It's easier to run

Happy october everybody!

It's been forever since I last posted... work has been NUTS!!!

Today, I finally got a chance to try out my very own skates. I've been skating on rental skates ever since they put the ice back in. I'm starting to get way more confident, although I'm sure I still look like a total goof when I'm skating.

I have a new personal best - 57.1 seconds / 500m! And the only thing that changed is the amount of time I have spent on the ice. I'm not going to lie, I've been to the gym once since the season started on may 17th. It's been forever since I have done any training, so it doesn't surprise me that my time only dropped two seconds in six months. It is nice to start to feel confidence on the skates again... Or should I say... started :P

New skates = new deal!

The rental skates at the oval are comfy, cushy, high ankled boots. Mine - not so much. They feel really good on my feet, but holy cow - there is NO ankle support. There is nothing to hide behind now. I guess that's a good thing, aside from the fact that I get to make a fool of myself in front of all the pretty girls skating at the oval. But I digress...

So, my first step on the ice felt totally foreign. Literally - like I'd never been on skates before. To suddenly have my entire body weight supported on two 1 millimetre thick pieces of metal, and nothing to support my ankles. Suffice to say, the first four laps were not fast. In fact, they were the slowest I've ever skated in years. After about twenty minutes of getting comfortable with it, I started to pick up the pace a bit and try some cross overs in the corners. The skates actually felt really nice once I got going and I forgot about how stupid I look.

But, after forty minutes, and one minor fall, my ankles had basically turned to jello, and I stopped. I still have another seven weeks of shooting left, and I don't want to hurt myself in any way, so I figured it would be best to call it quits. I must say, it was frustrating to not be tired at the end of the session, but hey - at least I finally know what it's like.

I have concluded that until the show ends, I'm going to try to skate at least once a week, (more if my works schedule allows it) and just work towards building confidence on the blades, and ankle strength. I read somewhere that the best way to improve your skating muscles is to skate. So that's what I'm going to do. Once I get confident, then I'm going to start to train again. I really look forward to getting active again. It's so much fun, and I feel so good when I'm doing it. It gives me a real focus, which I love.

In other recent news, I have finally signed up for the Tiffen Lake Arrowhead Steadicam Workshop! A week long workshop where you learn everything there is to know about the Steadicam. It will take place from the 26th of March to the 1st of April. I'm super stoked. And, it turns out that the Intact Finale is the weekend of the 20th, so perhaps I'll be able to participate and put down a real time, in real conditions. I would love to have 500m down to less than 45 seconds!

Well, I need to go to bed. I'm working in High River tomorrow, so I'll need all the rest I can get!

And to all a good night.

-Ryley

With busy streets a mess with people who stop to hold hands...

Work is crazy right now!

I got the upgrade to main boom operator! It's a pretty sweet gig. Leaves me pretty tired though - 12 hour days with upwards of an hours commute each way... haha.

But it's awesome. I get to be on set all day, and there's never a moment when my brain isn't going! My shoulders and back sure have gotten a lot stronger too! It's a super physical job, but it's absolutely getting easier. And, in the last two weeks, I've only had one boom in! (compared to 7 in the first three weeks :P ) Still tonnes of stuff to figure out with the job though... Lots of etiquette stuff that can be a bit complicated at times.

Music has been pretty awesome to me recently too - been revisiting Pink Floyd and Supertramp, two of my favorite bands. I just bought Eddie Vedders "Hard Sun" and Imogen Heaps "Hide and Seek" off of iTunes - two of my favorite tunes! I just learned that my computers speakers are actually really good. I guess I get used to listening to really bad quality sound at work (lots of static and hissing in the Comteks we use) that it's a real treat to listen to any good quality signal.

As for skating though - not much has been happening. I've been for a couple rollerblades in the last two weeks, but generally I've just been sleeping lots in an effort to stay healthy. I know that once the show is done, I'll have tonnes of time to train. I think that it's actually a good thing for me to have this time. I really get to evaluate what I want / don't want, and visualize where I want to be once they put the ice back in the oval.

Well, another two weeks and then we get a nice bit of a break. I think I'm gonna head out to Fairmont for a few days to visit Andrew. Sort of a yearly thing. It's always fun to go out there - play some golf, go swimming in the lake, rock out in general - hopefully cook some really good food. Well, I'm gonna go find something fun to do with my afternoon!

Ciao!

-Ryley

Perhaps you have to loose your mind...

Tonight, I am going to show myself to the world.

Tonight, I am finally going to put out my real intention.

My goal is to be the fastest man on ice.

My name is Ryley, and on the following pages, I'm gonna take you with me every step of the way. Here's my story.

