2014: My best bits part 2

Continued...

July:

July = Commonwealth Games in Glasgow! The standout best month of the year for me. I started work in the Team Scotland prep camp at the beginning of the month, then moved to work in the village on Scotland Street juggling this with much spectating! From a career perspective it was massive to be working at a home multi-sport games. Who knows if that will come around again? And personally I knew or had worked with so many of the athletes competing I felt like I was doing it with them at some points. My high and low point belongs with Jayne Nisbet - my high jumping best friend who experienced the biggest high and the biggest low in a matter of days. The games were just amazing. I also moved house to Edinburgh (great timing) which turned out to be the best thing I've done since moving here!

Meeting Clyde with Jayne

August: 

I wrote my first blog in August! It was about the CWG :) aside from this I enjoyed a week long visit from my Dad and little brothers. We did the Edinburgh tourist thing, checked out the festival and were generally entertained! Highlight of the Festival? A hard pick between a work night out I organised (no, noone fell off a table) and Hot Dub Time Machine. 

In August I also put my self out there as a 200/400m runner! (I do do athletics promise). I competed in the double at the Scottish Championships and in horrific conditions (classic Scotland) I ran two 400m PB's and made two finals off no training. So I was pretty happy with that :) 

Ice skating at Murrayfield with Dad and Luke

September:

The Referendum. For a few scary days I thought Scotland was going to 'Vote Yes' and life would be turned upside down. Thankfully in my opinion Scotland voted 'No'. I also didn't go to the Bestival for the first time in years and years - gutting!

October:

This month belongs to #power2podium. I'd made the fourth and final phase of the talent search for new bobskeleton athletes. During October I spent a week in Bath (my 2nd favourite city) training like a bobskeleton athlete among fellow contenders!! It was a great week; frustrating at times but also good to try new things and meet new people.

Phase 4 Power2Podium athletes

November:

Turning 26! Gah! Usually my birthday's are not the most civilised of events. Last year for example I fell over before leaving the house. Fail. This year however, I managed to keep it together until the club. Three tequilas later I was back to being like bambi on ice with very sore feet! However, it was such a special evening. My best friends and brother all came up to celebrate with me which meant to much! 

I can't review November and not mention Lillehammer. The final part of the talent search involved 2 weeks on the ice in Norway. What a two weeks. I completed my first sliding camp (first of many I hope); and I will never know anything like that first slide. Crazy. But seeing as I have blogged extensively about P2P I will leave it there.

And......December:

The highlight? Christmas of course. Time to spend with family and friends - so rare for me!

Happy New Year! x

2014: My best bits part 1

A little self-indulgent maybe but oh well! Here are my best bits for 2014 - month by month!

January:

The 2014 indoor athletes season kicks off. After a two year break from competing I was (sort of) ready to come back. So I slapped on the fake tan, did some extra abs, found my Woodford vest, squeezed my bum in to some running knickers and I was ready! I opened with a 5.47 m and managed not to sulk too much about it which is saying something!! It was a starting point - and I did get better.

Sarah and I after opening our indoor season at the Scottish Open

February:

The Olympics are back! Sochi hosted an amazing Winter Olympics and I watched as much of it as I could. Having only watched really the skeleton at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010 I was completely won over by Sochi - and the Winter equivalent of the greatest event on earth (IMO). The entertainment factor was massive - it was just so exciting to watch. The country went curling crazy and I actually went into work on my day off to watch the men's curling final when GB took silver (I later got to meet the team and try on the medal!). What especially stands out now that I am looking back is watching Lizzie Yarnold's gold medal winning performance in the bob skeleton and thinking 'Wow, she only picked up the sport in 2009'. It kick started the process which has defined the past few months: Power2Podium; a UK wide talent search for the next bobskeleton star.

March:

In March I got to spend a weekend away back down South with my at the time boyfriend. I traveled down to Kent and spend some time meeting Jack's family and friends. I also visited Canterbury which is such a lovely city - although I did get frowned upon for choosing white wine to go with roast beef!? It was lovely to get away from work and routine and spend some time together. After this I got to go to Loughborough and St. Mary's for work which was good as it meant more catch ups with friends!

April:

Two things happened in April - and I can't chose between them. Early in the month I traveled to Oxford for my best friends hen do! It was a fun weekend but what was significant is that it turned in to a reunion of my best school friends and has since reignited contact among us. Not that we ever fell out or anything just it gets hard to stay in touch when everyone goes their separate ways. But we now catch up whenever we get the chance and I am hoping that we can organise a trip to Edinburgh in March!

