29 October 2013

100 days til Sochi!

And Times Square holds a mini Olympic-themed exhibition haha. Pretty sure they didn't have speedskating, though I think a couple short track skaters were there on site.

UPDATE: Actually they did have Travis Jayner and one other short tracker try to skate on artificial (plastic) ice there but after a couple laps and no speed to show for it, decided it was practically impossible to do on speedskates.


24 October 2013

US Fall World Cup Trial Races! Watch it live/get results here...

The US Fall World Cup Qualifier kicks of TOMORROW and continues thru Sunday in Salt Lake City....BUT you all can watch it all live online at this link:

ICENETWORK.com

Jeffrey will be racing the men's 5000m tomorrow (Friday), 1500m on Sunday, and maybe the 500m or 1000m on Saturday, that's TBD. 
(Updated)
Brian Hansen will be racing the men's 500m tomorrow (Friday), 1000m on Saturday, 1500m Sunday, and it's TBD if he will be racing the 5000m on Friday. 

For results without watching it live, head to: SpeedskatingResults.com and look for the title "US Single Distance Championships/World Cup Qualifier".

The ICE Network Schedule is as follows (which is also on the site):

SCHEDULE (Central Time Zone) 

10/25/2013 10:00am updatedLadies 500m
10/25/2013 11:06pm updatedMen's 500m
10/25/2013 12:28pm updatedLadies 3,000m
10/25/2013 1:45pm updatedJunior Men's 3,000m
10/25/2013 2:27pm updatedMen's 5,000m
10/26/2013 11:00amLadies 500m #2
10/26/2013 12:08pmMen's 500m #2
10/26/2013 1:35pmLadies 1,000m
10/26/2013 3:00pmMen's 1,000m
10/27/2013 11:00amLadies 1,500m
10/27/2013 12:32pmMen's 1,500m
10/27/2013 2:59pmLadies team pursuit
10/27/2013 3:19pmMen's team pursuit
10/27/2013 4:04pmLadies mass start
10/27/2013 4:19pmMen's mass start


For those wanting to help support #TeamSwiderPeltz, we still have our RallyMe.com funding site up (it has been extended 30 more days due to funds continuing to come in) and you can find that here.


Or for those that are wanting the T-Shirts that Jeffrey designed, there is a link above, but click here to go directly to the ordering page: TSP T-Shirts!

They are sweet shirts that are actually soft and really good quality, I think American Apparel? :)

God Bless,
Nancy Jr.


1 Corinthians 9:25

07 October 2013

122 days...time is ticking!!! #Sochi2014

Today is the 7th of October...Sochi Olympics will open on the 7th of February 2014, in 122 days!

Our US speedskating Olympic Trials begin the 27th of December, just 81 days away.


For the majority of people, that will seem like a ways away...but for those that have been preparing for 4 years for the chance again to make the Olympics, it will be like a flash. Some may have faced trials already and it's not enough time. That's what makes the Olympics compelling to watch...it's those stories you hear of those sacrificing much to gain one berth on the Team. Sacrificing much and not gaining much more than the title of Olympian to their name...which is why I love these stories...they are coming from athletes that truly love what they do for the little recognition that they truly get. I am excited to start hearing these stories as the Olympics is drawing ever so near!


Now as Jeffrey mentioned in his post right before this one, he has raced the local time-trials at the Pettit Ice Center here in Milwaukee already, but I have not...I am still holding out a bit. Why? Talking about trials, I always seem to face them EVERY year. And this season has been no exception, ha. Thankfully I have avoided injuries, but because of other frustrations like being tired in skating workouts, but cross-training workouts would go well, I have had to halt my workout plans weekly to adjust and try to reason the situations with my coach. About a week ago was when I finally began to have some positive outlook again...but that was after I changed yet again my technique, switched back to old boots and put back on some older blades. 


It never ceases to amaze me that when I am on the verge of quitting, of loosing hope, of questioning uses the why's, what's, when's, where's, how's, that there is always a door that will open if you believe and preserver through that trial. Always. Keeping that faith, that good will come out of adversity, is never easy. I find I fail most of the time to hold steadfast to my faith unless I am surrounded by my support team and constantly reading the promises the Lord has written for us in the Bible. Verses like Romans 5:3-4: 

"...but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."
Every time I have persevered, the Lord has never failed to deliver...and so I have never regretted any trial I have gone through. But they're always tough.

So in light of all that, local time-trial racing for myself has been put off so I can get some solid training back in before our Fall World Cup Trials out in Salt Lake City at the end of this month! Which, for those that would like to watch that competition, it will be...

Live and On-Demand (VOD) Speedskating Broadcasts on icenetwork.com (FREE)                Oct. 25-27th:                  2013 U.S. Long Track Single Distance Championships - Salt Lake City

For those who haven't heard yet, our Olympic Trials are being televised live (for the first time in US Speedskating history) by NBC this December 27th-January 1st, so mark that on your calendars and get pumped to cheer on Team SwiderPeltz! 

T-Shirts?!?! 

Many have been asking and seeing us and others wearing T-Shirts with Jeffrey's unique TeamSwiderPeltz brand...we haven't really advertised them yet, but probably should start soon/now since the Trials will be here in no time...AND they are pretty sweet shirts (great soft material!). To get your TeamSwiderPeltz T-Shirt today and help support Jeffrey and I, go to: http://tspstuff.spreadshirt.com

RallyMe.com -for those that haven't seen yet, Jeffrey and I created a website where you can contribute financially to TeamSwiderPeltz. We also have a fun video on the site, but you can watch it below! The story behind creating this site began because many fans asked how they could contribute to our training for Sochi 2014 without actually being THE or A official sponsor to our training group...some suggested that we simply have a link to a RallyMe site where anyone can contribute something. Know that every penny you contribute goes 100% to our training: food, gas, equipment, travel for our coach (mom), etc. This is a way you all can be part of our journey and know you are helping athletes achieve their dreams to make the 2014 Olympics...

The site again can be found here: https://www.rallyme.com/rallies/187



Thanks again to all those who have contributed already...it's already made a huge difference, keeping our minds off financial stress and fully on our training. And I can't emphasize it enough, but we have the best support team out there...you guys rock! 

God Bless,
Nancy Jr.

1 Corinthians 9:25

03 October 2013

Racing Update, Boom!

Raced my [Jeffrey's] first Time Trial last Saturday, skating the 500 Meters & 3000 Meters. Good 500 for my first race this year and I set a PR in the 3000...dropping from a 3:59.08 to a 3:57.63! I'll be racing again this Saturday, repeating the 3000 Meters and also a 1000 Meters. As always, everyone supporting us is part of our success, thanks guys. Go TSP.

Also, we have a small profile of our newest member, Taiwanese speedskater Darren Huang, on our team on the "The Team" tab/page.

Warming up before the 3K! Photo Credit: Michael Callahan