The Long and the Short of it

HOLY COW!

Has it seriously been 6 MONTHS since I’ve updated. Apologies, friends!

I realize I’ve been unbelievably bad at updating this bad boy this season. I’ll be honest–I got off to a rough start (leading team trials, then not leading team trials) so it’s been a bit to handle mentally. And, between work, finishing up school and the crazy travel schedule I was handed, I just couldn’t find the time to post. But, I’ve had a lot of friends and family ask how I’m doing (because the blog has been radio silent!) so I figured it was time to brush off the keyboard and do the dang thing.

So, here’s a (very quick) run-down of my life!

1. Team Trials–I led after the Lake Placid races, not so much after our Park City races. This result put me on the Intercontinental Cup tour.
2. Left for Igls, Austria a day after team trials ended. Almost didn’t race here (my federation forgot to renew my license, which is necessary to race) but after some phone calls and tears, I made the deadline with 11 seconds to spare. Trained awesome, raced poorly.
3. Next stop: Konigssee, Germany. Conquered bendaway and kriesel, but only placed 7th & 8th in the races. Not where I wanted to finish–consistency got the best of me– but I slid the best I ever have on this track.
   

   The view from Eagle’s Nest

4. While in Konigssee, I hiked up to the Eagles Nest, a Third Reich-era building built for Hitler, settled atop the summit of Kehlstein. It was rad (but waaaay too much cardio for this gal).
5. Got pulled up to do the Whistler World Cup. Traveled 20+ hours across 9 time zones and jet-lag was a real jerk. I was out of my mind for 3 days, and lost 10 lbs. Trained well, only placed 10th.
6. Also raced in the Lake Placid World Cup. My family came to watch me suck epically (<–sorry, just being honest) and lose my track record to an Austrian. I placed 15th, which was mentally tough to handle on a track I typically slide well on.
7. Went home for the holidays. Ate all the Christmas cookies (gainz, y’all), spent all the time with my family and gave my dog Boris all the snugs.
8. Traveled to Calgary, Canada on New Year’s Day for ICC races #5 + #6. My flight was delayed by 6 hours and TSA broke my runner case. Had to deal with baggage claims to remedy the problem at 2:00am. Almost cried.
9. Decided I don’t dislike the Calgary track anymore, and placed 7th & 3rd!
10. Flew back to Lake Placid for the final ICC races of the season. REDEMPTION RUNS! I won both races and finished the ICC circuit ranked 2nd overall.
11. QUALIFIED FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS!

That’s right! Because I am currently ranked 3rd in the US, I qualified for World Championships in Konigssee, Germany. I made my way across the pond just under two weeks ago to start training and preparations. Official training started this week, and I race this Friday & Saturday!

If you are interested in watching, below are the links to Heats 1 & 2, taking place on Friday. Check out the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) YouTube channel, where they stream all of our races, for links to Heats 3 & 4 on Saturday. NBC also has some rights to this video in the states, so check your local listings to see when NBC (or NBC Sports) decides to replay!

Heat 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICpz6hPfmHY

Heat 2*: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK5hKC5vrfc

(**If the link doesn’t work, you may need to use a VPN to access Heat 2. This is typically what NBC owns the rights to, and won’t always let you stream it in the US)

 

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