Author: Riley Martin

I was pretty unhappy at my body most of this summer.

After speedskating season ended, I jumped full-blast into running. My first week back home after my wife & I were on spring break, I ran more miles that week than in any training week of 2025. I’ve always been stress-related injury free, and I therefore naturally feel indestructible when it comes to training volume. That first week after spring break, I learned I can indeed overdo things. At the end of that week, my right Achilles really acted up. Crunchy, can’t put down pressure, typical Achilles tendinopathy from what I learned. I figured it would be a couple weeks of pain; I could run through with minimal volume, and my Achilles would be fine in no time. Snap to June, ~3 months later, with hardly any long or powerful running in that time period, I still feel twinges of pain. I now realize I am not in fact indestructible. I need to take recovery seriously and slowly progress my way into workouts that could cause harm if not taken with at least a bit of anti-injury caution. After a long winter of not running, if I don’t use it, I lose it…

I’m also trying something new in not posting everything on Strava… I still use Strava, but now hide most of my activities. For a long time, I felt more validated by followers’ interaction and Kudos after a workout. This experiment is showing me I am intrinsically motivated to get after it, knowing there are no Kudos on the other side, vs extrinsically motivated by hoping people are impressed by my workout.

My athletic ambition is pretty all over the place, but I’m slowly zeroing in on what I’d like to focus my attention on. I’ve run my course on becoming as competitive as possible in speedskating, so I’m OK being bare bones competitive and participate at my own leisurely pace.

No inline skating occurred this summer either, which historically was a 1+ times/week ritual. For the first time since 2022, I will also not be inline skating the NorthShore marathon in Duluth this September. I think an overall break in skating this year will be good for me. NorthShore is by far one of my favorite race events that I’ve done, and I plan to be back, but with other ambitions and the amount of skating volume I have done that past 4ish years, I’d be more concerned with not skating well than I would be excited about participating. If I don’t feel 100% excited about doing something, I am giving myself grace in not feeling pressured to do it.

That said, once I am Masters age for speedskating (30+), getting involved in international Masters competitions will keep me engaged in the great sport.

My plan this summer was to for sure do Afton 25k in July. The race went well for it being the second-longest race of my life. My Achilles had been healed by mid-June, but the optimal training for Afton was subsequently affected by the Achilles tendinopathy through spring. Along with sub-optimal training, my stomach & bowels hindered my running tempo, and I experienced a massive hamstring cramp with ~1k to go in the race. This added significant time to my finish clock, and while I feel good about the performance, I know I have a better finish in me. Quality preparation for next year will be critical for my ideal race execution & subsequent time.

After not participating in a triathlon in 2025, doing one in 2026 excited me. In 2024, my Chisago Lakes triathlon landed me on the podium & qualified me for USAT Age Group Nationals. I did not attend Age Group Nationals in 2025, but qualifying fueled my excitement about trying to qualify again. I signed up for Maple Grove Tri in August, got in a few pool sessions, and hit the race as hard as I could. Adding to further bodily frustrations, the swim went brutally. It was as if my body completely forgot how to breathe & swim, and I had to play mental games with myself to get through it. I came out of the water more out of breath than I was initially hoping, but looking forward to crushing the bike and run. The bike went as good as I could have hoped, and my goal with the run was to keep from experiencing side stitch as much as possible. I had small side stitch for 80% of the run, but it did not hinder me as bad as my previous triathlons, and was able to gradually increase speed throughout. Finishing on the podium, I qualified for Age Group Nationals, and plan to go to Des Moines in 2027!

Overall, I greatly enjoyed the summer. All things considered, Granny’s gravel grinder, CityTrail Loppet, Afton 25k, and Maple Grove tri all cumulated to arguably my best summer of racing yet. Excited for what’s to come.

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 were 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.

In January 2023, I took a 30% pay cut, from a $98k/yr job to a $70k/yr job. It was the best career decision I ever made.

In 2022 I started my career straight out of college, transitioning from intern to full-time. I watched my bank account grow bigger than I had ever seen it, not truly knowing how much I was making. I knew my base salary was $50k but would get a big commission check once a month. Turns out, the commission nearly matched my base salary, as I learned on my 2022 tax return come 2023.

Unfortunately, I felt like I was handcuffed to my desk. If a customer emailed, I essentially needed to respond yesterday. I arrived about 7:40am (8am in the winter, couldn’t wake up any earlier thanks to the darkness) and didn’t leave until ~5pm, fighting I-35N traffic for 30 minutes. It ate me up in the summers, yearning to be at home enjoying the warm, sunny evenings instead of under the glow of office ceiling tile lighting. On top of that, I got 15 days of PTO a year. Seriously… how am I supposed to enjoy my life & travel with such little time off? I felt like I could only live life and enjoy the money I was making through experiences on the weekends and the few days of PTO per year.

The commission aspect was great. I was given the free reign to create as much value for myself and the company as I could, which is a great place to be in straight out of college when learning my strengths & weaknesses, getting rewarded for how much effort I put into the job. That said, constantly knowing that I could sacrifice my time, health, and mental stability (even more so than I did in college) for hoarding as much money as I could became golden handcuffs. If I wanted to change roles, I needed to break out of the handcuffs quickly. Otherwise, I’d gain TOO much experience in my field and get locked into customer-facing roles for the rest of my career while kids straight out of college eat up the behind-the-scenes, sales support roles I wish to eventually try.

I applied for new jobs behind the scenes, taking a few interviews in my car over lunch, and sometimes in our one office conference room after 5pm. Fortunately, I got lucky with timing and faith at the end of 2022, starting my new Pricing Analyst role in January ’23.

