My Trip to SLC

[jennaceeta25]

Thank you, Aaaosmts19 for this lovely adventure you put inside our heads. You have a wonderful way of words like everyone said. And I know what you mean about shyness and fear! Let yourself enjoy Apolo and bring back pictures if you can!

Thanks Mtnme for all the cute pics of the skaters! What a wonderful way of communicating to them. And that hampster named 'homie' that just made me giggle.

[butterfly]

aaosmts19, thanks for sharing this great Apolo info with us. I hope you get the chance to talk to him, and look forward to more reports from you.
Have fun!

[aaosmts19]

Hello all,

Another day in SLC. THere were 3 parts to the day:
Oval, Park City and a visit with Andrew Love.

I got to the Oval around 7:30 and saw Anthony Barthell skate with the local SLC club. The club must have had about 20 skaters in it.

I had just bought the new SLR digital camera yesterday and it was my first chance to play with it at the Oval. I sat up in the bleachers, trying to figure out shutter speeds and "all that stuff", knowing that I shouldn't use the flash (half of last night was practice in how NOT to take a picture with the flash). They had the net up from the top of the plexi-glass upward towards the ceiling, so I had problem in that the camera kept focusing on the net and everything in the bacvkground was blurred.

SO I moved down to sit on the floor of the bleachers. This was better but now I was taking pics thru blurred plexiglas! I'm sure this sounds familiar to all those who were taking pictures at the Oval this past season.

Throughout this time the national team was over at the bikes, warming up and doing some jogging.

The Zamboni came out and I noticed that the SS team broke from their warmup and went downstairs, I presumed to suit up. It seemed like a good opportunity to go to the ladies room, downstairs, and when I came back upstairs I decided to try some pics by standing at the end of the rink on the floor.

Now at this point I've got about 20 pics on this new camera, all out of focus, or no light...nothing of value at all! So I played a bit more while the new ice was being made and suddenly was able to get some sort of picture going.

Allison came up from downstairs and went to sit to put on her skates, so I took a picture. The Larry (coach) came out and I took a pic of him just as he was looking at me and talking on the phone. Next thing I know up popped Apolo from the stairs directly behind me and I turned fast and just got the back of him passing me.

Then the NEXT thing I knew I was being approached by Kori Novak (PR/Marketing) asking me if I was from the media since I was snapping shots. SInce I wasn't she asked that I not take pictures while they were skating. I guess one of the coaches saw me and called to her to come check me out. So I got shutdown, with no pictures. I explained to her that I was just a tourist here on vacation and apologized, that I hadn't seen any signs. SHe explained that the major reason was due to sponsorship...that some of the skaters were wearing old skinsuits from years past with sponsor logos on them that were in fact no longer sponsors. And if those pics got out on the internet and a current sponsor saw it, there could be alot of problems. I laughed, explaining to her that it was a brand new camera and didn't have anything of value on it and that she could look for herself or I would delete them. SHe laughed and said I looked like the kind of person that she didn't need to worry about. She did, however, say if I had been shooting video she would have confiscated that (or had me delete it in front of her), given the competitive nature of the sport.

BIG, HUGE, DISAPPOINTMENT!

SHe actually stood with me for about 30 minutes and we just jabbered about things. We talked about no video for Korea and China, what it would take to get things broadcast in the States. She said, unfortunately, that even with 1000 fans speaking out and asking for more video, that no major network would take it with those kinds of figures unless it was an Olympic year. The only broadcast rights they hold are nationals or world cups that are conducted in the US.

I talked to her about the groundswell of speedskating fans that had grown to follow not just Apolo, but all of the other skaters as well.

I asked her if it was okay to take pics of dry land training; she thought it would be okay since they were wearing their own clothes, but she would ask the coach. At that point I told her not to bother...with me the only one in the Oval I was already sticking out like a sore thumb and didn't need to stick out any more!

SHe talked about the fact that Mary Grace and Lana Georing both attended high school across the street at the Kearns High School in between morning and afternoon sessions. Mary had broken her ankle last year and was on her way back.

