Photo Shoot Número 2 - CHECK out these pictures!

So back in October, amongst her crazy, super busy schedule of juggling of her last soccer season with the Thunder ladies (who made it to the NCAA final four!) and working on her Senior Art Show, Hilary Barreto made time to shoot another session with Jeffrey and I. We are super pumped to reveal some of her amazing work below, which will hopefully be helping us as we try to attract sponsorship leading into this next Olympics, Sochi 2014 (almost 1 year from now!) as well as gain her recognition as she finishes college and dominates in the world of art and photography. Her talent just keeps getting better as she refines and polishes her look...if you are in the Wheaton area next Tuesday evening, you got to check out her Senior Show, details are at the following link:
https://www.facebook.com/events/443730022364717/?notif_t=plan_edited

On to the pictures... (to see them all, go to her website: http://hilarybarreto.wordpress.com) And if you like her work, contact her at: hilaryb@c28.com or like her on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/ONETHREEphotography/268276849774

Hilary, thank you so much for taking the time to shoot these for us...you're talent and hard work will take you far!

God Bless,
Nancy Jr.


1 Corinthians 9:25

Racing Outdoors in Roseville!!

Beginning today, American Cup III and the Junior Trials have started and though it doesn't show the whole rink...I was watching from a live video feed from Roseville and got to see Jeffrey warming up in his retro 1980's skating skin. As I posted on my Facebook, the picture for the schedule of the races today/Sunday at the end of this post...if you're in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and want to watch some racing tomorrow and support TeamUSA, head over to the John Rose Oval! And if you want the live video link, click on the link below:

http://www.skatetheoval.com/?checked_cookie=1





Today conditions aren't too bad...but tomorrow? The poor speedskaters will be bearing some 5F degree weather and maybe some snow....yuck! ;)

God bless!
Nancy Jr.

1 Corinthians 9:25

Happy Birthday Nancy! 26

Nancy started skating again at age 13. That was 13 years ago so she has been competing for half her life! 

Unfortunately we're just sitting around our hotel room today in Salt Lake and we'll have a nice birthday dinner tonight after skating this afternoon. It's hard having to rest and train instead of taking the day off today to go to Park City and ski some slopes or something fun and different. Nancy races this weekend at the North American & New Zealand regional qualifier for the World All-Around Championships. I'm just here training with Nancy and Brian for another week until I go to Minnesota to compete there outside...brrrrr. Hope I can meet up with Jake Thomas there!

Also...been working on my first official logos for Brian's little rocket scientist brother, Stevie Hansen, who goes to University of Wisconsin, Madison! Finally learning a little photoshop. The top one was the final. Any comments on how to improve these though?

_____________________________________________

(sweet origami effect)

Racing Results and Happy New Year! 2013!!!

First of all, congratulations to all of those who made the World teams this past week/weekend at this U.S. National Championship competition! There were amazing and outstanding performances by so many...  :) 

Clay Cholewinski, Shani Davis, Paul Dyrud, Tucker Fredricks, Jonathan Garcia, Brian Hansen, Jonathan Kuck, Emery Lehman, Joey Mantia, Patrick Meek, Mitch Whitmore, Petra Acker, Brittany Bowe, Lauren Cholewinski, Maria Lamb, Heather Richardson, Anna Ringsred, Jilleanne Rookard, Sugar Todd

 Jeffrey racing Matt Rittenhouse with Mom/Coach in the background                                                                                     Photo Credit: Jerry Search

Photo Credit: Jerry Search

Secondly, thanks to everyone who has been supporting me through my ups but mostly downs this season, your encouragement is fuel that keeps me pushing forward, know that! Racing this past week for me didn't go as I had hoped, but taking a step back and looking at what I have accomplished so far, I am truly blessed. After these 5 days of racing, I did manage to qualify for the Regional Qualifer (a competition you race in order to make the World Championship team, it is determined after a combination of these 4 races: 500m, 1500m, 3k, 5k), so I will be racing these races once again in Salt Lake City in just over a week. This time, hopefully, I will not be sick and be feeling a bit more adjusted to the altitude here to whip out some better racing. God has been teaching me lessons the last couple years with all these trials I keep facing, which are hard to battle through, but I am not giving up yet and pushing on towards my goal of Sochi 2014. 

Photo Credit: US Speedskating

For Jeffrey, this US Championship was a stepping stone and progress was made. He finished top 10 in 3 of his races and just missed out on making the Regional Qualifier, placing 7th in the Allaround competition. He is the runner-up. Brian Hansen, on the other hand, just dominated. Placing 1st in the 1500m for the first time nationally, 2nd in the 1000m and on one of his 500m, placed 2nd as well. We are all proud of him...


For me, looking back on 2012 is bittersweet...skating has been a struggle, but what truly matters most to me is what makes it a great year: my relationship with Jesus Christ, my family, the lessons I learn from training and then being able to share those lessons and experiences with those around me, that is what counts in life and I am happy to end this year on a good note of reflection. It is a challenge of mine to you that you do the same: that amongst trials, reflect on the goodness of the lessons learned and reminisce on those moments. 

Cannot believe another whole year has come and gone...time sure flies...so lets make 2013 a year that we live like its the last days of our lives! And December 2013 = Olympic Trials for 2014, it's going to be a good, long, hard, but successful year. I know it :)

May God bless you all in this New Year to come!

With Love,
Nancy Jr.


1 Corinthians 9:25

U.S. Speedskating Nationals!

Salt Lake City Olympic Oval (inside above, outside below)  

Our U.S. Speedskating National Championships begin tomorrow, here in Salt Lake City, UT at the beautiful Olympic oval. Cannot believe these races are here...time sure flies, but Jeffrey and I are feeling good and pumped to see how this week unfolds. With the craziness of ups and downs that I have struggled with this season so far, I cannot help but to be thankful. Thankful to just be here, healthy and able to compete in a sport I love. Thankful to have a huge support system who have always gotten me back on track and back to training/racing form. My support system (you know who you are!)....they are the people that should be recognized and honored, though they would want nothing of the sort. Just like Bri Tutt has said herself, 'positivity is key' and the life/struggles we sometimes have to endure are blessings in disguise, they make us reflect on how we view our life and help us to be thankful for what matters most to us; what we desire for our lives. Now many of you don't know Canadian speedskater Bri Tutt, but read up on her and her recent accident here. Amongst her horrific crash that left her with crazy injuries, but with a faith that will help her get back into racing form to compete for Sochi 2014, Bri is one tough chick that is seeing the best in times of trial. Love that...girl, I am praying for you, you're awesome :)

Ok, back to the racing tomorrow and info...there will be one race per day, starting with the 3k/5k tomorrow morning at 9am. Full schedule can be found here (second page):

http://www.usspeedskating.org/sites/default/files/LTChampInfo.pdf

As far as keeping up on results? Check USSpeedskating's website daily or Speedskatingresults.com. Otherwise, check in to our twitter accounts (@NSwiderPeltzJr and/or @JSwiderPeltz) or if you are friends with Ryan Shimabukuro on Facebook (haha), he is always on top of listing the top finishers/times of each race.

Good Skill to all those competing this week/weekened!

Hebrews 12:1
Philippians 4:13 

God Bless,
Nancy Jr.


As always, many thanks to our personal sponsors who've helped out Jeffrey and I throughout our training! ExtremeEndurance (lactate buffer/training supplements) CoreFitness (weight training), TCBoost (speed training), Bannockburn Chiropractic, Major Sports Science and Chiro.