The girls from school plus Cristina (an honorary member)

No 2. is warm weather training. Ten of my group went away to Tenerife and whilst it was not without challenges it was great to get some sun (and a tan) and spend time with a great group of people! The group has really changed since the Commonwealth Games so I am glad we did that before people moved away/gave up.

WWT2014: Scott squad

May:

Wedding season is here! Said best friend got married on Saturday 10th May and I was a bridesmaid. The wedding was just so beautiful and no one could stop crying all morning when we were getting ready. Annie and Chris are a lovely couple and it was an honour to be a bridesmaid. Once again it was an opportunity to see all the girls and we had a fab evening (if a little/very intoxicated). 

All grown up

June:

Festival season! I went to the Isle of Wight festival for the whole weekend: something I hadn't done since my first year of uni. The line up was killer! Biffy Clyro, Calvin Harris - I was an emotional wreck for this night haha too much gin. Red Hot Chilli Peppers - not a fan but one ticked of the list. They were actually a little too self-indulgent for my liking; far too many instrumentals. And then on Sunday - Kings of Leon. Never seen them, had high expectations and they did not disappoint - flawless. I also got to fan girl my Dad when he was DJ'ing lol, revisit my school days with Fallout Boy and discover the likes of Clean Bandit, Duke Dumont and Gorgon City live. Some lows included Richard face planting Friday eve and the projectile vomit Saturday night (me)!!

Friday night - On our way to drinking the best part of 2 x 70 cl of spirit

June part 2:

Back to the Island again (3rd time in 6 weeks) for another wedding! Charlotte (on of the school gang) married her childhood sweetheart 'Fit Boy Luke'. I remember we both worked at a pub called the Crab and Lobster where he worked as a chef and she had the biggest crush! Anyway 10 or so years later they got married - and it was so cute! The wedding was an outdoor affair and we had afternoon tea (my fav), ice cream and BBQ - it was a great day! That's 3/5 married then..... (eek)

The bride and I

Part 2 on it's way :)

Which New Years resolution?

So it's that time of year where we all make vows to change, known as New Years resolutions. It may be the 3rd not the 1st of Jan but it's never too late. I've had a lot of ideas in the past few weeks, and I've listed them below. There is a lot and I wouldn't call them resolutions exactly (because they don't last). However they are things I am meaning to do in 2015, some are extensions of things I do already. Some are based on 2014 experiences that I do not wish to repeat/succumb to. 

Eat clean 80% of the time

Drink (A lot) less gin

No dating under 24s

No dating athletes

No fwbs

Take no shit, be valued

Worry less

Train harder but smart 

Say no

Forget those that don't make an effort

Make phone calls to friends and family to stay in touch

Judge less - be kind 

Travel more - explore Scotland 

Look after yourself, health is precious

Be social - but without drinking 

Keep blogging - but write some meaningful blogs

Make and take opportunities 

Make other people feel good about themselves

Start Pilates, stick with yoga 

Practise empathy

I hope that by living by the above ideas I will not only be a better friend, relative and person but also maximise the success I have in 2015 as well as minimising the risk of hurt!! Sounds like a win win!! 

Happy new year X 

All I want for Christmas is...

Disclaimer: This is not Christmas related. Nor is it bobskeleton related. It will also probably be a bit ranty.

My relationship has just broken up. So naturally I am taking to blogging (may regret this). It wasn't a serious one, I was not in love, not even in lust, to be honest I wasn't even happy. So the ice cream remains in the freezer and I am not incapacitated with grief. But it still sucks. I'd say it was a mutual breakup - almost. Unfortunately I did not get to utter the words to sever ties; I just set myself up to be 'dumped' by text because I made the fatal error of giving him the opportunity one last time to NOT be a coward/immature dickhead. Mistake. Guess that gives you a good idea of the type of guy I was in a relationship with.

Anyway enough dwelling. It's not like I hadn't thought countless times about ending it - it really is for the best. But it has made me think. I spent over a year with this guy from start to finish. We weren't official for all that time - just the past couple of months when we decided to 'see how things went'. But I'd say that for the majority of that time I was treated worse than I deserved. It's cliche isn't it but when something like this happens all your friends rally around and say 'you deserve better, you're better off etc. etc.' You don't usually hear it from his friends though... And that is a small condolence. I just wish I'd not given him so many chances - enough was enough and I should have called it rather than be an adult and work through it.

