Closing the Gap

Since arriving in Lake Placid I’ve closed the gap on my fellow development athletes considerably. The only people who are beating me right now are those who have considerably more practice time than me. I have between 10 and 20 days less practice time than everyone else because I came out a week later than everyone else and couldn’t / didn’t come to a week long optional practice camp in January. I’ve gradually been picking up time on everyone as the days go by and by our races this weekend I’m hoping to place near the front of the pack. We have 6 races (2 each on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday). The results of these races will determine who is able to return to back next year without having to pay. This is a pretty big deal as it costs $50 / day to stay and eat at the Olympic Training Center.

The Empire State Games

The development team and many members of the national team competed in the Empire State Games last night. It was good to get our first real competition out of the way. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the ESG, they are a NY state funded Olympic-style games complete with medals, free uniforms, and opening and closing ceremonies. Neither Bill nor I did as well as we were expecting. Bill had two bad runs and was pretty bummed. I had a terrible start on my first run and although my second run was my best time to date I had set myself back too much on the first run. We finished within 0.25 seconds of each other and weren't too far off the best guys on the development team but it was disappointing because I think we both know we should be beating these other guys. Oh well........I'll have the regional championships next week to redeem myself.

Breaking a minute

I broke 60 seconds today for the first time. While this is still quite a ways off of what the best guys in the world are doing (55-56 seconds) it was a small milestone for me. I did it on my first run of the day and to the best of my knowledge I broke the minute barrier with fewer runs than anyone else in the development squad. The run was far from perfect either as I banged quite a few walls on the way down.

Getting back....

Just when I thought travel to and from Lake Placid couldn't get any better, my trip back one upped by previous belief. Because I didn't want to miss 3 weeks of school and coaching, I arrived a week later than everyone else at the camp. I left on Saturday afternoon and got in to the Albany airport at 7pm. Unlike before, the Olympic training center shuttle was not at the airport when I arrived. The only other options were to rent a car or catch a grey hound bus. Renting a car wasn't really an option though because it would have cost around $400 since there are no one way rental return site any where near Lake Placid so I'd have to keep the car for 2 weeks. As a result, I ended up having to spend the night in Albany and catch a grey hound bus the following day. If you've never ridden a grey hound before consider yourself lucky. I've done it several times before and I always get off the bus feeling more dirty than after a 5 hour plane ride. I ended up arriving at the Training Center at around 7pm. It's kind of frustrating to be so close (2.5 hours by car) but take so long to get there. I would have thought that in today's "small world" everythings-connected society that there would have been more options but apparently I was wrong. In any case, I made it to Lake Placid safe and sound and was ready to slide!

Luckily my itch was quickly scratched as we were scheduled to slide at 9pm, just enough time to eat a quick meal and get ready to go. My first trip down the hill was a personal record, beating my previous best by about 1.5 seconds. My second trip was about the same. I was pretty excited because everyone else who had arrived back at the camp last week following the 1-2 month break had slide times almost 10 seconds slower than mine on their first run.

Looking for $

The camp is 3 weeks away and while I've reserved a spot, I'm still not sure if I'll be able to afford being able to go. In total, the whole trip will cost about $1,200. After a week wrought with financial hit after hit, this week has brought some good news. I was asked to do a coaching clinic which should earn some money, my major professor gave me a cash loan, and I've gotten in some unexpected checks in. Hopefully, things will continue to look up and I can get back to Lake Placid.

Chapped Lips

It's been over 2 weeks since the end of the camp, my bumps and bruises (except for my ankle) are all but healed however the last bodily reminder of my trip to Lake Placid is an unlikely one.....my lips. They are still slightly chapped despite slathering them in chapstick on an hourly basis.

My ankle took a pretty good beating.

Bumps and Bruises are part of the sport. Here are some of the better ones.