Recap of the Obihiro World Cup (Nov. 14-16)

So sorry for getting this up here only today! And since it's almost bedtime and I have to race a 1500 meters tomorrow afternoon, I'm not going to be able to say too much.

(Below)  I signed some autographs for these girls and then told them we'd take a picture and I'll post it up here :) The Japanese staff/volunteers who organized the event were so kind and helpful, thanks so much.

Overall, I'm really happy with my 3 races but especially the 1500 meters since I finished 22nd overall! (A & B group combined). In both the 1000 and 1500 I raced in the "A group" (which is the best 20 in the world; the rest race in B group at a different time). I was sooo jittery racing for the first time in A group on Saturday that my hands were sweating all day until after my race, haha. My third race was the mass start which I finished in 5th place at the end of the 16 laps (but not in total points).

"A Group" 1500 meter results

"A Group" 1000 meter results

Woohoo! First World Cup races were awesome, and now a 1500 tomorrow, 1000 Saturday and a Mass

Start again on Sunday! Let's go!

Pairings for the 1000m tomorrow (wuuuuut!)

Let's go! The 1000's start at 3:30pm Japan time.

The big TV cameras are out

The Obihiro World Cup begins today (Friday). I'll be competing in the 1000 on Saturday and the 1500 & Mass Start on Sunday so I'll be only watching races today and touching the ice afterwards to get ready for Saturday.

The rink from outside, tucked in a forest almost (below)

My view driving past the rink on the bus

Arrived Tuesday in Obihiro, Japan, for the first World Cup!

15 hours difference, wow. The jet lag hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be but it's still difficult, and the legs are still feeling sloowww from traveling. But my two sessions on ice have felt good so I'm happy about that. Also, the Japanese event staff have been so nice, it's really made being an athlete in this competition fun.

Getting picked up from the Sapporo airport for a 3 hour bus ride to Obihiro with the Italian team (below)

Me and teammate Benjamin Macé gettin to the rink

The ice was so 'glidey' the last two days, making it really fun to skate on. What chemicals did they put in the ice this time? Anybody?

Inline training with Coach, Steve Meisinger (of Team Rainbo) and Benjamin Macé (of France) from October

Thanks so much to Thomas Stähler who was on a business trip from Germany, saw us on the road and wanted to shoot some photos of us :) The location is Conway business park in Lake Forest.