So why did I spend over a year being treated like second best. There was also another guy in this time (not at the same time) who also favored the 'treat Kim like crap' approach. Any of you that know me will probably be surprised... I don't really take crap. And I can't really provide an answer. The thing is like a lot of girls I fall for the bad boys. Not really bad lol. No drugs/crime/beating - just the arrogant/cocky athlete type. The type of person who will NEVER put you first or even consider you in their grand plans. And inevitably it never ends well...for me. But the thing is, nice guys (who do all the things I want) annoy me after a while. I am pretty independent; don't like people getting too involved, like to be in charge. Historically niceness unnerves me, so I push it away. How fucked up is that? Must change.

Now before any of you start getting really concerned for me because I am saying I was treated rubbish, stop. I wasn't abused, hurt (physically), and I am not especially distraught. I am talking about the basics of being in a relationship. That was what was 'missing' to quote said ex-boyfriend, you just couldn't bring yourself to make the effort.

So future boyfriends only apply if you can cope (lol) with the following: You're all about to read how demanding I am... ;)
affection (not so much in public)
caring for the other person
taking an interest in their life
decent communication
common courtesy e.g. not being on your phone ALL the time
make time for each other
fun!

I copied that list from my phone. I wrote it on the 12th October.... Near the start of November (after my birthday - no card, ignored me on my birthday, sigh) I went through all of this with him. Cause you know I'd done enough whining to my friends and thought maybe he just doesn't know. Sadly almost two months later he does know but didn't feel the need to change his behaviour. I guess overall it comes back on me; he just wasn't that interested/we weren't right for one another.

So yea, all I want for Christmas is someone willing to bring all of the above to the table (over time). And while I am at it my New Year's resolution will be to try and be nicer to nice guys. There's got to be something in it. And no under 25's or athletes! I am ready for a happy ending.

Courage not confidence: Lillehammer that's a wrap

It's Saturday. I left Lillehammer two days ago, I've done four washes (!) and contemplated cooking so it thought it was time to do a reflective blog on the whole experience. WARNING: this could be long so get yourself a cuppa and a biscuit.

Last day of the camp - 6 remain

'Courage not confidence' - the name of this blog post was my mantra if you like throughout the two weeks in Lillehammer. It's a phrase a friend of mine told me a while back when I was nervous about starting to compete in long jump again and she reminded me of it just before I left for Lillehammer. Lots of people (especially athletes) believe that in order to succeed at something you must have confidence in your ability. Now whilst I don't disagree with this idea it didn't really help me with the task ahead; sliding down a mountain head first because I had never done it before so how could I be confident in my ability?

This is where courage comes in. Wikipedia (that ever so reliable source) tells me that Courage is, 'the ability and willingness to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty and intimidation'. Yea that sounds better. I think skeleton ticks all those boxes and I was certainly scared (amongst other things) about the experience ahead. So I just had to be courageous - I could do that. And that is how 'courage not confidence became my mantra'. I used it at several points throughout the trip. The first slide (obviously) - that was crazy! But also the 2nd and 3rd because knowing what you were about to encounter initially required a new level of courage to press on in the knowledge that you were about to hurtle down, out of control and hitting walls all the way. Slide 7 which I wrote about in a blog also required some bravery as I was apprehensive since hurting my ankle the day before and having seen some my teammates get in to difficulties prior to my run.

A rather beautiful shot of corner 13 (I think) - the problem corner.

The day we first moved up the track - that progression made everyone nervous as did going from the top for the first time. Now at this point confidence (to an extent) was building. However, with each new challenge it was back to needing courage as we were once again in the realms of the unknown. 

Chloe going from the top!

Near to the end I also used courage for a different reason. I was repeatedly hitting my left hand out of 13 and was left with a rather fat hand which resembled a pigs trotter (still does). Conscious that others had ended up with broken bones/strained ligaments already on the trip and also that I wasn't managing to avoid this hit I made a call on two occasions to stop sliding to protect my hand. On the second to last day I did 2/3 slides and on the last day I just did 1/3. 

Nursing my fat hand

Why did this require courage? Well because don't forget the 6 of us were all under scrutiny for selection for the British Skeleton Talent Squad - that's what the whole trip was about. And I was putting myself at a disadvantage by missing slides. Fortunately the coaching staff all supported and encouraged my decision; they told me 'they'd seen enough' and that 'one more slide isn't going to change anything'. Now whether was they'd seen was enough to select or not select me I don't know but at least there was no pressure to slide and risk breaking my hand. After hitting my ankle on the 6th run back on day 1 and saying to Carrie our team manager that I shouldn't have done that run; it was pushing my luck I think I learnt from that experience and do not regret not taking runs on the final two days. Talk about being sensible!

