that i wasn't reaching for the ground with my toe down enough, which was making my duck walks unstable. fixed that.

stretched at the end

We went right from this session to the incline...

 The picture above doesnt really do it any justice and that thing that looks like the peak... isnt.

So i took all the participants up and we stopped about 1/3 of the way up to talk about goals:

what are your goals for the next season and what is it going to take to achieve those goals?

We then continued up and stopped about 2/3 of the way up to talk about sacrifice:

what sacrifices are you going to make to achieve your goals?

finally, we finished the incline and stopped at the top to talk about symbolism and what it means to achieve your goal:

what does it mean to you personally to accomplish what you set out to do?
what are you going to do after you accomplish your goal?

I then explained the symbolism between the incline and the journey to reaching your goals:

at the start the sun was shining and the path was relatively flat, but as we began to make our way to the top of the path, it grew dark and occasionally was very steep; however the grade varried over the course of our voyage - sometimes it was easier than others, sometimes you felt like you wanted to quit. The hardest part was somewhere in the middle, it wasn't even at the finish. There is a false peak that leads you to believe you're done when you're not... until you get over the top of it, you cannot even see the finish. Once you reached the peak, you were able to rest and enjoy what you had accomplished. The sun was shining and we were several hundred feet above where we began, able to turn around and see the entire city from where we stood.

the sun and flat path show us that when we start our journey things are not difficult, there is no diversity to deal with. As we begin our training, or whatever it will take to get us there, the sun suddenly vanishes, showing us that hard times are indeed ahead... nothing worth setting a good goal over should ever be just a walk in the park. There will be ups and there will be downs, just like in the path, but you have to keep working towards the top (your goal). Normally, the hardest part about achieving what you set out to do is the preparation- the hardest part of the path is in the middle. If you want to be a world champion, the race itself will never be harder than the combined effort you displayed while training for the event. Just because you can't always see success, you have to believe that each step taken brings you closer to it... just like the false peak. Once you finally complete the task you set out to complete in the very beginning, you will feel pride, relief, and triumph as you gaze out over the city from which you began... the city that lies hundreds of feet beneath you now, where everyone one else is working instead of doing what they love to do...

The question is... now that you know how hard it was to get to the top, can you do it again? If so, are you willing to... or are you afraid of the expectations that are now placed on you?

Never be afraid to succeed, never be afraid to repeat, Never be afraid to commit and never take your mind off your target.


DINNER:

wendy's-
10 nuggets
fries
spicy go wrap
jr bacon cheeseburger
lemonade

2 cupcakes
lemon-lime powerade

LATE NIGHT SNACK:

3 donuts & milk

Second Session, Dinner 1, Video Review, Dinner 2

** I'm really stoked that you guys appreciate this journal enough to donate, many of which are very generous, thank you so much. That being said, i don't mind putting in the time to create reference sheets for everyone to download so they can stay on the same page as me when i start talking about drills. I'm hoping by the start of november to have this completed: a full description of every single drill (on and off skates) that i do. Eventually, i plan to upload videos of technical exercises as well as certain workouts. Again, thanks!**

The 2nd session started off skates with an active warm up:

butt kicks
high knees
carioca w/ high knee
carioca @ 45
hip swings
high knee skips
high knee kicks
up and overs
jog squats

stretch

we spent a while one the slide boards just working on technique, i did a lot more critiquing than i did slide boarding.

put the skates on

15 min warmup - i spent the whole time finding my right foot on the cross, it feels much better after my discovery earlier

the group did 5 sets of pace 2 sprint 1, i just spent time working on my technique because the track was so bad, a workout wasn't really feasible

stretch

Dinner 1 consisted of:

bowl of chicken soup
mushu wrap
grilled cheese
fruit smoothie
lemon-lime powerade

Video review in my room- we all gathered in my room to watch the video that had been taken the whole time... my personal issues are:

turning the knee in on duck walks
ankle control on duck walks and trots
more knee bend on baby steps
more knee bend on slide board
300m dry run need to exaggerate the leap more and reach farther each step

i think a lot of my issues of not bending knees enough comes from the groin / psoas strain still, i need to hit up sports med

Dinner # 2 consisted of pizza and tea

Breakfast, First Session & Lunch

Woke up at about 8, really groggy and a little bit sore; i stayed up until about 3 working on some stuff. The technique drills we are doing are so important, exaggeration is so crucial... well exaggerating correctly at least.

