ICC Race - Calgary 2nd PLACE!

HI everyone!

First off, I wanted to say THANK YOU to all those who approached me about my website this past week. I have been slacking a bit with my updates and you all let me know… I honestly didn’t realize how many people frequented my journal so that really meant a lot. So here goes… I’m back :)

The season has jumped off to a great start for me! I was pleasantly surprised to have my best ICC finish right off the bat on a track that I haven’t been very confident with in the past. If you remember, I had a disappointing 12th place finish here last year late in the tour. I hope this is a sign of what’s to come but I also know that I can’t be satisfied with one race and become complacent. If anything it has given me the motivation to work even harder because I have a renewed faith that I can be successful on this circuit.
Taking 2nd place in Calgary was an accomplishment for me for a few reasons. The week seemed like an uphill battle from the beginning. I was concerned with the fact that I chose not to slide in the America’s Cup race here three weeks ago in order to save money and take a break after trials. My teammates and many other nations had an extra week of training/racing under their belt. Basically, it was crunch time for me… I had to figure things out quickly so you can imagine how uneasy I felt when our first day of official training was cancelled due to unusually warm weather and a melting track. To make a long story short, the temperature plummeted the remainder of our stay and got miserably cold. Each run got a little better although I was still quite a bit behind the leading sliders. On the second day, I went early to watch the other training group, which I think may have helped me the most. I was frozen head to toe but was able to gather some ideas for the bottom of the track and put them to use. I left the track exhausted and more concerned that I had to sand my runners and get my sled race-ready than how I was going to race the next day. Other issues I was facing consisted of lack of sleep and a strange inability to eat. I had absolutely no appetite and was feeling under the weather. There were also some team dynamic problems, which only made things more difficult. However, I suppose it is to be expected in some degree traveling together in such a competitive environment. Wow, I don't mean to be "Debby Downer" here... I’m making this sound like bad week! Well, to be honest, almost everything except the race was pretty awful. Definitely not the most fun time I've had on tour. I think that’s why I was so proud that I was able to put it all behind me for the race and still stay focused on my job. It’s easy to get distracted and I’m just thankful that things ended up okay for me this time. I slid the best I have all season and I felt solid on my sled. It was a positive lesson to learn that I’m taking with me to Park City. I'll keep you posted ;)