Right on track for Sochi…

After a disappointing 5^th place at the 2010 Olympics in Whistler a new 4-year plan was put in place. Duff Gibson the Head coach of the Canadian Skeleton team since the spring of 2010 sat me down and said, “If you continue on to Sochi 2014 we have to focus on consistency at World Championships”. Having won the Overall World Cup title twice in my career that was a hard mental shift for me to make. I always want to be challenging for the Overall Crystal Globe, but after Whistler, I realized I want to challenge myself to see if I can learn how to race over 4 heats. Our 1^st opportunity was last season in Konigssee, Germany despite having a training altering foot injury I accomplished my goal of a consistent 4 heat race and won the Bronze medal at World Championships. A race that Duff & I are still both really proud of. At our post-season review we instantly started talking about Lake Placid, World Champs 2012… same game plan, 4 consistent heats…

This summer I made a risky decision to cross train by rodeoing. I felt I have spent more than half of my life on the road racing and in the weight room training, I wanted to work more on my mental game by barrel racing. I had the opportunity to be in a pressure situation over 50 times as I ran through a gate at either a rodeo or a jackpot trying to learn as much about my mental and emotional state through my horses. And the consequences are severe if you don’t have a handle on them!!! I found myself drawing on my World Cup/Olympic experience any time I felt tense on the back of my horse as I was warming up or heading up the long alley with a hot horse literally chomping at the bit to explode to 1^st barrel. As the World Cup season got underway I realized I made a great decision to cross train because I felt balanced yet I was pushing personal bests on the start pretty well every race!

We had a preseason training camp in Lake Placid in November and things finally clicked with Duff & I. He had been coaching me for a full season, but I was still used to the German way from my previous coach who I had worked with for 6 years. Surprisingly, I was seeing the ice differently… and I found that my sliding was full of awareness and I was going pretty fast too… our attainable goal was to win World Championships.

After 2 wins this season, including laying the demons to rest in Whistler,(whistler race video) I was feeling really confident that we were on track with our goal in Placid… More about the process than the result. All season I had consistent runs when weather or damaging equipment wasn’t a factor. Coming off of the World Cup finale in Calgary I was super disappointed. I was sitting in a 3-way tie for the silver medal to discover I hit concrete in the braking stretch after my 1^st run and destroyed 1 runner. My 2^nd run was technically a solid run but dirt slow, due to the daggers digging into the mile long track. I ended up dropping to 5^th spot and 4^th in the Overall World Cup standings… So I would not be pre selected for the next season and missed out on $10 000.00 in bonuses… As an amateur athlete the only way we can try to stay ahead of the game is to have results at critical times to qualify for grants/bonuses… Calgary was a really important race for me. I could have easily let a black cloud move in, but during the post race interviews Donna Spencer from Canadian Press asked me about Lake Placid and I instantly got excited! I was over the unfortunate situation and was focused on the goal we had set at the beginning of the season.

Momentum was working in Canada’s favor at World Championships in Lake Placid with our woman’s bobsleigh team Kaillie Humphries and Jenny Ciochetti dominated winning Gold and our men’s bobsleigh team Lyndon Rush and Jesse Lumsden claiming the silver. I was able to get 2 training runs down the track before our team event where we won the Bronze medal! So 3 events and 3 World Championship medals for Canada! My remaining 4 training runs were solid and I was feeling confident in my sliding heading into race day. I was sitting in 3^rd after the 1^st heat. A great run, but I was 15^th ranked on my start (5.50)… I was 16/100ths out from Gold, so I was frustrated that I was 1/10^th slower than my personal best on the start… 1/10^th is 2.5/10ths at the bottom of the track… I stepped it up a notch the 2^nd heat and pushed a 5.43, 2/100ths from my PB and moved into the silver medal position. Day 2 I was amazed of how relaxed I felt. Generally I am that type of competitor, but I did feel like I peaked emotionally for World Championships. Felt completely ready for the challenge. I was sitting 18/100ths out from the Gold medal. Again run 3 my start was slow a 5.51(15^th ranked) I had another consistent run but only gained 1/100^th on Katie the American who was holding down the Gold medal position. There were some interesting things unfolding behind me and not that far just 2/10ths; there was a battle between the 3 Great Brittan athletes and as we know anything can happen in this sport. Lizzy Yarnold this years Junior World Champion ended up moving ahead of the 2012 World Cup Champions Brit Shelley Rudman… such an impressive race by Lizzy and heartbreaking watching Shelley have a rough run and fall to 4^th for the 2^nd year in a row… As I was stretching for my 4^th and final run I noticed that I started to get a little tight in my shoulders… I recognized this instantly and said to myself… what would happen if I were in this space while on the back of my horse… It would be like a bomb going off… It was the perfect cue for me to stay emotionally present, confident and balanced. I was standing on the ice block as Shelley pushed off talking to Duff about my sled “White Lightning”. He didn’t know my sled was named after the song by George Jones… it was a comical conversation to have on the start line about 2 minutes from the time I was going to be pushing off, but it keep me in the right frame of mind… relaxed and confident.

