Rule Change

I have had a busy day today, had a strength session this morning, did a PB Leg Press 172kg, but since this camp in Calgary I am even more aware that I need to get so much stronger. I got my sponsored Merrell shoes, feels like Christmas, two new pairs of shoes. Went and did a huge food shop, something I love doing because when I spent 5 months over seas I can never find the food I really want to eat (except in Latvia!), but here back home in NZ everything I buy is something I really like and love to eat, hmm like the basil pesto I just got, skeleton is definately a passion/obsession of mine, and I think pesto is close to the same status. I just got back from another session in the gym, and I did a one arm (I am not using the injured arm) dumbell bench press PB, 15kg. Little steps closer to a super strong me.

A recent rule change regarding eligability for the World Cup races has been creating a hornets nest of activity in our wee global skeleton world over the last week. The FIBT has introduced a rule saying that to be eligible to race in world cup races this season, an athlete must have competed in 5 international races, on 3 tracks spread over the last two seasons, exceptions have been made for athletes who do not meet this criteria but have competed in a world cup previously. This rule will exclude new athletes who started racing last year, thankfully this does not affect the Kiwi team but it impacts hugely on the Australian AIS skeleton program, up to recently they were planning to enter two women in each race, now the only aussie female who meets the criteria is Kim Hardy, their most experienced international athlete, who is not supported by the AIS funded program. The rule also impacts of the British development program, with 3 of their development athletes now excluded from world cup, and Norways women's team, who for the first year in many had two athletes lined up to race on the world tour, now only one is able to race. This is a big issue as world cup qualification, Olympic qualification and world championships qualification all depend on your nations ranking which is based on the combined points of two athletes racing on the world tour. This year this rule will effect the bigger nations who were not expecting it, and whose program's and Olympic selection was based on including the now excluded athletes, but in the long run it is a rule that will have a huge negative effect on all the small nations including NZ, for example, should two kiwi women (or men) retire in the next two years, and we do not have a junior training up and racing on the Americas Cup or Europe Cup series, NZ will not have the required two athletes gaining nation points and it would be likely that we would fall out of the world cup tour (which is limited to the top 12 nations only based on nation points), once out, it will be a real challenge to get back in. The Kiwi team is all self funded (we all find our own sponsors), our association does not run development programs, it has no money, so I hope we find some more 'adventurous kiwi women' and get them on sleds learning to slide over the next few years, as it would be tragic if in the future a kiwi was one of the best sliders in the world but unable to slide in world cup races solely because of the lack of team mates, and was forced to drop back to a lower ranking series where their only competition and challenge will be other nations developing athletes, or those who didn't make their nations world cup team, or the nations who did not perform well enough to make the world tour .
The year Kelly started, I was the only experienced kiwi woman sliding, but the rules back then let me take a person with absolutely no experience and within a week of first seeing a track throwing her off the top in a world cup race to gain the required nation points to stay in the world cup, thankfully Kelly ended up being very good, loving it, and wanting to continue (it was a gamble, I am glad I found the right person), but with the new rules that will never happen again...

I wouldn't be surprised if some nations ended up trying get the rule over turned...

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In the news today

I got an email this morning from my brother Guy who lives in Christchurch, he said there was an article in the Christchurch Press about my sled and Steve Gurney! This was a surprise to me as I only got an email from the reporter yesterday and had just this morning replied! below is the article, the reporter sourced all his information from this blog!

Gurney helps streamline sled

28 July 2005

By TIM DUNBAR

Renowned multi-sports athlete Steve Gurney has been doing his bit to help top New Zealand skeleton sled slider Louise Corcoran get to the 2006 Turin Olympic Winter Games.

Corcoran says in her website that the Canterbury man had used "a huge dose of old-fashioned Kiwi ingenuity" to streamline her sled.

She and fellow skeleton racer Kelly Moffat had talked to Gurney when he was one of the guest speakers at the New Zealand Olympic Committee's forum for Turin hopefuls at Wanaka in May.

Gurney apparently expressed surprise at how much duct tape they had on their sleds.

"Steve thought he could make the padding I have on my sled more aerodynamic," Corcoran said.

He took her sled away after the forum and it duly came back a fortnight ago "looking fantastic and fast", Corcoran said.

Gurney had also arranged for a friend, Milton Bloomfield, to fix a few cracks in the fibreglass and provide a shiny black paint job. Bloomfield was the designer of the bike with which cyclist Sarah Ulmer won Olympic gold at Athens.

The Wanaka-based athlete, formerly of Diamond Harbour, will be heading to the northern hemisphere in about two months to continue her Winter Olympic qualifying campaign.

Meanwhile she has been benefiting from a week-long off-season training camp with the United States team in Calgary, Canada.

