FINAL STORY - " IN FLIGHT "

If you would like to see Josh Wood and the final pictures and video in this series of 3 stories, you will need to visit my original blog "WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE A SPEED SKATING SPECTATOR".


Originally I had planned on writing all of these stories on that blog.... let's face it, I was just a "spectator"while Josh and Steve did all of the work. But some how the story got started on this page because it "became a story" that was intertwined with the Inline March Madness Invitational.

And I guess I just like to keep people looking around at all of the different things that are happening, so what better way to do that then mix everything and everyone up?!! LOL Hope you enjoyed it as much as I have.

Stick around because we have THE BATTLE IN SEATTLE coming up in just 8 days. Starting on April 10th with practice at Pattison's West in Seattle, WA, I hope to be uploading pictures, video or a story daily if time permits. After the completion of the meet, Josh and I will be sticking around in Washington for 7 days. No, it won't be for the snow that they have had recently but for clinics that will be held in two of the local rinks every night but one, and we will finish up the following weekend (April 19th and 20th) with the NORTHWEST 2008 Regional Clinic Qualifier for the upcoming OUTDOOR NATIONALS. So there should continue to be lots of photos, video and links throughout the course of the 11 days that we (o.k.--the kids) will be skating. Bookmark this site or better yet, hit the RSS feed button so that you are notified instantly when anything new is added to the SPEED SKATING SPECTATORS site. Enjoy.

RECORD NUMBER OF HITS TO SITE!!

I honestly think the ONLY reason you all came back today is that you all are waiting to see if Josh "biff's" it and that if I catch it on video!! LOL Here is Josh - in the middle of the jump, just as the flash goes off. This is what I captured.








This next picture is from Steve's
point of view! Check out those beautiful clouds. I can't imagine trying to hold a camera still (without a professional stick), as the athlete is skating towards you at a pretty good rate of speed. The athlete jumps fairly close to your face, skates, wheels and feet are still a little low as your subject flies over the top of you! But can you imagine the excitement of the speed, the adrenaline, the height, the danger and the coolness of the photo. It looks as if Josh were to come straight down he would be...... well, it wouldn't be pretty!!!



We had a record number of hits to our site yesterday to see Josh as a STUNT SKATER. Thanks for visiting the site. If we get close to the same amount today, I think Josh will need to find new work as a stunt skater.



Today I am adding a couple more of his jumps by video. Here to the left is the "normal" photo that they originally set out to do and one from when Steve was sprawled out on the ground.
Before I do that.... I was reminded to remind YOU the skaters..... DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. THE PHOTOGRAPHER IS PROFESSIONAL, THE WRITER IS KIND OF PROFESSIONAL, AND THE ATHLETE.... WELL HE'S FALLEN SO MANY TIMES HE WOULDN'T KNOW IT IF HE WENT DOWN AGAIN.

So skaters... keep your feet close to the ground and wear your helmet.

Enjoy........ oh... and more video and pic's tomorrow, see ya then.

JOSH WOOD-STUNT SKATER???????

Josh Wood recently returned to his home in Sacramento, California for a little R&R after training on the ice for the last 7 months. With the ice season over and everyone else taking a step back and relaxing, Josh found another way to "chill". Let's just call it "his way".

If you know Josh, he doesn't like to "rest". He likes to have fun doing physical things. Today would be no different as Steve Harriman, our photographer from the City of Rancho Cordova, captured at least a few hundred photos of Josh skating at the recent marathon site in Rancho Cordova.

This is the same race site that Josh was unable to attend due to prior ice commitments. So with camera in hand and a couple of extra lenses and even a "stick thing" (yes that is MY professional name for the thing that holds the camera still - I think), Steve and Josh took off around the business park to take photos in different areas and at different angles. Steve had enjoyed shooting his very first inline speed skating marathon on March 9th, 2008, and had requested a little time with Josh. He had some ideas that he wanted to try out and Josh was game.

Of course I followed for awhile and then I headed back to the car where I found Ananda Jolliff (who has been living with our family for the last 10 weeks), fast asleep after getting only 5 hours sleep the night before. She had worked at the rink and did not realize that Josh wanted to train so early or she would have been at home and in bed asleep long before the 1am time that she finally plopped her head down on the pillow! In the meantime I told her to catch a few ZZZZZ's while the guys made their way around a portion of the marathon course taking photos.