I pushed a 5.43 (9^th), I could feel I was lower off the block and had more power to work with. I loaded on my sled and it was like everything was in slow motion and as I was sliding down the track I would get through difficult sections and it was like a checkpoint. Clean out of Shady 2…. low in 12… the last speed killer would be 14… and I came out on the left side so just for extra safety I held it over to the left until I was weightless going into 17 at 119.2km/hr the fastest speed of the heat and I got pretty excited!!! All I had to do was rely on my aerodynamics and muscle memory and I was pretty sure I had just won a World Championship medal… As I came up the braking stretch there were some track workers in the way of the clock but I stretched up as far as my back would let me so I could see my ranking… #1… Guaranteed Silver medal!!!! I was over the top ecstatic!! I would have to wait to see if my run would challenge for the Gold medal, but nonetheless I was so proud to have slid 4 consistent runs. Any color of medal would mean a pre selection for next season and I can try to earn back some of the bonuses that the Calgary race took away from me. I ran up the outrun to meet my boyfriend Paul and just like the win in Whistler it was better to share this exciting time with someone special.

I stood in the winner’s circle and watched American Katie Uhlaender fight her own demons, just days prior it was the 3 year anniversary of her Dad’s death, and she slid the exact same time as me and she won the Gold medal by just 17/100ths… what a fantastic race and I know how rewarding it is to stop the ghosts from haunting… Katie is also a 2 sport athlete, in fact this Sunday she will attempt to qualify for London 2012 in weight lifting.

It’s all about BALANCE in my opinion. I learned that lesson harshly when I failed to make the 2002 Olympic team… I will never again let this sport define me, but I will let it teach me great lessons about hard work, perseverance, teamwork, setting goals, communication and every day life skills. And I will appreciate every journey it takes me on whether that is standing on top of the podium or meeting amazing people. Every day I wake up I have gratitude…  The sliding season is over now and I start getting my horses in shape this week, hope to be ready to enter Medicine Hat Pro Rodeo at the end of April. This spring will be full of lots of school talks too so please fill out your application for me to come to your school to share lots of cool stories here: http://www.passionforexcellence.ca

You tube clips of Lake Placid Day 1 highlights Day 2 highlights  

9:34pm January 18^th I got the phone call we all dread… It was my stepmom Tammy calling me to let me know my Dad was in the hospital and they think he has a blockage in his heart… I was trying to retain all of the information she was giving me, but my mind started to spin out of control… Blockage? What does that mean? Surgery? What kind?? Repairs may be necessary depending on the damage… What damage?? I’m sure she repeated herself a few times in our conversation, but Tam has a way of being overly positive and when we got off the phone I was feeling pretty rational… for about 1 minute… When I called my boyfriend on Skype I couldn’t get the words out of my mouth without completely breaking down. Repeating the words “blockage” “heart” “damage” I panicked and couldn’t help but fear the worst. My Dad is a stubborn, tough Cowboy. He has broken pretty well every bone in his body a couple of times… Not exaggerating… 1 ankle 2x’s, 1 ankle 3x’s, 1 femur, 2 dislocated knee caps, 1 dislocated shoulder, 1 broken shoulder blade, 1 broken collar bone a couple of concussions and I shouldn’t forget about splitting his pelvis TWICE!!! So to think about his heart being broken how bad did it get before he caved and got help? It was an entire week… He thought it was his shoulder that was causing the pain and it took a week and for him to have symptoms that weren’t related to just general aches & pains and Tammy demanded that he get checked out. When they got to the Rimbey Hospital all of the standard tests were taken and nothing was jumping out at the nurses. Right before they were about to send him home, Tam mentioned that there is heart disease on both sides of Dad’s family, with my Grandad having his 1^st heart attack at age 35. It struck a cord with the nurse and she did a couple more tests. Finding his enzymes elevated all they could do was predict there is a blockage and Dad would be admitted and pumped full of pain killers and wait to be transferred to Edmonton hospital to undergo an angiogram to find out what is going on inside his heart.

