Monday November 8, 2010

Coach Don Hass working on my sled in Rochester, NY 11/6/10

What a rush. There’s truly no other feeling in the world like sliding face-first at impeccable speeds down a mile-long slope on nothing but a pair of steel cylinders and a sheet of ice. The closest thing it might possibly compare to, is skydiving. Once you jump, there’s no going back. You push yourself off the top of the mountain and I promise you that it will be one mile before you can even begin to THINK about stopping again.

So when after you’ve gone on a seven-month hiatus from the sport, and take that very first run down the ice chute again… well, I’ll tell ya, it is unlike any other feeling in the world.

The first five seconds all you hear is the thick throb of your heart, followed by around ten seconds of trying to remember proper form, followed by ten more seconds of ‘holy crap’, another thirty seconds of sheer joy, and the remaining five-or-so seconds of wondering how you ever could have contemplated NOT coming back to the sport. It’s a no-brainer. And yes, perhaps only those who are missing a few components in the noggin’ are the ones who even attempt to pursue the sport.

Finally getting in my first run down the track was not the only reason for such an exciting night. I also got to slide on my own sled. MY sled. I knew that tonight would be its unveiling, but I didn’t realize how much I was looking forward to it – until I saw it leaning against the wooden steps of the sled-shed, all wrapped up in a bed sheet. Like a Christmas present, waiting to be opened on Christmas morning.



I carefully pulled away all the duck-tape that kept the sheet snug against the sled. Red. A beautiful red, and with a thick, soft, cushiony layer of foam laying over the body. Don and I had made all the fittings for the sled last Saturday in Rochester, so I had seen the sled in pieces, but not the completed project. Everyone around me was being assigned a ‘school sled’ for the week. I just smirked to myself. Gosh, I’m lucky.

The sled slid wonderfully, though my times were slow and I was a bit “squirrely” down the track. Getting back into the “groove” of sliding takes a few days, so tonight I wanted to focus on remaining as still as possible on the ride down, and concentrate on keeping my shoulders rested on the body of the sled. A majority of driving comes from putting pressure down on the sled with your shoulders – so if I remain too tense, and my shoulders are up off the sled, my driving mechanics will suffer.

Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer, which will probably only slow the ice down, but I look forward to continuing to perfect my skills, while still loving every second of my journey towards becoming an Olympian.