When I got the call from Coloplast and was offered my current pricing role, I was ecstatic. No negotiating for extra salary, just a “Yes.” I didn’t want to leave the offer up for chance. With the role came greater alignment with my future career, and knowing exactly how much money would be entering my bank account each paycheck. I felt so lucky.

That said, the transition was still hard, personally and monetarily.

I thoroughly enjoyed the camaraderie at my previous job. Heavily relying on your team in a fast-pace, think-on-the-fly environment is what I was used to from playing hockey. Hockey players make great freight brokers. That’s what made it hard to leave; I wouldn’t miss the role, but would miss the people, the culture, the uncomfortable comfort at a difficult role that you still know inside and out, and the relentless pursuit of the next deal.

Also, lifestyle creep is real, and it leapt onto me going from dishwashing college student to big-boy salaried career. I did not realize HOW much I was spending during my first year of full-time work, nor did I ever dig into how much I should be spending. New car, concert tickets, Wild games, restaurants all the time, you name it… I was spending nearly everything I made, saving a measly $200 a month.

There was no budget, just vibes & trying to hide purchases, which is hilarious because a massive part to why I wanted to be a Finance major was to learn personal finance inside and out, so I didn’t ever have to worry about feeling broke or poor. So much for that endeavor, back to the drawing board and learning how to “adult”…

In my new role, I’d need to reel back the lifestyle, trimming some fat on an otherwise wasteful system that was my finances. My habits truly did not align with my long-term goals, spending on what I wanted when I wanted it, and turning back the dial on a lifestyle you’re accustomed to is a hard pill to swallow. No more dining out every weekend, drinking too much at the bar, subscriptions up the wazoo. Some things I was used to just weren’t worth the price anymore, especially considering my post-COVID student loan payments would be kicking in.

Was I far more content day-to-day in my new role? Absolutely. But with everything in life, there are trade-offs, and long term the trade-off of some salary for more time freedom, career alignment, and sanity needed to be made. As scary as it is starting something new, and leaving behind a role many would drool over, every happening is a learning experience. This transition was a great opportunity to learn how to control my career, finances, mental health, & time.

Finally, there was no more barely sneaking in ramen noodles for lunch at my desk or driving in rush hour for 1+ hour each day. Now, I get to sit outside in the summer with my coworkers over fresh salads at the office cafeteria, later to whiz by cars stuck at traffic lights on my 8-minute bike ride home. Hallelujah.

People ask me “why do you race? Why not just go on a run on your own? Why race other people? For ego? Why are you so competitive? I can’t imagine paying to race when I can run for free.”

I’m sure I am not the only athlete to receive these questions, nor will I be the last. Questions like this come from a curious place, so I’ll never judge someone for asking them (as much as I want to say “you just don’t get it man”).

Thousands of years ago, I would have been running through the open planes of Africa, hunting wildebeest to eat and survive. Now, I don’t have to run to survive. Society instead gets to sit behind desks to grocery shop & buy houses through glowing screens. The requirement to run as a human is gone, even though our bodies are built for running & recreation.

I run for several reasons. Running for exercise is part of it. The overarching reason I run, the deep-down reason, is we are so fortunate and lucky to live in a society where our excess energy can be put towards improving your life on top of your basic needs, and pushing forward the lives of other people. It is a privilege to get to race people because the society we live in now allows us to do so. For 99% of the humanity before me, racing each other for sport would have likely led to death, because every last drop of energy needed to be stored for potential survival reasons (hunting for food, fleeing attacking tribes, etc).

I am competitive, and I do enjoy winning and competing against other people, but the opposite of racing would be not knowing my true limits (physically & emotionally). I wouldn’t get to enjoy as many community building events that foster human interaction needed in a well-balanced life, and ultimately die sooner due to less motivation towards bigger goals.

In reality, we as a species cannot remove ourselves from nature and the endless curiosity it calls for. Competition can be apart of that if your life goals are aligned with physical output, longevity, and/or wellbeing. Whether you are out in nature to run, hike, bike, or any other outdoor activity, you’ll almost never regret having put yourself through the experience.

“Smile, or you’re doing it wrong” – Andy Glaze

i miss my grandpa

i miss his wink
i miss his near-toothless smile

i miss fishing with him
i miss learning how to drive a manual
i miss him calling me “Johnny Bench” when playing catcher in little league

i miss his stories
i miss his life lessons

i miss my grandpa

I love you, Grandpa Jim. I can’t wait to see you in Heaven.

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.”

If you’re training, you’re never really 100%.

I’m learning this the hard way right now.

My body has not been happy with me this week. My legs can hardly keep up with on-ice workouts. By the 3rd and 4th interval, my legs are burning worse during recovery than while skating and I can hardly move them at times. Additionally, getting light headed and/or an unhappy stomach is becoming more common for me. Not sure if it is my fitness or just getting a little bit older. Chasing around these young kids that are exploding in speed, endurance, and energy is tough to say the least. 

Off ice, I’m sore and trying to recover with protein, vitamins, stretching, rolling out, and light running/bike rides. Not to mention I didn’t skate Monday/Friday with the group, which would’ve made my recovery even more difficult than it already is.

High-intensity workouts on-ice and off-ice to get my skating legs built up for AmCup 2 is what I need. I know the plan is to taper for race week, so I hope the amount of work I put in now pays off come racing time. 4 weeks to go.

Speed skating is hard but well worth the fun and reward.

“He who has a ‘why’ to live for can bear almost any how.”