I was over the top worried even with my teammates and friends reassuring me it’s a procedure that done everyday, the technology has come so far in the last decade he’ll be in and out. That was making me settle down a bit, but we still didn’t know what happening inside so the waiting game continued. I felt so guilty sitting alone in a hotel room half way across the world, when my family was going through a scary time. Tam was reassuring me I didn’t have to come and even told me to have fun and enjoy my race. GUILT… I know my family didn’t want me to feel this way and I know my Dad even begged Tam to not tell me because he wanted me to stay focused, but I would have been enraged if I didn’t know, not one race in the world is more important than my family. I started questioning what am I doing with my life? What if something goes terribly wrong and I’m tobogganing… I’d never forgive myself for the selfish life I live.

Needless to say I pretty well played myself out before our race in St. Moritz. Training was going the best I have every trained. Having split times that were in the top 6 against the men. When we showed up to the track at 730am Friday the snow started to come down. That’s what this year has been like; it wouldn’t feel like a race if the snow weren’t coming down. After having a snow filled groove and a run full of snowdrifts I was sitting in 16^th after the 1^st run. A personal worst (PW) for my career. Tyson our physio who has been a great addition to our team with his ambition and enthusiasm walked over to where I was set up in the start house and said “Remember Canada was down 6-1 and came back 6-5 in the 3^rd…” Not the position I’m used to being in, but again there was a lesson to be learned with this “gift” I was given and I would be going to the line with a fresh attitude. About 1 minute after my pep talk an announcement came over the intercom that the 2^nd heat would be cancelled and the race would be decided from the 1^st heat. I didn’t have any fight left in me, I didn’t think it was fair to keep the race, but that decision was out of my control. I’d be leaving Switzerland a track I have been on the podium 6 times in the last 7 years and dropping from 2^nd in the World Cup standings to 5^th…

Defeated… that’s the only way I can describe how I felt as I was hustling to get home to see my Dad. 3 trains, 1 cab, 1 shuttle & 2 planes later I was able to get my horses loaded up and now I’m at the ranch with my family until I leave for Whistler Thursday morning. It’s relieving to see my Dad and to give him a big hug. I’m thankful that we have a little break in our racing schedule so I can give my mind a bit of a break before we race in Whistler Feb 2 at 3pm PST. Family and Horse Therapy… sounds like a perfect remedy. 

This week in Konigssee, Germany has flown by! After an extremely emotional week in Altenberg, Germany I took a timeout and spent a day in Igls, Austria with my boyfriend Paul who was racing on the Europa cup circuit. A big snowstorm rolled in and the race I travelled to watch got cancelled so I was actually able to have a full day off, exactly what I needed to reenergize, collect my thoughts and be ready to race. The mood of the team was pretty low after the devastating crash with our bobsleigh team and a disappointing race in Altenberg. Not to mention we haven’t seen the sun since we left Calgary New Years Eve. Usually Konigssee has beautiful blue skies with majestic mountain peaks, but we would soon find out that our natural source of Vitamin D would be limited again. If there is one thing I have learned by living this travelling lifestyle it’s that I need to live in a place where we have sunshine!!! I much rather have blue sky & -20C than grey flurries and 0C.

I had great training this week listening to my coach Duff and changing some of my lines that I have used for my entire career. Its crazy how we are creatures of habit and sometimes so called “experience” or “age” can be a detriment to your success. I found myself nervous and leery to try something new because I was in the rut of just doing the same old thing. I was standing in Kreisel  (360 degree corner and possibly the hardest corner in the entire world) one day and fellow competitor Katherine Eustace asked me “are you still learning?” I wasn’t sure if I should have been embarrassed by my answer but I said “yes”. As a matter of fact I am learning so much this season from my coach Duff. I had a hard time last year with the transition from my German coach to Canadian coach. I was the type of athlete that just wanted to be told what to do and when to do it. Duff and I have come a long way with our communication over the last 2 seasons and I am finally grasping on to what he has been teaching… the “Geometry” of the ice. Its rare that we actually talk steers, its all about pressures and profiles. That way I rely completely on my reactions and it will never matter what kind of entry I have in a corner I will have the understanding of the ice to handle the profiles. 

Unfortunately my new way of driving the Konigssee track didn’t work in my favor for the race.  Even with costly mistakes in the Kriesel corner I made my way into the Bronze medal position. I was told it was the 30^th World cup medal of my career. After having some time to allow myself to be angry at how I performed, I was able to look at the bigger picture. I am extremely fortunate to be doing what I do… Having sport as my career that takes me around the world and meeting awesome people and learning things about life that you can’t through a textbook. I needed to give myself a swift kick in the butt for being so angry about my sliding. It then dawned on me that I do care. And this is the fuel that will be necessary to carry me to my goal of being back on the Olympic podium in Sochi in 2 years time.