When I left for Lillehammer I promised myself that I would feel, not think about this experience. I can honestly say I have never gone through so many emotions in such a short space of time. Fear, excitement, anticipation, enjoyment, pain, frustration, laughter, sadness, achievement, pride; I felt them all. And when I was asked by the coaching staff on the last day whether I wanted to continue in the sport I answered without hesitation (no thinking!) 'Yes, definitely'. The prospect of spending a year learning the sport and training hard excites me - where can I go in this sport? I had 22 runs out in Lillehammer. That equates to about 22 minutes of sliding - how crazy is that?! The progression from run 1 to run 22 was staggering and I am pleased with the feedback I received from the coaching staff - I am particularly proud of my form which was consistently good (no idea why!?). So what will I be like after run 100? I really hope I get to find out. 

Some of my fave non sliding shots!

I won't know until just before Christmas - the 22nd or 23rd maybe. The boys are currently out in Lillehammer doing what I have just done and making their individual bids for selection - I wish them all luck. I also wish all my fellow girls luck :) one of the things that worried me before I left was how I would feel living with up to 8 other girls all of whom were quite a lot younger than me. I shouldn't have wasted my energy because they were fab to be with and to be honest made the trip - I haven't laughed so much in such a long time! We all went through the ringer at some point or another but we also all supported one another - it did not feel like a competition. I've definitely made some friends for life as well as developing an unhealthy addiction to biscuits and tea at every opportunity.

Anyway until the 22/23 Dec that's me for the #power2podium stuff. If I get in amazing - a new journey will begin. If not then what an experience it was. Something I'd never change and won't ever forget. And I'll always hold the fastest speed over the two weeks out of the girls down that track - 111.5 kph! So if nothing else I'll take that and go back to my life here (which is pretty darn good).

 Fingers crossed I'll get to wear a race suit for real.

What even is skeleton?

As I've been banging on about skeleton for a good while now I thought it would probably be useful to write a blog about the actual sport to give my experiences some context. (Thanks to British bob skeleton website and Wikipedia your info).

History of bob skeleton

The sport can be traced back to the late 1800's when, in Switzerland, English soldiers built a toboggan track to slide down near to St Moritz. The sport is thought of as a spin off of Cresta sliding and at the Grand National Cresta championships in 1887 the head first position was first adopted. The sport made it's first appearance in the Olympics of 1928, held in St Moritz. It was also in the 1948 Olympics and then added to the Olympic programme in 2002, for Salt Lake City.

Link to Cresta sliding 

http://youtu.be/sGFB6fd1nYc

Link to Cresta crashes 

http://youtu.be/UIGTTe7Thus

The sport earned it's name when an Englishman called L. P Child changed the sled. The bare bones sled resembled a skeleton and this remains the sports modern day name.  In 1923 the Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing was formed and the sport began to spread across the world. 

The sport

The aim of the game is to get yourself to the bottom of the ice track as fast as possible. Simple right? Not so much. You need to steer a track full of twists and turns on a one mad sled in order to get to the bottom safely. Tracks are 1.2-1.8 km long, sliders reach speeds of 140 kph and hit 5g forces at points. There is a mixture of long, high pressure corners and shorter, low pressure corners to negotiate. Courses are mainly downhill with an average gradient of 8.5-10% and a maximum gradient of between 15 and 20%. The vertical drop between start to end is usually between 110 and 130m. And I should mention that you can't really see when you are sliding, so apart from a small amount of peripheral vision you rely on memory, feel and sound.

Components of sliding

The start.

From a standing start the slider must push the sled (20-30m) to accelerate it firstly on the flat then downhill before loading (jumping on). It usually takes elite sliders 5s to cover the first 50m and they can reach speeds of 40 kph even at this point. 

Driving.

When on the sled your head and lower legs hang off each end centimetres off the ice. Like I said before you have very little vision and lifting you head can seriously affect the stability of the sled so it isn't advised for the most part. There is no steering wheel. In bob skeleton you drive using your

1. Head

2. Shoulder

3. Knee

4. Shoulder and knee

5. Feet

It's all about changing the pressure or weight through the runners and in particular the knife (the grippy part of the runner). Depending on where you apply pressure and how the sled changes direction. The movements are all quite subtle too. If you watch the pros you can barely see their steers (except for feet). We on the other hand are telegraphing (showing our steers) quite a lot. 

