Cool Runnings
Sanka: So whata we gunna name the sled?
Junior: How about...Tallulah?
Sanka: Tallulah! Hahaha! Tallulah! Sounds like a 2 dolla hooker! Where you come up with that?
Junior: That's my mother's name.
Everyone: It's a good name.
Sanka: What's what's it gonna be Star? What are the people gonna be screaming when Jamaica takes the hill?
Derice: I say we call it "Cool Runnings."
Irv: Nice. Very nice. What exactly does it mean?
Derice: "Cool Runnings" means "Peace be the journey."
It is only appropriate that I start this blog with a quote from Cool Runnings. If you know me at all, you understand that most of my conversations will include a quote as some point or another. I have decided to start this blog to share my bobsledding experiences with you all. Bobsledding? you may ask. And I would have to say, oh so politely, "Why, yes. Of course." in a slight british accent. Actually my response would probably be, "Heck, yeah!" while I did a fist pump. Naturally, it is every midwestern girl's dream to hurtle through an ice chute at ridiculous speeds in a heavy contraption that could easily crush you. Considering I've never played a winter sport, and I come from Wichita, KS, where the only bump on the landscape is the overpass, this presents itself as a completely logical choice. Ok, so maybe not logical, but who cares?
I suppose I should start from the beginning. I have been a ridiculously, huge fan of the Olympics since birth. I come from sports people, so it was natural that the Olympics be a highpoint every 2 years. I always look forward to it, counting down the years and months to the next one. It was always celebrated with great fanfare, especially any time our national anthem was played. This is where I absolutely must give a shout out to my family and all the sausage pillow cymbal playing that has taken place over the years. If the Boston Pops Orchestra could only see our talents, they would have snatched us up in an instant. Anyhow, the Olympics have always been very special to me. They bring the best athletes from all over the world together to compete. As an athlete, there's nothing greater to watch. In the worlds of Irv Blitzer, the coach from Cool Runnings:
The Vancouver 2010 Olympics took place this last February. Awesome! I'm not sure if my roomie, Katy, has always been an Olympics fan or if I influenced her a little, but we definitely were excited. We bought cable just for the month so we could watch, threw an opening ceremonies party, kept updated any time we were near a computer at school, yelled, cheered, and basically did all things Olympic. I'll have to include the pictures sometime that chronicle our experience. We took one picture every day to document this auspicious event in history. While we were watching the women's bobsled one evening, the announcer mentioned that one of the US women, Elana Meyers, was a softball player for George Washington University in college. This, naturally, made me curious about the criteria for a bobsledder. I mean, if she can do it, why can't I? So, I looked it up.
Then I went on with my life, watched the rest of the Olympics (Words can never express how I feel about the Olympics. Unless you watch me watching the Games, I don't think you'll ever truly understand.), graduated from college (Hallelujah!!!), and moved back home before I started my job. About mid-June, I got an email from the new women's head coach, Dave Owens, inviting me to a tryout. There were several locations and dates across the country. I was stoked! I waited until lunch and sprung the news on Mom and Dad. We had to get out the calender and start looking at possible dates I could go. Thanks for your unending support and love. I couldn't have made it this far without you two!
Dave is from Jenks, OK, which is a suburb of Tulsa. Most of the tryouts were in Utah or New York, which is where the tracks in the United States are located and would naturally be a hub for the sport. Dave decided to host a mini-combine event in Tulsa to give midwest athletes a shot.
So, on the morning of July 24, 2010, I made history. I was a part of the first ever Midwest bobsled and skeleton tryout. Amazing opportunity! I was honored to be a part of history, no matter how small. There were 14 of us there that morning at the University of Tulsa track, 9 girls and 5 guys.
The tryout didn't start until 9, so we had quite a while to wait before everything got underway. I talked with several of the girls, and then one walked in wearing a US Rowing t-shirt. Since everyone else there was on a track team, I was excited to see a fellow rower. We struck up a conversation and hit it off. Ms. Kellen Baggett rows for the University of Tulsa, which we competed against several times this past season. It was nice to meet a competitor under different circumstances. At regattas, it's easy to fall into the mindset that every other team is the enemy, but they are also great girls just like me. So, thanks for becoming my friend Kellen! You gave me faith in the competitive rower race. It was good have another slow runner with me. No offense Kellen, but we are rowers and not exactly known for our sprinting skills. No one's performance was stellar, but we all had a great time. Everyone was cheering, encouraging, and acting like we'd know each other forever. It was a great day. The added bonus of the trip was that I got to see my Coats people. Shout out to the Coats clan in Tulsa and to Rosa for letting me sleep at your house.
Dave wrapped it up by talking to us about all the opportunities available if we were willing to try. I think the exact quote was, "The door is open, if you want it." Uh, yeah! I was ready to kick the door down, and it was already open. Sweet! Dave went on to tell us that most of the current athletes started out in the developmental program and worked their way up to the national team. That was encouraging. I am a perfectionist and with this comes my desire to master skills immediately. It was good to hear that I could work my way up. I didn't have to perfect it all my first day. Lots of people have asked me how this whole process works. I'm wasn't entirely sure myself (still not 100% positive), but here is the basic progression:
So to wrap up Dave's speech: If you want to work hard, we've got a spot for you.