Here’s a highlight from our race http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALLjoRbXJ4o&list=UUkr7c8lwpup_LfDV7hOQWsg&index=5&feature=plcp

The day following my race I got a 2^nd opportunity to call the men’s skeleton race for TV. Again I found myself grateful for how safe I exited the Kriesel turn during my race, even if I ruined my speed. The absolute carnage I saw during the men’s race gave me a newfound respect for that difficult corner. Even the men’s reigning World cup leader Martins Dukurs crashed out of the corner to end his winning streak at 8 races in a row. Honestly Martins is my absolute favorite athlete… He put it all out on the line and I really admire him for taking the risk that was necessary to take back the lead… Here’s the men’s highlights http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yauBV9jJ7qk&list=UUkr7c8lwpup_LfDV7hOQWsg&index=3&feature=plcp

We’ve just arrived to St. Moritz, Switzerland to the land of the rich and famous! We stick out like sore thumbs in our dirty Adidas gear amongst the tourist in their fur coats and Bentley’s… It’s the most unique track in the world being the only natural track that exists. The track is slightly different every year because the walls and profiles are built out of the snow and ice down the mountain using trees as support structures. It is definitely a privilege to be here and I promise you I will be enjoying every moment of this special place. We race Friday at 850am European time so cheer loud for the Canadians!

Altenberg Germany… A stop on tour that I dread every year because I’m waiting to see what bad incident is going to take place. Every year we have something drastic happen, whether I get too sick to race or have been sick early in the week so I don’t perform to my potential. Then there are the traumatic crashes that most sliders can say they have experienced on this track and had the ability to be able to walk away from it. This year the unimaginable happened where 3 of my bobsleigh teammates were rushed to hospital, 1 of them by an air ambulance…

Early in the week tensions were high as we were sliding on track record setting ice so making a mistake wasn’t an option. My teammate Sarah had a pretty bad crash in the punishing corner 4 on day 2. Even if its not you that crashes it can still have an effect on your confidence and I was traveling a fine line where I was scorpion style on the exit of that corner so the stress level was intense every run. I had a different game plan for our last day of training but when we woke up that morning a snowstorm had rolled in and tampered with the ice conditions so bad that training was canceled and we would go straight into the race 3 days later… Not ideal on a track that is extremely challenging with severe consequences, but that was the way the cookie crumbled.

That night as I walked into the dining room at our hotel I saw a Swiss bobsleigh coach that had a look on her face that I will never forget. I asked her “how did the snow affect your training?” “There’s been an accident… with team Canada” she stated. I immediately felt sick… those words aren’t just thrown around and with this Altenberg track its almost expected. “Some of your teammates have been air lifted to the hospital… it was Team Spring” she added.

I have been around this sport for more than half of my life and have seen many different kinds of athletes and personalities come and go… but Canada’s “Team Spring” has had the biggest impact on me. They literally are like the “Rudy” of Bobsleigh and this year they had a major break through on the World cup scene by out pushing some of the best teams in the world and breaking into the top 10 in the world. And whatever… those are just results. Chris Spring, Tim Randall, Bill Thomas, Graeme Rinholm & Derek Plug are some of the most unique, genuine fun-loving guys I have ever met. They define what a true TEAM means. On each of their Facebook pages you will find numerous pictures of the 5 of them together living the dream toward their Olympic journey. The 5 of them exude an overwhelming positive aura… HONESTLY! You can’t help but to smile or giggle when you see one of them because of their interesting choice in style (mullets & moustaches) or because they take the time to say hi and ask about your day.

As the night went on we were getting sporadic updates and some misinformation was getting cleared up on exactly what happened. The news that was relayed wasn’t good. Injuries sustained from a bobsled going through a roof at over 125km/hr and the result being that the sled wasn’t recognizable afterwards with shards of the wooden roof impaled in the fiberglass body, which inevitably made its way into the bodies of our Canadian athletes… Gruesome and an absolutely horrifying accident that I can’t even begin to imagine the pain and fear these athletes experienced. “Chris Spring, 27, was airlifted to Dresden University Hospital where he is in stable condition with a broken nose, lacerations and bruising sustained in the crash. Bill Thomas, 26, was ground transported via ambulance to Dresden University Hospital, and has been cleared of major back injury which was originally suspected.  Thomas is also recovering from various bruised lungs and minor trauma. Graeme Rinholm, 26, was ground transported to the local Pirna Hospital with a broken fibula, lacerations to his upper legs, buttocks and underlying musculature.” I’m sorry but I have to say what I think here… I read this excerpt from the press release and I feel we are desensitized from the reality of the situation. It makes me emotional that this traumatic incident has been summed up with words such as “stable” “minor trauma”. These lives will forever be changed… it is very possible an Olympic dream came to a crashing halt this day in Altenberg, Germany…

You might be reading this thinking “why are you being so negative? They are alive…” Of course I’m thankful they are alive! I feel I’m being more honest than negative. These hard working, talented athletes just experienced life changing and dream destroying trauma. Being active and competitive innately exists in these guys. It’s not your typical crash where you give a chummy punch to the chops saying you will be back in the saddle soon.

