Out with a Bang

What a rush!

My final two trips as a forerunner for the World Cup were great! Lots of commotion, yelling, cow bells, and competitive spirit.


Corinne, Morgan, Tyler, Greg, and myself as World Cup forerunners

I've mentioned before that my job as a forerunner was not to "Mess Up." I took that job very seriously (mostly cuz I got yelled at on wednesday for not being 'ready'), and made sure to be on-the-job and ready-to-go at a moments notice. If there were any issues with the track, within 30 seconds we had to be ready to run off the top... yes, sorta-guinea pigs...

Supposedly at 9:00am on Friday, four of my friends were to take the very first runs off the top, and I was to wait about 45 minutes to start off the following heat of athletes. Yet, at 9:00, I was told I would be going off the top with the other 4 sliders. YIKEs! I luckily was fully dressed, though only about 80% warmed up. When I got to the line, the 5th forerunning sled, there were track workers dotting the starting area ice. It was announced over loudspeaker that the 'final forerunner' was up... I popped my helmet on my head, and began to lay my sled onto the ice, still aware of the workers on the ice in front of me...

"SLED IN TRACK!" "SLED IN TRACK!" the announcer yelled over the speakers... which was not true...and I became a little confused, as I was still at the start line. Here, I'm not supposed to mess up, and now I'm unsure if i'm just to jump on my sled and hope that I don't bowl down the track workers, or miss my 30 second window to begin my start.

The Great Britain coach assured me that I was to go ahead and mount my sled. As I got into my starting position, the workers scattered.

I'd never been part of a real large skeleton competition, so as I began my sprint, I heard people yelling... forgetting that it was a yell in "hip hooray go go go!" not a "Ahhhhhh why are you on the ice now stop stop stop!"

Needless to say, my start was quite slow, as I stutter-stepped the first 10m due to my lackadaisical confusion. But, no worries, my second forerunning start about 2 hours later felt great, and though it wasn't my fastest time, I've been working on a different starting technique, and I think it's beginning to pay off.

So ya, World Cup. CRAZY!

I got to meet several Olympians, including USA skeleton Olympians John Daly, Katie Uhlaender, and Eric Bernotas. As well as USA bobsled olympians Nick Cunningham, Mike Kohn, John Napier, Bree Schaaf and Bronze medalist Elana Myers and Gold Medalist Steve Holcomb. Also, I met many other Olympians from other countries, including Olympic Gold Medalist in skeleton, Jon Montgomery.

Jon Montgomery, 2010 Olympic Skeleton Gold Medalist


Sweet, huh? I was really pumped

I talk skeleton, skeleton, skeleton these days... and have neglected to talk too much about bobsled. But, there really has not been many bobsledders practicing at Lake Placid lately - until this week.

And guess who was here? Yes, lots of Olympians, but also (future Olympian) Jazmine Fenlator! The girl who is responsible for my being a bobsled/skeleton athlete at all... well, I have her and our friend Katie Doster to thank...but that's a whole 'nother story... but anyways, Jaz was competing at the World Cup level this year!!! I was her brakeman last year while she was learning to drive during the America's Cup races in Park City and Lake Placid. I went and watched her second run on Friday - it was awesome watching her, and seeing her improvements, and being able to take myself back memory lane to 1 year ago... sitting in the back of a bobsled. It's really been quite a journey over these past 12 months!

I left Lake Placid early Saturday morning, and won't be returning again until January 17th. My sled stayed in LP so Coach Don could make some revisions to it over the break. I'll be training at R.A.W. over the break, as well as using my own regimen here at home. Today I did sprints up our driveway, trying to avoid the ice patches to the best of my ability. Gotta get fast!

So, now I'm home, after spending time with my family celebrating my sister's birthday and decorating the Christmas tree. We're just laying around, listening to Christmas carols, as I'm writing this blog. It's so nice to be home <3

Race Prep

Tomorrow is the Big Day.

Women's Skeleton World Cup starts at 9:00am, followed by the men. And Morgan, Corinne, Greg, Tyler, and myself get the opportunity to "pilot" (or forerun) the races!!! What an incredible opportunity!

Though we technically aren't racing, the 5 of us are still preparing for tomorrow as if it were to be a race day. And preparing for a race day is a lot more work than preparing for any cross country or track race day that I've had in the past!

This morning was the last day of 'official' training. Each slider gets their last opportunity to learn all the curves of the track, and to find the quickest, and safest lines.


Athletes preparing for Heat #1 in the start house

In case you missed my last post - we are 'forerunners' for the World Cup Races. Therefore, we slide down the mountain before the World Cup Athletes, so they can see how the ice at the beginning is cut, and so the officials are sure that the timing eyes are working correctly. Also, we are to report any 'problems' with the track that we see. We get 2 runs per day, just like the athletes - however, it's over an hour between each of our runs... nothing like trying to stay warm, while still remaining relaxed and energized at the same time. But trust me, the long waits are mooooore than worth it!