So how do you know when to steer? Well for us we started with 4 steers that our coach needed us to do to get us safely to the bottom. So you make a plan, or a script as I like to think of it. First day my plan looked like this...

Corner 6. Left shoulder 

Corner 10. Right shoulder

Corner 12 . Left shoulder

Corner 13. Right shoulder

I now have 16 steers as opposed to 4. This is to help optimise the entry and exits from corners so that you get a good (fast) line down the track as hits and skids bleed the speed from the sled. To help us remember what to do a lot of visualisation is required. You can do this anywhere and in any position really but for me it helps to be on my sled and I can replicate the movements and build my muscle memory. 

Yesterday doing do someone visualisation with my script. 

Where does it all lead? (One day, eventually maybe?)

Competition.

Apart from the Olympics and the World Championships there are four international circuits in which skeleton athletes can compete; Europa cup, Inter-Continental cup, North American cup and the highest of them all the World Cup. In a couple of years if I make it on to the Talent programme I could be competing in the Europa cup which is the first one. Each series has 8 races where you get two runs. The series winner is the one with the most points. 

Great Britain, despite not having a home track are a pretty successful skeleton nation. GB have medaled at the last four Olympics and have athletes in all of the international series. So far this season several of the athletes in the EC and ICC have achieved podium finishes. So we are in good company.

Lizzie Yarnold winning Olympic gold in Sochi.

http://youtu.be/QpbIWauGjTY

The lifestyle. 

This isn't a 'normal' sport. On top of the physical demands it requires a knowledge of sled mechanics, physics, sliding science, mental strength and ability to visualise and recall. It also demands that you are away from home 6 months a year in cold weather environments, away from family and friends. A typical day may involve: sled work, loading the van, a track walk, sliding session, gym, video analysis, ice bath etc. etc. it is a lot of work for 3 minutes of sliding. But it just shows the intricacies of the sport - so next time you describe it as sliding down a hill on a tea tray think again.

So there you are; bobskeleton in a nutshell. We only have 6 slides left before we leave but we are aiming to get to the top by Wednesday. Fingers crossed it goes well. I'm going to learn my script now.

Not that you can tell but that's me yesterday coming out of 10.

 

A day in pictures

They say a picture speaks a 1000 words, and I'm feeling lazy so a photo blog it is :)

Day 10 (day 5 of sliding) 

6am wake up in Midtgarden 3 (taken from my bed)

7am Managed to get dressed but put my socks on the wrong feet

8:30am Brogan visualising in the start house pre sliding 

10:00am finished sliding for the day. Possibly the last start from corner 4.... Making our way to the top from Monday 

11:00am post sliding activities - unloading the van, video analysis and chill time

15:00 Lillehammer treat time 

19:00 treat night, pizza and English tv

21:00 X FACTOR It's time to face the music 

22:00 almost bedtime. This pretty much sums us up today!! We are going for a long walk tomorrow! 

One week in: melancholy strikes

Yea so today has been a tough one for the group. 

Firstly two of our team left for home because of injuries :( Hannah will be given the chance to slide again in March but for Liv the journey is over; taken away from her against her choice. It was a stark reminder that in performance sport you as an athlete are expendable. We all understand the reasons why Liv and Hannah have been sent home - primarily safety and logistics. It just cuts to be reminded that in this environment the bonds you think you are making can mean nothing when push comes to shove and that we are somewhat of a production line. If you're not deemed good enough then goodbye. As Alice has just said we are pawns in their skeleton game. That's the brutal truth. But whatever the outcome I am trying to show progress and enjoy the experience. 

So the now 7 of us had a sliding session today; 3 runs. Personally, I was quite nervous. My heart rate was sky high as I got on my sled for the first run. It was my first run since whacking my ankle and I desperately didn't want to hit it again as the swelling had only just gone away. We were also starting to employ knee steers on a couple of corners so I'd had to rewrite my plan and re-wire my brain so that my muscles acting in the right way for this. I also had a steer for the part of the track we call the labyrinth because I keep scraping my knuckles. In hindsight I was a little overwhelmed. But 6 or so steers is nothing compared to what the guys that compete are doing. 

My three runs were.... Ok. I didn't get all my steers, I got lost at times and I didn't feel the oscillations (wave patterns in the corners) BUT I didn't take any major hits, had good form, am improving my ability to recall AND didn't feel traumatised at any point. So I'll take it. I am proud of my form because it forms the basis for sliding and is probably saving me a lot of bangs. Moreover I almost enjoyed it. Now, I bet you are probably saying "if you aren't enjoying it why are you doing it?" Well because do you ever really enjoy learning to do something from scratch? This is what we are doing. It takes graft and time and it feels crap most of the time. That's not enjoyable. Plus to put it into context I have only 'trained' for my new sport for a total of 10 minutes!!!!! So I will gladly take almost enjoyed for now. Another 3 runs tomorrow; with a 8:30am track start time ugh.