And my response: I'm in!
You can check out updates, videos, pictures, and lots of other stuff for the US Bobsledding team at their webiste: www.usbsf.com
My boss is already vying for tickets to the Olympics and planning his wardrobe for Russia. A furry Russian hat, long coats, and vodka are already on the shopping list. There are going to be signs involved, and he's going to be running along beside the track. They also determined that since they are going to be sponsors the company logo needs to go on my helmet, but on second thought they decided to put it across my butt. You know, so when the camera zooms in on the team from the start line they have their logo on prime real estate. Such a flattering thought. So, now that everyone at the office knows, it's becoming a topic of conversation. I realized that I just don't talk about myself very often. A couple of the guys talk to me about my training schedule. We even went to look for a shot put over lunch one day. They are very enthusiastic, which has been nice. One even mentioned bringing a chicken to the office and setting it loose so I could train like Rocky. Nice visual.
Junior: How about...Tallulah?
Sanka: Tallulah! Hahaha! Tallulah! Sounds like a 2 dolla hooker! Where you come up with that?
Junior: That's my mother's name.
Everyone: It's a good name.
Sanka: What's what's it gonna be Star? What are the people gonna be screaming when Jamaica takes the hill?
Derice: I say we call it "Cool Runnings."
Irv: Nice. Very nice. What exactly does it mean?
Derice: "Cool Runnings" means "Peace be the journey."
I suppose I should start from the beginning. I have been a ridiculously, huge fan of the Olympics since birth. I come from sports people, so it was natural that the Olympics be a highpoint every 2 years. I always look forward to it, counting down the years and months to the next one. It was always celebrated with great fanfare, especially any time our national anthem was played. This is where I absolutely must give a shout out to my family and all the sausage pillow cymbal playing that has taken place over the years. If the Boston Pops Orchestra could only see our talents, they would have snatched us up in an instant. Anyhow, the Olympics have always been very special to me. They bring the best athletes from all over the world together to compete. As an athlete, there's nothing greater to watch. In the worlds of Irv Blitzer, the coach from Cool Runnings:
"It doesn't matter if you come in 1st or 50th. Those guys have earned the right to represent their country. They've earned the right to march into that stadium and wave their nations flag. That's the single greatest honor an athlete could ever have. That's what the Olympics are all about."I couldn't have said it any better. It would be the single greatest honor of my sports career to represent my country. It has always been my dream, although I never imagined it would be with the bobsled team. So, here's the story of how this all came about...
The Vancouver 2010 Olympics took place this last February. Awesome! I'm not sure if my roomie, Katy, has always been an Olympics fan or if I influenced her a little, but we definitely were excited. We bought cable just for the month so we could watch, threw an opening ceremonies party, kept updated any time we were near a computer at school, yelled, cheered, and basically did all things Olympic. I'll have to include the pictures sometime that chronicle our experience. We took one picture every day to document this auspicious event in history. While we were watching the women's bobsled one evening, the announcer mentioned that one of the US women, Elana Meyers, was a softball player for George Washington University in college. This, naturally, made me curious about the criteria for a bobsledder. I mean, if she can do it, why can't I? So, I looked it up.
If you are strong and fast, we might need you to give us a push! The U.S. Bobsled & Skeleton Federation is looking for our next Olympians. If you've got great speed and strength, we might need you to give us that extra push. If you think you have what it takes, please click here to send us your athletic resume for consideration.I fit in the height and weight criteria. You have to pass a combine test and those requirements didn't seem completely out of my league (with lots of training). After a few days of prayer and shocking my friends and mother, I sent in an application to the USBSF (United States Bobsled & Skeleton Federation). Mom couldn't tell if I was joking or not when I sent her a text that said something like "Thinking for applying to join the US bobsled team." I don't blame her; I would have been shocked too. After she realized I was sincere, she replied "Go for it! When you stop dreaming, you stop living." Thanks for the wisdom Mom. I'll never forget it.
Below is a sample physical profile of what our coaching staff looks for in their recruits:
Women’s Bobsled:
Height: 5’6”-6’0”
Weight: 150-175 lbs.
Then I went on with my life, watched the rest of the Olympics (Words can never express how I feel about the Olympics. Unless you watch me watching the Games, I don't think you'll ever truly understand.), graduated from college (Hallelujah!!!), and moved back home before I started my job. About mid-June, I got an email from the new women's head coach, Dave Owens, inviting me to a tryout. There were several locations and dates across the country. I was stoked! I waited until lunch and sprung the news on Mom and Dad. We had to get out the calender and start looking at possible dates I could go. Thanks for your unending support and love. I couldn't have made it this far without you two!
