Triathlon Training 2010: Week 2

DAY	SCHEDULED	ACTUAL	COMMENTS
Monday	OFF	Swim: 200 yards (8 min, 4 min/100 yds) Run: 26 min (1.9 miles, 13.7 min/mile)	Swim stroke mixture for the win! I have to stop briefly after each 25 yards because I’m winded but hopefully I can get past that eventually. After I left on my run I couldn’t remember if it was supposed to be 20 or 30 minutes so I did somewhere in between. Still alternating every minute but starting to kick up a notch with longer running periods. I don’t like hills.
Tuesday	Swim: 200 yards Run: 20 min	OFF	Ugh, not a good day. Decided catching up on housework and such was more important for my sanity.
Wednesday	Bike: 6 miles	OFF	Not enough sleep means not enough energy to exercise.
Thursday	Swim: 300 yards Walk: 30 min	Bike: 6 miles (34.5 min, 5.75 min/mile)	Had my first equipment incident, somehow popped the chain off when changing gears. But, I was able to pull it back on then wiped my fingers in the grass and continued on my merry way.
Friday	OFF	Swim: 300 yards (15 min, 5 min/100 yds)	Tried applying some of the techniques I’ve been reading about. Requires more concentration but I can definitely notice how they will help once I “master” them.
Saturday	Run: 30 min	OFF	Didn’t intend for this to be an off day but got distracted doing other things.
Sunday	Bike: 10 miles	Bike: 9.7 miles (57 min, 5.88 min/mile)	Explored part of the American Tobacco Trail in Durham. It was nice to be on an actual trail intended for bikes, less traffic to look for even though there were still several road crossings. Also, since it was an old railroad path it is much flatter terrain which I like a lot! I get a workout on the roads around our neighborhood because they’re somewhat hilly.

Overall Thoughts:

• Since unplanned activities come up a lot, I’ve decided to just do something on the schedule when I have time even if it is not the right day. So when unplanned activities do come up I won’t be stressing about missing training. I’m so smart thinking ahead! ;-)
• I think I’ve convinced a friend to be my mentor/coach/motivator/fill-in-the-blanker. Words of wisdom and advice from someone that has done this before cannot be a bad thing. I kept trying to convince Kendall to do this for me but he seemed more interested in just doing the training with me than dealing with all the other stuff. Perhaps that is wisdom on his part, I dunno, lol.
• Motivational words I received: “you know what whining is like right?”, “its like a rocking chair, you spend energy but get nowhere”, “its all a mind set”, “if you feel down or not good enough, go be awesome”, “so, quit whining and go be awesome”
• I was reminded of a book I picked up last summer at a used bookstore about swimming, Total Immersion, that might be helpful for me to read. The book has been added to my lunchtime reading material pile so I’m hoping to get some tips for long distance swimming while trying to conserve as much energy as possible. Something I am failing at in general right now!
• I am officially registered for the She TRIs Wilmington triathlon. Eeek!

Here is the same week last year.

Triathlon Training 2010: Week 1

I am not starting at the true week one in the plan because my target triathlon date in August is one week less than the plan I want to follow so I’m just going to start in week two. Hopefully this will not be an issue since I have been running once or twice a week and playing volleyball for a few hours about once a week for the past couple months. Last year I had literally been doing nothing before I started in on the training plan so I *think* I’ll be alright.

