World Cup #5- St. Moritz

Okay, is that view for real?

Hello from my (new) favorite place on Earth!

Okay, so I don’t have a definitive list or anything, and that’s a pretty bold statement, but St. Moritz, Switzerland is seriously amazing.

I can’t tell you how excited I was to come to St. Moritz to slide for the first time.  I’ve always said that if I had to give up skeleton today but got to slide one last time at any track, I would go to St. Moritz.  It’s the oldest bobsleigh track in world and the only naturally refrigerated track.  Because of such, it’s incredibly smooth and quiet- unlike any other track I’ve ever slid before.  And let me tell ya, I’m in love!

It felt like I had a permanent smile on my face all week.  St. Moritz is a gliding track and is just so. much. fun.  This week I got a whopping 8 runs before race day (as opposed to 6 last week) and as the week went on, my training got better and better.  I had a great day of training on the final official training day and felt ready going into the race.

Team USA after our track walk on Monday

I set a new PR push on my first run, but because I didn’t relax and trust my instincts, I had a big skid on the top portion of the track out of Kink 1, which absolutely killed my speed.  I was able to save it at the bottom and pick up speed, but not trusting my steers and my overcorrections really hurt my time.

On the second run, I fixed my mistakes in Kink 1 but overcorrected to Kink 2 and took a few taps before Wall– the curves here are all named, they don’t go by number– and again my time suffered.  In the end I maintained my spot and finished in 16th.

On Race Days I seem to get myself worked up, and on race day you need to relax even more.  Once I get several curves in it feels like I’m finally able to relax, and it feels like the track is moving around me.  I get so hyped and want to perform well and that takes away from my fluidity.  It is imperative that I am relaxed from the get-go.

Just a little photo from a night-time stroll back from the gym

I think my other struggle this year is learning to manage my expectations and remembering to acknowledge the positives each week.  I’m brand new to the World Cup tour (and new to 5 of the 7 European tracks we’re racing on!) and while it’s perfectly okay to set high standards, it’s also important to remember that I’m gaining experience at each track I race at and that as long as I’m learning and progressing, I’m good to go.  Shout out to our Marketing and Communications Director Amanda Bird for the perspective on that one…thank you!  While the discomfort of not performing where I want isn’t completely eased, it does keep me hungry for more which is never a bad thing.

So anywho, it’s off to La Plagne, France tomorrow morning for another new track!  Stay tuned for more adventures!

Advertisement

World Cup #4- Konigssee

Guten morgen from beautiful Berchtesgaden!

The view from our hotel!

Another week, another stop on the World Cup tour! The 4th race of the season found us in Konigssee, Germany, an absolutely gorgeous location!

Prior to arriving here, I was regaled with all sorts of stories and memories of Konigssee– it’s clearly a favorite stop on tour among the veterans of the team!  Once I got to the track, I totally understood why; it is quite literally break-taking.  I’ve never slid here (in fact, it’s my first new track in over 2 years!) and after my trials and tribulations in Altenberg, I was ready for a new challenge.

The track here is so much fun to slide.  It’s easy to get caught up in the “S” Curves (for those of you who watched the race, they’re the four successive curves before the loooong, bendy “straightaway” aptly named Bendaway) because they are so flowy and fun.

Curve 12 (also known as Echoban) of the track. The Germans like to name their corners!

Training was a bit challenging for me throughout the week.  I wasn’t pleased with my times and it seemed that if I had a decent top half of the track, I’d ruin it in Bendaway or Kreisel.  The kreisel here is so much different from Altenberg- it’s not as easy to feel the pressures here and the exit is blind, so you don’t know you’re in trouble until you’re in it.

My very first trip down the track was nuts.  I totally got caught up in the “S” Curves and upon exiting the fourth curve, hit about 6 times throughout Bendaway (which in case you didn’t know isn’t the fast line) and then almost ate it out of Kreisel in the Chicanes.  It was an epic ride, and the closest I’ve come to losing my sled since my crash in Latvia my first year sliding.

