There's more to life than bobsled...

It has been an incredibly busy past two weeks. Last weekend I went home for my Chico High School 10 year reunion. I made the mistake in high school of running for Class President and therefore was put in charge of making sure our reunion happened. It was a great success and I think every one of my classmates that attended thoroughly enjoyed themselves. I have since put in my Class President resignation and I am hopeful that someone will pick up the next ten year term.

After my reunion I headed back to Colorado Springs for our yearly National Team camp.  This is a time when our entire national team gets together to ‘bond’ without the stress of competition. This year I was able to bring a few of my teammates to the Boys and Girls club. I was excited and thankful that my teammates were willing to make time in our busy camp schedule to put the kids through a mini bobsled tryout. There were four different stations for the kids to rotate through including vertical jump, broad jump, ‘shot toss’ and a bobsled push station which included scooters for the kids to push each other. I know the kids really appreciated meeting Olympic bobsledders and even seeing a gold medal!




Bobsledders in the making!



I ended up skipping out on the finale of camp because my older sister, Amber, got married Saturday. I was thrilled to be apart of the wedding as the maid of honor. It was surreal to watch my big sister walk down the isle. She looked absolutely gorgeous and I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house. I come from a family of four girls, so we are excited to welcome a new brother into our family!



It’s been a crazy, fun, exciting exhausting few weeks, so I am looking forward to getting back into my training rhythm and continue to move forward towards my next bobsled season.

 

A day in my life..

The life of an athlete is filled with hard work, complications, joy and freedom. Our ‘work days’ are very different then typical Americans work day, but for us it is very normal. Our lives revolve around meals, workouts, massages and sports medicine. My day starts at 8:30 when I go down to the Olympic Training Center cafeteria and get my 2 egg scramble with ham, mushrooms, spinach, and pepperjack cheese made perfectly by my favorite chef, Flower. After breakfast I head down to start our first workout, which includes hill sprints and explosive starts. I then go to sports medicine and recover to prepare for our next lifting workout later in the afternoon. Our recovery includes stretching, icing, and using noramtec pants, which essential attempts to squish the lactic acid out of your legs. After sports medicine I work my way back to the cafeteria have lunch and head to my room for a quick nap before workout number two. The next workout is in the weight room and consists of anything from squats to Olympic lifts which usually take close to two hours. At the end of the day I head to the recovery center here at the Olympic Training Center and use the cold tub and hot tub to help my body recover so that I can perform for the next days workouts.


My job is unorthodox and does not have the pay that a 9-5 job has, but it allows me to spend my days working towards a huge goal and dream. I think sometimes we may take the things we are giving and allowed to do for granted. I am pretty lucky to have the opportunity to live at the Olympic Training Center where everyday I wake up and see the Olympic rings and motto all around me. It surprises me how fast I adapt to my surroundings and how eating breakfast next to Michael Phelps or training daily with a gold medalist turns normal. A day in my life is anything, but ‘normal’ and I am very lucky to support of the USOC to help me reach my goals.

Back to Colorado

I have finally made my way back to the Tutt Boys and Girls club in Colorado Springs.  It was a great first week filled with some familiar faces and a lot of new ones.  It was very exciting to walk back into the club and a get a huge hug from one of my regular art students last year, Shyann.  Shyann was a big help last year putting together assignments as well as cleaning up the art room after class was over.  She was incredibly excited to see me and was already talking about all the new ideas she has come up with for this coming summer.  There has been a change in leadership at the Tutt Boys and Girls Club, but it seems Miss Michelle has many fun things planned for summer camp and is very willing to listen to any ideas I may have or have seen work in the past.  It should be fun filled summer and I am really looking forward to being back.     

Autism Speaks

Yesterday, Bree and I had the opportunity to be apart of the Autism Speaks Walk in Denver.  The walk is an event that helps Autism Speaks raise money for Autism research with the hope of coming up with better treatment options and eventually a cure.  Autism is a developmental brain disorder that now affects 1 in every 110 children.  The USA Bobsled and Skeleton has teamed up with Autism Speaks in the hopes of raising awareness by wrapping one of our sleds in the puzzle piece logo.  I can only imagine how difficult daily life can be for the families touched by autism and I was truly inspired by how loving and patient each parent was with their children.  I hope our partnership with Autism Speaks will in some small way help all those affected.

Back to Work

After spending the last few months rehabbing and relaxing from a long season it is time to get back to work. Tomorrow I will start the 20 hour drive from California to Colorado Springs (with a few pit stops along the way). I have enjoyed my time in California catching up on my life and spending time with my family. Since my three sisters have grown up it is often hard for us to all get together. Life gets busy for everyone, so it is a rarity to have us all under the same roof. I am thankful this Easter that we could all be together and enjoy reminiscing on our lives growing up. I know that as we continue to get older and we begin to have our own families that time similar to this will happen less and less.



Although I am sad to leave my mother’s home cooking I am excited to get back to my home away from home and begin working towards next season. I am really looking forward to getting back to the Tutt Boys and Girls Club and continue with my ITA project work. I have not been there since our season started in September so I am anxious to see the kids I worked with. I am sure they have all grown and changed in the past year. The off season is a time to get healthy and relax, but now I am ready to get back to the Boys and Girls Club and working towards my goal of becoming the best bobsledder in the world.

Kudos!

Congratulations to my buddy and fellow Chico native, Nashon Garret on his win at the high school wrestling National Championship. I met Nashon, a senior at Chico High School, last year at the Chico awards banquet where we were both up for athlete of the year. He is an incredible athlete and person and well deserving of the victory.  Look for a Nashon in the future as he works towards his goal of becoming and Olympian. 

http://www.chicoer.com/sportsall/ci_17767344

Red, White, Blue...... and Yellow?

Everyday I wear a friendship bracelet that my younger sister, Geneva, made for me with the colors red, white, blue and yellow.  This bracelet helps to remind me each day of why I do what I do and who supports me in my journey to be the best.  I have a great life full of freedom, travel and competition, but that does not mean everyday is easy.  Each day I am working towards making my country proud and improving my strength and speed, so that I may be the able to win medals for my country.  This is represented by the red, white and blue.  I am proud to slide for Team USA and I remind myself daily what an honor that is.  

Next, the red and yellow on the bracelet are the colors of Chico High School where I was a graduate in 2001.  I have had incredible support from people in my home town of Chico, California and it is helpful to remember that support when times are tough.  I am not only proud to represent my country, but also my hometown. 

Finally, blue and yellow symbolizes the University of California, Davis.  I spent four and a half years at UC Davis working on my degree along with being a member of the track team.  I have some amazing supporters in Davis and my time on the track team was the platform that helped propel me to bobsled.  Each day this off season I will go to the weight room or the track and give 100 percent into what I am doing.  I will do this not just for myself, but for everyone included in on the red, white, blue and yellow.