As you can tell I have been hugely affected by this incident so when I stood on the start line for my world cup race I had tears well up in my eyes. I felt guilty that I had the opportunity to do something we take for granted everyday as healthy, competitive athletes. I felt uneasy that I would be sliding down a track where my teammates blood lay. I was extremely emotional… Amy, Sarah & I decided to put the 5 Guys names on our sled to have them along with us as we represented Canada. When I put my sled down in the groove I read the 5 names and I remember while I was pushing thinking this is part they loved. The fast, explosive aggression we create off the block propelling our sleds to top speed. It pulled something out of me because despite the snow storm I still pushed a personal best, bettering my last fastest push set in Jan 2006 just before I won an Olympic medal. But when I loaded on my sled there was an eeriness that I just couldn’t shake. I had a pretty shaky run that was still good enough to put me in 5^th spot. Of course I was disappointed, I wanted to lay my fear of this track to rest this season… but it wasn’t meant to be this time. 5^th was good enough to reclaim the World Cup Leader yellow bib as we head to Konigssee, Germany racing this Friday.

The last update I had on the guys is Chris Spring & Graeme Rinholm will be kept in the hospital until their wounds are closed up enough that infection isn’t a risk. Bill Thomas will be released soon. As I head to Konigssee I have a great appreciation for life and the people who come into mine. We sometimes get so caught up in our lives and setting our goals and focusing on being FOCUSED… Its people like “Team Spring” who remind us we can be great at what we do, have fun while we do it & make those around us smile…

Here’s a video they made at the last world cup in Winterberg, Germany just before Christmas… ENJOY!!! Hearts on Fire http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe-xFJ8EMa0&sns=fb

I spent the money and time to talk to my family from Germany, even though I was going to be back in Canada in a couple of days. It was important for me to tell them that I love them… I’m anxious to spend some time with my loved ones because we just never know when it might be the last time. We have a break for about 10 days before back on a plane on New Year’s Eve… that should be an interesting flight! My hiccup in Winterberg didn’t hurt me as bad as I thought, I will be back competing the 1^st weekend of January as the #2 ranked slider in the World. Next race Altenberg, Germany January 7.

La Plagne, France!

Race highlights

http://www.youtube.com/user/bobskeletv

This stop on tour was a last minute replacement when the 2006 Olympic track in Cesana, Italy was cancelled. I was somewhat disappointed when the international federation made the change 1) I have had a little bit of success in Cesana and 2) I haven’t slid La Plagne in 11 years… I wasn’t so sure if I was wanted to go back to this abrupt , high g-force track. All I could remember about this track was that a new roof system had to be installed because sleds were actually getting launched out of the track… Great… just what my nerves needed… My 1^st run down the track I had an unexpected hit between corners 10 & 11 and I got lost… I was panicking trying to regain my whereabouts so I could get prepared for the deadly corner 15 where the g-forces are so strong barely anyone can go through it without their foreheads dragging on the ice and you can actually see the bodies get crushed into the corner as it hairpins to the right at 125km/hr…. I got to the bottom, disoriented & completely shaken up.

I had no idea what had happened. I was talking with teammates and my coach Duff hoping that something in our conversation would trigger what went wrong…. How did I get lost? I don’t remember the last time I experienced something like that… maybe when we 1^st slid the Torino track in 2004… but it has been a very long time since I have been lost on a track… thankfully I figured out where my hit happened about 5 sliders before it was time to go down again and I had a little more confidence as I threw myself off the top for a 2^nd run. We only had 8 runs to figure out this difficult intimidating track so as a team we spent hours everyday talking about the corners what each of us were experiencing in each corner and watching video. We were up at 6 every morning to get to the track to walk it and study the profiles. We were the 1^st team to arrive everyday and the last team to leave. Watching every sled in every corner to soak up every opportunity to learn. Needless to say it didn’t take very long before exhaustion set it. Especially at approx. 10 000ft altitude. Still getting workouts in and 3 meals… And find some time for balance… right now the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in Las Vegas, NV are going on, so I was eager to get results and watch highlights and I was fortunate to watch every round of the barrel racing, even catching a new arena record set by Carlee Peirce!!!! And then for our Canadian girl Lindsay Sears to be crowned new World Champion… it made me miss home, miss my horses Rascal & Pepi but it also gave me that extra bit of energy I needed to look forward to March when I can get my horses back in shape and hit the rodeo trail myself.

