ICC: Park City

The Park City ICC Team

Welp, that’s a wrap on racing for the season, folks.

My races in Park City, Utah are over and with the announcement of the 2014 Olympic Skeleton team named (CONGRATS Noelle, Katie, John, Matt & Kyle!), my competitive season is complete.

The Park City races were up and down for me, and were pretty crazy overall.  The 2002 Olympic track is considered a gliding track, and the athletes who are able to find their rhythm and do the least amount of work during their run will generally go the fastest.  I struggled during training to find that rhythm and was overdriving- not a surprise coming from Whistler where you attack every corner to prevent it from picking you up and spitting you out- usually on your side.

A sweet action shot, courtesy of Nick Vienneau!

I placed 13th in the first race (in keeping with this year’s theme, dug myself a hole first run that I needed to come back from) and placed 9th in the second race.  Our second race turned into a one-heat race after crazy snow/wind conditions made for an unfair first heat.  Six sliders took their first run, with times differing by 2-3 seconds, which is unheard of.  So they scratched the first heat and the women took only one run.

So what’s next?

I returned home after Park City for some R & R (which naturally I got sick right away…my body is on point in knowing when it’s allowed to shut down!) and I’ll be back up to Lake Placid, NY in February to continue training and sliding through March, when I’ll compete in Nationals.

Because I always endeavor to be honest, I shoot you straight: I’m pretty bummed. I set out on this season with some big goals and I’m disappointed I didn’t achieve them.  I feel as though in some ways I’ve let my friends, family and supporters down by failing to accomplish my Olympic goal for this season.

I’m trying not to let this disappointment negatively affect my perception of the season, as I have a lot to be proud of.  I trained hard over the summer and rehabbed my hamstring in a short amount of time.  I PR’d on every single track I visited this year, both in downtime and in push.  I finished the season as USA 4, finished 10th on the ICC tour did everything within my power to succeed– and in the grand scheme of things, I did.  Unfortunately it just wasn’t enough to make the 2014 Olympic roster.

I get to visit this hunk of love next weekend! Whatta ham!

A giant thank-you goes out to everyone who watched, texted, tweeted, prayed and who supported me this year.  The list is endless and I feel so special and so, so loved.  Your support is one of the most special parts about competing for the USA in this sport.

So for now, I’m enjoying some family time at home (and I’m planning a trip to visit this little guy off to the right!) before it’s back to the grind and planning for this summer and for the next season.  You better believe I’ve got my sights set on 2018…

 

 

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ICC: Whistler

Update time!

Apologies on the delay, but immediately after our races in Whistler, B.C. we packed up and drove south to Seattle, as we were flying out the next morning to Salt Lake City, Utah for our final races in Park City.  Between the packing, driving, flying, driving again and getting our sleds situated for sliding the next day, I’ve been one busy gal.

Beautiful Whistler on our last race day.

Anyway, the results!

Whistler went very well for me, and I posted 8th place finishes in both races.  I was in contention for the podium both days, but several mistakes on my second run during the first race cost me that position.  On the second race day, I had a bad first run and the 4th fastest downtime on my second, which thankfully bumped me up several places (and I was .01 away from 7th place….ugh!).

Overall, I’m walking away from Whistler with a lot of confidence and some new huuuge PRs.  I took about six hundredths off my start time and nearly 2 seconds off of my best downtime from last year. We had great weather and some pretty rockin’ ice for our races and while I was a little bummed about missing the podium, I had a great time in Canada and I can’t be upset with my personal results.

The view outside of our condo. Photo courtesy of Allen Blackwell.

Up next are my final races this Saturday and Sunday in Park City, Utah.  I’ve already had two days of super snowy training here which has made for some pretty interesting (and slow) downtimes.  As the photo depicts, Mother Nature needs to get it together so that we can have a good race day!

Thanks for following, say a few prayers and think fast thoughts as we approach race day! Cheers!