Rusty Smith, a 22-year-old on the national short track speed skating team that is based at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., is sharing a weekly diary during the World Cup season on his preparations for the Olympics.

This week started off well. The past week was pretty hard because I was doing extra workouts.

	RUSTY SMITH
	Smith Age: 22 Hometown: Sunset Beach, Calif. Sport: Short track speed skating Accomplishments: In the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, he was 13th in the 1,000 and a member of the sixth-place relay team. At the 2000 Worlds, he placed fourth in the 1,000 meters, seventh in the 500 meters and eighth overall.

I've been able to complete a few workouts that I did not think I was going to be able to do, so I surprised myself. I have had two workouts that I felt were going to be hard for me to finish.

The first was on the ice. I did seven laps in a row at a very high speed, with two minutes rest in between, for three times, which makes a set. We did three sets with only five minutes rest in between.

The other tough workout was a hill climb. The climb is called the incline -- it is about 2,000 vertical feet -- and it is very steep. It used to be a railroad that went from the bottom of the mountain to the top. It's no longer in use so there are just railroad ties. On a good day, it takes me around 24 minutes to get to the top, and I usually have to take a few quick stops to catch my breath. However, this time I once again I impressed myself and made it to the top in 20 minutes without stopping. I was pleased with that. Then we ran back down the trail, which is about a 45-minute run. So it was a good workout.

Afterward, I was feeling a little sore and tired but still capable of doing more. You might remember a few weeks ago, I told you my training goal was to increase my endurance. So that morning, my coach had us do time trials. A time trial is not an Olympic distance, but it is how we are seeded at the Olympic trials. This one was nine laps -- by myself -- skating all-out.

Because the Olympic trials are in three weeks, I just wanted to feel good out there. The first few laps went well, so I thought I would try a little harder. I kept it going and to my surprise the time was one-tenth slower than I have ever gone before -- which is two seconds faster than the American record. For not trying, it worked out really well.

The down side to this week was a call from my mother. The company she was working for didn't get a bid and unfortunately had no choice except to lay her off. She understood the problem but was upset. My mother lives in Canada with her new husband, but with the way the laws work, she won't become a citizen until June. Because of that, it is going to be hard for her to get a job.

Besides that, things are going well. I'm healthy and looking forward to this week.