Empire State Games

The Empire State games were held this week. Most of the skeleton athletes here competed. I didn’t do very well, and it was my first official race so…oh well. I got 8th out of 13. My second run was so much worse than my first. I went into curves 8-12 late and it slowed down my run a lot.

The ESG had an opening ceremony where we all marched in under our sport into the ice hockey arena. Kind of like the Olympics. They lit a flame, had a bronze medalist speak, and it was televised. Everyone got a sweat suit and hat if you signed up to participate. So everyone in the arena was matching. Id say there were about 200 athletes there? Maybe 300, about 100 of them were figure skaters.

Bought my first speed suit and brush spikes this week. I feel pretty legit now. Not like a nube in my track spikes and under armor compression clothes. I’ll work on putting up some pictures.

Nationals are this weekend. I wish I could say I was excited but I’m really just more interested to see how it turns out and to get to watch the world cup athletes slide. Mom and Dad are coming up so they’ll get to see more of what I try to explain to them. Maybe they’ll take some video of me sliding and I can post it up here.

I might be coming home in the next 3 weeks if I don’t get picked for the FIBT driving school or the Americas Cup race in April. I’m still crossing my fingers but I think I have to do really well at nationals to get picked. Going home is going to be weird, I’m going to talk to normal people again?? Right now I would be really excited at the thought of interacting with people that I don’t compete with every day. But ill miss my crazy LP family for sure.

Off the sled

Week 3

This week did not have as much productive sliding involved. We slid from start 3 again this Friday because the top of the track was melted. It was 45 on Friday! Anyways, obviously everyone took sliding from start 3 very seriously. A few of the guys dressed up in super hero costumes, and bikinis over there spandex. Others taped extra weight to themselves and the sled in attempts to win. Unfortunately there were sled checks and a few of the sliders were DQd for their extra weight haha. It was all a joke anyways. There were also large rubber bands attached to the luge posts at the start so there was an attempt to slingshot a sled down the track. Failed attempt.

The beginning of this week was not as much fun for me. For the first time I actually came off of my sled, and was holding on with one hand. I came out of a turn extraaa late and my sled stayed in the turn…as in the sled was still sideways coming out of the turn and stuck to the sidewall as I was dragged behind it. It wasn’t actually very scary because it happened so fast that I pulled myself back on my sled almost as fast as I was thrown off. When I finally got off of my sled I actually couldn’t stop laughing, I think that might have just been the adrenaline or the shock, but I guess I thought I was hilarious. I didn’t feel the injuries until later in the day, I got some iceburn and actually ripped my spandex for the first time on my left arm. My right hip was a little swollen, which got much worse in the days fallowing. My chest bone also was bruised because when my body started to come off the sled, I was thrown to the left, and my chest bone landed on the left side of my saddle, which is metal.

I’m actually glad it happened because now I think I have been initiated into the sport haha. It’s happened to everyone at least once and now I know I can get back on the sled even after a spill. Not that this spill was really that bad, I’m sure it’ll happen again.

Anyways, nationals are coming up and mom and dad are gunna come up to watch. Which I’m kind of excited to show them just how fast we go. It’s kind of hard to tell watching it on TV, but in person makes it seem more intense.

RACE DAY and SCHOOL

Friday was a good day for pretty much everyone who competed. There were lots of PR’s all around. I had a few myself, I pushed a new pr of 5.59 and had a new pr down time of 57.83. The best part for me was probably getting in the 57’s. A lot of sliders who have been here longer than I have, have not gotten into the 57’s yet so I’m extremely happy about my progress. But it was also an awesome day for me because I was consistent with both of my runs. My second run was 57.90. It cant get much more consistent than that! Overall I got 6th place out of…17 people..i think?


School has sucked big time. When I was at home, I did my schoolwork pretty diligently because I was so bored I had nothing else to do. Here, I try to still do a little every night but its not easy. I have 2 tests due the weekend of nationals so I have to take them a week early, which doesn’t help me out. Good thing a lot of the work is easy.

On another note, I signed up today to compete in the empire state games. I’m not really sure what they are but they have opening ceremonies and we get a sweat suit for it. So it sounds pretty legit.

After 2 weeks here, I don’t love skeleton any less than I did from day one. If anything, these two weeks have made me enjoy it more. Of course that could definitely change in the next 3 weeks. But I feel that I have reached a point where I know I want to seriously peruse this sport. A point where I’m considering transferring to SUNY Plattsburg. (Sorry mom and dad that you had to read it here first) At first I wanted to avoid SUNY Plattsburg because it doesn’t have the academic reputation that UMW does. But I’m loving skeleton so much right now that I’m trying to convince myself that life is what you put into it, that I can still get an awesome job based on my personality, and drive. And maybe when I’m done with skeleton I can get into an awesome grad program. If I were to transfer to Plattsburg It would be cheapest for me to live at the OTC and commute to class 3 times a week.