Training had gone pretty well for the Canadians, but training is training I never have expectations for a race. I was approached by FIBT TV to do the color commentating for the men’s race on Friday. I hesitated for a moment; thinking maybe I should stay rested and focused on my own race. But I quickly dismissed that concern… now is the time to be taking every opportunity possible to learn about myself. If I can’t call a race the day before my own race because it’s going to mess with my plan, then I need to toughen up! It was a great experience sitting beside Martin Haven, he made it a comfortable learning environment even tho it was live TV!

I had to get up at 520am the morning of my race to get my stim workout in. That was the only issue with the TV gig, it cut into my pre race workout, but again being an experimental year perfect opportunity to see which schedule is best. I definitely feel comfortable in the competitive environment. Race Days seem just like any other day. I assume having 17 years of this experience has helped get into this mind frame, but I honestly think it was my time spent this summer on the rodeo circuit help me feel like this is a normal environment.

I drew #3 right after my teammate Sarah Reid #2 and as I stood on the block I felt comfortable but without expectations. La Plagne has a long flat start and we all joke that it’s a start for endurance athletes because we have to take a couple more steps than most starts…. I had a decent run and came down with a time of 63.00 and was good enough to be sitting in 1^st. As the rest of the field slid, I held onto my lead by almost 3/10ths of a second and I would be “the last woman standing” at the top for the 2^nd run (that’s what the announcer kept saying over and over again! Ahaha) I didn’t run far enough on my 1^st run so I asked the guys on my team to help me out. I needed a verbal cue for when it was time for me to load on my sled. Our plan was either going to be golden or it was going to be a disaster. As we talked about how they were going to cue me, I suggested that when I get to my point to load they yell “NOW”… I could see the look on their face that they weren’t comfortable with that plan. They suggested that when they stop yelling I load. I was putting so much trust in them… and I had a lot to lose if it didn’t work and I got distracted.

We always have a big break between runs so I take this opportunity to reenergize and I take time for myself. How I spend this time is always different and it’s very personal. But this picture says it all!!! (stay tuned for picture)

Tyson Plesuk our new team physio has been the glue to our team this year. We are guaranteed entertainment and I’ve never worked with someone who cares as much as Tyson does, he gets pretty nervous before our races so I’ve had to use some of my sport psych experience with him… its ok Tyson, you will be conditioned and ready by the time we are in Sochi!!! ;)

Being the last one at the top can be a little lonely, but I kept thinking about my horses and remembering what I learned this summer, how I stayed connected with them after our warm ups and ready for our run… it was amazing how much the mental & emotional game transfers over. As I was walking to the line, Annie O’Shea of USA rocketed off a brand new start record… This could be distracting if I let be, but I’m not racing Annie, I’m against the clock, working with my sled and the ice… making my own story. She had a great down time and secured at the very least a Silver medal for her country and her very 1^st podium appearance in her career. I actually remember feeling happy for her as I approached the block and I was immersed in the American celebrations.

I was standing on the block relaxed and emotionally numb… this sounds sadistic but what I have learned this is part of the plan. Zero expectations. When I’m on my sled I am present and flowing, not mechanical and irrational. I have a slight mis-step off of the block but I fight threw it and the only intentional focus I have is listening and trusting my teammates that they will tell me when to load on the sled, and trust myself that I have the ability to run that far and to have the agility to time my load. It works out perfectly and I end up improving my start by 6/100ths and a 6^th place ranking! I have another consistent run and unlike my 1^st run down the track at the beginning of the week I know exactly where I am and of course being critical of my mistakes as I am sliding at 123km/hr down the French Olympic track. As I am sliding up the outrun I am looking for someone to tell me the result of the race, all the clocked showed was my current down time, but I don’t know how that compared to the rest of sliders. Everyone was looking at me with blank faces… so I wasn’t sure if I had won or lost… I had to ask my manager Scott what happened and he non-chalauntly told me I had won… Huge relief… 1^st Gold in 2 years… La Plagne, France was very good to me today…

We are headed to Winterberg, Germany for the last World Cup before the Christmas break… I will get to wear the yellow jersey as the World Cup leader so make sure you wish all of our team the best of luck when we race Friday & Saturday!

http://eurovision.digotel.com/fibt/index.html or http://www.cbcsports.ca for live streaming

Another great start to a World Cup season with a Bronze medal performance in Igls, Austria!! I had a lot of reflection this week, as this was the 3^rd track I ever slid on in my career and won a bronze medal here in 1996. I also won my 1^st World Championship medal here in 2000 (silver). As a competitor of course the goal is to be the best, but for some reason where I am at in my career and my life I’ve completely stopped thinking about the end result… given up on expectations and solely focus on the process and my self-awareness. This is my 17^th year of sliding!!! I can remember the days where I’d stand in the phone booth at the end of the street to call home to my parents and receive “GOOD LUCK” faxes from home… I have no idea how my folks allowed me to tour the world on my own when I was 16 without being worried sick about me, but I thank them for allowing me to live my life and pursue my dreams.