Dave is from Jenks, OK, which is a suburb of Tulsa. Most of the tryouts were in Utah or New York, which is where the tracks in the United States are located and would naturally be a hub for the sport. Dave decided to host a mini-combine event in Tulsa to give midwest athletes a shot.
So, on the morning of July 24, 2010, I made history. I was a part of the first ever Midwest bobsled and skeleton tryout. Amazing opportunity! I was honored to be a part of history, no matter how small. There were 14 of us there that morning at the University of Tulsa track, 9 girls and 5 guys.
The tryout didn't start until 9, so we had quite a while to wait before everything got underway. I talked with several of the girls, and then one walked in wearing a US Rowing t-shirt. Since everyone else there was on a track team, I was excited to see a fellow rower. We struck up a conversation and hit it off. Ms. Kellen Baggett rows for the University of Tulsa, which we competed against several times this past season. It was nice to meet a competitor under different circumstances. At regattas, it's easy to fall into the mindset that every other team is the enemy, but they are also great girls just like me. So, thanks for becoming my friend Kellen! You gave me faith in the competitive rower race. It was good have another slow runner with me. No offense Kellen, but we are rowers and not exactly known for our sprinting skills. No one's performance was stellar, but we all had a great time. Everyone was cheering, encouraging, and acting like we'd know each other forever. It was a great day. The added bonus of the trip was that I got to see my Coats people. Shout out to the Coats clan in Tulsa and to Rosa for letting me sleep at your house.
Dave wrapped it up by talking to us about all the opportunities available if we were willing to try. I think the exact quote was, "The door is open, if you want it." Uh, yeah! I was ready to kick the door down, and it was already open. Sweet! Dave went on to tell us that most of the current athletes started out in the developmental program and worked their way up to the national team. That was encouraging. I am a perfectionist and with this comes my desire to master skills immediately. It was good to hear that I could work my way up. I didn't have to perfect it all my first day. Lots of people have asked me how this whole process works. I'm wasn't entirely sure myself (still not 100% positive), but here is the basic progression:
- Developmental Team: This is like redshirting. You build speed and strength while working on your skills, but you're not actually on the team.
- America's Cup Team: This is the rookie team. Once you pass the combine test, you get invited to the National Push Championships. This is where the drivers and coaches come to find brakemen (or women in my case). I would obviously have to learn the push technique before then. At the Push Championships, a driver would select you. You would begin training together and prepare to compete. This team travels across the US and Canada. There are now 4 world class tracks between the two countries. They are located in Park City, UT, and Lake Placid, NY, in the US, and Calgary, Alberta, and Whistler, British Columbia, in Canada. The team competes from November to March, starting training on the ice as soon as September.
- World Cup Team: This the Olympic, world class team. They travel in the US and Canada until Christmas, and then head to Europe for 7 weeks after New Years working toward the World Championships in March. They travel to Igls, Austria; Winterberg, Altenberg, and Koenigssee, Germany; St. Moritz, Switzerland; and Cesana, Italy. The World Championships are to be help on February 24 in Koenigssee, Germany this year.
So to wrap up Dave's speech: If you want to work hard, we've got a spot for you.
And my response: I'm in!
You can check out updates, videos, pictures, and lots of other stuff for the US Bobsledding team at their webiste: www.usbsf.com
INTERMISSION
(This is your chance to take a little break. Go to the bathroom, grab some popcorn, do some jumping jacks, get the blood pumping a little. I know this is ridiculously long, but I'm trying to get it all in. Don't count on any post hereafter being anywhere near this long. You can breathe your sigh of relief now.)
So, Kellen mentions that she is going to attend a full combine in Salt Lake City in August. It sounded like another great opportunity to me, so we exchanged phone numbers to keep in touch. I came home, prayed about it, and bought my plane tickets to Salt Lake City. Up to this point, I hadn't really told that many people about it, bobsledding that is. Everyone I tell has this look of shock, and then I have to go through this exact long explanation of how this is all coming about. I think Katy, my roomie, has heard the story about 20 times already. Sorry Katy. I wasn't really sure if this would all pan out, so there was no use getting everyone excited over something that might never happen. Don't get me wrong, I felt it was a huge honor to be invited. I mean, how many people can say they've done something like this, right?
Anyhow, I hadn't told my boss anything about all this yet, but it became absolutely necessary since I had to ask for a day off. I sat down in his office one day and told him and some others the whole story. And can you guess what their response was? They were thrilled. Of course. I keep selling God short, thinking he won't work situations out for me. What do I ever have to worry about? Nothing. He's given me a dream, and He'll work on my behalf to see it come to pass. That's pretty awesome to think about. He never said it would be easy, but He'll get me there.
