Push Champs and Preparing for Team Trials

I’ve been slacking on up dating my blog. I wouldn’t call the last 3 weeks hectic but my Internet access has been spotty.

Anyways, Push Champs went well. I got second place and pushed much faster than last year. Although second place sounds pretty damn good, it’s not exactly accurate. None of the World Cup girls competed so I might have been bumped down a spot or two if they had. It was still nice to feel successful though and I had more fun this year. Last year, as a new person, I didn’t really know anyone and pushing the sled felt awkward. It was nice to hear people encouraging me this year and I felt strong pushing the sled.

The team’s first day on ice is on Monday the 9th! I’m pretty excited to get back on the track and feel like I’m making progress again, although I have been making some serious progress physically as well. I was put on a new work out program and it’s a lot different than anything I have ever done before. The change in workload has taken some getting used to. I’m exhausted at the end of every week. I’m told every day at least 30 times a day, that I’m weak. The new strength coach asked if I was training for cross-country all summer.

I thought I would have gained weight over the summer from training. I have gotten so much stronger I just figured my numbers weight would go up too. However, I stepped on the scale for my body fat percentage test and found out that I lost about 12 pounds from last season. Not sure how that happened. I should probably weigh myself more. But now I have to keep a food journal and give it to the strength coach (Brad), to make sure I’m eating right, and as often as he wants. Brad has me getting up and eating breakfast at 730am! If you know me, you know it would be a miracle to see me up that early every day. I get up at 8 every day. Close enough? The food journal/schedule also requires me to eat about 6 times a day. I thought eating that often would be hard to do but with the new workload and school, I feel like I could eat all day.

Unfortunately, I just heard today that I might not get my sled in time for the first day on ice. It may get here just in time, but it will be close. I’m not really happy that I will have to rush to put the sled together and pad it. I wanted to take my time and maybe get some help to make sure it was perfect! Luckily, a friend here said I could use their sled for a few days if needed be. Ideally, I would have liked to be able to start day 1 with me new sled so I have time to get used to it before team trials. But, as a new slider, a few days probably wont make that big of a difference. Since I’ve been off of the ice now for about 7 months, the first few days will probably, mostly consist of remembering what it is like to slide, remembering turns and steers.

School is going well so far, I’m almost half way through my first semester at Penn State. I only took 2 classes this semester so I could still work out and slide relatively stress free. After being here for 3 weeks I’m so glad I didn’t take 3 classes. It would have been too much to handle.

The weather here has been beautiful. 70’s and sunny, until today it dropped to 39 and were supposed to have snow flurries tonight. Crazy. Time to slide!

I miss attending college and the friends I left there. Every day I wonder what I could have done in college track, or what friends I could have made, but I am VERY happy here in LP. I feel like this is where I am supposed to be.

I’m anxious for team trials and so thankful that I was invited! I feel very privileged. Although I am unsure of where I’ll end up this season, I can already feel that this year will contain amazing moments for me and I will learn a lot. Excited to improve!

Countdown to Next Season

I’ve been home for a little over month now and I’d say things are going pretty well. My schedule is a little hectic. School from 8am to 5pm twice a week, working at the pool 3 days a week, and working at the winery on the weekends. I work about 9 hours on Saturday and Sunday and sometimes go straight from one job to the other. And when I get home sometimes I work out until 10 at night. I sleep like a baby in pretty much all of my free time…if I’m not doing homework. Let me just say if Accounting had a face…I would punch it. Worst. Class. Ever.
Honestly I thought doing all of this was going to be a lot harder than it actually is. I’m actually kind of enjoying being busy, keeping me out of trouble in a sense ;) And NOVA Community college has actually turned out to be more entertaining than expected. My marketing professor went on a rampage about marijuana scented shampoo today.

Another bright side of being busy is seeing improvements pretty much all around. I can already power clean about 20 kilo more than I did last September. And squats are making good progress too. I am taking the combine test in LP in July and I’m hoping to go and kick some ass.

