No More Snow!

The first half the World Cup season has come to an end and I am finally home after a 12 hour flight, cancelled flight and 8 hours at the San Francisco airport. I am still pretty jet lagged, but ready to recharge and spend some quality time with my family.


Our last race was in Winterberg, Germany, which can now be considered one of my least favorite stops on tour. After the weather issues we had all week and throughout the races I am sure I am not the only person that has gripes about Winterberg. Winterberg is notorious for always being rainy and this time was no different, except for the fact that mixed into the freezing rain was snow, hail, sleet and more snow. The only way to describe the day to day life in Winterberg this past week was miserable. The good news is all the women on our team are officially snow chain certified and can put chains on and take them off, which comes in handy when snow turns to rain and then back into snow and back to rain. Needless to say I am glad to be back at home in California for a few days in my warm bed, not having to worry about waking up early to defrost the truck and put the chains on. I never have had a true white Christmas and this past week has truly made me appreciate a California Christmas. Happy Holidays!

World Cup #2

After a somewhat disappointing start to the world cup season in Austria we drove the nine hours to La Plagne, France for World Cup number two. La Plagne is where bobsled was during the 1992 Olympic games and has not been used for a World Cup since 2002 when our coach, Todd Hays won gold in two man. This will be the first time women’s bobsled will have ever been on this track, so it is an adventure for both veterans and rookies alike.

After arriving at the hotel I had to take in a few minutes to look around and appreciate the life that I am lucky enough to live. We are in the thick of some of the most beautiful mountain ranges and we are staying in a resort with a pool and hot tub that over looks the incredible view. So far I have not been disappointed with any of the meals we have been treated to. Last night we were served a 4 course meal, which included some local cheeses and meats. I have never thought of cheese as a delicacy, but this was like no cheese I have ever tasted before. I could go on and on about the dessert or the croissants we had this morning with our home cooked eggs and chocolate muffins, but my mouth is started to water as I write and wait for the next meal. Needless to say we had to continue to remind ourselves today that we are not here on vacation we are here to compete and win for Team USA. I am looking forward to the week to come and am confident that all three of our U.S pilots with be a threat for the podium.

Congrats Kelly!

In the summer of 2010 I met a quiet, shy speedskater named Kelly while she was rehabbing from what should have been a career ending ankle injury. I did not know it at the time, but as I became to know Kelly I learned that she is one of the most resilient people I have ever met.


Kelly went through the 2010 Olympic Trials fighting to make her first Olympic team. The Olympics is something ever athlete dreams of and for Kelly it was a matter of making the sacrifice of switching from inline to ice skating to try and make her dream a reality. After a vigorous trials Kelly was set up to make the team when a teammate fell and was granted a reskate. The conditions of the reskate were optimal for the other competitor and as a result Kelly missed the 2010 Olympic Games. Obviously Kelly was devastated, but she picked herself up and showed up for practice the very next day ready to complete her season. Next, the unthinkable happened to Kelly when she fell during a race and experienced a complicated compound fracture in her ankle and was told she may not be able to skate again.


After surgery and weeks on crutches Kelly moved to the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center to attempt the long task of rehabbing back to first walking and then skating again. I remember Kelly being in sports medicine daily and often twice a day doing what she needed to do to become healthy again. Now, two years later, Kelly is not just skating again, but she is skating at the highest level having made the 2011-2012 World team last week. I am very proud of Kelly and excited for her to continue her career as we move forward towards Sochi.

Happy Halloween!

After a tough few weeks of sliding and racing our team has been announced. I am fortunate enough to be selected for the World Cup team again this year and I will be heading to Europe at the end of the month to begin competition. In all honesty I did not know where I would physical be after having surgery to repair my hip labrum March, so I thanks for to be selected. I am also very grateful to the ‘team’ that has helped get healthy. I am above and beyond where I expected to be and I am looking forward to progress as I continue to regain my strength and speed.

It is always a stressful process when teams are selected, so I think we are all happy to have a chance to enjoy Halloween! It is not often that we are able to celebrate this time of year, but fortunately Halloween just happened to perfectly coincide with the finale of our selection races. After a long debate over what to dress up as Bree and I decided to be a doubles luge team. Last year, some of our friends on the luge team decided to dress up as the USA 1 bobsled team or as they have been deemed ‘Team Night Train,’ so we thought it only fitting to return the favor. We had a great Halloween, but now it is time to get back to work as we head into racing!





Night Train Bobsled Team

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.