My boss is already vying for tickets to the Olympics and planning his wardrobe for Russia. A furry Russian hat, long coats, and vodka are already on the shopping list. There are going to be signs involved, and he's going to be running along beside the track. They also determined that since they are going to be sponsors the company logo needs to go on my helmet, but on second thought they decided to put it across my butt. You know, so when the camera zooms in on the team from the start line they have their logo on prime real estate. Such a flattering thought. So, now that everyone at the office knows, it's becoming a topic of conversation. I realized that I just don't talk about myself very often. A couple of the guys talk to me about my training schedule. We even went to look for a shot put over lunch one day. They are very enthusiastic, which has been nice. One even mentioned bringing a chicken to the office and setting it loose so I could train like Rocky. Nice visual. So, I continued to train for the upcoming combine. I bought a pair of spikes, and since shot puts are pretty hard to come by, I bought a kettle ball. These are by far the nicest spikes I've ever owned. I'll be sad when I don't need them anymore and donate them to some school. I've been doing workouts at a local middle school track and lifting weights at my apartment complex. I've also been swimming some too to mix up the workouts.
Kellen, her mom, and a teammate from the Tulsa rowing team were all going to Salt Lake City too. They were gracious enough to let me join the party. I talked with them some before the trip, and I have to say it was a huge blessing to me. Not having to worry about renting a car or getting a hotel room made the trip way easier for me.
The day has finally arrived. August 20, 2010. I wake up early and got one more workout in before I head to the airport. My flight left at 10:30 and I got to Salt Lake City around 1:30 local time. I met Kellen and her mom at the airport, and we headed to the hotel. I am so thankful that God had me meet Kellen at the Tulsa combine. No one else I met that day came out, and God had me connect with the one that did. He's so awesome! At around 4, we headed back to the airport to pick up Duffy.
Sidenote: Utah knew what was up when they built that airport. They have this waiting lot where you park and all the incoming flight information is posted on several electronic billboards around the lot. You wait until the flight you're looking for has arrived and then go pick your people up. No circling the airport endlessly or paying for short term parking. Genius!
From the airport, we headed to the Olympic Oval, where the combine was going to be held the next day. AWESOME!!!! All the flags were still hanging from the rafters, the Olympic banners were still there, posters holding the Olympic team members names and medal counts from the last three Olympics adorned the walls. Actual US team members were having speed skating and short track practices. There was also a hockey rink and curling lanes too. We stood were Olympians stand every day! Wow!!! We were such tourists, snapping pictures left and right.
Then, we headed downtown. Kellen wanted to check out the Salt Lake Temple, which is part of the mormon compound. I'm not sure if it's actually called a compound, but that's what it seemed like to me. The temple was HUGE! I mean massive. I don't think I've been that close to an architecturally pleasing building of that size (aka not a skyscraper or ugly office building). Architecturally, it was a beautiful building. I don't know much about the mormon religion, but they are sure dedicated followers there. The cathedrals were pretty too, and the organs were mammoth. This is were the mormon tabernacle choir was started. We weren't allowed in the temple, as only members get inside. We found out you can only enter certain levels depending on your ranking in the church. I've never been so glad to know the freedom of Jesus Christ. Not to be so bound up in religion that you lose sight of what's important. Jesus paid the price for me to be free, and I accept it and build a relationship with Him. He gave me His word, and I work to follow it. So simple.
From there, we walked around downtown and ate at Olive Garden. Yummy! I could drink that salad dressing! Then we headed to bed to rest up for the big day.
Saturday morning arrived and we at our free breakfast at the hotel (I'm smiling as I write this Kellen!). Everything is better when it's free. Then we headed to the Olympic Oval, which wasn't far from our hotel. We got there around 8, and the combine didn't start until 9. So we had plenty of time to fill out our paperwork and warm-up. The combine consists of 8 categories, with a maximum score of 800 points: 15m, 30m, 45m, 30m fly, standing long jump, underhand shot toss, power clean, and squat. We got warmed up, still in awe of our surroundings. People were there again training, which was a little distracting. I was in awe of the speed skaters. It's amazing on TV, but seeing them do drills crouched down on one leg skating the entire straightaway without falling over was ridiculous. I couldn't even do that standing, let alone crouched over.
It was finally time to start with the sprinting portion. Next came the standing long jump, followed by the shot toss. I won't take the time to explain all these to you now. I took video of lots of this, so I'm going to post that on here soon for you all to see. I'm a visual person, so this seems the most logical to me. Last, we headed back inside for the weightlifting portion. I just want to say that although rowers may not be stellar sprinters, we are very strong. This is were we earned lots of points. I ended up scoring 395 points, and the minimum to join the team is 600. I have my work cut out for me, but it's definitely do-able. I didn't even get points in 2 of the running categories, so even if I just got the minimum I'd be at 495 points. I plan on finding joining an athletic performance training gym around here very soon. They will be able to help me learn the proper running form and work on all these events.
With the combine over, we were able to go to a free push track session in Park City later that day. We grabbed some lunch at Subway, and headed to into the mountains. Park City is about 30 minutes from Salt Lake into the mountains. I don't know if the people who live near the mountains ever lose that feeling of awe, but I sure didn't the whole time I was there. Every time we got in the car, my eyes were glued to the landscape. It's probably because I have never lived anywhere near anything that even slightly resembles a mountain. Salt Lake City is surrounded, kind of like being in a bowl. Park City is located right on the other side of the mountains. It's a big skiing and winter sports community.
