This 24/7 HBO feature on the upcoming Mayweather-Ortiz fight is amazing. Both fighters are unbelievable athletes, and their raw determination and passion have left me feeling incredibly inspired. Be warned, this is only half of the episode and there’s a number of 14A moments… so if you’re Justin Bieber’s age or younger, please proceed with caution. 

Would someone please give Victor Ortiz my phone number???

I’ve finally returned from my summer of nomadic living, and have now just had the chance to sit down and catch my breath. Writing on this here lil ol blog was the first thing on my “to-do list”.

For those of you who don’t know, I’ve basically been living out of a suitcase for the past ten weeks.

First, I was cycling around the beautiful State of Montana, zigzagging throughout the majestic Rocky Mountains that flank the southwest. After adding just shy of 1000 km on my trusty and best friend, Road Bike, I headed back up to Calgary for a few measly days, to collect my thoughts and skating things, say goodbye to friends n’ family, and board a flight to Salt Lake City. Salt Lake, although riddled with a few bumps (when I first arrived, I thought I had broken a bone in my foot and was reliant on crutches to hobble around…) was an overwhelming success. The training was relentless and quality. Not a day was missed in honing our bodies and minds… which was something incredibly new and foreign. Of course I’ve trained well in Calgary, but something about being isolated in a different city, with one common goal of making every training session the best that we could possibly make it, was a unique experience.

Renting three condos that lay at the foothill of Big Cotton Canyon, our team literally did everything together. 24/7. At times this could be great fun, and at others, we would quite literally be at each other’s throats.

Human nature. Working hard. Exhausted. Delirious.

All best friends and yet all competitors. Sometimes its hard to draw the line between being a good friend and teammate, and knowing you’ll have to race that same person a few months later for a coveted spot on the World team. Canada. The Maple Leaf…. So much pride, so much sacrifice… push a little harder, skate a little lower… This was our life. Skating for ourselves, our parents, our country, skating for whoever and whatever, but we were all skating for someone or something. If you weren’t, there’s just no way you were able to push through the pain and exhaustion.

I had days that were better than others, some days I was elated with everything, others I’d be introverted and lethargic. It was overcoming and pushing through the not so good days that really made my Utah camp a success.

I’m generally a pretty extroverted person, and sometimes I have a hard time turning off my social nature. I can hang out and chat until my energy is depleted and “alone time” becomes an absolute necessity. Learning this, accepting it, and then applying it to my everyday life was a struggle and enlightening. Sometimes taking personal time is the best training that one can do.

Being stimulated and around people nearly at all times served as a great lesson. You had to actively seek out rest, or you’d never find it. Our health and recovery was in our own hands. Frequently burning up to 6500 calories a day, I lost seven pounds in the first two weeks of training. Whoops. I had to tailor my nutrition, recovery, and sleep patterns to fully engage in our demanding programs.

Especially the days that we’d be commuting up to Park City (a small resort town that sits atop Salt Lake at roughly 8000 feet), I’d find myself putting on my iPod and desperately trying to relax for the forty-minute drive. Sometimes this was hard with our coaches’ aggressive Dutch driving style. Seriously.

At times I was so tired that I’d start to cry. I quite literally balled while road biking up a mountain road. I contemplated whether I have what it takes to be a champion, whether I love what I do enough to push through that extra threshold of pain and sacrifice.

I love speed skating, but I would be lying if I said I love all the extra cross training that comes with it. The summer price tag.

It’s funny what goes through your mind when you are working hard and immersed in the moment- balancing a fine line of keeping perspective.

But you know what? I do have what it takes to be a champion because I’m still standing. I’m still loving it. I’m still doing whatever it is that I need to do, to push through the pain, to make those sacrifices, to grit my teeth, shut up, and do the training, even if every fiber of my body is telling me to stop. I’m still doing it, and I’m still smiling.

This doesn’t make me special. It just means I’m stubborn. Maybe I’m simple. I’m not any different from anyone else. I’m not a great athlete. I’m an OK speed skater, but I’ve got a lot to fix and probably do more things wrong than I do right. I’m eager to learn, and willing to work hard, but I am not special.

It frustrates me when people throw around the term “naturally talented.” Talent means nothing. Hard work will beat talent. It may not win every battle, but will eventually win the war.  

If you were to put me on a bike, or get me to run, lift weights, swim, stretch, or maneuver my body in any other athletic way, you’d see that I am nothing more than an average human being. I have a sweet tooth. I watch TV. To me, being on a patio with a pitcher of beer is sometimes just shy of heaven. I have interests and values outside of sport. I actually consider myself more of an artistic person than athletic. Speed skating has become my art.

I’m only 22, and I don’t pretend to know everything. Hell, I hardly know anything. But if I have learnt anything from opportunities presented to me because of my sport, it’s that the people who overcome and press on through the crappy parts of life are those who make it in the end.

Enjoy what you do. We only live once, and life is much too short to waste your time on something that doesn’t bring you pleasure. Sometimes pleasure comes in the weirdest of forms… but enjoy it none the less.

Success is not the key to happiness.

Happiness is the key to success.

If you love what you are doing,

you will be successful. 

Please enjoy- and use your minds and imagination!!!

Where have all the big ideas gone?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/opinion/sunday/the-elusive-big-idea.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all?src=tp 

Featuring Tamara Oudenaarden and Anastasia Bucsis