When I lived in Boston and traveled about the country speedskating, I
always performed better the farther west I went -- because for some reason
I was more relaxed when the time zones made things seem later and later for
me. I could never deal with the 8 AM Lake Placid meets, but 8 AM meets in
'Sconnie were easier to deal with since I had woken up much earlier. Even
on the rare occasion of an evening race for some reason I was calmer.
 
I think a huge part of competing on the road comes with focus; for me, it
was always easier to focus on the competition the farther I was from home;
I've heard a number of athletes in various sports comment on the same
thing. At the same time however, I've known many athletes who get nervous
and unfocused the more unfamiliar their surroundings get.
 
I think more than anything though the amount of time spent traveling is the
biggest factor, regardless of the time difference, and sometimes makes
competing within the same time zone more difficult than traveling farther
away.
 
For example, if Denver travels to play at Alaska-Anchorage, they might
incur perhaps 4 or 5 hours of flight time, plus some additional time
bussing to and from the airport. If BU or Providence were to play at
Cornell however, you're looking at a 6+ hour bus ride. And I don't know
about the rest of you, but it's a heckuva lot easier to walk around and
stretch out on a plane than it is on a bus.
 
Of course, regardless of travel type the big killer is usually on the trip
home, where you always wind up getting in at 2 AM and need to be up for
practice and classes at 7.
 
Ahhhhh, the good ol' college days.
 
 
 
greenie
S P O O N  ! !
(go BU)
 
Since BU dropped football, does that mean Silber fumbled?
Real grass at Nickerson for the *real* football! Yippee!
 
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