Even if you can't get to a competition, you can still cheer for

Team Ashworth and show your spirit. US Speedskating just launched thier new online store. You can pick up cool gear to show everyone how proud you are of your fellow Ashworth students. Items for sale include long sleeved and short sleeved shirts, hoodies, sick cycling gear, and 2010 Toronto Olympics collectible pins!  Don't worry Moms and Dads out there. There's even gear for the kids so the whole family can get into the spirit!

"We are thrilled to be able to offer our members and fans a wide variety of logoed merchandise. It is especially exciting to see our new logo and brand come to life on the items in the store," said the US Speedskating Marketing Team."

And as excited as they about the new store, we'll be just as excited to show our school sprit!

What do you think of the shirts?  Are you planning on getting any?

When we last saw Team Ashworth, they were arriving for their A.M. "Office" workout (yes, there is a P.M. workout too, but we'll get to that later). In Webisode 2 you'll see training exercises in action. Remember those stair drills? You'll see just how difficult running stairs is and why it is a part of training (if it were up to Simon Cho... they wouldn't be). Next up, abdominals, and recovery. Whew, and this is just another day at the office for US Speedskating?

Tell us what you think. Does this workout look hard or could you do it in your sleep?

Drum Roll..... Life in Lycra: Webisode 2

Stay tuned for more of a day in the life in the next Life in Lycra webisode.

On September 22^nd, Travis Jayner and Jr Celskin, members of US Speedskating, spent the afternoon participating in a live social media chat sponsored by US Speedskating’s creative agency StruckAxiom. Fans were encouraged to tweet their messages to #skatechat. Questions from fans included: when did you get started skating and do you have any hidden talents to name a few. Check out what the two had to say and hear what Travis says about Ashworth College. Plus, see JR show off his free-syle rap talents over beats sent in by fans.

I’ve always been an athlete and pretty competitive too. As a kid I played football and basketball but when a neighbor asked if I wanted to try speedskating, I wasn’t so sure about trying it. Later, she asked me again and I thought I’d try it. I’ve been skating for 13 years now.  When you make it to an elite level, speedskating isn’t only a fun sport to do a few days a week with races on the weekends; it becomes a real career. Training takes over many aspects of your life. We’ve got a lot of great support on the US Speedskating team. We push ourselves and each other every day because we’re all trying to get to that next level. I train about 10-12 hours a day, six days a week. Racing season lasts from September to March and the closer I get to a competition, the more intense my training gets especially going into the Olympic season. Aerobic and core training, speed and tempo drills, running stairs, you name it. The first competition of the season, American Cup I, is in October, so I’ve been putting in even longer days of training to prepare.

As dedicated as I am to my speedskating career, getting a college education and being successful after speedskating is important to me too. For most elite level athletes, taking classes at a regular college is impossible. The travel to and from classes alone takes up too much of a training day so until I found out about Ashworth College, I’d pretty much shelved going to school until after my speedskating career ends.

That is, until I found out about Ashworth College…

Ok, I just talked about how hard it can be to go to school so how am I able to find time to pick up college courses at Ashworth with all the training and traveling I do during competition season? That’s a no-brainer. Ashworth’s online classes are really flexible. I can pull out my

laptop and crack open a book when my schedule lets me; after training, on the road, whenever. And, I can do my program as quickly or as

slowly as I want so I’m not stressed about getting it done on a timeline like at a traditional school.

I hope my speedskating career lasts a long time but when it’s over, I want to make sure I have the education to be successful outside the

Oval. If there is one piece of advice I would give anyone with a busy schedule, like student athletes or working moms and dads, it would be to

invest in your education. It’s never too late and Ashworth makes it simple

to reach your goals.

By the way, show your team spirit and root for me and Team Ashworth as we take on the 2011 AmCup I on October 1^st and 2^nd in Saint Louis.

US Speedskating has a rich tradition in the Winter Olympic movement, winning 75 Olympic medals since 1924.  At the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy, US Speedskating won the most total medals for the United States, and is the winningest winter Olympic sport in US history.  Several athletes with US Speedskating hold numerous world records as well.

Speedskaters Eric Heiden and Bonnie Blair are the US Winter Olympic athletes that have won the most overall medals in the history of the sport.  Heiden won five gold medals in 1980 and Blair grabbed five golds and a bronze medal during her Olympic tenures in 1988, 1992 and 1994.

Heiden is joined by Sheila Young (Ochowicz) as the US winners of the most medals in a single Olympic Games.  Young won three (gold, silver, bronze) in the 1976 Games.  Again, Heiden tops the charts with Blair as the US athletes having won the most gold medals in a single Winter Olympic Games.  Heiden’s five are joined by Blair’s double golds in 1992 and 1994.  Blair shares the honors with Andrea Mead-Lawrence of Alpine Skiing.