ICC RACE #1 CANCELLED

We had our first race yesterday in extremely unfavorable conditions. Winterberg is known for its excessive wet weather and it lived up to its reputation. I woke up a few times during the night and could hear the heavy downpour. It was on and off throughout the morning and just before our race it turned to heavy slush/snow/sleet (crazy wintery mix!). I was able to stay focused which was good because it’s easy to get distracted by the possibility of an unfair race in this situation. I drew #3 and had a decent run. The times were about 3 seconds slower than we had trained the previous day… YUCK! Parts of the track were comparable to a waterslide and the other sections had heavy frost accumulating. I had no idea where my first run would put me overall but I kept watching each slider come down get faster and faster. It was a bit frustrating because the mistakes I made shouldn’t have put me back as far as they did… the track was definitely getting faster as the rain/snow stopped. I finished the first run disappointed in 15^th place. YIKES, not good. I was hoping to grab a few spots with a solid second run but as I stood on the line, it started pouring again. This just wasn’t my lucky day. I ended up dropping a spot, really not good! From there all I could do was wait and see how everyone else did. The track conditions were deteriorating quickly and as each slider came down, I was moving up the ranks. I finished the race in 7^th place. On days like this there’s honestly nothing you can do… it’s all up to the weather Gods and your luck of the draw. The entire order flip-flopped from the first run to the second. It was a joke. I was glad I moved up so many spots but it was clearly an unfair race both heats. Several protests were filed by nations and the race was eventually thrown out. The jury decided to have 2, one-heat races today to make up for the cancellation. I’ve never had a one-heat race but I think it could be fun. I’m thankful that I have a second chance to slide well because yesterday didn’t represent any of our true skills.

I’m sitting here at breakfast and the weather seems to be holding out for now. The clouds are moving at a hundred miles an hour across the sky so anything could happen. The girls race in the afternoon today so it will be a coin toss by then. I’ll let you know how it goes.

CONGRATULATIONS TO MATT WHO TOOK 3^rd YESTERDAY IN THE MEN’S RACE!!!! YAY