DAY	SCHEDULED	ACTUAL	COMMENTS
Monday	OFF	Swim: 200 yards (10 min)	Wow, it’s amazing what comes back to you! This was so much better than when I started last year. However, I am obviously out of shape. I was slow, huffing, puffing, and had to use a mix of breast, back, and freestyle strokes. But, I have confidence I will get better and that’s all that matters. I’m excited for a good start and the good feelings that came along with it.
Tuesday	Swim: 200 yards Run: 15 min	Run: 20 min (1.3 miles, 15.4 min/mile)	More like a 5 minute run since the time includes a 5 minute walking warmup then alternating 1 minute running with 1 minute walking. I didn’t mean to go 20 minutes but I went farther in distance than I intended and also had our 2 dogs with me to deal with. Note: I did the swim part the previous day because I knew I would not get around to doing both on the same day. Learning to adapt!
Wednesday	Bike: 6 miles	Bike: 6 miles (39 min, 6.5 min/mile)	This was not as easy as I had hoped and my quads were BURNIN’! I did find a new route which helps keep me entertained with new scenery. I got tired of seeing the same stuff last summer. The mountain bike I’m using is not designed for roads plus has some technical issues like a noisy chain/gears so may need to look into getting a better bike.
Thursday	Swim: 200 yards	OFF	I was feeling lazy and my shoulder muscles near the base of my neck were feeling pretty sore so I decided to adapt the schedule to suit how I felt.
Friday	OFF	OFF	Got busy doing other stuff and didn’t do the swim workout from yesterday like I planned to. Bad.
Saturday	Run: 20 min	Run: 23 min (1.75 miles, 13.1 min/mile)	Like before, 5 minute walk warmup then alternating 1 minute run with 1 minute walking. Felt pretty good while running this time so that was encouraging! I was in Wilmington and the run was over much flatter terrain than around my usual area. Elevation changing is good for training but doing well on flat ground really gives a confidence boost.
Sunday	Bike: 8 miles	OFF	Planned to swim today but was travelling and then had a migraine when I got home so wasn’t feeling up to doing anything. Ugh. I want to try so hard not to skip workouts but I’m not off to a great start!

Here are week 1 and week 2 from last year.

Triathlon Training – Round 2(010)

Since I did not get the opportunity to suffer the abuse of completing a triathlon last summer, I am back for more! Wait…what? Opportunity? Suffer? Abuse? More? I think I meant to say I never finished what I started last summer so I’m attempting to try again this summer. =) I feel like I’m far ahead of the curve in starting this year since I have a less vague idea of what I need to do than last time.

Again, I’m planning to post my progress here to hold myself accountable and hopefully keep encouraged to continue. I am following the same plan but I am starting about three weeks later than I did last year so I may have to slightly modify the schedule to work with the triathlons I’m tentatively thinking about doing. I haven’t signed up for anything yet but the 3 triathlons I am currently eyeing are:

• Saturday, July 31 – She TRIs Wilmington (Women Only) – Wilmington, NC – 200 yard swim, 10 mile bike, 2 mile run
• Saturday, August 21 – Sportsplex Super Sprint – Hillsborough, NC – 400 meter swim, 12 mile bike, 5k run
• Saturday, September 25 – Wilmington YMCA Triathlon – Wrightsville Beach, NC – 1500 meter swim (with the current), 12 mile bike, 5k run

Here is what I had to say last year at this same time.

Olympic Opines

Alpine Skiing - Ladies Slalom:

• After the first run of two, a pair of German sisters were in 2nd and 4th and hoping to both end on the podium. Unfortunately, the one in 4th place DNF'd on her second run but her sister ended with the gold!
• The Americans did not have a great showing here, Lindsey Vonn DNF'd very shortly after starting her first run.

Short Track Speed Skating - Men's 500m:

• Apolo Ohno's descriptions of this event are much better than anything I can come up with. It really is forty seconds of all out sprint craziness. This race definitely lived up to that on the last turn with 2 racers going down, the winner staggering across the finish line and ultimately spinning around, and the other getting disqualified.
• The final consisted of two Canadians, a South Korean, and American Apolo. Unfortunately, Apolo was in fourth place immediately off the start and had a difficult time just trying to keep up with the sprinting pack.
• On the last turn, Apolo tried to cut to the inside and put his hand up so as not to run into one of the Canadian skaters who ultimately fell. Not sure the reasoning other than because Apolo's hand was on him when he fell, Apolo got disqualified and the Canadian was given bronze. Kendall said using the laws of physics and watching the slow motion replay it isn't possible that Apolo made him fall.
• Ok fine I'll be gracious like Apolo and acknowledge that I have to accept what the referee calls but I have a large "BUT". My issue is twofold. First, why is the referee a Canadian when there were two Canadians in the final, the referee should be from a country NOT represented in the final. Secondly, the other Canadian that got gold made contact with the South Korean when he fell but was not disqualified for what looked to me to be a very similar situation to Apolo's. Also, the South Korean grabbed the Canadian's skate when he fell probably not on purpose but nonetheless why was that not a cause for being disqualified as well.
• Anyway, it was a spectacular finish with the gold medal Canadian crossing the finish line first but very off balance. Apolo crossed second but was DSQ'd. After falling, the South Korean slid his feet across the finish line in third. The final Canadian got up and crossed the line in fourth so it would be considered that he finished the race.
• Fun to watch but I don't agree with the outcome. But, must say I have great respect for how Apolo handles himself. He did not sugarcoat his disagreeing opinion but he accepted the outcome anyway.

