Team Trials Update Part 1

I have so much to fill you in on!  So let’s get this started:

Firstly, our team trials races in Lake Placid have concluded, and I placed fourth in both races.  I was .06 seconds away from third place in our first race and .02 away from third during our second race.  We’re talking HUNDREDTHS of seconds here.  Like, faster than the blink of an eye!  They were some close races and while I would have loved to hit that third place, I’m happy with the results.

Yesterday my teammates and I flew out to Park City, Utah for our last two races of team trials.  Within an hour or so of moving into our condo, we already had snow!  We walked into Walmart to buy groceries and walked out into snow!  It was pretty awesome.  Everyone else looked rather upset at the weather, but the four other teammates I’m living with and I were super stoked that it was so cold and so snowy!

Park City track- taken by Gary Wozniak

I took my first trips down the Park City track this evening (well, not my first trips ever- it’s not my first time here, just first time down this track this year) and it felt great.  The track was as smooth as ever and the track crew did a fantastic job prepping it.  The cold weather made for some harder ice, which meant that the track was fast!  I ran some decent times and really feel like I’m starting to figure out my new sled here.  Park City is a gliding track, meaning the less “work” (a.k.a. movement & steering) you do down the track, the faster you go.  It’s very easy to over-drive here and while you may have a really smooth and clean trip down the track, it may not be very fast.  If I can start to minimize some of my steers, I’ll definitely see my times drop even more!

Our final selection races of team trials will be October 31st and November 1st.  After our final race, the athletes will be named to various circuits and our seasons will begin! Stay tuned!

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Snow & Ice Are Alright

The start of my first run!

Because it means it must be sliding season!  Day 1 is in the books and it. was. awesome.  It snowed all day in Lake Placid while it didn’t lay in town, it did lay at the top of the track.  We were able to get on the ice a few days before the official opening because the track crew worked non stop and did an incredible job getting the track ready for us to run.  In fact, it was really only a few seconds slow so it was a great first day back because the track wasn’t blazing, but wasn’t so slow that it wasn’t realistic.  Overall, the athletes are all on Cloud 9 after such a fantastic day!

It was particularly exciting for me because I took my first runs down the track on a brand new sled.  My sled builder (and also one of my coaches) built myself and another slider, Tom, a new sled this season based on Tom’s design ideas.  The set-up is a lot different from my old sled and is also longer so I was anxious for my first few runs on something so foreign.  However, the day couldn’t have gone any better and I’m pleased with the new design.

Some light reading

Today was also fitting that I received a package from my Mom that contained a letter and small gift from my sponsors.  Enclosed with my sponsorship was a lovely letter as well as two motivational books.  I’m so excited to read these over the course of team trials to get my mind right for the selection races!

Well, that’s all for now! Time for some sled prep and then it’s bed time.  I definitely crashed later on in the afternoon today from all of the excitement from our sliding session this morning.  Thanks for following!