speedy

Ah - long weekend!  And yet when we looked out the window Saturday morning and saw rain, lots of rain, at least down in the valley, we just couldn't motivate ourselves to go skiing.  So B and I went to the gym (technically I went to the gym and B sat in the car in the parking lot outside the gym) instead.  When we got back home, we immediately grabbed H and the GPS and made our way across the Salt Lake Valley to Kearns, where the second day of a 2011 World Cup long track speed skating event was underway at the Utah Olympic Oval (5662 S. Cougar Lane, Kearns).

the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns, Utah

The joint was jumpin': stands filled (with lots of young families, no doubt drawn - as were we - by the free admission); a local high school rock band set up on the infield for between-event entertainment, along with a Mighty Mite hockey game and peewee short track exhibition.  Athletes from around the world were there to compete in the day's races, men's 10,000 meters and women's 1500 meters; we saw skaters, including some Olympians, from the U.S., Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Russia, Italy, Austria, Australia, New Zealand, China and Japan.

Just like with the Tour of Utah, it was cool (and humbling) to be so close to these world-class athletes.  We had great seats right next to the 10,000 meter start/finish, and just off to the side skaters were warming up, stretching and riding trainers to cool down after their races.  The 10,000 meter is a brutal race, these guys going around and around, at about 34 (+/-) seconds a lap, for about thirteen minutes - they're just exhausted when it's done.  The crowd was fully supportive, applauding each pair as they came around and cheering enthusiastically for each new leader, nationality notwithstanding. 

Men's 10,000 meter start - Japan and Australia

We also were pleased to check another Olympic venue off our list: at this point, we've gotten to almost of them, except for Park City and the secondary ice hockey arena in Provo: Olympic Park in Park City, the Oval, Snowbasin, the E-Center, Deer Valley (only H went there but we're counting it), Soldier Hollow and Rice-Eccles Stadium.  I love the fact that all these venues still in use by Olympic athletes for their training and are also open to the public.  H and I love watching the Olympics and it's way fun to go to these sites in person.  Who knows - maybe we even saw some future Olympic medalists skate on Saturday!