This speedskating season was filled with failures.
Before the season started, I expected to qualify for Olympic Trials in the 1500m, skate the 500/1000/1500m at Trials, and end the season in Salt Lake City with PRs in all three distances.
In reality, I failed to qualify for Trials in the 1500m twice in the fall, skated a bad 1000m at Trials, and skated below my goal time in SLC in the 1500m while skating way off my 1000m PR…
In the 1500m, I frankly have no excuses for not skating faster. I had a fast pairing and started the race well by hitting my goal times in the 300m opener (25.9 second) and lap 1 (28.9 seconds). After that, the splits for lap 2 and lap 3 were slow, putting me too far off to reach my goal time of <2 minutes. That said, had I not started well, I don’t think I would have PR’d, and learned more about how I skate the race better and will continue to work on consistency throughout the race. That said, it is a lot easier said than done. In my opinion, the 1500m is the best race, where anything can happen at the end. The Dutch call it the “king’s race” for good reason.
Before skating the 1000m, I had already mentally defeated myself. I was originally paired with a fast skater, but they withdrew the day of the race, and I was re-paired with a skater I knew was far behind me in time. I know I usually skate better with a fast pair and was also thinking negatively about starting on the outer (when I much prefer the inner for the 1000m, as do most skaters). The opener and both laps were all ~.5 seconds slow from my goal times, and 1.5 seconds is a lot in this short of a race. In the end, the slow split times make sense given not having a skater paired with me to pace off of, as well as having the outer start.. but I mostly attribute the slow time to my pre-mentality. Not being rattled by pre-race thoughts is something I need to be better at if I want to skate more consistently.
For me right now, the longer the race gets the more I struggle. While I’m happy with the 500m time, I’d prefer to not be a one-trick pony.
As the saying goes, “that’s baseball.”
Overall, I am happy with how the season went, and accomplished things I never thought we possible for me. I won’t be officially joining Midway again next winter but will skate at the Oval when I can, either with other Midway skaters or doing my own workouts.
Speedskating is the still the hardest sport I’ve ever done, and the older I get the harder it gets. I want skating to be forever fun, so intermittent breaks will be needed to keep that mentality. Starting this sport the winter after the 2022 Olympics, skating through this Olympic quad, and participating in the 2026 Olympic trials is something I am extremely proud of and will most likely forever be one of my greatest athletic achievements.
There are many skaters around my age that would trade places with me in heartbeat, and I do not want to take my abilities for granted. I am most looking forward to eventually skating in Masters events after I turn 30, especially going international to see new places and meet new people.
Thank you to everyone who cheered me on! Here’s to what lies ahead.
Riley Martin 
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