Short Track Speed Skating - Women's 1000m:

• The lone American in the final here is named Catherine so I was routing extra for her! =) Turns out she is really good too and finished with a silver. Yay Catherine and team USA!

Short Track Speed Skating - Men's 5000m Relay:

• On the same night and probably within an hour of the men's 500m final, Apolo is back on the ice with the rest of the U.S. four man relay team.
• The organized chaos was very close throughout the entire race with U.S. holding down 4th place until...Apolo. He's my speed skating hero lol! Apolo made a pass near the very end to secure bronze and pushed his foot way forward and around another skater when crossing the line in an attempt for silver. Alas, it wasn't quite far enough but the U.S. earned the bronze and Apolo earned his record 8th medal. The most medals for a Winter Olympian! The Michael Phelps of the Winter Olympics perhaps?!?

Alpine Skiing - Men's Slalom:

• Bode did pretty much the exact same thing Lindsey did in this event and DNF'd near the very top of the course on his first run.
• If anything else monumental happened, I've forgotten it!

Snowboarding - Men's Parallel Giant Slalom:

• Didn't know this snowboarding event existed, not to mention it's also an Olympic sport!
• The snowboards used in this event are a slightly different shape than the ones you typically see on the slopes. Longer and narrower I believe.
• The course is two slalom courses side by side that are mirror images of each other. Two snowboarders compete at the same time then switch courses and the times are added together.
• For the second race, there is a delayed start corresponding to the amount of time the slower snowboarder was behind in the previous race. One racer attempted to time his gate opening and failed causing him to fall spectacularly and be delayed even further in his start while he got back up. Needless to say, he did not advance.

Long Track Speed Skating - Men's Team Pursuit:

• There are two teams of three skaters on opposite ends of the ice competing at the same time. The skaters on each team stay together and take turns leading and drafting off each other.
• The American team of one veteran and two relative unknowns unexpectedly found themselves in the gold medal race with the Canadian team but ultimately ended up with the silver.

Bobsled - Men's Four Man Team:

• It had been 60+ years since the U.S. got the gold in this event and now the U.S. and the four man "Night Train" team have earned gold for the U.S. once again.

Figure Skating - Exhibition Gala:

• Probably the only exhibition of the Games allowed from any sport but I think it's partly monetary motivated and I love it and I'm glad they do it. The top 5 of each discipline got to perform.
• Not much to say but it is really worth watching the entire thing if you want to see the best of the best skate in a much more relaxed atmosphere while still doing difficult and creative skills!

Ice Hockey - Men's:

• Well I didn't really watch this entire gold medal game, only saw clips of it. But, I feel like this summary of the Olympics would be incomplete without mentioning its supposed epic-ness.
• The Canadians and Americans were in the gold medal game on Canadian soil. Both teams had decimated the competition leading up to this game and the U.S. had already beat Canada once in an earlier meeting during the Olympics. The U.S. tied the game at 2-2 in the final seconds of the game causing it to go into overtime. Eventually, the Canadians scored the game winning goal and the host country could not have been more ecstatic!

Closing Ceremonies:

• Loved how the beginning poked fun at the malfunction of the torch in the Opening Ceremonies. A very appropriate way to address and acknowledge what had happened.
• Overall I was a bit disappointed that the Closing Ceremony festivities because they did not live up to the entertainment of the Opening Ceremonies. There seemed to be more speeches, "boring" singing, and the props just seemed cheap like from a parade. It wasn't bad but it just wasn't up to what I was expecting.

Other Notes:

• The U.S. won the most medals of the Olympics with 37. This is a record for any country in a Winter Olympics. It's also the first time the U.S. finished the Winter Olympics with the most medals.
• Canada won the most gold medals with 14! This is more than the silver and bronze medals they won combined.
• I'm glad they changed the Summer and Winter Olympics back in the early 1990's to have one be every two years instead of in the same year.

Up next...Sochi, Russia 2014!

Olympic Opines

Alpine Skiing - Ladies Giant Slalom:

• The course was VERY foggy, I'm sure the cameras made it appear worse than it really was but still it was bad enough they postponed the second run until the following day.
• Lindsey Vonn crashed half way down the course so DNF'd. She broke her finger! This girl is either awesome or gets injured, seems to be no in between for her. She literally goes for broke, ok that was a bad pun LOL.
• Apparently, more than one skier can be on the course at a time. Reminds me a bit how they run autocrosses. Fellow American Julia Mancuso was following Lindsey so got yellow flagged to stop due to the safety issue with Lindsey's crash. Julia did get a re-run but it did not go as well as she hoped putting her in 18th. She was quite upset and as the defending Olympic champ I'm sure that's not the run she'd been hoping for.