Breakfast:

2 sausage links
2 hash brown squares
2 fake eggs, scrambled w/ onion, tomatoe, & ham

water



First Session:

active stretch warm up

butt kicks
high knees
carioca w/ high knee
carioca @ 45
hip swings
high knee skips
high knee kicks
up and overs
i dont have a name for it so i'll call it jog squats- jog about 5 or 6 steps and drop down quickly, coming up quickly

stretch

right foot, left foot

2 foot squats
outside edges
one foot only
one in front of the other
lunges

duck walks

walk-trot-walk

leaps (jump from one foot to the other, working on getting height and balancing on each leg- pause between leaps)

Double Push Drills:

Straight Away Loads

Eddy Matzger Slalom (this guy is GREAT when it comes to teaching, i picked up a lot of great ideas from him-- THANKS EDDY-- if you're a rec skater reading this and you want to get better, i suggest contacting him)

10k working solely on technique

stretch

The technique drills are already getting easier to do, just just for me, but for the whole camp and it's only been a few days. I need a lot of work on my walk-trot-walk and leaps, im sloppy with ankle control. I found out today in the 10k that i have a bad habit of pushing my right foot too far behind me on the corner stroke, i started pushing more to the side, if not a little in front, and it feels much much better- the way i figured this out was that i recognized that i was unconfortable and asked myself what i was doing in the right foot-left foot drill to feel so comfortable that i wasn't doing now...


Lunch:

felt like bein healthy for some reason....

2 bananas
watermelon
cherry tomatoes
apple

fruit smoothie


the smoothie didnt have any supplements or anything like that... a lot of questions pop up about what i take as far as vitamins and supplements, but the answer is nothing. i do like recovery drinks accosionally (accelerade) but i dont take anything on a regular basis.


** by the end of november, i hope to have a detailed list of every drill i do for you guys to reference... possibly even some videos for the ones that arent so easy to explain**

Dinner & Gym

Dinner consisted of:

bbq pork sandwich

hot wings

sweet tea, cherry coke, lemon tea, and raspberry tea (i was thirsty and adventurous)



we were in the basketball gym to work on 300m on foot...

active stretch warm up:

butt kicks
high knees
carioca w/ high knee
carioca @ 45
hip swings
high knee skips
high knee kicks
up and overs

stretch

2 sets of:

10 high bounce jumps over cones, bringing knees to chest
20 ft baby steps
40 ft low walks ice style


numerous runs through standing 300m starts, visualizing line, and starting position.


Why the whole national team didn't attend this camp, i'll never know... But it's really, really easy to say you want to win, a little bit harder to actually mean it. You say its what you want because you're supposed to, because it's what you're programmed to say... because if you don't, your coach, parents, and sponsor might get upset. Actions single handedly render words meaningless... which is why you prove your worth with your skates instead of your mouth. My advice is to quit being a robot, figure out what you REALLY want, learn what it takes to get it and put one foot in front of the other- even if that includes just skating for fun. Oh, and if you're looking for easy, you can set your goals nice and low- maybe winning the session race next friday night... then at least you can achieve your goals and call yourself a winner... after all, a W is a W right?

That wasn't really directed in a particular direction, altough it kinda seems that way... i get annoyed at how soft athletes in my sport have become

First Session & Brunch

So the track is better, but it's still pretty terrible. We did a 15 min warm up and it was really really cold. After the warm up, we took off the skates to do active stretching:

butt kicks
high knees
carioca w/ high knee
carioca @ 45
hip swings
high knee skips
high knee kicks
up and overs

stretch

talked about 300m lines in depth

squat drills:

2 foot
outside edge
right only
left only
right in front
left in front
lunges

duck walks
walk-trot-walk

right foot, left foot

50 lap working on technique

stretch


for bruch i had a belgian waffle with whipped cream, strawberries, butter and maple syrup
2% milk

Breakfast & Dinner

Last night I was way too tired to do anything but sleep, on the way home from dinner I actually fell asleep at a stop light haha. I ended up killing some sushi, as you can see by the picture; drank water. I also had a large chick-fil-a oreo milk shake right after.

