Tough Enough?
It's been an interesting week and half at the OTC. I think this was my first Thanksgiving away from family, made my first snowman in New York, the band got back together, and crash #4 is in the books. Things are always exciting around here.
Tuesday was the first big snow of the season here in Lake Placid. I had great snowball fight with Mr. Greg West and built this little guy. I also made a few snow angels to complete the outing. Fun day.
Wednesday I headed out to the track for a track walk with a bunch of skeleton athletes. It was my first full track walk in Lake Placid, and it was interesting to hear how the track varies for skeleton athletes. I definitely enjoyed watching Coach Greg do his thing. He was helping out some friends with lines, and he'd make a great skeleton coach someday.
Thanksgiving was very different, but much the same. I still ate Turkey and pie, watched college football and enjoyed a lazy day. The difference was that I was with a new family this year. Most of the athletes headed home for the holiday, but there were about 20 of us here at the OTC. The cafeteria staff was nice enough to come in and cook us a great lunch before heading to be with their families. The pumpkin roll dessert was amazing! Something about that cream cheese frosting and pumpkin cake...Mmm, mmm, mmm! Then Ms. Bree Schaaf (Olympian) and Ms. Megan Hill (Awesome rookie driver) made some homemade pecan pie. Megan's grandma's special recipe. Again, mmm, mmm, mmm... Megan, Bree and I polished off a whole pie by ourselves. It was a day of indulgence!
The second pie was placed in the cafeteria and was up for grabs. Coach Dionne enjoyed a couple pieces on Saturday evening while he reminisced about the glory days. Great stories! He left one piece in the pan. It would have been an injustice to leave that one piece all alone in the cafeteria all night with no one to keep it company. I grabbed a fork and finished it off. I was talking to Adam about it the next morning at breakfast.
Me: I finished off the pecan pie last night. That was dang good pie.
Adam: Did you just say "Dang good pie"? That was cute. Do you really not swear?
Me: Nope.
Adam: What would it take for you to swear?
Me: More than that pie.
Adam: And obviously more than a bobsled crash too.
Good times with good friends. It was fun getting the band back together this last weekend after the break. The ghost town started to populate on Sunday afternoon. All the boys, Sineaid and Katelyn came back into town, and I realized again how special this environment is. I may never be in this place with these people ever again. This time in my life definitely got that freshman year of college feel to it. You move into a new life and make all new friends, and they will always be very special to you for that reason. They were the first ones to make an impression on you. They had all these first time experiences with you. They are and always will be very special to me.
As for the sliding, I've had ups and downs (literally). Monday was the start of official training, and our first day of sliding since the epic race crash in Calgary. Speaking of which, I received an unexpected email this week. Ms. Jackie Higgins, who was our third brakeman in Calgary, forwarded me an email from a professional photographer. Her uncle was at the races and met this man. He happened to be in Kreisel snapping photos when Katelyn and I crashed. He was surprised I walked away from the crash and glad I was alright. These are some of the sweetest pictures I've ever been in. EPIC!
As I said, we started official training on Monday from Start 3. Megan, Katelyn and Collin were all going from the lower start. Katelyn hadn't driven in Lake Placid since driving school last March. I was a little nervous, but we made it down on all four. The ice was slow (thank goodness!), and we weren't going as fast from Curve 4. Here are some pictures from our first day back in Placid.
Tuesday, we moved straight up to the top. Luckily, it was snowing, so the track was slower. The track workers normally spritz the ice to speed it up. They typically have a nozzle on the end of a hose and spray a fine mist that freezes. I'm not sure the reasoning, but they took the nozzle completely off. It was like having a fire hose running. Then three guys with high powered leaf blowers were trying to freeze the water. They were unsuccessful, to say the least. There was a river of water all the way down the track. It was like the flume ride at Magic Mountian. Craziness! Sleds going down were throwing up a spray in their wake. Skidding definitely ensued.
We have a new girl trying out bobsled for the first time this week. She was set to slide with Katelyn, but Katelyn requested I take her first run from the top. She said she would feel more comfortable with me in the back on her first trip down. This was a level of trust I didn't realize we had. I'm glad to know she trusts me, especially in emergency situations (like the several crashes we've had together). That's a trust builder for sure. Again, we made it across the finish line on all four, although we were on two runners a couple of times on the way down. Ashley took the next two runs, and they made it down without incident. Mr. Cody Bascue and Mr. Jeremy Ware crashed on their second run. I've never actually seen a sled flip all the way over, but they did. They're both okay, but it was scary to watch.