In other news I am officially attending Penn State in the fall. Penn State is the only school where I can take classes online during the season in Lake Placid, and then go live and take classes on campus during the summer. Getting into PSU is a bigger deal to me than I think some people know. If I hadn’t gotten into PSU then I would have seriously considered returning to UMW in the fall and being done with skeleton. Like I have said…as much as I love skeleton, I do value my education more. I was always stressed about the day I would have to choose between the two. This is going to sound like the corniest thing in the world but getting into PSU was honestly a dream come true because I no longer have to choose between pursuing a dream and securing my future. I have the best life. …now if only I could get a sponsor.

I am in the process of ordering a sled, technically I have already ordered it but I haven’t had to pay anything yet. The sled costs about $5,000 and a pair of runners cost another $650. On top of that I have to fly to either London, or Calgary to get fitted for the sled because it’s going to be made just for me. More money. (Note the donation button) Here’s the link to where I’m getting the sled. http://www.bromley-aet.com/page.php?25
I am so excited to go back to LP! I’ve never really been the friend that’s stays in touch but I miss the LP fam.

BLUE SKIES

Going to Dicks this weekend to buy Olympic weight lifting bar so I can do my work outs at home! I was planning on building my own squat rack of some sorts too but I don’t necessarily trust my own carpentry. So, maybe I can get my bro to chip in on buying a legit rack.

Just got 3 jobs!…well sort of. One I just applied for…but I think I’m going to get as a waitress/bread and water supplier. I also got my old job back as a lifeguard! I went to the park office today and it turns out I was wrongfully terminated because some one who works for parks and recs put white out on my I-9 form? Ridiculous. And the last job is only for a week but I have a list of things I can do around the house to make money too. For example I can mulch, and mowing some of our land on the tractor. Since I am in the process of buying a $4,500 sled all of this work is really going to help me out.

I’m also almost done with my online classes for this semester! My mood is improving with the weather.

I’m volunteering every tues/thurs at the high school with my old track coaches. I’m thinking ill be doing work outs with them…figure its one more way to stay busy and work out. I have to return to LP at some point this summer to take the combine test so the sprint work-outs will be beneficial. The combine test is an athletic test that all of the athletes have to take every year in LP to determine if we get funded or not. It’s a combination or weightlifting, sprinting, jumping, and throwing. If we score over a 600 then we get to live and slide at the OTC for free! So starting Monday I begin my off season training!

HOME

Oh god. So I have been home for 2 full days now, and I can already tell it’s going to be a very long 6 months before my return to LP. For a couple of reasons….

My parents. I love them, but in the 2 hour journey back from the airport I already had a list of about a hundred things that I need to do.

Find a job. Call Parks and Recs to get my job back. Find another job just in case. Do my taxes. Go to my brothers lacrosse game. Write letters to family/potential sponsors. Register for classes. Get ready for dad being in the hospital. Disperse 20 bags of mulch.
Plus some things I have to do for myself
Study for exam. Listen to lecture. Apply to Penn State. Send transcripts from UMW. Withdraw from UMW. Send transcripts from NOVA. Send Transcripts from HS. FIND A JOB. Buy my sled for next season. Empty my bank account paying for a sled next season. Volunteer coaching track. Run. Find somewhere to lift. Workout. Go to class. STUDY.

It’s really not that much to do I suppose but I feel a bit overwhelmed and over stressed at the moment. And my parents do not help. NO I am not an angry teenager. But they had the life talk with me and it was a little depressing. “So Meghan what do you want to do with your life” “maybe you should put skeleton on hold and just finish school” “just get any kind of degree”…talk about giving me a F’ing heart attack.

I am still unsure of what I want to do with my life. Is that not ok!? I’m 19! Put skeleton on hold! But if I quit now…ill never go back…and I have so much potential…and isn’t now the time to go after crazy dreams like this? While I’m still young and have the rest of my life to get my shit together?

A lot of the older people in this sport have to deal with things like…I’m 26 and I live with my parents. And I don’t have a real job. I don’t have time for a relationship/the relationship I’m in is failing. I’m poor. I drive a beater car. I live in a dorm. When is time to get a real job and start a family?