After about an hour and a half, it was finally winding down and Steve asked Josh if he could jump??


Knowing that I didn't want an injured skater... I jumped in with, " Well typically Inline Speed Skaters usually work to keep their feet on the ground......." as if I weren't even there...... Josh piped in with, " Sure I can jump....... over what and how high?"



My stomach dropped as they both laughed. By now.... do you have ANY idea what was going through my head?? Well you all know how much I LOVE crashes...... I figured if Josh was going to go down.... I was going to capture it on my camera (sadistic? No, I just like crashes! And he obviously was going to jump with or without me watching). So here is part one of the video "outtakes" ..... and a few photos that I took. I still have not seen the ones that Steve shot. If this is any indication, they are gonna be cool!!

Of course we will have those available through Steve's website as soon as they are ready. Enjoy.....lol.... oh yeah.... you didn't think I would show you EVERYTHING today did you????

Yep, ya gotta come back if you want to see more.... video AND photos......LOL Linda
p.s. although the resolution is very low on these still shots taken from my video camera, don't be afraid to click in the middle of the photo to enlarge it and see how crazy this REALLY was!

ROSS CREVELING introduces "Early Morning Warm-Up"

Ross Creveling, INLINE MARCH MADNESS'S incredible announcer, decided to try something for the first time at our meet. It's something that will become the standard across the USA, mark my words!

Ross is well aware of Dynamic Flexibility and how important it is for the skaters to be warmed-up anytime, but especially in the morning when their bodies are tired and it is cold. He should know, he has 3 skaters/children who do it on a regular basis. Oldest son Patrick Creveling, who made the US Marathon Team the first year it was introduced, competed in the 2002 World Championships in Belgium. Daughter Chelsea Creveling has skated numerous National Championships, and represented Team USA at the 2005 World Championships in the marathon as well. And finally the baby of the family (sorry Chris... someone has to be the baby), the quiet and reserved Christopher Creveling who has qualified for at least the last 4 World Championships and holds at least one silver medal in the relay event and is "one to watch" in the new WhIP program, "inline to ice". Chris has chosen to compete on short track. And all three of these skaters are known to use this warm-up program.

Ross asked me after the first day, "Linda do you mind if we have the kids warm-up BEFORE the warm-up? You know.... the Dynamic Flexibility warm-up?" I said of course, that's a great idea.. and it was the next morning that he started the "Warm-up" before the warm-up drill. Many skaters participated and many skaters stood on the side wall watching. Possibly for the first time and others because they just weren't awake enough to realize what was happening. By the next morning we had triple the amount of skaters participating as we did the first day.

Thanks Ross for such a great idea! We tell our kids to do it before they skate and usually ask them to warm-up in the back of the rink or down the side isle, but now such a simple suggestion will turn what some skaters view as still an unnecessary thing into "what, you don't warm-up??" The video above was just a few seconds of one of the drills they did the first morning. Linda

BE CAREFUL WHAT FACE YOU MAKE!

Remember how your mother used to say, "be careful.... if you keep making that face, it might get stuck that way"?? As I take pictures and the kids make funny faces, I tell them "don't make a face unless you're o.k. with it being seen by thousands of people"!!

Some of these kids listened and others.... well I'm not so sure! Hope you Enjoy.

Corina Blas doesn't like mornings!! Normally a smile would adorn her face, but not today!! I told you to smile Rina...



Andrew Simmons from Washington was full of smiles during the clinic and had no problem showing it! Do you have a photo from this past weekend that you would like to share? Send it to woodsk8@yahoo.com and I will post it with your story! Linda



Chelsi Legualt from Idaho decided to hide her face, but that left something "else" for me to capture!! Chelsi, next time just smile!!

Where would YOU spend your 28th wedding anniversarry?

Pete and I in the middle of the floor
on our 28th wedding anniversary, March 8th, 2008
NOTICE the stop watch in Pete's right hand??