Wednesday, the men were practicing for 4-man. They finished their two runs to qualify, but USA 4 did it with a flare. Mr. Nick Cunningham lost control out of Curve 18 and dumped them on their side. They crossed the finish line, so it counted toward their 2 runs. I was talking to the Mr. Kevin Ives (3 seat) once they made it back to the top. His account made me laugh. Around Curve 18 he couldn't figure out why it was so loud compared to a normal run. He opened his eyes to see ice right by his head. Much closer than normal. It takes us awhile to realize a sled has crashed, especially in Lake Placid. It's so rough here, that we're pretty used to hitting hard in and out of curves. Only when our helmets drag on the ice, do we typically realize things are out of control. It was all of the brakemen's first crash, and I again realized that four men wearing spikes in a metal box is really not a great plan. They all came out alright, but there were some nasty looking gouges. Katelyn helped me experience a first on Wednesday too. She had a great first run going when we hit the top lip in Curve 17 really hard. I'm glad they put a lid on this track! It keeps us from rocketing off into space!
Then came our runs today. The first one was out of control. I'm glad we made it, but when your driver uses phrases like, "I don't know how I saved that one," or "I had to suicide steer off of 18," it doesn't build my confidence level. I was praying hard before that second run. "God, just get us to the bottom!" We were having another rough run when Curve 12 did us in. Once again, I was in a horrible position in the sled, cannon-balled up behind Katelyn's seat. Around Curve 17, I was getting shook out. I came out around Curve 19 and crawled out of the track. Since Curve 17-20 are all uphill, the sled slides backward in the track. It usually pendulums between 18 and 19 before coming to a stop at the low point. Once the sled flew past me backwards, I hopped back in the track and grabbed all the shoe covers that had fallen out on my way to the pull-out dock. They were smart enough to build a dock at the low point to pull out all the sleds that crash. The track workers got our sled up there, we loaded it on the truck, and we headed to the garage. Just another day at the office.
As for the sliding here in Lake Placid, I'm apparently one tough cookie. Dak told me today that I'm one of the toughest people he knows. I took it as a compliment. I don't consider myself all that tough, but I wasn't about to argue. When I think tough, I think of a girl who could win in a fight. I've never been in a fight, but I'm pretty sure I'm way to nice to actually fight someone. But I do, after all, hold the United States Championship belt, so that will at least make me look tough.
Gotta get some sleep and rest up from today. Big race day tomorrow! Can't wait to hit the sled and see what kinds of times Katelyn and I can put up. IT'S GO TIME!
Tuesday was the first big snow of the season here in Lake Placid. I had great snowball fight with Mr. Greg West and built this little guy. I also made a few snow angels to complete the outing. Fun day.
Wednesday I headed out to the track for a track walk with a bunch of skeleton athletes. It was my first full track walk in Lake Placid, and it was interesting to hear how the track varies for skeleton athletes. I definitely enjoyed watching Coach Greg do his thing. He was helping out some friends with lines, and he'd make a great skeleton coach someday.
Thanksgiving was very different, but much the same. I still ate Turkey and pie, watched college football and enjoyed a lazy day. The difference was that I was with a new family this year. Most of the athletes headed home for the holiday, but there were about 20 of us here at the OTC. The cafeteria staff was nice enough to come in and cook us a great lunch before heading to be with their families. The pumpkin roll dessert was amazing! Something about that cream cheese frosting and pumpkin cake...Mmm, mmm, mmm! Then Ms. Bree Schaaf (Olympian) and Ms. Megan Hill (Awesome rookie driver) made some homemade pecan pie. Megan's grandma's special recipe. Again, mmm, mmm, mmm... Megan, Bree and I polished off a whole pie by ourselves. It was a day of indulgence!
Me: I finished off the pecan pie last night. That was dang good pie.
Adam: Did you just say "Dang good pie"? That was cute. Do you really not swear?
Me: Nope.
Adam: What would it take for you to swear?
Me: More than that pie.
Adam: And obviously more than a bobsled crash too.
