I'm In Park City!

Hello All,

I’m in Park City this week for race #3 and 4. It’s absolutely beautiful here. I’m sitting on the deck of my hotel room with a clear view of the Olympic ski jumps and the snow capped mountains. (Yesterday I even got to sport a bathing suit out here and catch some rays... so nice!)

So far this has been the toughest trials I’ve ever been through. Not that I thought it would be easy but I believed in the training I did this summer and my start times have struggled more than ever. I’m not sure why this is happening… perhaps my body composition has changed so much that I’m awkward running in my own skin. I’m not sure I’ll ever know the answer. Or maybe there's just some small technical problem that will reveal itself over time. I just haven't felt like myself sliding and I'm working on getting back into the groove. Unfortunately, it's not something you can press so I'm hoping it comes sooner rather than later!

I finished 4^th and 5^th in Lake Placid. The track never seemed to click for me this early in the season. My runs felt great and my lines were solid for the most part... the times just weren’t where I had hoped them to be. Trials are only half over and anything can happen here in Park City. However, as of now, making the World Cup team seems like a far stretch. They just gave Katie Uhlaender a medical waiver onto the team (after 3 knee surgeries this summer) leaving only two spots up for grabs. Right now my goal is to be the 4^th girl they take to International training in Whistler next week. I’m not writing anything off… I’ve been on the upside of unpredictable situations more than once before. The last two years I was given the opportunity to race in World Championships at the last minute so anything can happen!

We slid our first two runs in Park City this morning. I was a train wreck my first run with the timing of my steers. It seemed like I had forgotten how to drive double oscillation curves and I swear my sled was a wall magnet. Luckily, I was able to find the rhythm my next run and everything fell into place. It really gave me confidence that I can do well here. That is if I don’t kill myself in the outrun first! Haha Don’t they know skeleton sleds don’t have breaks? The outrun is so fast without any snow in it and it’s REALLY challenging to stop before we run out of ice… Dragging our toes as hard as possible is something we typically try to avoid but its our only hope of slowing down safely here. It was a scary ride after the timing eyes today! haha

Anyway, just wanted everyone to know that my spirits are high… New track, new races, new attitude.

PS: I have a kitchen in my hotel room! SO Excited! Anyone have any easy dinner suggestions for me?