Here he is Mr. Hedrick! Or as I like to call him...my work husband....Chado the Dado. One of the stops on the World Cup Circuit this year was in Heerenveen, Netherlands. Heerenveen is the Mecca of Speed Skating and it is here that speed skaters are truly rock stars. Thousands of people come out to watch us race and the Dutch truly appreciate amazing performances and love the sport of speed skating.I've decided to highlight Chad in this post because this trip to Heerenveen was unlike any normal trip for us. This World Cup was Chad's last race ever in Heerenveen. After the Olympics he is moving back to Texas to start his new life off of the ice. All of us on the team knew the personal significance of the weekends World Cup. It would be Chad Hedrick's...one of the greatest skaters this sport has ever seen, last race, in a country where speed skating is the countries national past time. Chad Hedrick is one of the greatest skaters that speed skating has ever seen. In Holland he is a rock star! When he stepped on the ice several years ago no one knew just how deep his desire to win was. Everyone on the circuit laughed during his first World Cup race in Italy where he had no idea what a quad was or even the commands for the start. Nor were we prepared for him to look between his legs to check out where his pair was so that he could out sprint him to the finish! It didn't take long for Chad to start beating all of those guys that were laughing at him during that first World Cup. Chad went on to win several World Cups, World Championships, and Olympics! He has dominated this sport and is a true "racer." Only Chad can in the last two laps of a 5000m come back on his opponents, drop his lap times by 3 seconds, and win the race. It is actually amazing to see him do this!
Chad and I have been teammates now for 8 years! We have been through it all together...the highs of success, the lows of disappointments, new coaches and teammates, and the each of us starting our own new families. (It really has been like a marriage...in good times and bad, in sickness and in health Chad and I have been through it all!) One of the things that I have learned from Chad is the desire to win. Like I said he is one of the most competitive people I know..come on he can't even lose a friendly game of ultimate Frisbee. I have him to thank for making me more of a fierce competitor. In an unknowing way he pushes me to be better each day. When he has a fast tempo day...I want one too...when he has a good race...I want one too. Part of it is my own competitiveness and the other part is I don't want to let him down. He has done some much for me in these years that I strive to be just as good as him. So I am looking forward going into Vancouver with Chad and pushing each other to success there.
Oh yeah, one more thing.....I now hate losing at Frisbee too!
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