Preparation for races isn't held just on the track. Injury prevention and care are important leading up to a race as well. Last wednesday I was doing some power cleans, and tweaked my back on a light weight rep. Since then I've been icing my back every day, doing extra stretching, and trying to take it easy on any training involving strain on my lower back. Things have been going well, and today I woke up feeling as 'good as new.' I'm still taking some preventative measures, and so therefore spending at least 15-20 minutes per day in the COLD TUB. Even just typing it, makes me shiver. The water is a toasty 53 degrees, which feels like zero, and causes complete numbness in a matter of minutes. However, the first few minutes are incredibly miserable, and so in order to force ones self into the cold tub, you must gain comraderie with your friends...and have them jump in with you.


Morgan and I in the cold tub... looks waaaay warmer than it is

So, after sliding to prepare for the race, and then spending an hour or so with Coach Becca learning some sport-specific drills and workout plans, and then spending some time in the cold tub, we then prepare our sleds for the races.

Preparing a sled at the World Cup level is a slightly more complicated endeavor than it is for us forerunners. However, we certainly have put as much work into getting the sled ready as we know how.

So - this is the (less than world cup level) way of prepping a sled. First, you gotta pick which runners you want. Some are better when the ice is warm, while others are better when the ice is cold (and hard). Then, you have to make sure that all the bolts and tape are tight and adhered well. Lastly, you have to sand the runners (ya know, the blades on the bottom)... make them nice n' shiny.

PHEW! Now, that is a task!

My roomies, Morgan and Corinne, hard at work sanding runners

It takes anywhere between 1 and 3 hours to sand runners. Basically, we take sandpaper at 320 grit, and rub it over the runners about 20-50 times. Then we use 400 grit and do the same thing. Then 600, 800, 1000, 1500 ... some people even use "diamond paste" type of stuff, to make it UBER shiny and smooth. We're certainly not there yet.

Anyways, my sled is prepped and ready to go! I will take my last 2 runs of 2010 tomorrow, and will come back in 4 or 5 weeks to continue training on the ice.

Cameras, TV crews, Olympians, fast ice, and 4 great friends to make the experience of a lifetime tomorrow. CAN'T WAIT!

World Cup

This is a BIG week here in Lake Placid! The once barren, empty hallways of the Olympic Training Center, have now become a booming little community of International elite athletes. Today, I was inches from Olympic Gold Medalist, Jon Montgomery of Canada, and have met USA Bobsled Olympic Gold Medalist Steve Holcomb, among other Olympians!

Not only are there a ton of people around these days, but the majority of them speak English as their second language (or don't speak English at all!) - so, I have done a lot of head nodding and smiling lately. Approximately 20-25 different countries are being represented in this weeks' USA Bobsled & Skeleton World Cup Races.

Today, Tuesday, was the first day of "Official Training." Essentially, each athlete is only allowed a total of 6 'training runs' before competing in the Lake Placid World Cup Races. Only 2 runs down the track are allowed per day, so that means Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are strictly training days, and Friday will be the races.

Soooooooo. Where do I fit in to this shindig?

Well, my job is tough. Gruelling.... intense...

Ok, maybe not so much. But it is a bit nerve-wracking. I'm considered a 'forerunner' for the training and races. Therefore, myself and 4 other forerunning friends will actually take runs off the top of the mountain before the World Cup Athletes. Our job is NOT TO MESS UP. (c'mon, if you know me, that's sorta a big request!). We run off the top, and are not allowed to make any type of steer into the first turn, so that the other athletes can see which way the ice naturally pushes a sled. Also, the track workers will check that all the timing eyes are working correctly, and that there are no major faults with the track. If we accidentally pop our sled out of the groove at the top of the track...we're fired. And if we crash, we're fired. DANG! haha and to top it off, they make the ICE FAST AS POSSIBLE! Wooooooooohooooo!!! But...also calls for a few more 'oh crap' moments.



Our runs today went great. It was awesome being up in the start house with such a conglomeration of elite athletes. It was pretty cold.... 2 degrees Fahrenheit, but we hardly are outside any length of time anyways.

I hope to one day compete in the World Cup circuit, or in any circuit for that matter... but to this point, this has been one of the biggest honors I've ever had. Like throwing the first pitch in the World Series. So happy to have the opportunity for this experience!!!

And a big HAPPY BIRTHDAAAAAY to my favorite(est) sister in the whole wide world!!!!

