Thursday, April 28, 2011

Thursday April 28th

My Fine feathered friends...
   I'll have you know that the weather is as volatile as Cole's stomach after Jalapeno Peppers from a Korean restaurant (and if you were around him, you would know just how apocalyptic that is). Last night there were several tornado warnings in our area and predicted thunderstorms. I love itttt!!! Favorite weather. Yesterday afternoon it was sunny, then there was this eerie mix of radiant spring sun with lots of purple light covering the scene from the looming storm heads, then it broke and the wind was whipping the rain through the air in visible sheets. Today when we got in the car it was 69 degrees before 5 in the morning but the wind was whipping (much to coach K's dismay as he stood and watched us train outside) and by 9:30 it was only 57 degrees. Now, a cold front has settled in and the weather is beautiful. Really, positively a perfect Spring day with birds chirping eloquently, a light breeze doing the jig with the plants and perfect long green grass of the Krueger backyard. Training was better this morning. Yesterday was a rough day and today was better. I'd say there are 5 levels of how a practice was on the ice: Bad, Worse, Okay, Better, Good (which is more like great, superb, joyful, a relief!) So better is three times better than bad, pretty good, if you Tink about it. :) 

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

I have yet to post since my birthday celebration here at my home away from home. Mrs. Krueger made me feel so special it was embarrassing (in a good way).
   She had asked me what my birthday dinner should be and I had requested lamb chops (she had made them a couple times before) and wild rice. She came home Monday night and was going to start the lamb chops when I heard from my bedroom in a distressed voice "WHO PUT THE LAMB CHOPS IN THE FREEZER!!!?" I suddenly stiffened as I remembered it had been me that had taken the lamb chops downstairs when she brought them back from the store and that it was probably me that had...put my own birthday dinner in the freezer instead of the refrigerator. I had ruined my own birthday dinner. "Hey", pointed out Mrs. Krueger, " at least it WAS you. Now I feel better." haha. We ended up going out for pizza and having the amaaaazing dinner for lunch the next day but not before I was ushered into the living room for my birthday present!!! Mrs Krueger and her mother "Badah" got us all tickets to Cirque de Soleil!!!!! I was not very familiar with what that is but Mrs Krueger showed me some videos and it is pretty much a visual blast of amazing physical imaginative talent with booming colors and fantastic sets. Its for may 26th. Cool, right?? SO the next day we had the lamb chops, accompanied by delicious wild rice, beautiful Italian bread with garlic butter, finished off with a savory Apple Pie with Blueberry Crumble Ice Cream (the two go very well together, I must say). So all in all it was definitely not a lost birthday away from home!!

Friday, April 22, 2011

Friday April 22nd 2011

Yooo, whats up erybody. Hope ur still stickin with me here. Its gonna get good. This competition season is gonna be really exciting. I feel so great on the ice. This basic and strength training is what I need more than anything and I need it more than anybody. I don't have enough of a "form" that is my own. This is because I have never put in these kind of hours in basic training before. It also helps to  be with John-Henry and Cole who are awesome training partners. I learn from them everyday. Its weird that I owe so much to them yet my goal is gonna have to be to beat them eventually.
  Enjoying the weekend already. Watchin NBA playoffs, readin, relaxing. Tomorrow I am doing a ton of school and cello and then a bunch of guys are comin in to have their skates molded by the same company (SD best feel) that did my skates.
   Mrs. Krueger says her mother has a great birthday gift lined up for me. I love Badah ( I still don't know why they call her that). She is awesome. Goodnight.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Friday April 15th, 2011

I have been here in Pittsburgh a week and a day since the break. The time is already slipping by unaccounted for, unnoticed, too general to be real. I can't tell if it feels like its been a year or a couple days. Its just hard work and discipline. However I have reached out socially a little and am going out with two Figure skaters tonight for the second time. They are cool and its so nice to have such a drastic change in environment occasionally.
 The online schooling is going great. i submitted another assignment (2nd out of ten for the American History course) and got extremely encouraging remarks from my educational supervisor, the one who grades the work - the one who gave me a straight A!! woooohooo.
  Got a small taste of what the summer dryland will be like today in the second practice. I am looking forward to it, but at the same time am wishing I had chosen curling or chess instead of this crazy sport. Its gonna be ridiculously hard.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Getting Back Into It...Already - Thursday April 7th, 2011

3 weeks has somehow flown past already since the end of the season. I am back in Pittsburgh feeling rested, (well, last night I was - not so much after practice this morning)  revamped, and ready to move up a like a ROCKET (!!!) through the standings this year (racing starts in September). It feels good to be back. I really do enjoy training and surprisingly I feel much better physically when I am. It was so fun to be back in the Ridge for some time though. I miss it of course, but am happy all the same. I'm looking at it as going to college early...minus the partying.
  Moving away from the moppy stuff, today was already brutal, mostly because I am out of shape (natural after the break). I have to get back into the rhythm of waking up at 4. It sounds ridiculous, but its not that bad. So today we did basic form training. Its sort of like the skating equivalent of a root canal which you've put off for way too long and hurts that much more. But I wouldn't want to do anything else right now. Mrs. Krueger's equivalent is "a whole body plastic surgery which leaves you sore and bruised but you know that soon, you will have the best bikini body". I am certainly sore after this morning. This kind of training will gradually increase in intensity and sessions per week until the full flung SUMMER TRAINING begins in June. SAND CAMP I believe is at the end of June.