Cross Country Skiing - Men's 4x10km Relay:

• Much more exciting to watch than I anticipated. It's a lot like any other kind of race but with different scenery and footwear. The sport in general looks grueling or maybe just an excellent workout!

Long Track Speed Skating - Ladies 5000m:

• The Czech woman that won the first gold for her country (either in this sport or Winter Olympics in general, I can't remember which) in an earlier event during this Olympics earned a second gold in this event!

Bobsledding - Women's Two Man (Final 2 Heats):

• The U.S. sled #2 managed 2 more clean runs to stay on the podium and finish with a bronze. The gold and silver went to two Canada teams.
• There were a few scary crashes during this event. If I had to slide down an ice track I would definitely choose bobsled because at least you have some kind of protection. Kendall proposes a lid or hatch for the top so when they flip there's more protection than just a helmet as well as it being more aerodynamic lol.

Short Track Speed Skating - Men's 500m Qualifications:

• The Americans are doing well at crashing just before qualifying so they don't get to advance. I suggest lessons from Apolo Ohno. However, Apolo does advance along with one other American.

Short Track Speed Skating - Ladies 3000m Relay:

• There are four teams in the final with all 16 athletes on the ice at once. Definitely organized chaos! When they tag the next person to go they give them a push. Each teammate must do 1.5 laps I think and after that, it's totally up to them when they trade off. That's my basic understanding but I could be wrong!
• The U.S. trailed behind after a number of laps and ended in 4th. However, a sketchy pass made by a South Korean caused them to be disqualified so the Chinese were moved into first and USA got the bronze! The South Koreans at the rink and around the world were not happy and the judge had to later be pulled from the competition for his safety! Yikes people, it's a sport, not life and death!

Freestyle Skiing - Ladies Aerials:

• The Chinese gymnastics background is so very helpful. Heard a coach say they already know how to do the tricks properly, just have to teach them how to ski! Several of them finished near the top.
• But, it was an Aussie that came away with the gold! They're pretty decent at gymnastics too.

Alpine Skiing - Ladies Giant Slalom:

• Julia redeems herself on the second run of the slalom but still no medal and finished in 8th.

Nordic Combined - Men's Large Hill/10km CC:

• This was an individual event. There were two U.S. men in the top 3 along with an Austrian all battling for gold. Everyone else trailed a fair distance behind.
• The U.S. men managed to finish gold and silver, first ever medals for the U.S. in this event and they got two!

Freestyle Skiing - Men's Aerials:

• Craziness after watching the women because they do even more flips and twists.
• Noticeably different from the women was a ton more crashes on the landings. Nothing scary, they just didn't stay vertical after landing.
• One American did a trick he calls the "Hurricane": 3 flips and 5 twists! It helped earn him the silver medal.

Figure Skating - Women's Long Program:

• Excellent job to the top ladies especially for giving it their best. Made it very enjoyable to watch.
• I was very glad Joannie Rochette of Canada turned in another great skate and held on to the bronze medal. So touching and impressive to see someone perform that well under those kind of circumstances.
• Most impressive to me was American Mirai Nagasu. If she continues to compete like this, the future of American figure skating is definitely bright! She improved from 6th to 4th!
• Rachael Flatt also skated really well but didn't score as highly as I expected and dropped from 5th to 7th which kind of surprised me.
• The Japanese did really well too, they're fun to watch. The silver medalist competed two triple axels with one in combination with another jump making her the first woman to ever land three triple axels in a competition!!
• Kim Yu-Na of South Korea is in such a category of her own and deservedly won the gold!

Olympic Opines

Ski Jumping - Team Event:

• Not much different from the individual events. They just add all the scores together.
• Americans did not make it into the finals.
• Tried to figure out why there are little plants all over the place peeking out of the snow. Maybe it is to measure distance but it's kind of odd.
• It's nice to see countries do well that you normally don't hear about at the Summer Olympics. Such as Switzerland, Norway, Finland, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

Freestyle Skiing - Men's Aerials Qualifications:

• This is like ski jumping meets diving. Crazy acrobatics! Like go up a ski jump to launch yourself high enough to do 2-3 flips with 2-3 twists then landing upright.
• A couple of Americans made it into the finals.

