Peace Be The Journey

Last week was a blast! I was in driving school here in Park City. I broke for Katelyn here last year, but I'd never driven this track before. It is silky smooth compared to Lake Placid. Long, super smooth curves compared to Placid. That's the only other track I've ever driven, so this is a night and day difference. I was in driving school with Hunter Church. We switched off driving and braking for each other. He is in the juniors program in Lake Placid. This is a development program for kids under the 16. He's been driving from Start 4 for several years now, but this was his first track to go off the top. And we moved up and made it down the day before his 16th birthday. He handled is like a champ. I'm not saying we didn't have a sketchy run or two, but he did really well. His dad is our new sled mechanic in Lake Placid, and he took these pictures. Thanks Tom! My first day pushing from the drivers bar. I made it in. I'm a real driver now. Exit o...

I'm writing to you from snowy Utah. It's been quite a month, and I've seen more of the US than I can recall. I'm not even sure where to start. Mom and I drove out to Lake Placid at the end of September. It was a blasty, blast. We deemed it the Fall Foliage Tour. I drove up to Kansas after work on Thursday. Friday we made it to Columbus, Ohio. Kansas. Missouri. Illinois. Indiana. Ohio. What a day! Indiana. Perfect weather. Patio. College football. Salad. BBQ bacon burger. Key lime pie. Enough said. Saturday was an adventure. We made a side trip and dunked our toes in Lake Erie. You could tell we were the Midwesterners, as we were standing ankle deep in cold water in shorts and sweatshirts. Everyone else at the park was in shoes, pants and coats. It really wasn't chilly enough for all those clothes. We made a stop in Buffalo for supper with Linz and Zach. It was great to see them, check out their abode and eat at one of their favorite restaurants. We drove to ...

I'm back in Lake Placid at the Olympic Training Center. It feels a little strange to be back, but now that I've been here a week, it's starting to feel like my second home again. I still have to pinch myself to believe I am here getting ready for my second season with the bobsled team. Such a privilege! I'll admit I was nervous coming back to train with the girls that have been here this summer. I've been working hard, but I wasn't sure how this week would go. I came out to get in some push training before the upcoming push championships. Here's some proof of my hours in the gym this summer. That's John in the background lecturing me on form while I'm just trying to stay on the ball doing one of his crazy ab workouts. I arrived in Lake Placid on Sunday and had my first push track session Monday. It was great to be pushing a sled again, and it went better than I anticipated. I guess I expected to feel just like last year, when I came in knowing ab...