Unexpected To Race

300m TT: 41.79 (see video here or click below)

500m Group Race: 1:08.36 (a new personal best)

1000m Group Race: 2:19.39 (a new personal best)

I originally made plans with AH to carpool at 7:45. When I woke up by my ringing phone at 7:45, it was AH who tried to tell me that his plans changed and found a ride. All I could think was there's no way I could arrive at the race on time. Since our club's annual general meeting would be held after the race, I made my way out the door as fast as possible anyway.

When I set foot at the door, I was surprised to see GC still at the registration table. "I guess I'm not late enough to skip the race?" "Nope you're not." I even had enough time to put on my gears without feeling rushed. Strange.

Overall, I felt good on my skates for all distances today. I did not make any glaring mistakes, just skating relaxed without much pressure. For my time trial, I rushed my start and did not get in a decent acceleration. It was too bad because I did not slip or glide any corners. I took a close look at the video and one thing that really stood out was the absence of any sense of urgency. This is actually something that DA said to SZ before about my skating though in a different way. He said that I never push my limit when I skate. After watching this video I have to agree. This is a 300m TT! I should be going full out! I may feel like I was, but it certainly didn't look like it. Hmm.

I had good starts for both group races and was right in the mix in the first half lap (haahaa). For reasons unknown, I was placed in the middle group today with MM, JS, AM, and GN. There was enough speed discrepancy in this group that there wasn't too much passing happening at all. I have a new personal best for the 1000m but otherwise my times are quite consistent for this season. Good thing was even though I got dropped early on in the 500m and 1000m, I still kept up my pace. In the first RSO this year, I totally lost track of how fast to skate when I was by myself. Heh, that was bad.

We ended the racing action today with a 50-lap elimination. I was hanging off the back for the majority of the time though it was funny how when skaters near me started moving up, I just stuck close behind them and ended up back in the middle of the pack. After the race, coach AA advised us to broaden our attention so we are more aware of what's going on around us in the pack. This is a very important because the earlier you become aware of the potential threats, you have more time to react. Wise words indeed. For someone like me who doesn't have a good acceleration, I can't rely on a strong acceleration to compensate for slow reaction.