Even tho I am a dinosaur at this game, believe it or not I am still learning so much. I made a big decision this summer to rodeo professionally in Canada, mainly because I wanted to put myself in pressure situations as much as possible in a competitive environment. I wanted to improve on my self-awareness. In a World cup skeleton season I will only get 9 opportunities to race. This summer I bet I ran through the gates at a rodeo or jackpot 50 times… every time I was putting my self in a situation where I could learn and hopefully I could translate it to my skeleton career. Not to forget it has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl to be a Professional Barrel racer with big dreams of someday running at the biggest rodeos in North America.  With my mounts “Rascal” & “Pepi” I had some memorable experiences learning so much about horsemanship, training, therapy and competition… With this crazy busy summer I decided that my dry land training would be put on hold, needing a rest but trusted that my fitness would be kept up by the functional work it takes to ride and take care of my horses. I also wanted to focus on my health, after a full season of being injured I wanted to give my body a break from the training.

This proved to be one of the smartest decisions I have ever made when I came back to the Icehouse this fall and pushed a personal best time. And I have actually found since I’ve turned my horses out for them to get rest and for me to focus on training for skeleton, I am in worse shape!!! We’ve joked that now all of my team members are going to start riding horses for next year’s dry land program! That being said I’m not in terrible shape because I pushed a new personal best here in Austria a 5.52 and previously it was a 5.55 from the 2005/06 season… sure wish I could have Rascal & Pepi here on tour. 

My horses are a big part of “My Team”, but I am extremely fortunate to have a fantastic “skeleton” team this season. This is the happiest I have ever been on tour. We have a great dynamic with both the men’s & woman’s teams. Everyone is respectful and supportive of each other and I appreciate every day I get to spend with this elite group of people. I know I stood on the podium today, but I honestly feel it was our team’s medal with all the hard work we did to figure this track out.

We head out to La Plange, France tomorrow a track I haven’t been to in 10 years… I look forward to our teamwork to break down this track and of course experience some of the culture we haven’t been exposed to in a very long time!

Keep tabs on us on http://eurovision.digotel.com/fibt/index.html  or http://www.cbcsports.ca for live streaming during our races, next race is Dec 10 at 9am European CST

I haven’t had the chance to write about the beginning of my new venture on the Rodeo trail, but the experience I had this past Sunday at Hand Hills Pro Rodeo was like no other. I have been very fortunate to be supported in this decision to buy my Pro Permit to Barrel Race by my sponsors, family, friends, media and the rodeo community. To put it simply my intentions are to JUST DO IT! I’ve dreamt about barrel racing and riding at the big rodeos since I was a little girl and when the opportunity presented itself I’d be an absolute fool to not take it. In my opinion we have to participate in those experiences in life that make us TICK… otherwise what’s the point? Of course there is always that little voice in our heads that is questioning… “Is this the right decision?” Or there could be people that are asking that question, but I believe in following your heart and your gut feeling even if that is all the support you will feel in your decision… because it is your life… LIVE IT…

I hadn’t planned on all the attention my decision to Barrel Race created. Always have to love a proud Dad… who happens to casually mention to a writer for a paper that I will be on the Rodeo circuit this summer. Yes Dad I love you, Chris my PR rep may not, but I do!! Well before I even got to run through the gate at my first Rodeo in Grande Prairie, AB the phone was ringing and emails were flying for interviews. I’ve always accepted this role graciously as an Olympian, believing it is my role to represent my sport and my country under a microscope. I quickly realized I will always wear my Olympian hat no matter what I do with my life, so I accepted this role and hoped that rodeo community and the Skeleton community would be supportive.

After a wild 1^st barrel at Grande Prairie, clocking no where near the leader that voice in my head questioned my decision… I barely got my horse to a stop outside the arena and 2 reporters where there for my comments on my run. To objectively look at my run it could be defined as major disappointment… but I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face… I finally got to realize an experience of a lifetime, to run at one of the biggest rodeos in Canada, the 1^st time I was physically in the arena instead of sitting in the stands…

There is more to this decision than just self-satisfaction. Let’s be honest, I have been competing for 16 years on the World Cup Skeleton tour and I have 1 Olympic medal, 2 Overall World Cup titles and 2 World Championship medals… A devastating drop from an Olympic Silver medal to 5^th spot at the 2010 Olympics probably sums it up the best. I am in search of some deep self-awareness… This is my ultimate goal with taking on my new challenge in the Rodeo arena. Partnering up with my best bud “Rascal” and learning how to trust my instincts and knowing that my horse will teach me with severe consequences if I’m out of balance physically and emotionally. To be in a competitive, pressure environment all summer long will give me more opportunities to experience what I go through during the Skeleton tour in the winter. Taking in this experience can only make me more self-aware and be more prepared as I trek forward to get back on the Olympic podium in Sochi in 2014.