Figure Skating - Ice Dancing Free Dance:

• Wow, the teams were on top of their game! Lots of best scores for the season and jobs well done. I enjoyed this final dance a lot.
• The top four teams were from three different countries but all train together in the USA. Well kind of, the Canadian team trains with one American team and the Russian team trains with the other American team. So odd how sports work these days with where they train, live and who they compete for.
• The Canadians so badly wanted to win a gold at a home Olympics, well, they have 5 now! And that's half of their total medals so far.
• The standings did not change from the previous round of dances so the gold went to Canada, silver to the US National Champions, and bronze to Russia. The other American teams remained in 4th and 11th.
• This is sort of related but the 2011 US Figure Skating National Championships will be in Greensboro, NC. I want to go to at least a couple events since I did not go when I was a poor college student living in Atlanta a few years back.

Alpine Skiing - Men's Giant Slalom:

• No American medals this time but still fun to watch. Bode got off course so DNF'd. I think the physical intensity from competing in a number of events already finally caught up with him.

Nordic Combined - Men's 4x5km Team:

• A sport that I know the U.S. won it's first ever medal in a week ago in the individual version but that is about it.
• Apparently, this is the first time the U.S. has had a competitive team and was actually in contention for the gold but ultimately finished with a silver!
• I'm surprised but the cross country skiing portion is kinda fun to watch! It's kinda like cross country running but on skies in snow. Beautiful scenery!

Bobsledding - Women's Two Man (Heats 1 & 2 of 4):

• Once again the Germans were being touted as the country most likely to dominate. Also, competitive teams from Canada and the U.S.
• One U.S. team won the silver medal in the 2006 Olympics and is hoping to improve to gold. However, it's the U.S. team #2 that is in silver medal position after two heats while the prior silver medalist is several positions back.

Long Track Speed Skating - Men's 10,000m:

• The longest distance for long track and the speed skating loving country of the Netherlands was hoping for a repeat gold. However, something unusual happened. The lead skater headed for his repeat gold was well ahead of everyone when his coach told him to go the wrong direction! Since two skaters are on the track at a time they alternate between the inner and outer lanes. The skater was going the right direction when his coach pointed to him to get in the other lane which he does at the last second then gets DSQ'd! He was very frustrated and rightly so!

Freestyle Skiing - Women's Ski Cross:

• This was the last race of the cross events and Canada gets yet ANOTHER gold! They now have more golds than their other medals combined.
• No Americans made it to the final races.
• I'm glad these events were added to the Olympics because they're fun to watch.

Figure Skating - Women's Short Program:

• THE event of the Winter Olympics. I had mixed feelings coming into this event which has always been my favorite. Not really sure why but maybe because the Americans do not have much hope for a medal and I'm not that familiar with the top skaters.
• Really enjoyed that the majority of the skaters had clean programs and turned in personal bests.
• Mirai Nagasu of the U.S. was the first of the likely top skaters to go. Her score put her into first place and would actually hold for quite a while ultimately landing her in a very respectable 6th place going into the long program. Her spins caused enough force to make her finish with a nosebleed!
• The other American and current U.S. champion Rachael Flatt finished in 5th. So impressed that even though the U.S. only qualified two skaters instead of the usual three, they still finish both skaters in the top 6 after the short program.
• Joannie Rochette of Canada made me cry! Her mother unexpectedly passed away just two days prior to this event. She skated with so much heart and emotion. I'm not sure she was focusing too much on turning in a competitive performance so it was so so neat to see the Canadians support for her and for her to perform so well. She is definitely a skater that would have been competing for a medal before this sad circumstance so it was great to see her still do her best!
• The Japanese probably have the strongest team of skaters in the world and finished 2nd, 4th, and 11th. Including one woman who is the only female competing a triple axel AND does it in combination with another jump!
• South Korean Kim Yu-Na is the closest to a figure skating prodigy I've ever seen. Great talent! She's a huge celebrity in her country, so much so, that she now trains in Canada to get away from the media and pressure. If she does as well in the long program as she did in the short, she definitely deserves to win the gold.

