My daughters and I are back from the U.S. National Short Track Championships, held with the American Cup Finals, in Wausau, Wisconsin. What a blast!

     There were incredible talents there on the ice. Up for grabs were a spot on the 2010 World Short Track Team for the American Cup men and every age-group championship title.

     My girls and I skated four distances each. Corina’s lean is really improving in her new boots, and Antonia got two personal bests. I managed to get one personal best and finished out the season with both long track and short track national titles.

     Now comes a short period of rest before the real work starts — dryland training over spring and summer. Running hills and stairs will remind me once again what sore legs feel like.

     I’ve had the honor and immense pleasure of skating with many of the speed skaters that will be competing in the 2010 Winter Olympics. There aren’t many sports in which an amateur can train right alongside the best of the best, but speedskating is one of them. I’ve gotten to know a bunch of them, including Shani Davis, Nancy Swider-Peltz, Jr, Mitch Whitmore, Jilleanne Rookard, and others, and I can honestly say that they’re friendly and humble and fun people.

     I wish them all great success. They train tirelessly, sacrifice much, and challenge themselves day in and day out. Congrats to them for what they’ve already accomplished and what is to come!

     Look at her go! This is video of my daughter Antonia skating her personal best in the 500 meters — and opening the Olympic Qualifiers at the Pettit.

     Big events like these often have several young people forerunning, ie, skating a distance while the officials check the clocks. Toni skated with fellow Badger Club Member Michael Oechsner.

     Congrats to both for a great skate!

     Another young (and fast!) skater from our speedskating club will join her, as will two other talented kids from another local club.

     This will be in front of a large audience, be webcast worldwide, and she’ll get her name in the record books! It’s a great honor, and she couldn’t be happier! More info about the event can be found here and at U.S. Speedskating.

     Congrats, Toni!

     The skates are great — don’t get me wrong — but you know how it is. New skates have a whole different fit and feel to them. They feel taller / shorter / tighter / looser / more stiff / less stiff / whatever compared to the old ones, so my first time on the ice was fairly ridiculous. Sooooo little of the fierce control I always want and imagine having.

     So what’s the problem? The new skates are taller than my old ones, so I have to bend lower to touch the ice on the turns. The ankles were tight, so I had to get them punched out a bit. I’m also not confident in them yet, so that doesn’t help anywhere on the track.

     I figure another two sessions and I’ll feel more comfortable. Until then, my fellow skaters might want to keep a safe distance. It’s dangerous out there…

     I can’t wait until Tuesday when I’ll have my first practice on my new short track skates! Check ‘em out: Bont Jets with Maple Chrome blades.

     These boots have a higher ankle than the long track boots, and that’s really needed for the lean and the digging into the ice on sharp turns.

     I’m still doing long track speedskating as well and went to the Pettit Center’s time trials Saturday. Congrats to everyone who achieved their qualifying times and personal bests!

     You’re supposed to treat your speedskates really well. They’re expensive and touchy and easily broken. So what do I do today on the ice but goof off, doing figure-skating spins on my long track speedskates. Naughty. That’s really bad for blades, but I figured I’d be resharpening the blades tonight anyway. Harmless fun.

     Then I’m doing laps and feeling my clap blade hitting differently. Sure enough, I’d lost the screw holding it on and had to cut short my workout.

     Coinky dink? Probably not. I eventually found the screw and made up for the shortened workout with a spin on my bike when I got home, but let that be a lesson to all the speedskaters visiting here. Go forward on your blades — not spinning round and round! But we all knew that…

     To that end, my coach has been holding dryland workouts, including “low walking” (walking low to the ground in speedskater stance) to strengthen those thighs — feel the burn, baby — and sprints for bursts of speed. I haven’t been able to travel for the weekly workouts, but I’ve been making up for it by exercising in other ways, including working on an elliptical machine, on steps, using weights, and running.

     Let me just say that I used to run quite a lot in college and loved it. It was always exhausting the first mile but got much easier the longer I ran, and I had a great running partner who was much faster than me and thus motivated me to keep up — Diane, if you’re out there, email me, hun.

     Now I’m running with my kids, and it’s turning out to be a really nice way to spend time with them. We only run together about twice a week and about a mile per session, but it’s been great to have them as running mates. We’re all seeing improvement in our strength and stamina and we’re having fun — and preparing to set the ice on fire come September!

     Today I clinched my division in the US Speedskating National Long Track Championships held at Milwaukee’s Pettit National Ice Center. That means… drumroll please… I’m the National Champ!

     I’ve been speedskating for three years and figure skating for longer. I love both, but found myself strangely drawn to the need for speed. Who’da thunk it’d lead to a national championship? I’ve never been national anything before.

     But there’s even more good news. My daughter, Antonia, took fourth in her division, against some tremendously talented girls, some more than a year older than she. We both skated five races, and got our personal bests in all of them. My eldest daughter, Corina, and son Armando also speedskate and are showing great promise! Here they are, as referenced, with medals from an earlier meet. As for my husband, well, I’m still trying to connive him into getting on the ice…

     My thanks to U.S. Speedskating; Robert R. Stewart for sponsoring my division; the Pettit National Ice Center; my club, Badger Speedskating; our coach, Jeff Brand, my darling and supportive husband, and all the folks who make the sport fun!