Olympic Trials recap

Its now been a week since the last day of racing at Olympic Trials that had any meaning. With the team mathematically decided after Monday's racing, Tuesday was an opportunity to have some fun. I ended up finishing fourth that day. My legs were still strong, but unfortunately, I managed to somehow lose my whole left edge and fell on my own two laps into the race. Not a great finish, but after the emotional low of the day before, I wasn't really worried about the outcome. It would have been nice to go out and beat guys that had made the team over me one more time for pride, but it wasn't to be I guess.

Since then I have been dealing with the fallout of not qualifying for something that I had spent everyday of the last four years working towards. For the first couple nights, I had alot of trouble sleeping as thoughts swirled through my mind about this and that. I had expected a let down after trials no matter the outcome, good or bad, just because there is such a build-up to a competition that is as important as Olympic Trials. What I didn't expect though, was that I would feel so free at moments and then so crushed in others only minutes after. Its basically been like a big rollercoaster with plans of doing stuff that I have been putting off because it conflicts with training occupying the highpoints and then having something like a news story, that triggers a memory of a close call at trials bringing everything crashing down. Its tough to say the least, but there are many people in worse situations that me, so life goes on.

Coming back to Yellowknife has been good for me too. I haven't been home for a year and a half, and to be back in a familiar situation is very comforting. Everyone here has been so supportive and really seem to understand the sacrifices I have made to get to this point. The support I have gotten from this town has been truly amazing.

So whats next for me? Well I am still on vacation until Friday when I head back to Calgary. After that I am not exactly sure. I plan to get back into training slowly as I feel ready. There are no competitions for non-Olympic skaters that have any serious meaning until December, so there is no need to train at a super intense level right away. My coach Jon mentioned to me that I shouldn't just jump back in with my brain set on the next Olympic right away, lest I risk completely burning myself out. After failures at major competitions, I often tend to become hyper motivated. This time, I would like to take a couple months of easing back in and making sure that I have good variation in my training and life so that I can be 100% sure that I want to commit myself again at the level that is needed to be one of the top skaters in the world. I will be back in school after a year and a half hiatus this fall, something that will be tough, but is necessary too.

This next season will be tough because there will be so much attention put on the an Olympic Games that I wanted so badly to be at, but I can still make it a good year. Look for new posts that will move away slightly from the norm that you see on this blog coming up in the future.

So close...

I brought it all today. Two second places. I raced the best I could in the 1500 and was inches from pulling it off. It came down to a mano a mano race between myself and one other and I just lost out in the last lap and a half. As it looks now, I won't be on the Olympic team. More to come in the next few days probably, I just can't bring myself to write anything now. Thanks to everyone for your support, I know it gave me the legs I had today. 

No regrets.

2 more days

"Men or Women don’t decide of their future, they decide about their habits… and their habits dictate their future."

My first coach at the Oval, Yvon Deblois, sent out this quote. I think it makes alot of sense and goes along well with my personal philosophy to training.

Day 2

Today was a day. Nothing special, but nothing terrible. Two 5th places in the 500m and 1000m. In the 500m this was my best placing ever at a National Trials, but I was left wanting more after winning the start in my semi final then proceeding to butcher the rest of the race to finish third. The thousand was a bit of the same. I made a couple of smallish mistakes and had one twist of bad luck that cost me dearly. Winning the two B finals provided a bit of consolation but definitely left me unfulfilled for the day. But this is a long competition. We aren't even half-way yet. There are still lots of opportunities to get some revenge. Going into the competition I wrote that I had no regrets and was confident about my form. None of this has changed. I still know that I have great form and it will carry me through this competition. I can do this! 

Props to Liam and Jess for their big wins today! and thanks to everyone who has sent their best to me the last few days. It is much appreciated and gives me confidence.

And now, two days of fun!

Day 1

For those who are interested, here is a summary of the selection criteria for this years Olympic Trials. 

Short Track Speed Skating Olympic Selection Criteria and Procedure
Olympic Selection: August 9-18, 2009, Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, BC

Pre-Qualification

Athletes had a chance to pre-qualify by finishing in the top-3 overall, prior to the 3000m, at the 2009 World Short Track Championships. Pre-qualified athletes do not have to skate at the Olympic Selection event.
Pre-qualified athlete: Charles Hamelin

Olympic Selection Format

16 men and 16 women were invited to skate in the Olympic Selection. The list is enclosed. Each distance (500m, 1000m, 1500m) will be raced three times. The best two results of each athlete will be used for the ranking per distance.
A maximum of 5 male and 5 female skaters can be selected for the Olympic Team. One position for each gender will be selected at the discretion of the High Performance Short Track Committee, leaving four female and three male positions to be selected at the Olympic Selection event. 

