At New Year I caught the flu.
It felt like I was skating really well leading into 2025. My results at AmCup 2 at Roseville in December were solid, by comparison to the field. Workouts toned down afterwards for us to recover, so I was preparing to ramp it up and hit the ice hard starting 2025. That unfortunately took a turn when I came down with the flu the Tuesday before New Years, staring with a cough and shivers at practice that Monday, eventually turning into full body aches, headaches, fatigue, and congestion for the rest the week.
I finally got to skate that following Monday, but knew I was not even close to 100%. It almost felt like I was starting from scratch physically, but knew it wasn’t for lack of effort in workouts prior to sickness. The mental hurdle of your body not responding like it had all year is a difficult pill to swallow, but a pill I had to swallow, nonetheless.
It feels like it has taken until now for me to recover 95%. The 5% still having a stuffier nose than usual, but I will pin that on the radical MN weather changes in the past week. During the flu my body was too busy fighting sickness to recover from skating, so that first time back on ice felt like I had skated the night before anyways. I am working harder on recovery now than I ever have before (foam roller, massage gun, BCAA/creatine/protein powders, ice bath, sauna, etc.), which I think will bring momentum for the final half of speedskating season.
Regardless, I told myself it is a “long-short” season in October. The long-term goal of skating my best in Salt Lake in March is still plenty of time away. Rome was not built in a day, and no athletic progression, no matter how consistent you are, is perfectly linear.
Big goals ahead in 2025, including qualifying for the 2026 Olympic trials. Trials is an amazing opportunity that I do not want to miss!
“Where there is discomfort, there is growth.”
Riley Martin 
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