The rest of the group are a mixed bunch. Everyone is feeling a little melancholy today. Maddie didn't 'turn up' metaphorically speaking, she thinks she was still in bed during today's session. Alice has taken a bad knock, Ellie is still struggling with 4... This sliding stuff isn't simple. It's frustrating to know where you are going wrong but not why. And moreover not knowing how to rectify going off line. We can't know this yet however because it will overload us. So it's a case of trust and patience. Not sure how common that last trait is in athletes!! But we are a team so we work together and hopefully everyone can go to bed a bit happier. I have shared some psych with Abbie to hopefully help her reflect and empty her head and prepare for tomorrow. Everyone can offer different things. Alice for example brought wispa bis cute and fudge to the table tonight :) they were gladly received and no trace of then remain. Onto tomorrow.

Now for fast facts and my 'of the day'. 

I hit 100.8kph today. And my quickest run was 59.49s. I was pleased to go over 100kph again and break 60s. Times aren't important for us at the moment but it's still nice to see. Usually if you're breaking 60s from 4 you graduate to the top. However the track is mental quick so we still need some more time.

QOTD:

"That troll, he looks quite friendly" Maddie is growing find of the trolls.

Moment OTD

Bit of a sad one but it felt poignant to me... When Liv and Hannah left and we had a group good bye circle/hug. We really have bonded as a group and it makes all the difference when you know there are people that you can open up to. 

Funny moment OTD 

Alice's face during video analysis. Alice had a traumatic few slides to say the least and like me on Monday was dreading the video session. However, her slides looked good and the surprise on her face was a right picture. Just shows that perception isn't always correct and confirms my belief that you got to get used to that out of control feeling as it isn't (always) a bad thing.

This is Alice's leg tonight. This was not why her run was traumatic either. She may have a broken knuckle.

And finally POTD

We checked the ice bath at lunch as we were booked in post sliding only to find a layer of ice (obvious I guess). So I chucked a rock in to break it and the picture shows just how thick the ice is!!

Meet the trolls of midtgarden

We've had a rest day today so as there is no skeleton chat for you I thought I'd introduce you to my fellow athletes out here. And in honour of the troll museum we visited today I've got a photo of each of their troll face (no filter).

Midtgarden 3 inhabitants

Maddy Smith

 Age 19, previously a 100m hurdler. Lives in Bath. Random fact: her favourite word is 'perfect'. E.g. Maddy: "where's Kim?" Abbie: "in the toilet" Maddy: "perfect". She uses it ALL the time.

Abbie Hewitt 

 Age 18, previously a sprinter. Lives in Truro.

Random fact: she normally speaks in a southern accent until she's on the phone to her parents when she transforms in to a Welsh person! It's so freaky like someone Welsh has taken over her body.

Alice Lennox

 Age 23, lives in Manchester, works as a physio. Previous sport: athletics - heptathlete. Random fact: she 'enjoys' a dance and her signature move is the wide stance slut drop.

Chloe Sidwell

 Age 19, lives in Sheffield. From Stamford, Lincolnshire. She has come to power2podium from badminton. Random fact: she is putting us all to shame with her discipline and has already submitted an assignment. 

Midtgarden 2

Hannah Stevenson 

 Age 21, formerly a 200m sprinter. From Nottingham but lives and goes to uni in Sheffield. Random fact: has the wickedest laugh and the life and soul of the group.

Brogan Crowley 

Age 20, heptathlete. Lives in Loughborough, from Manchester. Random fact: she has only hit corner 13 once. The rest of us hit it almost every time. She's a natural. 

Ellie Furneaux

 Age 20, not from a particular sport. Lives in Bath, studying at Bath Spa. From Kent. Random fact: she'd memorised the track back in August before any of us has even googled it. 

Liv Callaghan 

Age 21, from athletics (100/200). Lives and studies in Loughborough, from Manchester. Random fact: hates baldness. 

There are 3 members of staff here with us too. If they oblige with the troll face I'll add them in tomorrow's blog. 

And in case you're missing my face here it is....

And this is what we look like normally. The princess is our 10th member. 

Slide 7

Today did not go to plan. 