Good times with good friends. It was fun getting the band back together this last weekend after the break. The ghost town started to populate on Sunday afternoon. All the boys, Sineaid and Katelyn came back into town, and I realized again how special this environment is. I may never be in this place with these people ever again. This time in my life definitely got that freshman year of college feel to it. You move into a new life and make all new friends, and they will always be very special to you for that reason. They were the first ones to make an impression on you. They had all these first time experiences with you. They are and always will be very special to me.
As for the sliding, I've had ups and downs (literally). Monday was the start of official training, and our first day of sliding since the epic race crash in Calgary. Speaking of which, I received an unexpected email this week. Ms. Jackie Higgins, who was our third brakeman in Calgary, forwarded me an email from a professional photographer. Her uncle was at the races and met this man. He happened to be in Kreisel snapping photos when Katelyn and I crashed. He was surprised I walked away from the crash and glad I was alright. These are some of the sweetest pictures I've ever been in. EPIC!
As I said, we started official training on Monday from Start 3. Megan, Katelyn and Collin were all going from the lower start. Katelyn hadn't driven in Lake Placid since driving school last March. I was a little nervous, but we made it down on all four. The ice was slow (thank goodness!), and we weren't going as fast from Curve 4. Here are some pictures from our first day back in Placid.
 |
| Sineaid was tightening the foot pegs after we rolled the sled. |
 |
| Dak loving NY |
 |
| Blanford with his stately towel scarf |
We have a new girl trying out bobsled for the first time this week. She was set to slide with Katelyn, but Katelyn requested I take her first run from the top. She said she would feel more comfortable with me in the back on her first trip down. This was a level of trust I didn't realize we had. I'm glad to know she trusts me, especially in emergency situations (like the several crashes we've had together). That's a trust builder for sure. Again, we made it across the finish line on all four, although we were on two runners a couple of times on the way down. Ashley took the next two runs, and they made it down without incident. Mr. Cody Bascue and Mr. Jeremy Ware crashed on their second run. I've never actually seen a sled flip all the way over, but they did. They're both okay, but it was scary to watch.
Wednesday, the men were practicing for 4-man. They finished their two runs to qualify, but USA 4 did it with a flare. Mr. Nick Cunningham lost control out of Curve 18 and dumped them on their side. They crossed the finish line, so it counted toward their 2 runs. I was talking to the Mr. Kevin Ives (3 seat) once they made it back to the top. His account made me laugh. Around Curve 18 he couldn't figure out why it was so loud compared to a normal run. He opened his eyes to see ice right by his head. Much closer than normal. It takes us awhile to realize a sled has crashed, especially in Lake Placid. It's so rough here, that we're pretty used to hitting hard in and out of curves. Only when our helmets drag on the ice, do we typically realize things are out of control. It was all of the brakemen's first crash, and I again realized that four men wearing spikes in a metal box is really not a great plan. They all came out alright, but there were some nasty looking gouges. Katelyn helped me experience a first on Wednesday too. She had a great first run going when we hit the top lip in Curve 17 really hard. I'm glad they put a lid on this track! It keeps us from rocketing off into space!
Then came our runs today. The first one was out of control. I'm glad we made it, but when your driver uses phrases like, "I don't know how I saved that one," or "I had to suicide steer off of 18," it doesn't build my confidence level. I was praying hard before that second run. "God, just get us to the bottom!" We were having another rough run when Curve 12 did us in. Once again, I was in a horrible position in the sled, cannon-balled up behind Katelyn's seat. Around Curve 17, I was getting shook out. I came out around Curve 19 and crawled out of the track. Since Curve 17-20 are all uphill, the sled slides backward in the track. It usually pendulums between 18 and 19 before coming to a stop at the low point. Once the sled flew past me backwards, I hopped back in the track and grabbed all the shoe covers that had fallen out on my way to the pull-out dock. They were smart enough to build a dock at the low point to pull out all the sleds that crash. The track workers got our sled up there, we loaded it on the truck, and we headed to the garage. Just another day at the office.
As for the sliding here in Lake Placid, I'm apparently one tough cookie. Dak told me today that I'm one of the toughest people he knows. I took it as a compliment. I don't consider myself all that tough, but I wasn't about to argue. When I think tough, I think of a girl who could win in a fight. I've never been in a fight, but I'm pretty sure I'm way to nice to actually fight someone. But I do, after all, hold the United States Championship belt, so that will at least make me look tough.Gotta get some sleep and rest up from today. Big race day tomorrow! Can't wait to hit the sled and see what kinds of times Katelyn and I can put up. IT'S GO TIME!