Earlier in November I got the chance to explore the Utah Olympic Oval.  This is where the long track speed skating events were held for the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics.  I had previously heard my friends talk about the oval and this made me want to visit even more.  They told me that the oval was so big that two NFL sized rinks fit inside.

When I saw the shear size of the building, I swear my mouth was hanging open.  When I walked in the door and saw the long track and rinks for myself my jaw was on the floor.  It was huge!  The long track itself was 400 m.  And the two NFL rinks were end to end, not side by side like I had imagined.

Unfortunately, I got the time for the freestyle sessions wrong and didn’t get to skate the first night I was there.  The following day I went back and skated on one of the NFL rinks.  Compared to the speed skate long track, the NFL rink seemed tiny!  I was able to do all of my spins and double jumps, through my double axel.

The whole experience was surreal!  Getting to skate at the Olympic Oval was an awesome experience!