Whistler Race! 8th Place

I think I may be the most excited athlete to ever come in 8th place! People watching may have thought I won the race! Haha I don’t get to admit this often, but I was really proud of myself yesterday… I had big shoes to fill taking Courtney’s spot and I feel like I stepped up to the plate. I just wanted to share some of the special behind the scene moments from the day...  

There were a bunch of little things that meant a lot to me during my race prep. I woke up early to start my checklist. Sewing my bib was on the top of the list because I didn’t want to wake my roommates with the loud repetitive scratching sound of sanding runners. We have to take in our bib so it fits us as tight as our speed suit. I found myself laughing at my needle and thread skills… It took me an hour but I was determined to make it as perfect as I could since I don’t wear a bib on ICC. After that, I took a breakfast break and started on the sled makeover. Sanded runners, washed/waxed the pod and re-taped all the torn edges. It’s a process! It’s usually not an emotional procedure but I had a moment when the coaches brought me sponsor stickers. The World Cup team is required to have the federation sponsor decals plastered on their pod. When I first started Skeleton, I can remember seeing world cup sleds (with sponsor stickers) at the track and really looking up to those athletes. I wondered if I’d ever have the opportunity to put them on my sled… yesterday was that day ☺ It really made me stop and reflect how far I've come and how excited I was for the race!

All of my prep work was finished by 11am, which kept my mind busy for most of the morning. It was time to get something for lunch and I didn’t have anything in the fridge. If you keep up with my journal, I’ll give you 3 guesses where I went to eat… Subway! Nothing like a 6in BMT on wheat before my big debut! Haha

(Darrin - CEO of USBSF, Sepp - Head Coach, Mom & Dad @ the race)

I drove to track wondering what the day would bring me… part of me wanted it to be over just so I would know the results but the other half wanted to stay in that moment of nervousness, curiosity, and excitement forever. I had been sliding well in training but I didn’t want to get my hopes up because everyone steps up their game on race day. My body felt good, my mind was calm and focused and my warm up went great. Well, then the race started… The first few sliders put down high 54 times, which was almost two seconds faster than I’d ever gone. YIKES! I’ll be honest, I got a little lump in my throat when I saw how fast the girls were going. I could have let it defeat me before I even started but I was up for the challenge. I cranked up my headphones so I couldn’t hear the announcer and stayed away from the TV footage in the corner of the start house. This was my day to take everything in, slide the way I know how to slide, have fun and see what happens. I was so elated after my first run! I was sitting in 9th place with a time of 55.56. It was such an awesome feeling in between runs knowing I had made a few mistakes and could do even better. That’s my favorite place to be going into a second run. I actually had to lay down on the floor for 20 minutes to calm my adrenaline when I got back to the top of the track. I pushed a hundredth faster on my second run and had another great trip. I had a little trouble at the bottom… especially going late into the 5 G finish curve with my face completely pinned to the ice. When I saw that I had held my spot and got to hang out in the winners box for a few minutes, I was so psyched! I had the 7th fastest time of that heat and moved up a spot! WOOHOO! The whole day was just so awesome. What an amazing experience to be one of three U.S. girls to race in Whistler before the Games… and to have my parents there to share everything with was really special. I’m headed to Park City tomorrow morning… it’s going to be tough to beat this week but I’m excited to be headed back to the States! I haven’t been able to use my cell phone in over a month! haha

(Orvie, Zach, T Hasegawa, Eric, Me, Matt, Greg, Martin)

GO TEAM USA!!!!!!