With the average 5 days/week and 2-3 run per day of sliding, I now have somewhere between 100 and 150 runs down the Mt. Hoevenberg skeleton track... with probably another 75 runs from last years '09-'10 season. So, if I cut that 'approximation' down the center, we'll say I have 125 runs at the track. That's 125 miles of ice... about 125 minutes of high-intensity, 70mph, face-first, extreme focus, AWESOME fun!
Which also means, that I have now recorded about 125 miles of potential skin-to-ice, metal-to-ice, helmet-to-ice, plastic-to-ice CONTACT.
And my equipment situation tells no lie.
Let's first check out my helmet to-date:
For one, this morning I unscrewed the shield to wash it. This is something that I've now begun to do as a 2x/week ritual. The reason for its removal, is that I have a "snot" problem. Inevitably, coming out of curve 7 into curve 8, I apparently exhale with such high intensity, that I tend to spray my nostrilar 'goods' all over the inside of my shield. I apologize for the lack of professionalism in describing this issue, but I find there's really no better way to describe it. It's quite an un-lady-like act.
So, after about 3 days of, well... build-up... I then have to cleanse the shield using only water and my fingers, as their is an 'anti-fog' layer lining the shield that must be gently cared for. If I were to rub-off all the anti-fog properties, I would really have a hard time (especially at the start), navigating. When the weather is anywhere between (-20) and (20) degrees, the warmth and evaporation of sweat on my body quickly condenses on the shield of my cold helmet... especially at the starting line.
You'll also notice the layer of duct tape covering the bottom half of my helmet, and the now-demolished layer of duct tape that used to stick nicely to the front nose-piece. One, of many things that newer sliders must learn to control, is their head. When approaching a curve at 70 mph, the newer athlete may lift his head and look into the curve in a sort-of.. "OH MY GOSH" type of moment. At which time, and only a split-second later, that athlete then has another "OH CRAP" moment when his/her head is suddenly slammed into the ice when nearly 5 G's of pressure pounds & presses their body into the ice. Please, keep in mind that astronauts experience somewhere between 1 and 4 G's during space shuttle launches...
When those 5 G's release off your neck & body into the next straightaway, your head suddenly becomes like a feather, and you once again may have your chin raised as high as 6 inches off the ice - at which time, and only a split-second later, the athlete then has another "OH CRAP" moment when his/her head is suddenly slammed into the ice when nearly 5 G's of pressure pounds & presses their body...yada,yada,yada... you get the picture, right?
Well, though I have a lofty (not so lofty compared to the national athletes) number of runs, I still tend to hit my helmet on the ice from time-to-time. These days, I do more of a little 'kiss' to the ice, rather than an all-out-makeout session like it used to be. Some of the best athletes will still purposely touch their chins to the ice, to ensure that they are as low as possible, and therefore as aerodynamic as possible... so these days, I consider my 'kisses' to the ice, to be more like ...lucky kisses.
Oh ya, and I got the helmet in November. $350. I curse a little every time I smack it on the ice.
Let's move on to my spikes situation. They used to be really pretty. No tape, no holes, no cracks, no scrapes... and alllll the 100's of little spikes gleamed. $200.
Today, they're held together with gaffer's tape & shoe-goo. On days when my runs down the ice are...a little 'hairy'... my legs can sometimes really get flinging around, which leads to smacking toes and ankles on the sides of the track... one or two smacks can lead to a pretty substantial hole in the shoe... and, as you can see, I also have smacked the wall hard enough to blow chunks of my spike plate onto the ice.
Also, we not only steer with our toes, but we also don't have 'brakes' on our skeleton sleds. What slows us down at the finish is the fact that the track ends up-hill, and that we are expected to dig our ($200+) spikes into the ice to stop. Sometimes, I like to soothe my mind after terrible runs, by reminding myself that had I gone faster, I would have had to break harder, and would have banged up my spiffy-fancy shoes a bit more. PHEW!
The really elite national-team athletes take good care of their $200+ spikes, by buying $75+ shoe covers. Maybe someday I'll acquire something as nice as these, but in the meantime - I made myself duct-tape, camping foam, and elastic spike covers! And dang if they don't work pretty good! The main reason for the need for spike covers is so that one does not face-plant during the run on the ice.
The walk from the start-house to the starting line always has snow laying on the ground. As you can imagine all those 100's of little spikes really clump up the snow. When you are about to sprint on ice, the last thing you want as 'traction' is a big snow ball under your toes. The spike covers keep snow from collecting in the little needles, and also protect them from getting worn down by walking on metal/hard wood/etc.
My sled is made to take some hard hits. But even she is feeling a little beat-up lately. She's gone under a lot of surgeries...lypo-suction in a way... adding & subtracting weights, and moving it from her top to her bottom, and vice-versa. She doesn't know it yet, but I'm also going to get her handles shortened so that my hands are in a more stable position on the sled. Though she's held together with TESA gaffer's tape, she has still been pretty trusty through my lack of driving skillz. Her bumpers are starting to be pretty worn, as you can see below. Steel scraping ice, and steel scraping concrete, are cause for her thinning bumpers. (p.s. bumpers save my arms from becoming the 'bumpers')
Some of my fellow athletes have created holes throughout their various sliding clothes from smacking walls...especially the boys, who tend to have shoulders that are wider than their bumpers. Lucky for me, I do not have this problem. However, the snow pants that I've had over the past 10 years or so, are starting to really go down-hill. Not only is the 'crotch' too short for my legs (i have to pull on my pants while warming-up), but I now have blown a hole in the crotch...twice! I think these babies are going to last me 'til the end of the season, and then I'll be investing in a pair that is much more conducive to warming-up outdoors.
Other than that, I'm trying to look & slide like a million bucks out there! I've got a little bruised pinky-knuckle, which I inevitably smack in Chicane 2-3 times a week, and some bruising or just irritations on my triceps from brushing some walls, but ehhhh, that ain't no thang! I've got at least 4 more weeks here, with the possibility of up to 7 weeks remaining. I'm happy to say that I will be competing in NATIONALS March 6-7, and If I am lucky enough to be selected, I will be competing in my first International Competition during the last week in March. We'll see!
Hope everyone else is keeping the winter blues away, and we're all keeping our fingers crossed that punxatawney phil was right for some early spring weather!
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