We planned to do 3 slides, 7/9 of us were sliding. Half of the group went down and then Ellie went off. Within a 10m she had rotated 180 degrees on her sled and was going feet first, face down into corner 4!!!! *^%#?!! Somehow she got off. What could have happened if she hadn't isn't really worth thinking about. At the same time we heard the Liv was throwing up at the bottom having been concussed at some point during the run. So not great. There were three of us left and we got down ok. I actually had a good slide and was really pleased until I twatted my ankle (the same one from yesterday) in the outrun. Unable to bear weight Chloe got my sled down and I hobbled off. I found Liv who was looking very pale and ill bless her. A bit later I found out that I hit 100kph out of 13. May explain my erratic exit and ankle hit! Pretty pleased with that speed though, I think I am the first of the group to hit 100kph!  

Shortly after that the session got called off as Liv needed to go to hospital. It made no difference to me as I wasn't going again on my ankle anyway. Safe to say the session had gone wildly off plan. But I guess that is what happens in skeleton. I mean in what other sport do you go straight in on an Olympic standard track/course? And once you get let go off the top all you can do is use the information you've been given to the best of your ability. Mistakes and accidents happen. So we've all had a bit of a reality check today. Liv won't be sliding for a while, and Hannah has a broken bone in her hand from yesterday, so we are down to 7 for a while at least. 

On a lighter note we've still managed to have some funny times today. And we've all pulled together as a team; staff and athletes. 

Today's moment was provided by Alice who stepped up to drive as our drivers had taken the girls to the hospital. Having not driven abroad or in snow before we didn't know what to expect. We certainly couldn't have predicted what happened next. After several stalls and some very odd jerking back and forward plus stress and confusion she realised she had been using the brake as the accelerator?!? We'd managed to get up a hill of snow with her touching the actual accelerator!? We were obviously in hysterics but we needed a light moment after the mornings dramas. 

This eve we've watched Pitch perfect, talked about forming a girl band, had a look at Norweigan tinder (which provided the QOTD 'I like cat') and consumed a lot of chocolate and tea. Safe to say we've recuperated somewhat. 

Woody that was not a trundle

Sunday 23rd November. Sliding day 1. My timehop next year will be a good one! (Mum and Nanny read with caution) 

We all made our first descents today!!! 

I'm going to keep this brief as it's been a HUGE day and we have another three runs tomorrow...

My first descent was like nothing I've ever experienced and as much as I felt 'prepared' I was in no way prepared for it. It was to be brutally honest 'f****** mental!' I'd visualised the track, practised my steers , walked the track, watched videos of the track etc etc but all that counted for very little that first slide. I didn't have a clue what was happening most of the time, I was able to pick out our orientation points (huge corners) but that's it. My first words when I finished were 'do I still have a chin?' As it had rattled on the front of my sled the whole way. I didn't even feel the bump I took off 13, only saw it back on video. Also, we were assured that the start would feel like a trundle. Did it hell!?! By the end of four (first corner) I was thinking oh my god I'm shifting. And after that I don't really know - a lot of swearing going through my head, absolute carnage. I was quite shaken but quite willing to go again. 

And so I did. Five more runs over the morning and then afternoon session. Runs 2,3 and 5 felt somewhat under control. 1, 4 and 6 were harrowing and traumatic! For runs 4-6 we were pushed off the women's luge start like a bowling ball adding a new steer - quick progression. I slammed into a wooden wall on my first attempt haha! At least that one didn't hurt. The corners with their pressure and oscillations were big adrenaline rushes, but the straights with their bangs and walls to hit scary as you try to prepare for the next corner here. So there were highs but my biggest low came after run 6 which in hindsight I shouldn't have done (mentally fatigued and no idea how to rectify what was going wrong on 13). 8/9-the end was horrific, I caught my knuckles along 7/8 ricocheted my way towards 13 and then twatted (word of the day) my right ankle bone out of 13 after slamming into the wall. Seriously shaken and hurt I got out of the track and couldn't help but shed a few tears. I wouldn't call myself a crier but the pain and frustration got to me and I'd had enough.

So feeling pretty crap I loaded my sled (weighs 33 odd kg) and we went home for .. An ICE BATH (in the snow). Lovely. I stayed pretty grouchy until the video analysis session before dinner (although tea and choc helped). I'm not going to lie I was feeling despondent but seeing my slides (they looked painful) but more so having our coach tell me likely mistakes I am making has renewed my courage and faith to go again tomorrow. I need to let go off my steer sooner if you are wondering. My corner 12 was also complimented which helped restore some confidence and made me feel proud too. 

