It's WORLD CUP TIME! That's right folks I'm traveling the globe skating and racing around in circles again after months and months of hard training. (Hopefully all of my low walks will pay off!) The first stop this year is Berlin, Germany. I've been coming here now for years and years. It is funny when I think about it but Berlin is the site of my first World Cup debut. It was back in 1997, I was 17 at the time just made my first World Cup Team and was totally excited and intimidated by the whole World Cup scene. Now it is, well more years than I'm willing to do the math on, and I'm back here again racing in circles. But I will admit that this is the first time in easily 4 years that I am finally excited to race again and this is a great feeling to have back. I've had a bit of a slump these past couple of years, coaching changes, training group changes, and just lack of structure within the US program had taken away my joy of the sport and desire to race. With last year being by far the most stressful, I had never dreaded racing and hated skating more in my entire career. I even took a serious break from skating right in the middle of the season and there were several friends and family members that truly questioned if I would ever step foot on the ice again.
Some how I made my way back onto the ice with encouragement from Marc and Derek and the hope that a new season would inspire me again. So what were the changes? The two greatest influences were of course the two people who wouldn't let me walk away from the sport...Marc and Derek. Derek created a balance for me. He knew that for me I always loved to skate, but I am far from being a robot. I need variety and fun in training, but I need it to complement my life outside of skating. I need those two elements to work together in order for me to be successful. As for Marc...he just constantly believed and encouraged me, and stood by me through it all.
So here I am back in Berlin excited and happy to race. Back where it all first started so many years ago. I started in the B-Group this year (the competitors are split up in two groups based off of results from previous year) a grouping that can be very hard to get out of. You must place in the top two in order to move up to the A Group in the next weekends World Cup. I actually went to the line for the first time feeling kinda calm. For me I'm in a good place skating and racing. I have confidence in my summer training again, and I know that my fitness is coming back. I also went to the line knowing that I actually had nothing to lose because no one in the speed skating world really expects anything out of me. (This is exactly how I felt at my first World Cup so many years ago.) No expectations and nothing to lose it's almost like I get a chance to start at the beginning again.
I skated a great race and was really happy with my time, and I ended up winning the B-Group. (My time was good enough that had I raced in the A Group I would have placed 9th.) It's been a long road back for me and I know that there is still some more to come until Vancouver. Berlin was a good start for me on building my confidence back in my ability to race. Right now I'm concentrated on the process to get me to Vancouver. Each race I am learning and I have specific goals that I try to achieve within the race. It's all part of the process of putting together one perfect race in Vancouver...we all know that is all it takes is one perfect race.
Check it out my name on the top of the board....yup the Norman is still being represented. 
Racing my 3k in Berlin...even though you can't see it I am ON THE BLOCKS! For some reason I enjoy skating about 4k instead of 3k in my races.....I have issues with skating a tight track.
On the podium with two girls from Korea. These girls put together really good races too and I was nervous as to weather or not my time would hold up against theirs.
Here are some pics of us training during the week leading up to the World Cup in Berlin. Above is Laura (our physio) and the one the only SUGI! He is a Japanese skater that has been training with us for the past two years. He is great to have around..he has learned plenty of bad English during the summer training months with us.
The group training in pack, Chado, Suig, Bedford, and Myself...yes in this photo it appears that I am a butt sniffer.
RYAN BEDFORD is MY HERO! 
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