Katherine Reutter had a painful back injury the rest of the competitions after her fall in Quebec but was back in full swing.
Allison wasn't quite 100% but continued to improve.

I asked if they celebrated together at all after the World Championships; she said that by that time, most everyone was ready to go home to their families. They got 3 weeks of before returning to SLC.

I asked about why the long track ice was gone. She said the long track training schedule is different from short track and its too expensive to keep when they aren't training. It should be set up again in July.

I asked her about Jai's report to the Board meeting, about how there were some cultural differences that had to be overcome the past year. She said that both sides needed to make compromises. Jai's background, the Korean background, is for a coach to give orders and YOU DO IT. The AMerican background is to question things and want to know why you are doing it. SO there was some push and pull until the order was given and an explanation of why it was needed and what the purpose of it was.

I told her that I was surprised that the training was so intense already; she indicated that they are there from about 7:30 - 11:30, then go home and come back from 3-7'ish. SHe said usually when they go home they're exhausted and just rest, and the training was planned so that everyone would peak at the right time in competition.

There were 8 men and 6 women and I am still embarrassed to say that even with your kind picture postings, I can't tell most of them. But while we were talking Kori pointed out all of the regular names at one time or other, including APolo, Shani, Travis, Jeff, Simon, Ryan.

When I had gone to the bathroom downstairs, I think I was at the sink with ALlison but I couldn't tell (no makeup!). Whoever it was was in their skins. Yep, I'm a coward, I didn't say a word.

I watched them skate from 9-10:45. Basically what happens is that there is an instruction by a coach, and then they break up into small teams to execute the drill. So 4 guys will do the drill, then the next 4 guys, then 3 gals, then another 3 gals, and then it repeats.

One of the craziest drills they did was to take one end of the oval and make a circle (about 1/4 of the oval iteself) and HOP ON ONE FOOT, propelling and gliding themselves on the skate. So they would glide, then hop on the left foot to get some momentum, then glide a bit more, then hop. They did this for 3 consecutive turns.

Another drill was (again in small groups) start at the back side of the rink and build up speed, and then in the 2nd corner, skating round and round in small circles. This seemed to use the training they had yesterday in holding the glide in tight corners with the arms in a certain position. LEft arm up in front of their nose, right arm behind their back. (or were the arms vice versa, but you get the idea).

THere were more drills and for those I really couldn't see what they were trying to accomplish. INteresting that in the 2 days that I've watched there was no real speed training, it was all technique.

I didn't go back to dry land drills in the afternoon, frankly I was a bit disheartened and embarrased to have been spoken to. I mean, we're talking about me being the only person in the rink except them. It's not like I could hide in the crowd! And you all know that I've said I didn't want to be too intrusive by approaching any of them, so it was the last thing I wanted. And to have been reported by one of the coaches!

In the afternoon I went up to the Olympic Park in Park City and watched the aerial ski team ski down jumps and land in the pool. No logos for these kids! I clicked away to my heart's content. What a totally different atmosphere! There's a musuem, gift shop with Olympic apparel, a guided tour, a concession stand open and lots of people sitting around watching the skiers. THe Oval, by contrast, is basically empty, the gift shop closed. SEems a much lonelier place than Park City.

THis evening I spent about 2 hours sitting on ANdrew Love's front porch and watching the world go by. Now THERE is a special person. We talked non-stop and I felt like I had known him for years. Got to meet his lovely wife Jessica. I saw his skates (2 sets), got a lesson in the blades, the rocker, the offset, etc.etc.etc. the COST! His boots are made by the same person that makes AO's. And he was very proud of showing me his skinsuits, pointing out how they differed from the short track suits.

I told him about getting busted the Oval and at first he couldn't believe it and thought there might have been a little over-reaction. He said that Kori probably HATED to have to ask me not to shoot, but the more he thought about it he recalled that there had been a lawsuit before brought by a sponsor, so they were probably burned by that. We talked about the money that it took, the fact that he and Jessica moved out to SLC so he could train at the world class level, juggling jobs, etc.