The site of the bobsled, skeleton, freestyle, and nordic events for the 2002 games is located on the side of one of these mountains. Driving up, you get a spectacular view of the nordic jump. When you watch on TV, you think, "Whoa! These people are crazy. There is no way I'd launch myself off that." But, let me tell you, it is WAY, and I mean WAY, steeper in person. Holy Smokes! Those people have to be insane! I remember an announcer from the Olympics saying that this event is not really hard, but not many people can get past their brain telling themselves not to launch out into space headfirst. I know I wouldn't do it. No thanks.
Well, we got there right as a freestyle show was going on. Athletes from all over the world were showing off their tricks and landing in a pool. They were legit! After that we decided to take on the Extreme Zipline. This is a zip line from the top of the mountain down that is supposed to simulate an athlete doing the nordic ski jump. We rode a ski lift to the top and waited in line for our turn. While we were waiting, us 3 girls got to check out the waiting platform and starting point of the ski jump. Looking down at it from the top made these athletes look even crazier. It was scary, and I'm not typically afraid of heights. We got to sit were Olympians sat waiting there turn to compete. Awesome!
Once we joined Alandra back in line, we were joined by some of the cutest ladies I've ever met. These three women were in there late 60's, early 70's. One of them had riding this zipline on her bucket list, and her friends were just along for the ride. She told us that she had almost complete her entire list and was going to have to start another one. I want to be like her! Carpe diem. Seize the day! We chatted with them while we were waiting in line. I hope the video I took of them turns out because I was laughing so hard I was crying at the time. They were a little nervous about losing their belongings and not making it to the bottom alive. I'm glad to announce that they lived through the experience and are ready to check other items off their respective lists.
Kellen and her mom went down first, followed by Duffy and I. I have some video of that too. It was really fun. I'd ride that everyday if I worked there. Since we still had some time left, we headed up to the museum. It was all about the evolution of ski jumping (scary what equipment they started out with) and all the memorabilia from the 2002 Games. We even got to get in a replica of the Night Train, the sled the USA 4-man team took gold in during the Vancouver Games. I know I keep saying it, but it was amazing! Every so often, we would touch something and say the typical quote, "An Olympian touched this, used this, wore this, won this..." For an athlete, I can't think of a better vacation, aside from actually being at the games. I'm working my way into that. While we were perusing the gift shop, we saw a book written by a member of the Jamaican bobsled team. Kellen and I had been quoting Cool Runnings all weekend, so we had to give this a better look. They had a picture of the team from the 1988 Calgary Olympics with their coach, Pat Brown. The same Pat Brown who is head of the Olympic Developmental team there in Utah. The same Pat Brown who ran the combine that morning. The same Pat Brown who was getting ready to teach us about bobsledding. We already liked him, but that scored him uber points in our book. Like, off the charts points.
We followed the directions given to us by the lovely lady in the sports admin office up to the push track around 4pm. We got there and weren't really sure what to do. Other people started showing up with track spikes and helmets and were legitimately warming up. We had no idea what to expect, but we were pretty sure from our lack luster scores that morning Pat knew we were new to the sport. One other new guy from the morning showed up too. Everyone else, we found out, were on the developmental skeleton team. They have an available push track session every Saturday that Pat coaches.
While they were doing there thing, Pat pulled a sled off to the side and proceeded to give a 2 hour crash course in push technique. Difficult. That is my description. He made is look so easy, and we had to keep reminding ourselves that he's been doing this for 20 some years. He's a pro, and we were SO NOT. It was really fun though. We push the sled on the tracks and learned to take a few steps. Duffy and I are a little taller than Kellen, so we got some major knots and bruises on our forearms. But it was totally worth it! At the end, we got to push the sled and jump in all by ourselves twice. That's right, by myself. So much fun! I have this huge, silly grin on my face right now just thinking about it. Pat was evening laughing at our enthusiasm.
Duffy wins the prize for best ride of the day though. I think she might have been a little afraid of the sled getting away from her. Pat had given us the classic warning: If the sled gets away from you, let go. Don't get drug behind the sled and covered with road rash. We were supposed to run about 15m and then hop in. It was more of a light jog really. Anyways, Duffy ran about 8m and hopped in. Pat had to push her a little to get her to the downward slope. We were laughing really hard, as was Pat. Priceless!
Sanka: "No one's had that much fun in a sled since Santa Clause!"
Derice: "Fellas, here's to following your dreams."
Pat also gave us a "the door's wide open" speech, same as Dave. He told us not to worry about this first combine score; it's really easy to make up lots of points just by training for the test. Now that we took it, our names are in the system and the coaches know about us. We are also eligible to come slide anytime once we pay the USBSF fee and get a physical. At this point, all our eyes got really big. We are invited to come slide. As in, on the ice. With a real driver. In a real bobsled. Us. Wow! We just have to let Pat know when we're coming, and he'll set it all up. Because, as he so eloquently stated, "There's really no gray area. Either you like going 90+ mph with your head between your knees or you don't." There's no point in training really hard for the combine next May if we don't like it.