I wasn't sore at all last night, just really tired.

This morning when I woke up I had a little burn in the legs, probably from not doin anything the last 4 days. My quads and hips are also a little sore

Breakfast:

Scrambled eggs w/ mushrooms, cheese, and ham

Bacon

Potatoes

Yogurt

Water

I woke up at 8, track starts are 9... They cleaned it yesterday, hopefully its way better than it was yesterday.

300 Critique & Notes

The purpose of this is to be able to look back and remember what i did before, during, and how i felt after.





PREP:

Spent longer than any other athlete in the middle of the track warming up on foot. Doing jogs, high knees, even just walking. I did a couple mock starts on foot, visualizing myself coming off the line perfect with a huge first step. I remember feeling tired and recognizing that- at which point i did everything i could think of to get my heart rate up and get my body ready to run, this was why i went in so early and did an off skate warm up (i usually dont). I slapped myself, did some jumps (knees to chest), did some bounce jumps (legs stay extended just using the calves to jump)...

I remember putting myself into such a deep concentration where i knew nothing other than winning a 300m time trial, specifically, the one i was about to run; i dont know if i have ever been as focused as i was those 10-15 minutes. I didn't let myself worry about what anyone running before me was doing, the only thing that i noticed at all was that the crowd got a little louder after the guy that went right before me went, but this was not important to me- in my mind, i had 0 respect for anyone going before or after me, because i believed i had already won (obviously i do respect my competitors if they deserve it, this was just my state of mind before the time trial).

300 METERS (watching the video):

i had a really clean start off the line, could have had a little more knee bend on the load, was driving the knees well, but could have pushed the hips forward a little more. The transition was one of my better ones, this is usually where i struggle, but i still should have turned my hip in just a little more on the first cross. The first corner was decent, i was focusing on my arm swing quite a bit in my head- the left arm was good, the right needs some work, it flails to the side and doesnt extend enough- i didnt extend at the elbow. Transition out of the corner was butter, but i have way too much upper body movement when im sprinting. The arm swing is good, but i need to work on symmetry- the left needs to cross my body a little more. The recovery on the stroke needs to come closer to the center as well. The transition into the corner was a little hesitant, but not as bad as i usually am, the last stroke before entering i covered too much ground AWAY from the corner, i should have kept a more direct line and smoothed it into the turn. Seems like i rode my right skate too long while i was setting up. The 2nd turn was a great line, i need to finish my cross more, tucking the foot and reaching farther inside with the right. Coming out was butter, good grip and acceleration. My last cross before transition needs a bigger right push to get the rock started better. On the straight, my butt is too high in the air and my arms arent symmetrical, nor do they extend fully on the back swing. I did do a decent job of turning over my feel while still double pushing. Transition in was the same problem, hesitant and rode the right skate too long. The first 2 crosses were decent, i should have been more firm with my arm swing and locking the hips. The roll was good, i had a decent stance and prepared for the next stroke well, but could have stood a little wider. The finishing crosses were good, still need to reach more inside with the right foot and fix the right arm swing. Again, bigger last push with the right is needed and less body movement up top... you can really see it on the last straight. I need to use my hips to sway instead of my body. Left arm needs to swing more across the body. Butt needs to be lower. The lunge was good, probably bought me some time.

**Chris says i need to reach a little more with the left as well- agreed**

note: you should never HAWK on a time trial- what i did was just lunge the foot i was already on to extend the stroke and stop the clock sooner. What you don't want to do is SET-UP for this move- don't extend your back leg, sit down, and then push out the front leg like you would do if your racing someone to the line.