Part of New Zealand's "long list" for Turin, Corcoran is just back home from training at Canada Olympic Park's ice house, a year-round indoor push training facility.

Corcoran said she had problems the first few days with the shoulder she injured on the trampoline three months ago. But she was finally able to train "totally pain-free" after taking anti-inflammatories and pain-killers and locking down the shoulder with padding.

After starting to push two-handed followed by a switch to one, Corcoran achieved a push time only five one-hundredths of a second off the fastest she achieved there in February. "Starting with two hands gives me a more solid push off the block," she said.

"Being here is making me so excited for the season."

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training in Calgary

The last 2 training sessions in the ice house went well, and I also got to go and see Ryan Davenport out at his work shop. Peter needed to head out there to pick up some parts for his sled, I was keen to have a chat to Ryan about runner selection, as I have ordered two new sets of runners off him for this season, and I was amazed to hear that he makes 45 different cuts/designs and that he can make anything I could want. uptill then I knew about standard cut and big wheel, I knew there was also a mens big wheel and a special single groove design, but once ryan got explaining, I found a whole new aspect to the game opened up, the potential variation in runner design and the resulting changes in sled control are huge, another thing to learn more about.

If any one who reads my blog would like to support me this sesason, I have ordered two sets of runners and I am looking for a sponsor for them, email me if you are interested.

The night before I left Calgary and headed home Peter and I went for a Barbeque at Tim Cassins (local athlete/irish world cup slider), I havent had a summer barbeque since Christmas 1999, it was so good, bare foot on the grass... I loved it.

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training

Training yesterday was much better, I was totally pain free, I took anti-inflammatory and pain killers both the night and morning before and my shoulder didn’t hurt at all, and rather than going for the minimal strapping of the shoulder I really locked it down. I focused the whole session on trying something different with my push, I started two handed and switched to one hand, this seems to have worked well for me, I pushed my fastest time this week, which was only 5/100^th of a second off my fastest time here last February. Starting with two hands gives me a more solid push off the block; I’ll work with it some more today. Being here is making me so excited for the season, it is only just over 9 weeks untill I will be sliding, time is moving so quickly.





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Training day 4, ice house Calgary Canada

Found today's session very frustrating, since my shoulder hurt so much yesterday during the first half of the session, today I decided to do less movements during my warm up that would irritate it and create the pain, but as a result I wasn't warmed up enough, so I am quite stiff and sore now... I think I just have to do the full warm up, and sprint, and hopefully endorfins will kick it (which is what I think happened yesterday when suddenly my shoulder was pain free). I was more linear for most of the push, but I am still moving out wide before loading the sled. I have noticed a difference in my push now to how it was in February, I guess I was hoping that the strength I lost (since my injury) was not going to make a huge difference but it has, so lots of work to be done there. But I have to focus on the positive and today I did my fastest push this week, so I am making improvements.

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Video analysis is the best learning tool

So after dinner, Peter, Jon (from NZ Academy of Sport, my strength and conditioning coach from wanaka) and I went over the video taken during todays session with Greg, I think I learnt more about what your body is supposed to do when pushing a sled in that half hour than I have in the last 5 years, it is funny how you dont realise how ignorant you are untill you learn a little.

From the video we saw that I have more power and speed off the start with a two hand start, so tomorrow I am going to try starting with two hands and switching to one after a few steps, we also saw that I dont get any benifit from the block, I must learn to use it. I also have huge long strides with my leg coming right out infront of me, which apparently is not good, my hips need to be lower, at the moment I nearly have fully extended legs, so need to stay crouched more, when I start my front foot needs to be further forward, and my arm/arms collapse when I take off, need to stay stronger, and my toe strike needs to be beneath my hips and towards the back of my sled, and my load has all sorts going wrong... Lots to work on, and this is just scratching the surface, I really am privalaged to be here and to have the advice and support from the US team. Lucky I have ice back home in NZ to practice on, becuase I am going to need it to correct every thing.

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A bit of progress

On-ice day three, this is the first day that I feel like I am not in need of sleep, no more jet lag, YAY. My shoulder was very sore during the warm up and first couple of push’s during the training session, I found it hard to focus because of it, but then, I don’t know why, the pain stopped, totally, I have only just got back to the hotel and my shoulder is not sore at all. Strange, I cant really understand why it was very sore one moment and then, nothing, pain gone.... Today I pushed further, and loaded just over the crest but, need to try to get a little further tomorrow, I was much more linear beside my sled, and kept my feet closer to the sled, need to work on my load, at the moment it is more of a slap on to the sled than a chest first dive. I made some progress today so I am happy. Greg (coach) had me try a two handed push, I haven’t done one of these since the 2004 World Champs, it felt very awkward and was slower, but it was a good idea as there may be a time in a race where for some unexpected reason it is safer or wiser for me to switch back. So I aim to become technically proficient and a lot faster at both.

