THE CANADIAN PRESS
RICHMOND, B.C. — When the pain pierces her eyes, and her lungs feel like a flame has been lit inside them, Clara Hughes knows the race is going her way.
Hughes, of Glen Sutton, Que., won the gruelling 5,000-metre race on Wednesday’s final day of the Canadian long-track speedskating single distance championships at the Richmond Olympic Oval. The event was the first official competition held in the venue that will host speedskating during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
"When it’s a good race I usually feel like I have knives stabbing into my eyeballs," said Hughes, who won Olympic gold in the 5,000 metres at the 2006 Turin Games. "I’m in so much pain every single muscle fibre in my body is being ripped to shreds.
"Everything inside of me is screaming to stand up and stop. My brain tries to over ride the physical sensations of extreme pain. I always tell myself to go lower, stronger and longer."
Lucas Makowsky, who won the leg-burning, chest-heaving men’s 10,000 metres, said the race becomes a battle of mind over body.
"It really demands for you body to be as efficient as possible and as technically sound," said the Regina native. "When you’re halfway through the race, and your legs are starting to hurt, you have to talk back and stay strong mentally.
"There’s some back and forth going on between your mind and your legs."
Hughes won the women’s race in seven minutes, 10.65 seconds. Kristina Groves of Ottawa was second in 7:10.91 while Brittany Schussler of Winnipeg was third in 7:24.34.
Makowsky was timed in 13:54.33. Jordan Belchos of Toronto was second in 14:03.23 while Mathieu Giroux of Montreal was third in 14:03.74.
Groves, who won a bronze medal in the 5,000 metres at last year’s world single distance championships, said the race becomes as much mental as physical.
"You have a lot of time to think," she said. "Sometimes bad thoughts, or negative thoughts, creep into your mind.
"You might see 10 (laps) to go and be hurting already. Sometimes that happens and you just have to stay focused and be positive."
The five-day competition wasn’t an Olympic test event. It was more of a dry run for the world single distance championships to be held in March, which will be the official Olympic test event.
Still, staff from the Vancouver Olympic Games Organizing Committee (VANOC) were on hand to observe and study.
"We take every opportunity to learn and educate the venue as much as we can," said Magnus Enfeldt, VANOC’s sport and venue planning manager for speedskating. "The venue has been up and running for two weeks. We wanted to see what it looks like in an operational mode."
Mark Messer, ice-maker at the Calgary Olympic Oval, made the ice for the championships. Messer will also be responsible for the ice during the Games. It was a chance for Messer to become familiar with the facility and educate the local staff.
The skaters praised the building itself and were generally pleased with the quality of ice.
"The ice has potential," said Groves. "It’s coming around.
"It’s a lot faster than it was in October when we skated here. They are still just getting the computers and the compressors and everything figured out."
The speedskating oval will seat about 8,000 fans during the Games. VANOC contributed $63.3 million towards building the oval. It is part of a 33,750-square-metre, $178-million facility which will be used as a recreation centre after the Olympics.
Makowsky said it was hard not to think ahead to the Games.
"You have to have those aspirations," he said. "It’s what gets you up every day to come to training. It makes you enjoy it that much more to come to a facility as nice as it is here."
Since the Richmond facility is it is built at sea level, the skaters face thicker air and increased resistance. This could affect times during the Olympics.
The Calgary oval, used for the 1988 Games, and the facility built for the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, are both located at altitude and are considered two of the fastest rinks in the world.
Groves said the skaters will adapt.
"It’s never going to be a Salt Lake or a Calgary," she said. "That’s just the reality of it. It has great potential to be faster."
.A pleasant surprise for both the skaters and organizers was the large crowds that watched the competition. Over 7,000 people attended the five days.
"It was phenomenal to see all the fans here cheering," said Makowsky. "They were getting educated about speedskating. The oval is part of the community now. To see everybody come out, it’s great to see."
The competition was used to select the team for the second half of the World Cup season plus the world all-around championships that will be held in Hamar, Norway in February.
Injuries have resulted in several of Canada’s top skaters not competing.
Olympic medallist Cindy Klassen is taking the year off to recover from knee surgery. Jeremy Wotherspoon, the world champion in the 500 metres, is out with a broken arm while Mike Ireland is recovering from a dislocated shoulder.