Finally back in Wanaka

Yesterday I caught a lift from Christchurch down to Wanaka with Jon (trainer who came to the World Champs) and his partner Kristie. Jon and I were up in Christchurch for a WOPP (Winter Olympic Performance Program) planning meeting for skeleton over the next year. But finally I have made it back to Wanaka, and next weekend, Easter weekend, I will be working back up at the snowfarm, it should be a big weekend with the race to the sky on. I went for a run this morning around Hawea town ship and managed to get totally lost, Hawea is tiny, but still I couldnt find my way back.

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A few weeks of travelling around

Since arriving back in the South Island, I have managed to soak up lots of much needed sun shine, the days have been long and hot, with beautiful blue sky's. I have spent the last week down in Dunedin, where I was the guest speaker for a Forsyth Barr Young Professionals evening, the event was really a networking evening for young professionals, however we raised funds for Dunedins Infection Control unit. I often forget how different my life is to most Kiwi's, it is funny how so many people can not comprehend how or even why I quit my job to fly to Canada and try out a sport I read about in the news paper... I got loads of great feed back after the evening, I enjoyed it and I am really keen to speak at a few more corporate events.

I am now back up in Christchurch, I was hoping to head to Wanaka today, but it looks like I wont get down there until next weekend, I am looking forward to being back in Wanaka, it is such a wonderful place and after nearly 5 months of travelling around I can not wait have a room and a bed that I can call my own (even if only for several months).

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Back in Aotearoa

I got back into NZ last tuesday and have spent a few days hanging out with my mum and family in Auckland, I have spent very little time up in Auckland (where I grew up) in the last 8 years (I have spent more days at the track in Calgary during that time), so it was nice to to see every one. On my first day back I was out in the garden moving the lawn in 28 deg, a big change from the sub zero temperatures on tour. I also got to go to my nephews bmx club competition, a real kiwi summer time experience, he finished 3rd. Today I flew to Christchurch where my Father and the rest of my family live, from the airport I went straight to music group with my little sister Eileen (3 years old) and then spent the day playing in the garden with her.
Everything I own is in the garage here at my Dads, so this weekend I get to repack my bags, then head south to Wanaka, where I will be training and working for this coming kiwi winter (my 12th winter in a row). I'll stop off in Morven on the way south, and see Kelly, Kel is working on her parents dairy farm at the moment. After the world champs Kel went to Las Vegas for a few days with Tim, I went skiing with my brother. Kel flew home last Wednesday, and was in the cow shed helping her parents with the milking on her first day back. She is loving it.
It really does feel like I live two completely different lives. I am glad I am back to the Kiwi one.
NZ is so beautiful.

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World Champs

Yesterday I raced in heat 3 and 4 of the 2005 Skeleton World Championships. I have had found this competition mentally and physically tough. On the first day of training for the first time in a couple years, I crashed out of corner 8 and lost my sled, this shook me up and I found it hard to get my focus back. Relaxing is one of the most important aspects of having a good finish time, unfortunately on the first day of racing I was not relaxed, and placed 19th in the first heat and 20th in the second heat. Yesterday the last two heats where held, and with it being my last day of sliding for the season, I decided to just relax and enjoy the two runs. I had worked out that for me to make top 16, (which was the result I needed to qualify for funding from SPARC) I needed two 58s runs, which was over a second faster than my best down time. I nearly did it with my first run, I was relaxed, still, and I melted into my sled, I was not fighting my sled and the run felt effortless, I got a personal best push and finish time of 58.96, over a second faster than my best time from the start of the season here. My second run was a 59.24, not fast
enough. So I placed 20th with 4 inconsistent runs, but one of them was fantastic.
Kelly finished 22nd, and in her last run she took half a second off her best finish time. Ben Sandford finished 13th with 4 consistent runs.
So that concludes the 2004/2005 world tour, I have had an amazing season, improved my world ranking to 15th, placed 11th in the Sigulda world cup, and had huge personal best push and finish times at every track. I would have not been able to compete this season with out the support I have received from all my sponsors, family and friends, especially the help I have had from John and Mary Lee from the Snow Farm in Wanaka. Thank you. I arrive back in New Zealand on the 4th of March.

The Torino Olympics are less than a year away. So my preparation for the
Olympics starts today.

Louise Corcoran
Major Sponsor: Snow Farm NZ www.snowfarmnz.com visit them.
Supported by NZAS, The Skeggs Foundaton, Base, Uvex, Icebreaker, Mainland
Outdoors, Nevada-sport, Brooker Travel Group, Dirty Dog and the Guthries.
Check out my race diary www.nzskeletonracer.com

The night before the race.

It is now time to go to bed on the night before the race, my sled is polished, the runners are beautiful, and my bag is all packed. My helmet is undamaged from the incident yesterday, and I am so excited. My favorite race song is playing right now (the other side by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers), and I am ready to play. Bring it on. It is time to fly.

