December 7, 2003

Hello all! Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you think would be interested!

Casey started the week with decent practices. He was saying that his legs felt abit tired, but would be good for the weekend. His tempo or 400meter lap in practice Friday was his fastest of the year - a 24.9. We went out for steak on Friday night in downtown Calgary and had a very relaxing evening.

Saturday morning we got to the oval for warm up and Casey was feeling good. I ask him before each race what his goals are for the races. This morning he said he wanted to do a 9.6 opener which is the first 100m of the race and finish the race in the high 34's. Well his opener was a 9.7 and he finished his race in 35.04. Just shy of what he wanted. He finished in the standings tying for 7th. Overall, he would like to consistantly finish in the top 10 this year. So he has accomplished this! Yippee!

For his 1000m race he was paired with a training partner and a great fast starter, Mike Ireland. They pulled themselves around the first 200m neck and neck. (Casey's fastest time this year in the 1000m is 1:10.42. so he was going to have fun with this one and try to stay with Mikey). Well he fought through the painful last 400meters and finished just behind Mike with a 1:09.21. This would put him 8th place in the final standings overall. Another top 10 finish and a 1.2 second better for the year. He was very surprised with this and pleased to say the least!

On Sunday, Casey came in thinking, "Okay day 2, the jitters are out. I usually skate faster, but I haven't skated a full weekend in over a year. So anything can happen." His start was a bit slower than Saturday, a 9.8. So we were hoping he would have a spectacular 400m lap. He finish with a 35.20 and 9th place overall. So he will learn from these races and go into next weekend knowing he can finish in the top 10! The confidence is building.

In his 1000m race he went in wanting to relax and have fun. He really enjoyed his 1000m races more than the 500m races this weekend. Not so much expectation, I think. He was paired with another American. He opened with a 16.5 for the first 200m and he just said he was very happy with this time considering he started in the outer lane. He work hard through the entire race and fought through the pain. He really looked good, smooth, his old self. He finished this thousand with a 1:09.52. (0.2 seconds faster and he would have finished in the top 6) A bit slower than his first yesterday, but a full second faster than his practice races this year. So overall he is really happy with his 1000m performance this weekend. He finished 12th in the standings today for this race.

Tomorrow he has the day off to rest, and then back to the ice on Tuesday for some aerobic work. We fly to Salt Lake City on Wednesday for the next World Cup this coming weekend and then home to Wisconsin on Sunday! I will keep you updated with results as the weekends progress. Take care! And have a safe and happy holiday season!

Jenn and Casey Fitz :)