I told him about the Rocker Fund....he hadn't heard of it, was intrigued and would like to do a write-up of it in his blog. I gave him the URL with the contact names so mtnme and Lori (GND) hopefully you will be hearing from him at some point. If not, feel free to get in touch with him. Basically right now he is doing major bike riding just as a means to keep in shape. He and Jessica are due with their first child on October 16, the first long track competition, so he'll be missing that.

He is a very sweet, gentle, funny guy and his love for speed skating just shined thru our whole conversation.

So it was a very interesting day, to say the least.....
Sorry that we won't have any pix of the training sessions.
Believe me, I am more disapopinted than you, as I've been looking forward to this trip for several months!

[bubblebuttsbabe]

thought there are some parts of the trip that i bet are disappointing (no pictures and such), it sounds amazing to experience.

thank you for sharing, aaosmts19! ;D

i guess in some ways, i have to agree with kori. and given what andrew repeated about the lawsuit (which i'm assuming goes back to shani since that is the only skinsuit/sponsorship dispute i remember), i guess it's better to be safe than sorry.

too bad.

the workouts seem so intense, i bet they are so awesome to watch!

[evie5]

While we would have loved to have some pictures, I loved the visual pictures you painted of your experiences. This will be something you will never forget so don't be too disappointed in your adventure. I think it was amazing. Thank you so much for sharing with us.

[mari]

For those of us who were lucky enough to see WC 6 at the Oval, your descriptions were practically like being there. I loved every scene you described and am so glad that you braved the experience to record it all. I'm sure we can pull up those pictures in our mind of the drills and the skating. I do wish I had gotten to see Shani. He is so amazing to do both sports and I'll bet with his height he really stands out. Wonder how his baby is doing? Thanks so much for sharing this all with us GA fanatics. You go girl.

[linmiste]

Thanks so much for taking the time to write this all up, aaosmts! I enjoyed reading it all! I'm so glad you had fun meeting Andrew Love and thanks for being an ambassador for the Rocker Fund. I still hope you get up the courage to say hello to Apolo! Maybe you'll bump into him on the track?

[breidy]

Aaaosmts19, thank you for sharing your SLC/Oval adventure with us. Memories of the "drool" screen. Felt like I was right there with you. Although I'm envious you had such a great view being the only spectator, I'm more envious of your new "slr" camera. You'll be an expert by the time ST season starts this Fall. And spending time with Andrew Love on his front porch talking speedskating - WOW!

[lisam]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us! I would of loved to seen pictures but you did a good job describing everything. Its so funny to me that you were scared to talk to anyone cuz I would of been the same way. LOL Just being able to watch Apolo skate and train would be enough for me!

How were you able to set up a meeting with Andrew Love? Too bad he couldn't of introduced you to Apolo.

[sk8on]

Just wanted to echo everyone else's sentiments and thank you, aaosmts19, for sharing your experiences with us. Great that you met Andrew Love and was able to "pick his brain" a bit, as well as Kori Novak's. Interesting info about the sponsors, and great descriptions of the various drills the team executes during practice...I'm exhausted just picturing these drills and long training days. As for the broadcasting of ST, I have sadly long since resigned myself to the fact that not much is going to change on that front...at least not any time soon!

[aaosmts19]

Just back from the Oval's morning practice. and.....

I MET HIM>>>>!!!!!

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Practice was over and I walked out to the front lobby, looking out the window. It was pouring out and I was watching the weather. I turned around and Apolo had just come thru the doors from the long track rink, into the lobby and heading down the stairs.

I mustered up my courage, since he was only about 15 feet away. Called his name and he looked at me, kind of skewed his face like "do I know you?", and my leading words were prolific..."No, you don't know me....."

There has been another thread about what would you give APolo for his birthday; my reply in that thread was "thank you", and I am happy to say that that is exactly what I led with after bumbling over the 'you don't know me."