The ice bath and the hot shower afterwards. Inviting isn't it?

But the day wasn't over. After dinner (where as per usual we played guess the meat) we had to learn how to put snow chains on the van and then check our sleds after the days sliding. It's relentless - track and field athletes are ridiculously spoiled I've come to realise. Anyway we were back at the cabin and I facetimed my dad and family which apart from being told I look tired (do you know what I've been through today?!) was lovely and they gave me some good reassurance. I've since done some yoga to relax and chilled with my roomies. So a positive end to a mad day!!!! 

Quick bits....

The max speed recoded on the track today was 99kph. 

QOTD: I reckon I've perfected 4,5,6 (Hannah Stevenson, 2014) after her second run

Moment of the day: the first slide - unforgettable. And after when we got to celebrate as a group.

Funniest moment: I didn't see this but I am reliably told that Liv slipped walking down to the start and had to be stopped by the maintenance men's brushes. 

POTD: Alice icing her chin, she has a bump the size of an egg under there!! 

The cold doesn't bother me anyway

We got down to business today. 

We spent the morning at the track which is amazing!! I totally underestimated what a feat of engineering they are - huge huge structures. We are here at the same time as a couple of the Europa cup races; a bob skeleton race series in Europe so we got to watch some racing. This was really, really useful as we got to observe the athletes in a race situation. See how they prepare, warm up, visualise and race. The GB team are here racing too so we had some home talent to cheer on and one of the guys was 2nd!! A good sign that we are working in a good group. 

Top start.

We then walked down the length of the track to understand the geography and begin the visualisation process. It is essential in skeleton to know the track inside out and have it memorised including the steers you plan to do. One of the biggest barriers for me so far has been not knowing how I'm going to actually get down the track. After a mornings worth of learning the track though I can now recall each corner and describe the steers. You learn very quickly. A big part of this was actually 'walking the track'. Once the racing had finished we put on our icers (sort of overshoes with spikes in to help with grip) and literally walked down the ice. We could feel where the track pulled you and where it flattened, see the oscillations of the sleds earlier today and we even got down on our tummies so we could get a more realistic perspective (you can see nothing). 

View of corner 13

Some scarier moments though... We saw some pretty sketchy lines-one girl completely clattered the wall after the dreaded corner 13. And one of the British boys lost control of his sled at the top and had to start again. The speed is also unreal. How they can think from corner to corner I don't know. The speed of decision making is critical. So we are all coming to terms with the fact that we will hit the walls. And pretty hard. But tomorrow we have a padding workshop so that's something-yoga mats and tubigrip!! 

Then as if learning 16 corners worth of info wasn't enough we had a sled workshop. Skeleton is so much more than sliding down a hill on a tea tray. Sleds need daily maintenance and you check the settings before every run - I've even got tools now. We are responsible for our sleds and they are fitted to each person so that it hugs you and is balanced to you. Anyway I hadn't had a sled fit so that was the first job for me. That was pretty exciting, shit got real. I now have a helmet and a sled. So I was fitted to my sled but it was still a shell. So out comes the tape and for the next 2 hours myself and Maddie taped the padding to my sled and saddle (the bit that keeps my in place and I hold on to). A rather tedious job but we got it done just in time for dinner which was a marked improvement on yesterday - pork (or turkey) with a peppercorn sauce. 

Mid sled fit 

We finished the day with a rather anti climatic (sorry Jack if you read this) demo on how to cover our spikes with shoe goo. 'Dump a load of it all over the front and let it dry then repeat!' Not overly technical but necessary to know all the same. And it provided some strong contenders for quote of the day (probably a bit rude for the blog tbh). Shoe goo I should explain hardens the front of our spikes so that they are protected when we drag our toes on the ice during a slide. With the workshop over we went back to the cabin for tea and biscuits (what else) and soon bed. 

Tomorrow is our last day before we slide. So it's crucial to learn the track and be confident on our sleds. This means practising balancing on them and visualising steers. So picture this... Nine girls laid on sleds in a small room all twitching their shoulders or standing with eyes closed moving hands and swaying about as we go rounds corners in our heads. Undoubtedly it's a strange sport but we are learning fast and in 36 hours or so we will have all been down that track. Talk about fast progression.

Our start point. 8:30am Sunday.

 

I'll finish with the QOTD which has been provided by Maddie, during her sled check when asked what she was wearing down the track.

'I am going down naked' - I'll update you on that one (she was feeling a little tight on her sled). I think she will regret that, it's supposed to drop to -5 over the next few days. 

Night x