In one week from today Nick will participate in his first real weekend time trial as a long tracker. Today he has race prep where he will just do a few laps and pre-race stuff. We are not sure what distances he will race yet, he has to talk to his coach.
The time trials are just about every weekend throughout the speedskating season. The distances that skaters can race are 500, 1,000, 1,500, 3,000, 5,000, 10,000 meters. I used to know how many laps each distance was without having to figure it out, but I will have to memorize that again. Just to give an idea, the track is 400 meters around... you do the math.
Long Track is so different from short track, mostly because in LT you are racing against the clock in your own lane and the fastest time out of all the skaters wins, per distance. In ST it don't matter how fast or slow you go, the first person to cross the line in a race of 2-6+ people wins, per heat. There are a few other differences like equipment, body position, training - but that is the biggest difference.
The time trials can record official times to set a skater up for placement for an upcoming race event. Skaters also use time trials for mental race prep, and to just get out there to skate. It's open for skaters of all ages and abilities. It's also open for the public to come and watch for free.