After thanking Pat profusely for all his time and energy, we headed to the car all talking at once. Alandra was pretty amused at our antics, but we were just too excited to calm down. We immediately started planning our trip to come back out and slide together. The tentative date is some time after the first of the year, during Kellen's Christmas break. I can hardly wait!
We were all pretty pooped after that and already getting sore. We smelled pretty bad too at this point, so we headed back to the hotel to clean up and find some dinner. The nice lady at the front desk told us about this Mexican restaurant called the Red Iguana, but it was packed, so we found another Mexican restaurant downtown. It was in an old train depot from the founding of the city. We had these giant tacos and amazing sopapillas covered in cinnamon and sugar with honey butter to dunk in. So good! Then, we all fell into bed.
Duffy left really early, but Kellen and I got to sleep in. It's been awhile since I've been that sore. I held my breath and ran down the stairs. So painful. We groaned and hobbled like old ladies all day long. Getting in and out of the car was especially painful. Since our flights didn't leave until 5, we visited the botanical gardens which were beautiful. I loved all the color and seeing the little kids running around. It never ceases to amaze me how funny little kids are, especially if there is water somehow involved. Two little boys were diverting water from a fountain having a "rain fight" at one point. So cute. We had some lunch at this little bistro and headed back to Park City.
We drove through downtown and saw some ski resorts. We decided to stop at the Olympic welcome plaza. They had the gold, silver, bronze podiums. Perfect for another photo op. It was a neat place. They had posters from every winter Olympics thus far and all the medalists from the 2002 Games. Imagine having your name up there? Amazing!
Then it was time for this whirlwind tour to come to an end. We went to the airport, got through security, and waited. We were sitting there googling Pat Brown, the 2014 Games locations, general bobsledding questions, and how much tickets cost to attend different events. Kellen and I were talking like we were already on the team and going to Sochi. It was great! I miss them all already. It was fun to be around people as excited about your dream as you are.
Then came the waiting. A freak windstorm blew in which delayed my flight. After an hour, it died down enough for our plane to land. When we finally made it to the runway, we were getting ready to take off and they switched the direction of taxi. Instead of being first, we were 15th. More waiting. Luckily my stewardesses were working my flight from Denver to Dallas, so they couldn't leave without us. I made it home around midnight and dropped into bed.
This was one of my top 10 vacations ever! So much fun. I ordered my shop put to start training as soon as I got home. I just got it in the mail today. In the words of Sanka: "You know what my grandfather says? Get back to work!" Time to start training for next May. By this time next year, I could be on the US Bobsled team. So exciting!
So, I think my plan for this blog to keep everyone appraised of my training and any trips I'm going to take. I'll also post lots of video and pictures. Mom keeps sending me inspirational videos and quotes, and I'm going to post those too. This is as much for me now as you all. If you've made it this far down the post, you must really love me. I wouldn't blame you for dropping out at the intermission. Just post a comment or shoot me an email if you want to know anything else. I'd love to call and tell each of you all this, but it gets a bit redundant for me. I really appreciate all those history book writers in the world now. Just getting all this down has taken me hours. Can you even imagine being one of those monks that transcribed the entire Bible by hand? Ugh! I'm convinced that's why those Spanish monks invented chocolate. They would need a pick me up after all that writing. I think I do too. I'm off to find a little something to rejuvenate after all this typing. Have a great day!
Then, we headed downtown. Kellen wanted to check out the Salt Lake Temple, which is part of the mormon compound. I'm not sure if it's actually called a compound, but that's what it seemed like to me. The temple was HUGE! I mean massive. I don't think I've been that close to an architecturally pleasing building of that size (aka not a skyscraper or ugly office building). Architecturally, it was a beautiful building. I don't know much about the mormon religion, but they are sure dedicated followers there. The cathedrals were pretty too, and the organs were mammoth. This is were the mormon tabernacle choir was started. We weren't allowed in the temple, as only members get inside. We found out you can only enter certain levels depending on your ranking in the church. I've never been so glad to know the freedom of Jesus Christ. Not to be so bound up in religion that you lose sight of what's important. Jesus paid the price for me to be free, and I accept it and build a relationship with Him. He gave me His word, and I work to follow it. So simple.
From there, we walked around downtown and ate at Olive Garden. Yummy! I could drink that salad dressing! Then we headed to bed to rest up for the big day.
Saturday morning arrived and we at our free breakfast at the hotel (I'm smiling as I write this Kellen!). Everything is better when it's free. Then we headed to the Olympic Oval, which wasn't far from our hotel. We got there around 8, and the combine didn't start until 9. So we had plenty of time to fill out our paperwork and warm-up. The combine consists of 8 categories, with a maximum score of 800 points: 15m, 30m, 45m, 30m fly, standing long jump, underhand shot toss, power clean, and squat. We got warmed up, still in awe of our surroundings. People were there again training, which was a little distracting. I was in awe of the speed skaters. It's amazing on TV, but seeing them do drills crouched down on one leg skating the entire straightaway without falling over was ridiculous. I couldn't even do that standing, let alone crouched over.