Olympic Opines

Figure Skating - Ice Dancing Compulsory Dance:

• Don't believe I've ever watched the compulsory dance but every team did the exact same dance of tango romantica. A bit redundant but definitely a good way to equally compare the teams. This was the first of three dances each team will perform.
• Americans got off to a great start placing 3rd, 4th, and 14th so there is definitely a possibility of at least one medal!
• Dancing with the Stars has made me appreciate ice dancing so much more than I ever have in the past.

Alpine Skiing - Men's Super G:

• Go Bode! Americans are really starting to dominate the skiing medals picking up 2 more (silver and bronze).
• The more I watch the skiing events, the more I like them. Wouldn't consider myself a huge fan by any means just yet but I have a healthy respect for their speed and skills.

Skeleton - Women's:

• Not sure why you would ever do this sport but it's the opposite of luge (laying on the sled with feet first) with head first while laying on your stomach. Oh and your hands are behind you not in front of your head so my protective instincts would be going crazy!
• An American finished 4th, the worst possible place to finish in my opinion since it's so close to a medal.

Ski Jumping - Men's:

• This sport looks like more fun to do than to watch. Would love to have that feeling of flying! Not so sure about the speed and heights...

Alpine Skiing - Women's Super G:

• Lindsey and Julia are back! Probably other Americans competing too but they aren't getting the same media attention so I forget about them.
• Julia went first and made an unfortunate mistake veering almost off course so lost time and finished 9th.
• The early competitors were at a disadvantage due to the course being mostly shaded so it's hard to see the texture and other changes in the snow. I can definitely understand this from my minimal experience, it really can make a big difference especially the faster you are going.
• Lindsey had a great run. Not much emphasis on her shin anymore but I still imagine she's in pain from it. She earned a bronze to go with her gold. I think overall she has to be happy with the outcome of this Olympics especially after not knowing if she would even be able to compete when the Olympics started.

Short Track Speed Skating - Men's 1000m:

• Glad the judges watch closely the actions of the athletes and disqualify or qualify to the next round athletes as necessary according to what happens. I don't always agree but it's such a volatile sport as Apolo Ohno has mentioned. Guess you have to take the good with the bad. Don't think JR Celski should have been DSQ'd in the quarterfinals but oh well.
• Apolo Ohno is so intense to watch because he likes to start in the back of the pack and move up near the end and then really make big moves at what seems like the last possible seconds. I don't bite my nails but I might start before the Olympics are over!! A bronze medal for his effort. Think he could have won and I think he thought the same if it weren't for the nudge by a Canadian that made him slip. But, a medal is better than no medal!
• When the final race started with the 2 Canadians out front, Apolo in the middle, and the 2 South Koreans in the back, I predicted it would finish the complete opposite and I was right! Maybe I should be betting on these races. ;-)

Long Track Speed Skating - Men's 1500m:

• The leg muscles on these athletes are giant!!
• I think this sport is most similar to the longer distance track events and short track speed skating is similar to the sprint track events in the Summer Olympics.
• Go USA for getting another medal!

Figure Skating - Ice Dancing Original Dance:

• This dance was to be a country or folk dance. Quite a variety danced including Jewish, Moldovian, Aboriginal, and Indian. It was amusing to see not just an American team do a country dance but also a British and French team as well.
• USA continues to have strong performances. Placing after this dance is 2nd (moved up one), 4th (stayed the same), and 11th (moved up 3).
• Think the original dance might be my favorite of the 3 dances each team performs. They seem more lively, energetic, and entertaining.

Alpine Skiing - Men's Super Combined:

• Bode Miller finally gets gold. Nice way to work up to it: first event - bronze, second event - silver, third event - gold! He's also got 2 more races yet!
• I'm still not sure what I find so engaging about the skiing but each race I watch I like it more and more. I'd never want to ski that fast because it looks so insane not to mention painful when you wipeout!

Freestyle Skiing - Men's Skicross:

• This sport made it's Olympic debut on the same course as snowboardcross.
• I was expecting to be as intrigued by this as I am with the snowboarders but I wasn't. Not sure if it is because there were no Americans in the final races or the race just seemed more close and aggressive with the snowboarders than it did with the skiers. I still liked it, just wasn't as enthralled.

Long Track Speed Skating - Women's 1000m:

• Similar thoughts on this as to the men's 1500m above but no American medal at this event.

Bobsledding - Men's Two-Man:

• The bobsleds look huge on the track after watching luge and skeleton.
• The Germans are awesome in any sport on this track. They are dominating it kinda like the Americans are dominating the alpine skiing events.