Ladies：
As there are no pre-qualified women, selection will be done as follows:
A If the same athlete is ranked first in all three distances, she will be selected, along with the next best ranked athlete in the 500m and the next two best athletes based on overall classification in the 500m and 1000m. 
B If two athletes are ranked first in the three distances, they will both be selected, along with the next best ranked athlete in the 500m and the next best athlete based on overall classification in the 500m and 1000m.
C If three different athletes are ranked first in each distance, they will all be selected, along with the next best ranked athlete in the 500m.

Men：
As there is one pre-qualified man, selection will be done as follows:
A If the same athlete is ranked first in all three distances, he will be selected, along with the next best ranked athlete based on overall classification in the 500m and 1000m, and the next best ranked athlete based on overall classification in all three distances
B If two athletes are ranked first in the three distances, they will both be selected, along with the next best ranked athlete based on overall classification in the 500m and 1000m.
C If three different athletes are ranked first in each distance, they will all be selected.

Day one went well. I won the 1500m and was 7th in the 500m. Definitely a good start, but there is lots of racing to go though and I will be taking it day by day. 

Video of the finals is already up and youtube and can be found here.

I am Canadian!

Ain't nothing to it but to do it!!!!!!

its the fi-nal count-downnnn

One more practice to feel confident. The 2010 Canadian Olympic Team Trials start tomorrow afternoon. I am ready. I know that I can be confident that I have put all the necessary work, focus and sacrifice in. I think that I am lucky because I am able to say that no matter what happens at trials, I have no regrets with my preparation and training leading up to these trials. I have made sure to try new things in order to improve and have made the necessary adjustments to get the most out of each day. Nothing left to do but execute, let my body do what I have trained it to do and have FUN. 

its the fi-nal count-downnnn

One more practice to feel confident. The 2010 Canadian Olympic Team Trials start tomorrow afternoon. I am ready. I know that I can be confident that I have put all the necessary work, focus and sacrifice in. I think that I am lucky because I am able to say that no matter what happens at trials, I have no regrets with my preparation and training leading up to these trials. I have made sure to try new things in order to improve and have made the necessary adjustments to get the most out of each day. Nothing left to do but execute, let my body do what I have trained it to do and have FUN. 

Vancouver Olympic Trials

Van Van Van Van Van. We are back in Vancouver. Trials start on sunday but first heres a shout-out to J-Gregg, who has been blogging occasionally for CBC sports over the past few months. 

You can find her latest here.

Another General Mills plug...but its worth reading!

My living room is slightly more cramped than normal this week. The reason for this is that I received a large (20 boxes!) shipment of cereal from General Mills this week (thanks guys!). Ten boxes of each of the two types of cereal my picture is on, Golden Grahams, and Multi-Grain Cheerios. Of course they have been there for a few days and not moved except for the removal of a box to be consumed. The other day Liam, one of my teammates, was over and as he was leaving he asked if he could have a box. Being the generous person that I am, I said 'ya no problem' but made him promise to put the code in. Well he did and he even wrote a hilarious blog about it which can be found here. After laughing about it, I realized the photos he took demonstrate exactly the steps that are required to support an aspiring Olympian. And so I present Liam McFarlane in "how to donate $1 to Michael Gilday"

Step #1

Buy a delicious and nutritious (p.s these two words are a hint for an amzing post coming up later this week, check back for it!) box of either Golden Grahams or Multi-Grain Cheerios from your facourite local grocery.









Step #2
Arrive home and promptly pour yourself a bowl because you know you can't wait to have some. Note Liam's serious face here. Making a serious face is important if you want to get the most out of your cereal.





Step #3
Riding the wave of energy you have received from your meal, proceed to www.everdaycelebrations.ca/aspiringolympians. If this is your first time entering a code, you will have to create an account. This only takes seconds. Find out how on the website!







Step #4
Select Michael Gilday from the list of athletes and enter the code provided on the inside of the box. Also, for added fun, check the box at the bottom to enter a monthly draw for some Aspiring Olympians swag.




Step #5

Good Job! You have just supported an aspiring Olympian. Smile and enjoy, just like Liam!










Thanks to Liam for the pics. He also blogs and recently has been updating daily. Check it!