I don’t have to worry about half of those things because I’m still young! And its socially acceptable for me to still live with my parents, not have a real job, live in a dorm, and drive a crappy car! The only thing I have to worry about is getting my undergrad, and potentially being single for the next 8 years haha. Which my mom insures me wont happen but…the lifestyle doesn’t exactly encourage healthy relationships haha.

Don’t get me wrong I worry about school every day. If I don’t get into Penn State then ill end up going to NOVA again in the fall…and my parents will tell me to get an associates degree and then transfer to a 4 year university. They were even talking about the jobs I could get with JUST an associates degree. That is not what I want. I actually love school, and am not sure if I could sacrifice my education to that extent for skeleton. Since I was little, the idea of going to college and becoming a super successful, cut throat, business woman was burned into my brain by my parents.

At this point I don’t think I know enough about life to know what would truly make me happy. And I don’t know if being the wo ”man” of the office, would make my life complete. I can’t even imagine myself walking around in heels 24/7. BUT I have always wanted a really prestigious job, a job where I would make enough money to be completely independent. And where I would find a husband who was even more successful than I was.

So I have devised a plan to do both skeleton and obtain prestigious degree…if I get into Penn State, which has both online and on campus classes. Ill be getting an undergrad degree in law and society…aka pre law….and then after skeleton I will be going to law school. That’s the plan. If I don’t get into Penn State..ill take it from there and ill have a couple of huge decisions ahead of me.

Even though my dad compared skeleton to a drug, its what I love doing. It’s not the future that my parents probably envisioned for me, and I know there only being logical when they worry about me. But I have realized that I can do anything that I put my mind to. I am determined and stubborn and will be super successful in life, including life after skeleton. There are times when I am insecure and I have to reassure myself I am doing what god meant for me to be doing. And I know my parents support me…but their doubts are obvious in the way they talk about my future. Being home is hard because it makes me feel unsure and insecure about my future in skeleton. When I’m home the realities of the rest of life….pretty much come crashing down on me… (might be a little over dramatic haha)…. With me already doubting myself the last thing I needed was my parents doubting my future. I know they are only trying to keep me grounded but it’s a difficult balance between grounded and discouraged. Thanks to everyone who has ever supported or believed in me. As you can probably tell, it means the world to me.

AMERICAS CUP RACE

The race on Thursday went better than I anticipated. However, now that it is over I know I could have slid better than I did. My original goal was…. to not come in last place….mission accomplished there. But really I just wanted to bring home some hardware and win my first medal. Which would require me to get top 6. I got 7th, so close! In reality I was not really close to 6th place. The difference in the times from 6th to 7th place was wide enough that I would have needed an amazing 2nd run to move up a spot. So I got a solid 7th place.

My first run was a 57 something…I was super happy with that, but again tripped on my push...still pushed a 5.63 though which is good. During my second run I pushed a pr of 5.56, but my down time was almost a second slower ☹

Team USA overall, did pretty well. The girls got 5th, 6th, and 7th place. The guys got a 3rd and 6th place. There was an awards ceremony afterwards where they played the anthem of the winning country and handed out medals to those on the podium…Kinda cool. Competing with other countries…even cooler. Representing the USA….the best part haha. Yeah I’m being corny…but it was awesome haha.

The final results from the Americas Cups race are here.
http://www.fibt.com/index.php?id=63&event=26378&L=0

The article on national champs is here.
http://bobsled.teamusa.org/news/2011/03/05/oshea-and-antoine-named-u-s-skeleton-national-champions/41254?ngb_id=23

The race was really fun and I am already excited for next season! I was told that all of us competing were probably going to be invited to team trials which I’m reallly happy about because now ill get put on a tour/circuit next season!
…..Now I just have to figure out school…..

The season now is officially done now that Americas cup is over. I have mixed feelings about that. Overall it was a realllly good season. However, I don’t want to stay here at the OTC or Lake Placid over the summer because I miss home, warm weather, and family and friends. At the same time I don’t want to leave either because that means I have to go back to the real world. Where I have to juggle school, work, and working out. Where I live with my parents, and have to pay for gas again. I feel a bit homeless haha.

