My Take on Trials

After an entire summer of training hard and wishing for the season to get here, it has finally arrived and trials are already over! The beginning of the season is always a whirlwind of emotions mixed with excitement, anxiety, nervousness and the curiosity of how it will turn out. One day you’re sliding like a rock star and the next day you’re wondering if you’ve ever been on a sled before because it was such a train wreck. It’s all about ironing out the early season kinks and believing that it will all come together by race day. This year was a little different than previous years because we only had 10 days to literally, “get back in the saddle”, before our first race. I actually prefer a quick start because it doesn’t allow you to over think things. I tend to focus more when I’m under a time crunch to figure out a track.
So, I’ll stop all the babbling and tell you how the actual races went….

Here’s my take on it. I knew going into the season that making the world cup team was going to be even more of a challenge than last year with Noelle returning to the ice. There were only two spots available since Katie had a spot reserved based on her results the previous season. In a nutshell, I was pretty darn happy with how I raced. My pushes were solid – I tied my PR in Lake Placid and set a new personal best in Park City. I was pleased with my runs – there are always tiny things you would like to fix but no big mistakes. I felt that my mental prep was right on target and I was able to have fun and enjoy the moment even in the most stressful times. I was right there in the mix every race, Courtney and Noelle just slid a little bit faster than me on those days. So, I really can’t be too disappointed with that. I finished 3rd in the first three races and 2nd on the last day in Park City.

There was a lot to learn from these races. There were a few days where I lost my form in practice and wasn’t comfortable on my sled. I was confused and a bit frustrated why my times were so slow. I watched video from the training sessions and I didn’t even look like myself. I had to forget everything and resort back to my foundation. Basically, it was back to the basics in my head and build up from there the rest of the week. It was a great lesson to learn early in the season because now I can remain confident in my ability even when I’m not sliding my best. I know I can go back to those cornerstones that are the foundation of my sliding well.

I guess that’s the wrap on team trials! I’ll be on competing on the Intercontinental Cup circuit (same as last year). Our first race is in Calgary, Canada on December 4th!

Pictures:
1) Lake Placid Track - The view from the start house
2) The entrance into Utah Olympic Park - You can see the ski jumps in the background (green) and the track is just out of site to the right
3) Sleds lined up for the race - Mine is 4 from the left in the front row... it needs a paint job! haha
4/5) Me at the start line
6) Everyone lined up at the start cheering on our teammates
7) We literally take up the entire airport when we travel! This is the team going from Lake Placid to Park City at 4:30am