A lot of people have asked me if I will regret not having the typical college experience. And I was worried about that too for a while. There are three reasons I don’t think I will. 1. UMW wasn’t your typical college experience anyways. There are no frats, no raging parties, no clubs, and an insane amount of girls. 2. This sport might offer me opportunities to go Europe and to compete at a level that few people will ever experience. I think those experiences will be priceless, and more valuable than the future hangovers that would surely be awaiting me in college. :) And finally, 3. I talked with a veteran athlete here who started at the same age I am, and did go to SUNY Plattsburg. He managed to slide, finish school, and be the alternate for the Olympics twice. And the best part is that he said he did not regret in the least that he did not have the typical college experience.

I know what my parents will probably be thinking right now, What about track? Yeah I’m going miss it a lot. And I know college track is an experience that I would like to have, and my parents would love me to have. But I don’t enjoy track anywhere near as much as skeleton. AND if I wanted to run track at Plattsburg, I could. A skeleton athlete who was just at the past Olympics in Vancouver, also started skeleton close to the same age as me and went to Plattsburg. AND he was an all American track athlete. So…not making any promises…but I could run track, do skeleton, and go to school all at the same time!

Week 2

Week 2

This week got switched up a little bit. Instead of starting from start 1 (the top) they moved a small group of us down to start 3 (the next skeleton start below start 1, start 2 is for luge). The lower start was to help us work on our form. When you run the sled from start 1 the hits are much harder (obviously). When you hit a wall, your form breaks because your body is flung to one side of the sled. So when you are going at such high speeds, recovering from a hit and getting good form back is pretty basic, but is hard to get used to. Sliding from start 3 makes it easier to hold form after a hit because you are going slower.

The hardest part about recovering after a hit isn’t really physical, because when your adrenaline is pumping you don’t really feel much. The hardest part for me is recovering mentally. When I catch air coming out of a turn, that instant I’m in the air is in slow motion, even though I’m going about 60mph. That moment I’m in the air is like..oh crap oh crap of crap oh crap SMACK ...then SLAM into the wall (curve 12). Next thing I know I’m in another curve and I have to think about whats next, but its already too late because my head is jumbled from the hit, and the next thing I know I hit another wall.


I know when I’m going at slower speeds and I mess up or start to skid, I cuss out loud. I’m sure if there was a microphone in my helmet it would be pretty entertaining.

Bruises last a really long time here for me mostly because I usually hit in the same spot every day. Unfortunately it will be a while before I stop getting bruises. There are people here who have been in LP since November and are still getting them. So I’m sorry to say mom, and aunt Shannon, the bruises are here to stay.

Went back to start one on wed. Did awesome! Got faster after every run.

Got an official work out from the weight trainer on wed. I’m really surprised how opposite the peer pressure is in LP as far as how often to work out. You see a lot of people here work out, what seems like every day and lift a lot of weight. Seeing them makes me worry that I am not doing enough as far as training goes. But I was told today that over training is a real problem here. The weight coach said to take 2 days of rest a week. Because we have to slide after we work out, the added stress on the body requires more recovery time.
I feel like normal people don’t have to force themselves not to work out. But some people here in LP have to force themselves to take a day off! And I never thought I would ever feel lazy for only taking 1 day off! It just makes me realize what a backwards life we live in the training center.

People sliding 60-70mph face first down in ice shoot. Forcing themselves NOT to work out…crazy

Week 1

All right, So I have been in LP for a little over a week now, although it feels more like a month. I have been doing some kind of work out every day except Friday and Sunday. Because I have races every Friday and Sunday the gym isn’t open.

I got pretty beat up this week. Banged my elbow so hard into a wall that it took some time to get it to bend properly afterwards. I got more bruises on my hips from the saddle of the sled banging into my side as I skid into walls. Ripped a hole in the knee of my spandex. I don’t remember how I got it but I have a bruise there as well. I got my final set of bruises during my race on Friday, on the bottom of my chin from catching air out of a turn and landing with my chin bouncing on the ice.

The race this Friday was more of just a practice race for me because Its not really helpful for me to try to win my first race after having my first full week sliding from the top… for 2 reasons. 1. I was on a school sled so I’m going to go slower than those on there own sleds. And 2. Because everyone here has slid for longer than I have, so if I were to worry about times a lot right now it will only worry me and hurt my ego haha.

As far as times go I didn’t come in last! I got 7th. But my push time was the fastest out of all the girls that were there. Which is awesome for how little time I have had to learn the right technique. The girl who normally gets the fastest times wasn’t there so I would rather think that I have second fastest.

Yesterday I found a new sled to rent for 300. It’s a 99 Davenport. I have to find Davenport runners to put on it, which will cost me another 400 at least. A pair of new Davenport runners cost between 700 and 800 dollars. Goodbye graduation money.

Socially, I feel as though I am back in High School. There is a cool kids table, which I like to call the winners circle, and then everyone else. No I don’t get to sit at the cool table. Haha. There is also more drama than I thought adults were capable of. Rumors, gossip, ect. In a place as small as this I guess it is inevitable.

Being the youngest here has positive and negative effect. Positive: its ok that I have no idea what im doing, as far as how to put the sled together, put in my rock, and how to do a power clean correctly. Negative: I feel like a child a lot haha, and all the guys are..about 24 or older so…I feel out of the age range haha. Which can be a good thing. Don’t worry dad, there’s no potential dudes.