-22 and sun shine in St Moritz

Well official training was full of the highs and lows that seem to be a theme this season for me. I did a track walk with a bobsled coach at the start of the week, and because bobsledders and skeleton sliders drive very differently the language used in the track walk could not be the same, instead we talked about where the pressure needs to be in the corner (rather than where to steer and how to steer). We also did the walk from the bottom of the track up, rather than the top down, again a different perspective. It was good to think about the track differently. My first run of official training was excellent and nearly everything I learnt from the track walk worked, but then the second run did not go as well. Second day of official training, I completely oversteered everything, it was terrible and I had one of the slowest speeds on the track possible (I am used to having a very high speed not the lowest). So I was quite dishartened by it all after day two, I was going so slow, I hit a few walls hard, and the walls here in St Moritz are not smooth like other tracks, here the ice on the walls is sharp, pointy, and great for ripping speed suits. So yesterday before training I spent a lot of time watching all the video that has been taken of us sliding, and going over the track notes I wrote last time I was here, I realised that I was just doing way way too much, and needed to be still and relax more. So I did, and I had two much better runs. With the 10th fastest speed in the second run (20 kmph faster than I went the day before). Today is a day off for the women, a day to prepare our sleds, sew our race bibs so they fit, and to go and watch the mens race. Ben and Iain race today, and Peter (dutch) will be making another attempt to meet his countries qualification rules, he has met the FIBT standards and the IOC standards, we are all hoping this will be the race he qualifies at. He was allocated a spot at the last Olympics but his country wouldnt send him. It would be tragic if it happened again, as Peter has earned his spot, and really deserves to qualify.

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back blogging again.

Well it is time I started blogging again, there have been many different reasons why I havent been keeping this diary upto date over the last few months, sorry if you missed it.

Kelly and I are now in Switzerland staying at Hotel laudinella where the US team and Peter from holland are as well, Peter did not get his top 15 he needed int he last race, he is half way there to qualifying, hopefully this week he will get there.

Ben and Iain are here in St Moritz as well, Tionette is staying in Konigssee where her partner Angus is sliding with the kiwi bobsled team.

I am so stoked to have qualified. Still waiting for the official announcement from the NZOC, they are waiting for a form I need to fax them, and I am waiting for hotel reception to print it for me so I can fill it in, has taken them over an hour so far...

I will back date some of blogs and put up the emails I was sending out to friends and family. But right now it is dinner time, having spent about 4 hours at the track today in -10 degrees I am ready for hot meal. Training for the women starts tomorrow, they expect lots of snow this week so it will be interesting to see how that effects us.

I promise to keep you all posted on it all goes.

Lou

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