It was finally time to start with the sprinting portion. Next came the standing long jump, followed by the shot toss. I won't take the time to explain all these to you now. I took video of lots of this, so I'm going to post that on here soon for you all to see. I'm a visual person, so this seems the most logical to me. Last, we headed back inside for the weightlifting portion. I just want to say that although rowers may not be stellar sprinters, we are very strong. This is were we earned lots of points. I ended up scoring 395 points, and the minimum to join the team is 600. I have my work cut out for me, but it's definitely do-able. I didn't even get points in 2 of the running categories, so even if I just got the minimum I'd be at 495 points. I plan on finding joining an athletic performance training gym around here very soon. They will be able to help me learn the proper running form and work on all these events.
With the combine over, we were able to go to a free push track session in Park City later that day. We grabbed some lunch at Subway, and headed to into the mountains. Park City is about 30 minutes from Salt Lake into the mountains. I don't know if the people who live near the mountains ever lose that feeling of awe, but I sure didn't the whole time I was there. Every time we got in the car, my eyes were glued to the landscape. It's probably because I have never lived anywhere near anything that even slightly resembles a mountain. Salt Lake City is surrounded, kind of like being in a bowl. Park City is located right on the other side of the mountains. It's a big skiing and winter sports community.
The site of the bobsled, skeleton, freestyle, and nordic events for the 2002 games is located on the side of one of these mountains. Driving up, you get a spectacular view of the nordic jump. When you watch on TV, you think, "Whoa! These people are crazy. There is no way I'd launch myself off that." But, let me tell you, it is WAY, and I mean WAY, steeper in person. Holy Smokes! Those people have to be insane! I remember an announcer from the Olympics saying that this event is not really hard, but not many people can get past their brain telling themselves not to launch out into space headfirst. I know I wouldn't do it. No thanks.
Well, we got there right as a freestyle show was going on. Athletes from all over the world were showing off their tricks and landing in a pool. They were legit! After that we decided to take on the Extreme Zipline. This is a zip line from the top of the mountain down that is supposed to simulate an athlete doing the nordic ski jump. We rode a ski lift to the top and waited in line for our turn. While we were waiting, us 3 girls got to check out the waiting platform and starting point of the ski jump. Looking down at it from the top made these athletes look even crazier. It was scary, and I'm not typically afraid of heights. We got to sit were Olympians sat waiting there turn to compete. Awesome!
Once we joined Alandra back in line, we were joined by some of the cutest ladies I've ever met. These three women were in there late 60's, early 70's. One of them had riding this zipline on her bucket list, and her friends were just along for the ride. She told us that she had almost complete her entire list and was going to have to start another one. I want to be like her! Carpe diem. Seize the day! We chatted with them while we were waiting in line. I hope the video I took of them turns out because I was laughing so hard I was crying at the time. They were a little nervous about losing their belongings and not making it to the bottom alive. I'm glad to announce that they lived through the experience and are ready to check other items off their respective lists.
Kellen and her mom went down first, followed by Duffy and I. I have some video of that too. It was really fun. I'd ride that everyday if I worked there. Since we still had some time left, we headed up to the museum. It was all about the evolution of ski jumping (scary what equipment they started out with) and all the memorabilia from the 2002 Games. We even got to get in a replica of the Night Train, the sled the USA 4-man team took gold in during the Vancouver Games. I know I keep saying it, but it was amazing! Every so often, we would touch something and say the typical quote, "An Olympian touched this, used this, wore this, won this..." For an athlete, I can't think of a better vacation, aside from actually being at the games. I'm working my way into that. While we were perusing the gift shop, we saw a book written by a member of the Jamaican bobsled team. Kellen and I had been quoting Cool Runnings all weekend, so we had to give this a better look. They had a picture of the team from the 1988 Calgary Olympics with their coach, Pat Brown. The same Pat Brown who is head of the Olympic Developmental team there in Utah. The same Pat Brown who ran the combine that morning. The same Pat Brown who was getting ready to teach us about bobsledding. We already liked him, but that scored him uber points in our book. Like, off the charts points.
We followed the directions given to us by the lovely lady in the sports admin office up to the push track around 4pm. We got there and weren't really sure what to do. Other people started showing up with track spikes and helmets and were legitimately warming up. We had no idea what to expect, but we were pretty sure from our lack luster scores that morning Pat knew we were new to the sport. One other new guy from the morning showed up too. Everyone else, we found out, were on the developmental skeleton team. They have an available push track session every Saturday that Pat coaches.