I thanked him for the motivation to get me out and moving, to keep me on track for a year now, losing 40 pounds, jogging, walking and basically keeping doing some sort of physical activity. His face absolutely lit up like I gave him a million dollars.

He smiled, he laughed!

And let me tell you, when he looks at you you have ALL of his attention....he makes you feel like there is no other person in the world that he'd rather be talking to. His face lit up when I told him, with a laugh and a "really? That's awesome!". I told him my 90 pound German Shephard helped me get out on some trails and start doig some trail running, and that I had my sites set on a 1/2 marathon in Portsmouth, NH in the fall. He just kept giving me this huge smile and nodding. He may have made other comments but I can't remember. wait, yes, I remember him saying "great! Just great!". He DID ask me where I was from. In the end I apologized for intruding on his private time, but just wanted to thank him. He said, "not at all, THANK YOU".

He asked me a few other questions but I can't remember what they were....it lasted no more than 30 seconds.

To write this down makes it seem as if the conversation was 1 sided, but I really felt he responded with more than 1 word replies. It felt like 2 of us were talking, not me just talking to him.


Now back to my reporting duties. More of the same type of technical drills that I've reported in the past two days. They really seem to be concentrating on corner work, the position of the hip, the angles of the thighs, etcv.....the placement of the arms.

The mood seemed to be lighter, with a bit more joking on the ice in between.

They did the 'hopping' drill which I desribed earlier, only this time it wasn't in one end, it was 3 times around the entire oval. The way they do it is to just use their left leg, then they throw their right leg forward in order to give them a small hop. It's very weird looking and it was hard for everyone to sustain 3 laps. Even Apolo would stop hopping and skate a few strides, shaking out his legs or rubbing his thigh. After doing this a few times they made a race out of it. Apolo raced with Jeff, SHani and Jordan, and of coruse, because it was a race, Apolo one. But even as they struggled they were laughing and he gave that famous fist pump at the end; they were all laughing, even the coaches.

There is alot of interaction between Apolo and SHani when they are waiting for thei others to take their turn at the drill; today they were poking each other's stomachs, as if figuring out who had the strongest abs. They are, indeed, like to little kids; there is very little interaction or chit-cvhat between the men and women.

Its interesting to see them finish a drill, then move onto the next one, and over to the side you'll see one of the skaters go up to one of the coaches for more coaching on the task just performed.

Lots of joking between Apolo and Jeff, too; at one point when they were just cruising around the rink slowly in between drills, they were, I think singing a song together and giggling. ALl in all I had the sense that everyone was having a good time.

What was his quote about dieing and being buried in the sand 'cuz he got a gold medal?

Well, you can all just bury me in the dessert, 'cuz I've met Apolo Anton Ohno.

[A.O.Freak]

awesome ..now show us those beautiful pics..... So fans are allowed at the Oval to see the the skaters train? That's awesome!!

[wildfire]

YAY!!!!!!! I am SOOOOO happy for you aaosmts19 that you met Apolo...finally! I knew you would...just had to have a little faith and you got up the courage to do so! I really am smiling so super wide for you to have had the great experience you've been waiting for! I knew it would pay off! Congrats! Thanks for all of the recaps from your travels to the Oval, SLC, and Park City! Keep 'em coming, they're great!

[Casper]

May 29, 2008 12:30:00 GMT -5 aaosmts19 said:

Just back from the Oval's morning practice. and.....

I MET HIM>>>>!!!!!

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Yay!!! I'm so happy for you. I'm glad you told him your story about how he was your motivation for becoming more physically fit, running, etc. I'll bet you made his day.

[lilyover76]

May 29, 2008 12:30:00 GMT -5 aaosmts19 said:

Just back from the Oval's morning practice. and.....

I MET HIM>>>>!!!!!

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Well, you can all just bury me in the dessert, 'cuz I've met Apolo Anton Ohno.

Absolutely fantastic, aaosmts19!!!

Great report... thanks for a very descriptive post! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D