On ICE.... finally...

After a brief stint in Calgary for some last minute push training I headed off to Lake Placid to begin the season. Usually when we get to Lake Placid it is turning into fall and the cold weather has already begun to move in, but not this time! When I arrived in lake placid the temperature was 80 degrees and felt like it was still summer! I love this kind of weather, but unfortunately it is not good bobsled weather. We were suppose to begin sliding on Monday, but because of the conditions it was incredible hard to keep any kind of ice on the track. The track crew worked around the clock to enable us to take our first runs of the season on Thursday. Because of the warm conditions the refrigeration on the track is increased, but this creates a frost that slows the sleds down. We literally had to hop out and push ourselves across the finish line because the ice was so slow. I was amazed the track crew was able to create enough ice with the conditions they faced to allow us to even slide. Hopefully we will get a full week of solid training this week before our first selection race that is coming up on October 21st.

Back to Business

After a summer of getting physically healthy and training hard in Colorado Springs it is now time to get back to work. After packing up my summer life and moving out of my dorm at the Olympic Training Center, I traveled back home to Chico and have begun the process of packing up my winter life to go on tour.


Each year it gets a little more difficult to leave the comfort of Colorado, the kids at the Boys and Girls Club and all the friends I have made. This year at the Boys and Girls Club I was presented with a huge box of home made cards from the kids. I received many hugs and a lot of questions as of why I was leaving. I plan on keeping contact with the kids throughout the season via emails, skype and postcards. I really want them to feel like they are apart of what I am doing.

I will soon head to Calgary for some push training and then off to Lake Placid for our team selection races. I am really looking forward to the season especially because it will culminate with a home track World Championships in Lake Placid. But for now, I am going to enjoy the few days I have at home with my family and friends

Congrats!

Congratulations to triathlete and In The Arena Alum, Sarah Groff on her break out season and her amazing race in London to qualify her for the 2012 Olympics.  Sarah trained in Colorado Springs and was an art teacher at the Tutt Boys and Girls Club.  I shared the news with many of the kids who had known Sarah when she was at the Boys and Girls Club.  They are all very excited to watch Sarah as she lives her dream.  Good Luck Sarah!  Enjoy every minute of it. 

Last Day of Summer Camp Fun!

On July 25, 2011 Jeret Peterson, or as everyone knew him, Speedy, decided there was nothing in his life for which to live. Not his friends and family, not the laundry list of life accomplishments including an Olympic silver medal. Speedy’s Olympic story was one of overcoming diversity and hardships in his life. He was very open about his struggles with addiction as well as depression and had admitted to thoughts of suicide in his past.


I did not know Speedy during this dark time, but had heard stories of a struggling young man searching for hope in a world that felt like it had none. It seemed like miles away from the man I remember. I remember watching him, along with all of America, during the 2010 Olympics overcome everything that had happened in his past to win an Olympic silver medal. I remember how happy he was and how excited we all were for him. He did it. He landed his infamous and incredibly difficult trick the ‘hurricane.’ But once the Olympic flame went out America moved on to the next up and coming sporting event and stories like Speedys were forgotten.

Life after the Olympics is something that is not talked about much. It is an interesting transition for athletes going from such a high at the games to feeling like you are at a low. Many athletes experience some form of a depression once the Olympics are over. For us, we have prepared for years if not our whole lives for those two weeks. Once it is over it is difficult to figure out the next direction your life will go. I have often heard people say, ‘if I make an Olympic team I will be happy,’ but the reality is the Olympics will not change who you are and will not change how you feel long term. I only hope that in the future the tragic loss of 2010 Olympic Silver Medalist Jeret Peterson will help put programs into place to help Olympians move on with life after sport.

Garden of the Gods

Last week we headed to the Garden of the Gods, one of the more historic and beautiful sites here in Colorado Springs.  This was one of my first field trips with the Boys and Girls Club and I loved seeing how excited the kids were to hop on the bus and go on an adventure. I was put in charge of a group of 12 kids.  I had not anticipated how difficult it would be to keep my group together and behaving while we exploring the Garden of the Gods.  My friend, Taylor, a highly intelligent 11 year old girl who goes hiking with her mom each weekend was in my group.  Taylor was literally our tour guide and showed my group and I all around the beautiful red rocks while she eloquently explained to us where the land came from and how it came to adopt it’s name.  My favorite time was when the kids found a huge rock or essential a cave hidden and they figured out they could manipulate their little bodies all the way though the rock.  They would have stayed there all day going back and forth had I not made us trudge ahead.  I had an amazing, exhausting time at the Garden of the Gods and hope to continue going on more field trips in the future!

Sliding for hope

The USA Bobsled and Skeleton Federation recently announced a partnership with the Susan G Komen Foundation.  Please check the recently launched website http://www.slidingforhope.com/ to make a donation and get a name placed on the Susan G. Komen sled (the boob-sled) for the this upcoming season.  I am honored to say that my mother, Wendy, will be the first individual placed on this sled.  Thank you to my federation and to the Susan G Komen foundation for allowing me to be apart of something incredibly special.  Check out the below article and video for more information.

http://www.youtube.com/user/abirdbobsled#p/a/u/2/ziHPDconLwE

http://bobsled.teamusa.org/news/2011/06/13/sliding-for-hope-with-susan-g-komen-for-the-cure/42808?ngb_id=23