While they were doing there thing, Pat pulled a sled off to the side and proceeded to give a 2 hour crash course in push technique. Difficult. That is my description. He made is look so easy, and we had to keep reminding ourselves that he's been doing this for 20 some years. He's a pro, and we were SO NOT. It was really fun though. We push the sled on the tracks and learned to take a few steps. Duffy and I are a little taller than Kellen, so we got some major knots and bruises on our forearms. But it was totally worth it! At the end, we got to push the sled and jump in all by ourselves twice. That's right, by myself. So much fun! I have this huge, silly grin on my face right now just thinking about it. Pat was evening laughing at our enthusiasm.
Duffy wins the prize for best ride of the day though. I think she might have been a little afraid of the sled getting away from her. Pat had given us the classic warning: If the sled gets away from you, let go. Don't get drug behind the sled and covered with road rash. We were supposed to run about 15m and then hop in. It was more of a light jog really. Anyways, Duffy ran about 8m and hopped in. Pat had to push her a little to get her to the downward slope. We were laughing really hard, as was Pat. Priceless!
Sanka: "No one's had that much fun in a sled since Santa Clause!"
Derice: "Fellas, here's to following your dreams."
Pat also gave us a "the door's wide open" speech, same as Dave. He told us not to worry about this first combine score; it's really easy to make up lots of points just by training for the test. Now that we took it, our names are in the system and the coaches know about us. We are also eligible to come slide anytime once we pay the USBSF fee and get a physical. At this point, all our eyes got really big. We are invited to come slide. As in, on the ice. With a real driver. In a real bobsled. Us. Wow! We just have to let Pat know when we're coming, and he'll set it all up. Because, as he so eloquently stated, "There's really no gray area. Either you like going 90+ mph with your head between your knees or you don't." There's no point in training really hard for the combine next May if we don't like it.
After thanking Pat profusely for all his time and energy, we headed to the car all talking at once. Alandra was pretty amused at our antics, but we were just too excited to calm down. We immediately started planning our trip to come back out and slide together. The tentative date is some time after the first of the year, during Kellen's Christmas break. I can hardly wait!
We were all pretty pooped after that and already getting sore. We smelled pretty bad too at this point, so we headed back to the hotel to clean up and find some dinner. The nice lady at the front desk told us about this Mexican restaurant called the Red Iguana, but it was packed, so we found another Mexican restaurant downtown. It was in an old train depot from the founding of the city. We had these giant tacos and amazing sopapillas covered in cinnamon and sugar with honey butter to dunk in. So good! Then, we all fell into bed.
Duffy left really early, but Kellen and I got to sleep in. It's been awhile since I've been that sore. I held my breath and ran down the stairs. So painful. We groaned and hobbled like old ladies all day long. Getting in and out of the car was especially painful. Since our flights didn't leave until 5, we visited the botanical gardens which were beautiful. I loved all the color and seeing the little kids running around. It never ceases to amaze me how funny little kids are, especially if there is water somehow involved. Two little boys were diverting water from a fountain having a "rain fight" at one point. So cute. We had some lunch at this little bistro and headed back to Park City.
We drove through downtown and saw some ski resorts. We decided to stop at the Olympic welcome plaza. They had the gold, silver, bronze podiums. Perfect for another photo op. It was a neat place. They had posters from every winter Olympics thus far and all the medalists from the 2002 Games. Imagine having your name up there? Amazing!
Then it was time for this whirlwind tour to come to an end. We went to the airport, got through security, and waited. We were sitting there googling Pat Brown, the 2014 Games locations, general bobsledding questions, and how much tickets cost to attend different events. Kellen and I were talking like we were already on the team and going to Sochi. It was great! I miss them all already. It was fun to be around people as excited about your dream as you are.
Then came the waiting. A freak windstorm blew in which delayed my flight. After an hour, it died down enough for our plane to land. When we finally made it to the runway, we were getting ready to take off and they switched the direction of taxi. Instead of being first, we were 15th. More waiting. Luckily my stewardesses were working my flight from Denver to Dallas, so they couldn't leave without us. I made it home around midnight and dropped into bed.
This was one of my top 10 vacations ever! So much fun. I ordered my shop put to start training as soon as I got home. I just got it in the mail today. In the words of Sanka: "You know what my grandfather says? Get back to work!" Time to start training for next May. By this time next year, I could be on the US Bobsled team. So exciting!
So, I think my plan for this blog to keep everyone appraised of my training and any trips I'm going to take. I'll also post lots of video and pictures. Mom keeps sending me inspirational videos and quotes, and I'm going to post those too. This is as much for me now as you all. If you've made it this far down the post, you must really love me. I wouldn't blame you for dropping out at the intermission. Just post a comment or shoot me an email if you want to know anything else. I'd love to call and tell each of you all this, but it gets a bit redundant for me. I really appreciate all those history book writers in the world now. Just getting all this down has taken me hours. Can you even imagine being one of those monks that transcribed the entire Bible by hand? Ugh! I'm convinced that's why those Spanish monks invented chocolate. They would need a pick me up after all that writing. I think I do too. I'm off to find a little something to rejuvenate after all this typing. Have a great day!