As the week went on, I got more comfortable with the track, and fell in love with it.  However, I was still struggling to put together one complete, decent run.  With Race Day  rapidly approaching, I was doing all I could to prepare.

Our EC teammates made the quick trip from Igls to come watch us compete!

My first race run down the track was okay until Bendaway.  I didn’t trust my exit of S4 and skidded most of the bendy straight.  The rest of the run was relatively decent, but I found myself in 15th place after the first heat, but in a position to at least move up several spots with a good second run.  Unfortunately, some mistakes up top and a mistake in Kreisel found me back two more spots, finishing in 17th.  Upon finishing the race I was in for a big surprise…my high school classmate Kiersie came out to watch my race with her husband and adorable daughter!  I could have cried it was so fantastic to see a familiar face at the bottom of the track! Luckily we got to catch up for a bit at the end of the race.  I just love that I have friends and family all across the globe!

Overall I’m still unsure of how I feel and how to process this race.  On one hand, I strive to perform well and win every race- I know I have the best equipment and coaching staff available- and it’s in my hands to put all of these tools together to perform at my best.  In that regard, I’m pretty sour about my results.

Andreas, Esme, Kiersie & I after the race! What a great surprise!

On the other hand, I also know I had a big challenge ahead of me only have six runs to put it all together on race day, when those are the only six runs I’ve ever had down the track against a field of veterans.  I PR pushed on Race Day and set two new personal bests down the track, sliding over a second faster than I had slid all week. In that regard,  I know I have some positives to walk away with that I should be proud of.

So for now, I’ll ponder that thought and prepare as we take off for the next stop on tour– sunny, St. Moritz, Switzerland! It’s the only natural bobsleigh/skeleton track and is the favorite track of nearly every bobsledder and skeleton athlete I’ve talked to. I can’t wait!

Thanks for all the well-wishes and support, and thanks for following!

World Cup #3- Altenberg

At least I offered some entertainment and excitement for this race?

Ugh.

That’s all I really have to say right now.

But, because I always strive to be honest on here (and because we all know that life’s not always sunshine and roses) I’ll let you in on how I’m feeling right now…upset, angry, frustrated and disappointed are high on the list.  Mostly angry, I think.

The dreaded Kriesel in Altenberg…3 pressures of pure fear.

I have never raced this poorly before.  Though my training can have some highs and lows from time to time, I am always ready come race day.  I had a decent day of training on Thursday and had finally figured out Curve 4 and was feeling positive about the race day ahead.  First run, I was a bit stiff on my sled and it showed.  I was a little off everywhere and didn’t trust my lines.  The time was decent enough considering the issues I had and I knew that as long as I had a good second run, I could move up into a better position.

I felt ready for the second run- I was determined to be relaxed and to throw down.  I PR’d on my push by a tenth (so there’s one positive I can take away from here I suppose) and was ready to go.  I had an abrupt exit of Curve 4, which kind of threw me, but remained focused on the task at hand.  However, I drifted late into Kriesel— a huge no-no— and for those of you who watched the race, well, you know how well that went.  In an effort to make sure that I caught the first pressure, I tried to be firmer on my steer to make sure that I wouldn’t get picked up on the second pressure and in a hole for the exit.  Instead, I ended up massively skidding my sled through most of the curve.  The damage was done and coupled with my lines at the bottom of the track, which were a mess, I dropped back several spots, finishing the race in 19th.

At the start on race day, photo courtesy of USABS

Overall, I’m so, so angry.  My sliding here in Altenberg is not indicative of my potential and my capabilities and honestly, I feel embarrassed of my performance.   So for now, I’ll sit and stew on this and prepare for our next stop on tour- Konigssee.  I’ve never slid there before, so I think this track will be a good reset for me to get back on the horse.

Thank you so much to everyone for all of the love and support.  I greatly appreciate it, and your constant notes and messages motivate me to work harder and to be positive!