AFTER SHOCK:

I have never been more tired after a time trial in my life probably... im not sure why. It was a really good call by chris tidwell to sit me for the points race, because i would have been worthless afterwards. After the adrenaline wore off, i really felt like i had been hit by a bus.

Lunch & Dryland

this red head chick named wendy cooked me:

10 nuggets
medium fry
sweet tea

after a delicious meal, did some light drylands, focusing on technique-

leg kicks - ice style
step cross
wide steps

weight shift

leg kicks - inline style
skating jax
low walks - ice style
baby steps

stretch

It was a short workout, more focus on how to do it correctly than breaking a sweat. The psoas is still bothering me, have to wait until monday to hit sports med, they're already closed today and arent open at all on sundays. The stretching already feels good and i JUST started, i never realized how important it was when i was younger to stretch, now i'm startin to 'get it'.

Clinic Start

Got to the track today and it was pretty cold and the track felt like ice; they just got done patching up some cracks and sanded all the apoxy, so now there is apoxy dust EVERYWHERE, basically making the track useless...

Off skate warm up-

2 laps jogging

1/2 of straight, jogging the corners:
butt kicks
high knees
carioca w/ high knee(apparently i was spelling it like the thing u sing, its named after a dance- thanks for the correction)
carioca @ 45
high knee skips
high knee kicks
hip swings
up and overs (jump up, bringing right knee up, down when you land, jump left, reaching out with the left foot)

standard stretch routine
im going to try to make a quick video of all these warm ups i do and post it eventually

Put skates on-

controlled warm up, each person leads 2 laps, total of 24 laps very slow (worked on tucking the left foot every time i cross)

squat drills- skate corner, squat straight:

double foot squats
outside edges
right foot only
left foot only
left in front of right
right in front of left
lunges

duck walks

weight shift

300m start technical work- going through each step, finding the comfort

Breakfast

Finally got up at a respectable time!

3 fake eggs (egg whites in a box)

W/ onions & tomatoes

Apple

3 glasses of powerade

1 glass of oj

What A Lazy Day Kinda

Yea, so i was worthless today when it came to exercise- except for my fingers, they will probably look like my legs tomorrow with all the typing i did (i hope not, could be awkward). Just finished the website for NSC, http://www.pronsc.com/ if you guys wanna check it out.
My abs are sore from doing specials yesterday and i still have this cold i so luckily picked up from china.


Dinner-

brownie (yes i started with this)

philly cheese steak w/ ranch

sweet tea

(whhhhat ima fat kid!)

-------------------------------------------------------


I've been sittin in front of the computer all day just chuggin away at the NSC web site, I guess that pretty much means I'm taking the day off, which is okay because the national camp starts tomorrow

Lunch

I woke up today about 1, I figured I'd call this meal by its real name. Instead of just trying to kid myself haha...

Pizza (yea its the off season and its all that was available)

Water

Dinner

Chicken tertazzini (pasta)

Green beans with caramelized onions

Sweet tea

Gym workout @ 5:30

170 lbs weigh-in

5 min jog on treadmill @ 7.5mph for warm up

Butt kicks
High knees
Karaoke w/ high knee
Karaoke @ 45
Lunges with 3 sec pause- finding the stretch
Progressive Lateral lunges w/ 3 second pause
Progressive crosses pausing 5 seconds- finding the stretch
Bungee work-holding cross- finding stretch at max tension

Specials: 10lifts,10r,10l,10lifts,10r,10l,10lifts

• specials are a lower ab exercise done with the bench, i'll try to get a video on here
  

10 side crunches each side on bench


Stretch

Finish @ 7

Psoas is strained, need to go to sports med tomorrow for treatment

Need desperate work on flexibility, especially in groin and butt

All my workouts this month in the gym will be based on flexibility instead of strength or explosiveness, I think a big problem related to my discomfort in the corners, especially indoor, is range on motion.

Breakfast

Woke up at 2pm- still pretty jetlagged from worlds I guess

Beef Lasagna

Baked chicken

2 bananas

1 apple

Water

Worlds Product Talk & Current Skate Setup