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On ice in Calgary

Ok, so it is day two of ice training here in Calgary, I had a 30 hour journey to Calgary from Wanaka with a 5 hour stop over in San Francisco, which is a very boring airport. Amazingly with out coordinating our travel plans, I arrived 20minutes before Peter van Wees of the Nederland’s! Perfect timing, we shared a cab to Canada Olympic Park, where I had booked accommodation for a couple of nights. We have now moved to the 4 points Sheraton across the road where the US team is staying, (we are getting a special athlete rate, a fantastic deal). Unfortunately I am rooming with Peter who has the rep for being one of the worst snorers on the world tour, thank fully he has provided me with earplugs…he is so considerate ;)

So the training, so far I have had two sessions on ice, the first session I was very nervous about my shoulder (which was sore from moving my luggage around while traveling), I did 5 runs, just focusing on… well not sure, I was just worried about my shoulder, but I got the feel back for it, I need to push further to get over the crest, make my body more linear to my sled, keep the sled further forward so that my arm is out ahead of me rather than straight down or even angled back. When my arm is not ahead of me (which is often), my body turns, and my feet move away form the sled and whole run looks totally awkward. I have always known that I needed to get closer to the sled, and more linear but I have only just realized (by watching video of myself) that on my 3rd or 4th step my arm drops back and stops pushing and I seem to be pulling more, so before I can become linear and closer to the sled I must fix the arm issue, and keep the sled further in front. Obvious really.

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Great News!

I have been busy with fundraising lately, a good friend of mine, Evan has been helping me in my search for sponsorship, and he has been promoting me and my pursuit for Olympic Gold around Wanaka. Evan has been amazing, with his help I extended my support crew to include, Garrick, a fantastic photographer and Dave a talented graphic designer who has put together a brilliant profile for me, their support helped me secure sponsorship for my upcoming training camp with the US team in Calgary Canada! So with the help of Grant from Alpine Media I am off to Calgary on Friday the 15th of July, back on the 26th of July.

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My super fast sled

Since the Olympic Forum in May Steve Gurney has had my sled. Steve got talking to Kelly and I about skeleton and the more he heard about the sport the more surprised he was to see how much duct tape we have on our sleds. Steve is a bit of a wiz with padding (check out his site gurney gears to see other things he makes) and has been blessed with a huge dose of old fashioned kiwi ingenuity, he thought he could make the padding I have on my sled more aerodynamic, so I sent my beautiful sled home with him, I got her back on the 12th of July, looking fantastic and fast, Steve had also arranged for a friend of his, Milton to fix a few cracks in the fiberglass and paint it a shiny black, the perfect background for my silver fern sticker. So a huge thanks to both Milton and Steve.

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Shoulder update

Well a lot has happened since I wrote last, and for the most part of the last 2 months life has revolved around my injury. I did finally get to see the surgeon and he sent me off to get an MRI scan, the earliest I could have a scan in Dunedin was going to be late August! (there seems to be only one MRI machine in the Otago area!!!) But I managed to get an appointment at a private hospital in Christchurch (six hours north of Wanaka), my other option was to fly to Australia where I could have one done on the day, but thankfully I did not need to. So it turns out that I have torn the labrum inside the shoulder socket, I am told that they rarely recover with out surgery, but the surgery has a 4 month recovery period. So I was faced with a decision, do I have my shoulder fixed, but be unprepared for the race season, perhaps even unable to dive onto my sled, or do I postpone the surgery until after the Olympics, manage the pain, and risk damaging the shoulder even more… Well of course the choice is obvious, there is no way I am going to flag this race season away.

So I have begun a pain and injury management program, received the first cortisone injection (I am a total wuss with needles and this huge one had to be inserted into the actual shoulder socket, ouch!), which seems to have dulled the pain a bit. I am trying to only let my shoulder hurt when I am training, or sliding, so to stop me using it at other times I have a sling. I also still have the sensation that the shoulder wants to pop out when I go into a certain range of motion, it is unlikely to happen but the sensation is not nice, so I have the shoulder strapped, sort of locking the joint down. My training program has totally changed because of all this, I can not hold a weight lifting bar across my shoulders, so squats are out, I can not bench press, I can not do cleans or snatches, and I can not comfortably sprint, this is frustrating when I am supposed to be focusing on power and strength and speed. With Jons help I have been able get a training program to keep me going, lots of leg press, hamstring curl, leg extension, stair hopping, one arm dumbbell press, and one armed snatch. It is not ideal but it is still getting me stronger.

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