Many things are special to my husband, Pete and myself. Our children, our families, our friends and speed skating! Somehow all of those things intertwine anyway. You see our wedding date wasn't some "special" date that we had to get married on. It was a date that was "left over". What do I mean by left over???? LOL

Back in the 80's I was heavily involved in artistic skating. I taught 6 days a week and traveled often (surprise... nothing has changed except the spandex.... wait, that hasn't even changed!).

Well March 1, 1980 was a league meet so we couldn't get married on that date and March 15th, 1980 was the weekend of a local Invitational so that weekend was out. So we choose Saturday, March 8th, 1980 to get married. Since that time many important things in my life have centered around competitions. Some of them are easily explained here... and well others... most people might not understand unless you knew just how "quirky" my family is!! If you dare... ask me sometime about my mom and her love of skating!!!! :)

Since we spent our 25th silver wedding anniversary at practice and we had dinner at KFC (Pete I will NEVER let you forget that!!!!), it would only be appropriate to put on our own invitational on our wedding anniversary where we could be with all of our family and friends (except Josh-and he forgot to call me-I won't let HIM forget about it either!!). So that's where this little story comes from. That and I wanted to introduce you to my "other" children. Most of you already know Josh Wood, but his older sister Antoinette (Toni) who works undercover.. notice the t-shirt!! And Brian Wood, Josh's little brother who could kick his butt in a heart beat but loves his brother dearly, except when yu remind him how his brother and sister tied him to a chair when he was just 4-yrs old and stuck a sock in his mouth while I was at work! LOL Then the fire lights up in Brian's eyes and we all stand back....

Toni has a very ODD sense of humor like her father!
She works UNDERCOVER - don't you think that's weird?
LOL....

Skating has been very good to our family. Not financially by any means (LOL), but friends, families, memories and so much more. I guess I will get over not being together on birthdays, or anniversary's or some holidays as long as we have our "other" family members to spend them with!! How 'bout you?

Brothers till the end! Josh Wood - 25 years old used
to beat up little brother Brian Wood - 21 -years old.
But not any more!!! And YES... they do have the
same mother and the same father! LOL

DO I HAVE STORIES ??!!

Things were crazy throughout the competition - just like the swirls on Sidney Titus's head. Sidney from WASHINGTON, finished 1st place in the Standard Sophomore
Men's Division. Gotta be the hair-do!

How can so many things happen over such a short period of time?? I knew it would be a roller-coaster ride ..... and I wasn't disappointed! I know you all want to read the stories and see the pictures. Unfortunately I was not able to take as many photos as I usually do. Some of it was due to time (or really I should say, lack there of), and other reasons I can't believe... like the 3 different sets of batteries that I have for one of my cameras were ALL run down or the fact that I own two cameras and only brought one... or how about this.... I forgot my video camera??!! I think this has been the worst weekend for me capturing what happened. But I am counting on a few people to help me out. Mark Virtue from WASHINGTON who took so many photos his finger is probably hanging by a thread. And to Laura Burns from CALIFORNIA who video taped almost every race promised me that she would get us a copy as soon as she could.

We did have two injuries somewhat serious that I will tell you about (one indoor and one outdoor - one I observed the other I did not), the playing or singing of two National Anthems each morning for two of the four countries that were represented at this meet. And even the photos taken by one of the top dog officials at City Hall, who did a spectacular job. His photos are here: http://www.pbase.com/steve1h/rc_ils_3_9_08

Let's not forget the High Point Award that went to SOUTHGATE/AUBURN, WA team for their superb Indoor Racing... and even two skaters who flew in, rented a car, spent the night and were UNABLE to participate in the Marathon. These and more stories will be flowing this direction. So come back often to check in and see what's new. If the information is not about this year's Inline March Madness Invitational, it most certainly will be about the IMMI in 2009! We are so excited.

Thanks again to ALL of you who traveled, whether it was a few miles from the rink in Sacramento to those of you from the East Coast or another country (Canada, Hungary and Belgium), we are so glad that you could attend. We look forward to having you back again next year! TRIAD RACING and Linda Wood :)

California Girls get together during the clinic with Justin
Stelly and Emily Scott for a brief moment while I capture
those smiles!!