Brace yourself

Sliding the 'Chicane' - the longest straight section of track


So... we're getting faster. Maaaaybe sometimes a little too fast for our own good.

There have been 30 of us here for the Advanced Sliding Camp over the past 8 days. Though at different levels of sliding, we are all supportive of one another, share excitement for each other's achievements, and are sympathetic in one another's heartbreaks.

And heartbreaks...err..at least...breaks...there have been.

This sport is certainly not for the faint of heart. It's not a "wimp's" sport, as Coach Don says. There has been one broken finger, hundreds of bruises, a few swollen hands (which I'm certain tomorrow we'll find out one is broken), bloody noses, sprained muscles, swollen heels, pulled backs, bad headaches, a few bleeding chins, and several crashes... all in the past 4 weeks.

And crashes... ahhhh, crashes. It seems that daily there is an athlete who has taken a turn too late, and instead of having their sled follow the curve of the ice, they have no choice but to launch perpendicular to the curve, become airborne, and land shiny-side-up.

I haven't done that....... yet.

Coach Don says to get ready. It WILL happen.

Anytime I hear the call of "Eighty-One" (which is a code word for 'CRASH') over the announcements, I race over to the camera to see my fellow teammate emerging from one of the curves...often with a slight limp, and a head held in disbelief...or maybe it's in sadness... or maybe they're just looking down to make sure their legs are still attached...I'm not sure. But in any case, it's always a relief to see them walking... but boy does it get my heart racing for my next run!

Most of my fellow teammates say their body often feels like it's on fire after a crash. Upon looking at their skin on their shoulders, butt, legs, and back... you can find a bright pink irritation, caused from 'ice burn.' Doesn't look like fun to me..but I will say, most people come back up to the top with a great story, and have been ready to jump right back on the horse and show that curve who is Boss. I haven't met a single slider yet who I would categorize as a 'wimp'. I've got a lot to live up to when the day comes that I, too, crash.... but I'm also looking forward to writing my blog post of "My First Skeleton Crash" ... haha! Every crash is a good story :)

Tomorrow is the last day of our Advanced Sliding camp. I'll stay up here for the Skeleton World Cup (not to compete, but to forerun) and slide the 14-17th of December and then head home.

Sooooo..... let's just save that 'crash' blog for sometime in the New Year, K?


Advanced Sliding School with Kuk Sool Won instructors in the OTC gym

The Crew

My first trip to the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid was almost exactly one year ago. I still remember driving up to the "Olympic Training Center" sign, with my heart pounding, and my palms sweaty. Knowing I'd be living among elite athletes was a BIG DEAL! What if they talk creatine and power cleans the whole time? Should I change out of my winter (barn) boots, and into my new sneakers, to look the part?

Two weeks before my first 'sliding' experience, I went out and bought an "UnderArmour" shirt, and new spandex pants... I figured everyone would be wearing their high-priced athletic gear at the OTC, and didn't want to be an immediate eye-sore upon entrance. I gotta be coo'

But...honestly, to my surprise, the people here are REAL people! Who knew? And even better yet, they are nice, sincere, helpful, and a ton of fun! Granted, my exposure to the World Cup athletes has been somewhat minimal, but even in that limited amount of time, those athletes have also been extremely generous and helpful. Everyone's 'friendly' personalities may not strike most people as odd, but you need to remember that we are each other's competition. This is not a team sport, and in order to be ranked top in the field, you have to out-compete your friends...err...your enemies...



There are about 25 of us 'developmental' skeleton athletes living at the training center at the current time. Most athletes were past sprinters, football players, gymnasts, wrestlers, etc. We all come from very different backgrounds. Chase, from Texas, just got to make his first Snow Angel ever... and Ron and Morgan both graduated from Mercyhurst College in Erie, and Megan is in the Army Reserves, and Derek was a professional soccer player, and Charmaine is actually a Canadian skeleton athlete. Get the picture?

So, for all of us to get along... well, that would be crazy right???

Ok, so things aren't perfect. I'd like to close my eyes and ears at certain moments and picture they are, but for the most part we truly are a group of athletes who genuinely enjoy one-anothers company. Which is EXTREMELY important when you live in a town of 2600, a small community of 50 at the OTC, and have about 6 hours per day of "I'm bored...whatcha doin?"



Last wednesday, nearly all 25 of us went to watch a Holiday Ice Skating Performance, and then went ice skating ourselves afterwards. Yesterday, about 15 of us went bowling, and this afternoon most people went to the movie theatre. I stayed in my room tonight to get my sled's runners all shiny and to write this blog, but most of the athletes are playing a little volleyball right now.

How did we get so lucky?

So, here's a "Cheers!" to my fellow athletes, and may this honeymoon phase last all the way through April!