Times like these make me wish I had a normal college experience because in college summer = work and play. My summer = school, work, working out….maybe some play. Yeah I’m being a little over dramatic but it does seem daunting when the whole summer is ahead of me. 6 months and ill be back in LP though!

Pre Race

Tomorrow is my first international race…12 countries. Get to wear a team usa speed suit which makes me feel pretty legit. But I’m actually nervous for this race…not like nationals. I think this race is different than nationals because I have expectations…and because I had an awesome week of training leading up to the national championships. I have had a horrible 2 weeks leading up to this race.

These past 2 weeks I have been trying new runners. For those who don’t understand skeleton runners this isn’t going to make much sense…but thy coaches had me try men’s big wheels plus 50…not positive if they are actually plus 50 but that’s what they jokingly said so…I don’t know. Anyways….these runners have a fatter spine..and shallower groves than the runners I was on for nationals. Which means that there is less of the runner cutting into the ice…which gives me less control…which I tend to like to have.

However, the less runner that cuts into the ice..the faster you go..so the ultimate goal was to teach me to control these squirrely runners so that I could go faster. However I couldn’t manage them/I think I needed more than 1 week to get used to them because it was a complete disaster. I came off of my sled again..in curve 18/19..I was still holding on but I have a bruise that runs down the entire length of my right leg. So my ego is incredibly bruised for this race.

I tried different runners today and did better. Feeling much better about racing tomorrow now.

I’m getting it all sorted out in my head...I’ll forget most of the negative stuff by tomorrow…and will be ready for the race. The coaches seem to have faith in me, so why shouldn’t I.

INTERNATIONAL DRIVING SCHOOL

In the weeks after nationals not much was happening around the OTC. There was less ice time due to a large number of skele and bobsled recruitment camps. I liked having some time off after nationals to kind of absorb what I had accomplished and to think about what was next.

Unfortunately, I think that my mind is still not completely re-focused on skeleton. Which means I need to get my shit together because today I started my first international driving school, and next week I have my first international race.

The atmosphere at the OTC has changed again. The world cup sliders, for the most part, have all left. But they have been replaced with sliders from all over the world, some of which are world cup. There are sliders here from Mexico, Canada, Australia, Korea, Sweden, England, and Greece. I know I’m missing some but you get the picture. Most of the people here are staying after the driving school to compete in the last Americas cup race of the season.

My sliding today was not great. I popped the grove at the start and actually let go of my sled…debated letting it go down the track with out me…hopped on anyways… and hit 2 walls before I even reached the first curve. I have been working on my push start a lot lately, and not pushing well today ticked me off just a bit.

Not sliding well for a day normally doesn’t bother me, but because I was 1 of only 4 women who got picked for this school, it makes me feel bad. -- You know when you try out for a team….lets say soccer, and you just nail a shot and score right in front of the coach. You feel kinda badass after. Lets say you make the team, but in your first game you get another break away and completely miss the next shot…like it was not even close…way over the goal, like you were trying to punt a football. And then you miss your next shot on goal too…you feel like shit…obviously. So are you as good as you showed in try outs....or did you just get lucky? Does the coach regret picking you for the team?—That’s pretty much how I feel right now

Friends from home ask me all the time what you need to be good at skeleton. And a lot of times I feel like their trying to figure out why I am any good at it, or they are trying to judge how athletic you have to be to actually be good. Because to them, it seems like most of the sport is just laying on a sled. Which is true, but the push start is super important if you want to get faster down times. And I can’t name any other sport, (except for bobsled and luge obviously), that only gets to practice for 2 minuets every day. I had never even thought about how ridiculous that is until one of our coaches said something. But seriously, 2 minuets a day…2 runs…taking about 58 seconds each. No wonder it takes so long to get good at this sport.


Americas cup is going to be next Thursday and Friday I believe. And I was just informed today, that the women’s gold medalist in skeleton from the Vancouver 2010 Olympic’s, is going to be competing with us. That is crazy. I have heard that some other world cup sliders from other countries maybe competing with us as well. Apparently world championships are going to be here next year and a lot of the world cup people want as many runs down this track as possible before then. Makes sense. But to a person who has only slid for….what 6 weeks now. I’m kind of worried about getting my ass kicked haha.