Peace Be The Journey

I'm back in America! Canada was fun, but I'm glad to be back in the good, old U-S-of-A. If you haven't kept up with my Twitter or Facebook updates, this will be quite the read for you. Break out the coffee now, cause this is long one. If you need a nap half way through, I'll completely understand. I was busy in Calgary, to say the least. I forgot to mention last post the sled debacle at the Canadian/US border. The 2 & 4-man sleds for USA 3 & 4 were shipped on an FIBT (The Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing) truck along with sleds from Lichtenstein and Korea. All the shipped sleds on tour are trucked together to each location. Each sled is packed in a crate (aka a big, heavy wooden box) and must have a carne (Yes, it is pronounced like carne asada steak). A carne is essentially a passport for everything in the crate to make it across international borders. The cost to ship a sled on America's Cup tour is approximately $90...

I made it across the border. Welcome to Calgary! Prepare yourself for lots of Cool Runnings references, since this is the home track of the movie. Sineaid, Megan, Katelyn and I headed to Canada on Saturday afternoon. But first things first. The 4-man races were held on Friday and Saturday. Sineaid and I were at the finish dock for both races. It was super intense, and this is just America's Cup. I can't imagine being at the finish line at the World Championships or the Olympics. Crazy! All you can do is listen to announcers and watch the clock tick by. We were excited to hold up number 1 for the American sleds as they went by. They come to a stop all cheering and thumping the sides of the sled. Then they all unfold themselves out sled like clowns in a mini car. They're all bleeding from spiking each other. It's just insanity! USA 3 on their way to a gold medal finish On Friday, USA 3 (Butner, Nix, Clark and Berkeley) ended up in first place over USA 4 (Cunnin...

Wednesday was my first race day, and I was ready to push fast!  I feel the need, the need for speed! Katelyn and I were sled number 6 of 6 in the women's competition on Wednesday. We were last off for the first heat. The women's competition consisted of 3 Olympian/World Cup status sleds and 3 America's Cup status sleds. Aka, 3 experienced sleds way ahead of 3 rookie sleds. We ended up in last place after the first heat, so we were the first off for the second heat. The second heat is always in reverse order of the finishes from the first heat. So, we got back up to the top, flipped the sled, didn't even get to finish sanding the runners and then our sled was whisked away to the ice box. It all happened so fast, but we made it. We ended up in 6th place, which is still a podium finish! Can't believe I just finished racing for Team USA! Dream come true!!! I can't stop smiling!!! Day 2 was just as amazing. With one of the top sleds out for the second r...