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Race tomorrow

My sled is polished, the runners are beautiful, and my bag is all packed. My helmet is undamaged from the incident yesterday, and I am so excited. My favourite race song is playing right now (the other side by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers), and I am ready to play. Bring it on.

Visit the Snow Farm, my major sponsor.

contact me

Check out my current world rankings and results, see the Eurosport or Speed Channel broadcast schedule.

Day four

Last day of training, I got to the track real early today, first person there (as usual), and did a track walk. There is so much you have to get right on the day to have a real fast run, I am just starting to understand how much is needed. Mark Elliot was at the track this morning, Mark is from the WOP program (the winter olympic performance program run by the NZOC and the NZ Academy of Sport), Mark is over here to meet all the skeleton and Bob athletes, and get a beter understanding of the two sports, unfortunately most people in NZ think of skeleton and Bobsleigh as skeleton/bobsleigh, rather than two totally different sports (the way tennis and hockey are different), but I think Mark has now seen the difference. It is stange having people at the track there to watch me, I am not used to it.

My first run was very frustrating, I hit loads of entries, just tapping the wall at the entry of the corner, and getting a bump. My time was slow, and I felt annoyed with myself after the run. But my second run was much better, I did alot of things right, and it was easy, effortless, the run felt wonderful, infact it was a screamer, one of those runs where as you cross the finish line you just have to let out a "woooohooooo" , not a cheesey hollywood one but an uncontrolable thrilling powerful release of adrenaline induced excitement. Wicked. But then I saw my time and it was just as slow as the first run. It is frustrating. What is so strange about skeleton is that your best feeling, clean, smooth runs are often the slow ones... I just have to let her fly and relax, and let her get right upto the edge of being out of control, scare myself even and then I think I'll have a real fast run.

I am in the top group for the draw in this race, I am the 10th highest ranked athlete here! My draw was fantastic, 3rd, that is the best draw I have ever had.

The day would not be complete with out something crazy happening in the kiwi camp, and well, today I managed to reverse Turcs big North American car right over my back pack, squshing everything inside and leaving a huge dirty, snowy tire print across my bag! What and idiot, luckily my helmet was not crushed.

Tomorrows a day off, time to relax, sand runners, think about the race, visualise, and show Ben and Karen around Canada Olympic Park.

Day 3 of Official Training and I finally get a 59.

Well today was much better, there is nothing like a fantastic run to make life look a whole lot brighter. I had a personal best down time, my previous was 60.02, and today in my first run I did a 59.67, placing me 13th in the field, and only 2/10th of a second away from 10th. Now I need a 58 second down time... On my second run I decided to put my rock up, which was a mistake, I was out of control the whole way down the track, and finished 22nd, at least I know where my limits are now, they are different for different tracks and temperatures.

Kel had a couple of rough runs, and her archiles tendon is playing up. Ben finished about 18th out of the men, I dont think he was too happy with that. After training Kel and I trained in the ice house (an indoor push start facility, with a 100m section of track built to resemble the start) with the American team, I have a lot of work on my push to do, it is my push that lets me down, I need to push faster. Most of the american team have very impressive fast sprint starts, and great technique, so I learn a lot from listening and watching. I am glad Jon (my strength and conditioning coach from the NZ Academy of Sport) is here to catch video of how my push needs to look. I have a busy NZ winter of training ahead of me, I will be pushing faster next year.

Kelly and I are selling T shirts here at the champs, they have skelly girl or skelly boy printed on the front with a logo of a slider and "world skeleton tour 2004/2005" If we can sell them all then we will make a couple hundred bucks to put towards our first credit card repayment, (or at least the interest).

A few weeks ago I called 1800 speedo and asked if I could swap a race bib for a super fast fastskin swim suit, they make excellent speed suits, and the guy I was talking to said 'sure, I'll send you two'!!!! How amazingly easy was that! But they couldnt ship them from the US to Canada with out me being charged, but he must have found a way to do it, becuase they just arrived. These are the speed suits I wrote about last december when I was in Austria, they feel so good on, and cost about 300 euro... well out of my price range. THANK YOU SPEEDO!

Training day 2

Well training today was better, I stayed on my sled and crossed the finish line both runs, my times however were not so good, I was trailing at the back of the training group both runs, but I wasn't exactly relaxed in my first run, a little nervous. Lots of room for improvement, tomorrow I will get my head together, stop using my feet, drive less, and relax. Kel is happy with her two runs. We just went to the Americans hotel and watched video taken of us today, it was good, I learnt a bit, and know what I need to change for tomorrow. Two more training days, 4 runs.

Ben had 2 good runs today.

Visit the Snow Farm, my major sponsor.

contact me

Check out my current world rankings and results, see the Eurosport or Speed Channel broadcast schedule.