|
March 12, 2010, PARALYMPIC DAY 7 So today was supposed to be our final DH training run, but it was canceled last night. This wasn't an entirely bad thing because we had to get ready to go down to Openinf Ceremonies by 2:30. I was so excited all morning. I couldn't wait for the Paraltympics to officially start. So we all got dressed up in our Ralph Lauren gear and boarded 2 busses for the 2 hour drive down to BC Plaza, the homee of the ceremonies. I had made the decision beforehand to leave after the March of Nations. This was a difficult decision to make because I knew that the ceremonies were going to be amazing, but I knew it was in the best interest of my performance in the Downhill the next day to get a good night's sleep. So we get down to Vancouver around 5:15 and get escorted under the stadium to our waiting area. Everyone was so excited because we could hear what was going on outside. Pretty soon it was time to line up and prepare for the March of Nations. Walking out into that staium with 16,000 people screaming and cheering for you, was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It was so incredible. It made me so proud to be here and be a part of the Paralympic Games. We definitely had the loudest cheer, aside from Canada of course. Right after we took our seats, it was time for me to board the bus back up to Whistler. I am so happy that I was able to experience that and I will never forget it! March 11, 2010, PARALYMPIC DAY 6 Today, our DH training run was canceled, which wasn't the worst thing, because I had to head down to Vancouver to be a torchbearer in the Paralympic Torch Relay. It was such an amazing experience! It was such an honor to be asked to run with the torch that will make it's way to the caldron that initiates the Paralympic Games tomorrow night at the Opening Ceremonies. Today was filled with interviews, and camera crews, and Vancouver history, and interviews. I even got to see my family for ten minutes after they flew in, which was awesome. It was a great day, one I will never forget. I will post pictures and links to the video when I am allowed. Tomorrow we are scheduled for another DH training run, but the snow is falling like crazy in Whistler. Some of the biggest snowflakes I have ever seen...it's crazy! I don't think it'll happen, but we'll see. Tomorrow night is Opening Ceremonies and I am soooo excited to experience those, I am sure it is unbelievable! March 10, 2010, PARALYMPIC DAY 5 Today was the first DH training day. I was super nervous, more then I thought I would be. I didn't ski my greatest, but I am not worried. I didn't ski well because I was intimidated, but I realized the course wasn't that bad, and now I got it out of my system, and I am ready to let the skis run! We were lucky today though, right after we ran, the had a course hold for about two hours because of the fog and snow. It was so bad that they didn't get to run the standing men class. They have them scheduled for tomorrow, and then we are running after them. We'll see if this snow keeps up. March 9, 2010, PARALYMPIC DAY 4 Today Gwynn and I took another rest day. They said we could go up and free ski, but we have been skiing so much, and we have four days of DH in front of us, so we decided to take one more day to rest and get ready. Tomorrow is the first day of DH training. I haven't skied this DH before, so I am a little nervous because I don't know what to expect, but I am sure it'll be fun! March 8, 2010, PARALYMPIC DAY 3 Today was a rest day, which was good, because the past few days have been crazy! I went over to the gym today and spun for a little while and just checked out all the amenities they have. I also headed over to Creeekside, and check out the awesome wax cabin where our techs are working hard to make suer we have the fastest skis on the hill...thanks guys! Nothing to great to report, just basically a low key rest day. I am getting excited to start DH training on Wednesday! March 7, 2010, PARALYMPIC DAY 2 At 11:30 we boarded a flight dressed in our USA Team gear to head to Vancouver to represent our country in the 2010 Winter Paralympic Games!!! AHH, it is so exciting! From the airport we went right up to the athlete village up in Whistler. It is so amazing! The dorms are awesome and we are centrally located...right in the middle right near the dining hall, gym, Vitamin Water house and game room. They have so much to do here, and everyone here seems so eager to help and so into the whole Paralympic movement. The dining hall is awesome. It is open 24 hours and offers a huge variety of foods. Don't worry, I am taking a ton of pictures, because of rules, I can't post any until March 24th, so hang tight! Until tomorrow!! March 6, 2010, PARALYMPIC DAY 1 Today was US Team processing...which means we spent hours getting amazing clothes and things from Ralph Lauren and Nike. We were totally spoiled! We also went through some media and team briefing and things like that, but the most exciting thing was definitely the clothes. It is starting to sink in, getting all the USA gear, it is really happening! Flying out to Vancouver tomorrow! March 5, 2010, Now that the Games are around the corner, I am going to try my best to write everyday to keep you all up to date with all the action. To start off, a recap of World Cup Finals in Aspen. The two days of DH training went really well. I got second in both training runs, and was only 6 tenths off the winner the second day. Considering I just qualified to race World Cup speed events only a few weeks ago, I was soooo excited about this. The next day was the DH race, and I was going for it. Our run was going really well, until we got yellow flagged. In speed events, if someone falls in front of you, an official will wave a yellow flag to slow you down and stop you. Then you have to go back up to the start and take a rerun. If any of you watched the Olympics, you probably saw, or at least heard about how Julia Mancuso was flagged during the GS race because Lindsey Vonn fell in front of her. Mentally, it can really get to you, having to get back into that mindset you are in at the start and trying to regain all that momentum you have created. We went back up for our second run, and we were going super fast, and had a little bit of bad luck, and I crashed. It was a pretty good crash. I had contusions along the right side of my body and have a strained right ab muscle. I was definitely a little out of it for the rest of the day, and super sore. I knew however, that I needed to get back on the horse, and that is exactly what I did. I went up the next day, physically and mentally ready to attack the second DH race. I didn't let my crash the day before impact my mental state and tried to stay as confident and as pumped up as possible. Unfortunately, the crash did manage to creep into my skiing, and I skied a little too tentatively. This I heard later, is common after you have a bad crash. |