So back to this past Sunday and how things turned around. I became a better skeleton athlete when I realized it was important to be grounded and bring a piece of home with me while touring the world. My background of rodeo and my family always brings me to a balanced, calm state while sliding against the best in the world. Sunday at Hand Hills, AB I brought a piece of Skeleton to the rodeo world when my Olympic teammate and friend Amy Gough jumped in my rodeo rig. Poor Amy up at 530am to make sure she wasn’t going to be late for me has coffee and breakfast ready and is knocking on my door at 6am so we can get on the trail. She endured one of the longest rodeos in Canada leaving covered in dirt, burnt to a crisp and exhausted. Amy made things easy for me helping me when my truck battery died (my fault for leaving my horse trailer plugged into my truck for the week) and we had to wiggle my Dilawri Hyundai Santa Fe to boost my truck. She was there when that little voice inside my head was questioning… “What are you doing?” “Is this the right decision?” She was that comfortable consistency I lean on in the winter months and makes me laugh, allowing me to enjoy the time spent away from home. She was the sport psych for Brook Robertson, my travelling partner and me, grounding us and drawing perspective while our minds were trying to get the best of us. I confided in Amy about my nerves and questioning if I am out of my league and she supported me with her last words before I went for my warm up “No expectations”… that brought me back to earth and allowed my mind to be quiet. All of a sudden I felt very similar to how I feel when I’m sliding down the Skeleton track. I started to notice that Rascal and I were flowing together in our warm up, unlike how Grande Prairie and Bonneyville had gone. I had calm conversations with other competitors like I do when I’m on World Cup and then it came time for the Barrel Race…

I was out early… #5. Brook and I had been sitting together to calm our horses and honestly calm ourselves doing our visualizations and final preparations. Brook rode me up to the gate (sometimes horses can get hot before getting in the arena so its always good to keep them as calm as possible with their buddy horse) I rode into the arena and felt the exact same rush of calmness through my body, the same feeling I experience when the announcer says “track is clear” on the Skeleton track. I lined up for 1^st barrel and gave the reins to Rascal. He tracked great going to 1^st barrel tripping slightly in a sink hole from all the rain from days before. I felt him stumble and instead of over reacting and trying to jerk his head up I gave him more rein and I remember thinking, “I trust you, I know you can keep our feet on the ground” I sat deep in my saddle going into the 1^st with the intention to have him rate the barrel, sit down and turn. The last 2 rodeos we have blown past the 1^st barrel and our “circle” had turned into a “square”. But this time he sat and slid to turn 1^st. Brook had told me to be ready he needs help ¾’s of the way around 1^st he stalls out and I could feel it start to happen so I started to help him forward with the intention to get his butt blowing out of there! Rascal likes to dive at 2^nd and 3^rd barrel (both right hand turns) so my next focus was to ride him to the fence… all I was looking at was that fence!! I trusted that he wouldn’t run into it, but I knew if I hesitated at all before the barrel he would feel my body position and he would start to rate and turn on top of the barrel. I got him to the spot and he turned great. I chickened out slightly going to 3^rd … I needed to pick up my outside rein and help him get to his pocket, but because he is powerful and I wanted to focus on riding past the 3^rd barrel I sacrificed my rein and focused on my balance in my seat and kept kicking. We were a bit wide coming off of the barrel because of my decision, and Rascal coasted home… so I learned I need a whip!! But we clocked a time that was only 2/10ths out of a pay check… I was so excited when I left that arena I had the biggest smile on my face and I still do 2 days later as I write this blog.

I still don’t have expectations, even with the success of Hand Hills. I’m excited to challenge myself and to go through the lovely highs and lows of sport. More importantly I feel proud that I am taking a RISK in doing something that makes me the happiest I’ve ever been. I feel so fortunate to have this opportunity, to have sponsors like TAQA North, AB Glass, The Dilawri Automotive Group and Edwards Garage. To have a travelling partner like Brook who is my mentor/coach/friend. I am so looking forward to a summer filled with lessons, hardships and maybe even a pay check!!!

Click Here to read the Herald Tribune article.

Photo courtesy of: Terry Farrell/Herald-Tribune staff.

So I've had to be somewhat quiet about my summer plans, but I can finally share my new venture with everyone! I've bought my Pro Permit and I am going to be doing my best to soak up every second of this opportunity... What is the line... 3 Barrels, 2 Hearts, 1 Dream... 

(Click here to read the Calgary Herald article)