I was born on a snowy day in february, 1990, in Calgary, AB, Canada to a loving mom and dad. I grew up near the university with my 18 months younger sister. We hated each other. I don't know why. But we did. Anyways.

I had an awesome childhood. I loved drawing things, and playing with my toy excavators in the sandbox. My dad built this great swing that hung from the giant poplar tree in our yard. I did well in school - always the keener, always looking to impress my teachers and parents. I don't know why. But that's just how I was. My strong subjects were math and music. Boy did that ever change....

Junior High brought about new friends, new classes, and new passions. I started playing the saxophone. I loved its velvety tone. I loved the way that the keys felt under my fingers. Then and there, I discovered the next six years of my life. The saxophone quickly became a massive part of my life. Band was all I could think about. All I did. I played in every band I could, and had so much fun with it! I started my own jazz band in grade 10 called "Guys With Ties". It was a quartet - myself, a guitar player, bassist, and drummer. We somehow all had developed a passion for the jazz music of the 30s, 40s, and 50s. We played together for three years, starting off with little performances at local schools, building to corporate gigs in office towers, and finally culminating with our performance on the Juno Awards 2008 in Calgary. We somehow scored a 60 second spot in front of 3.5 million people. I have never experienced anything like it!

Then, slowly, as the summer of grade 12 came along, and I was getting ready to head into music school at Mount Royal College, I fell out of love with music. What was once a creative outlet for me, had become an obsessive bunch of math and scales. The music had disappeared. I hung up the horn, and began looking for another outlet.

My father was a film-maker. 30 years into his career, he has worked as everything from a Genny-op to a Gaffer, to a Camera-op, to a Director. He was making a short film, and was desperate for someone to do sound for him. Nobody in town could do it, so he asked me. I had no idea what I was doing. I barely even knew what a boom was. And then and there, I found another passion. Film-making is a rush like no other. No matter what department you are working in, you get high-intensity work, mixed with lots of different personalities, and a frick-load of money. I scored the Trainee position on Heartland Season 3 (a locally made CBC family series), which showed me that I would love to dedicate a large portion of my life to this business.

When the show ended in december, I had a chance to really consider my situation. I took two weeks off on the west coast where I was able to spend lots of time deep in thought, and meditation (something that was totally new to me at the time). I began to realize that I was only 19 years old, barely out of high school, and I was already trying to pursue a career?!?

What I needed was freedom. Something fun that I could dedicate myself to - just as I dedicated myself to music. To be as good at something as I wanted, and to be good at it because I love it. To practice for the joy of practicing.

To finally please myself instead of constantly trying to please others - a nasty habit I've been trying to break for three years now.

And that's when I happened to stumble upon the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Speed skating has interested me for a long time. I have played hockey since I was young, so I've always known how to skate, but I'd always wanted to try speed skating. My girlfriend in grade 11 and 12 was a former speed skater, and answered the few questions I had about it. But, due to my heavy involvement in music, I never pursued it.

And here I am, watching these athletes from around the world, and I thought - dang - what a perfect opportunity!

I headed straight to the Calgary Olympic Oval - home of the worlds fastest ice - interestingly enough - located pretty much in my back yard.

I skated on hockey skates. I knew that I wanted to be a sprinter. On TV I had noted all the markings on the ice, and what races they were used for. I would skate my heart out during the public skate. Then I decided to rent speed skates.

For years I've looked at those things, and always wondered to myself: "How do you not fall flat on your face with those things?"

My question was answered very quickly as I first stepped out onto the ice with them - you do.

I must save myself some dignity here and mention that I never fell that first time, but I assure you there were many near total face-plants... You wouldn't think that it would be THAT different from hockey skates, but yes, yes, very different.

But I got the hang of it, and it is truly amazing the difference in the speed that you can generate with the longer blades. I found that I had a 16 second difference around 500m between hockey skates and speed skates.

Ever since that day, I was hooked. I rented speed skates until the end of the season, when I finally broke out the cash to buy a pair - and they will sit in my closet collecting dust until the season starts up again. Nuts.

My last time on the ice I laid down a 500m time of 59.00 seconds. The timer - an iPhone. The time keeper - the guy who constantly pushes me to work harder, my good friend, and ex-biathlete - Andrew.

Now. Most of you are probably looking at that time and laughing. If you know anything about the world record - well... lets just say I'm a looooooong ways away from it.

So now begins the journey. From here to whenever it happens.

I intend to prove to myself that I am capable of anything - so long as I always know what I want, and where I am headed.

Above all else, I want to have a tonne of fun in this experience, meet a lot of really cool people, and finally fall in love with something again!

Until my next post,

-Ryley