Push Video

This video is from a training session in the Ice House in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I am pushing on the brakes with driver Jamia Jackson.

It's Been a Longggg Time!

I know it's been a while since I've blogged, but I hope to be more consistent once again. So much has happened, but in some areas so little has happened! First, I'd like to give a shout out to my new manager, Frank Johnson. Frank has worked very hard on sealing up some sponsorship for me and getting my name out in the media. He's a great guy and a welcome addition to the team!

I've been training hard and working hard and the season is almost upon us! We had our push championships Sept 14-20 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, which included our combine testing. I finished the combine testing setting personal bests in every event and finishing first overall in the combine by one point! Just a testament to how talented all our brakeman are this season! I also accomplished one of my goals for this year and defended my title as the U.S. National Push Champion, and set an ice house record in the process. The previous record was held by the Canadian brakeman Shelley-Ann Brown, who I had the pleasure of staying with in Calgary, along with her roommate and teammate Amanda Moreley.

I have been home this past week, and if you follow the news, you know that Douglas County was torn apart by massive amounts of flooding and has been named a disaster area by the president. My poor county has had more deaths than any other county due to the flooding and we are still under a boil water advisory as there have been sewage leaks into our water. Much of the county has lost everything- homes and other possessions, I count my blessings that all that was flooded at my house was the back yard. Many trees have fallen as the ground is too saturated, creating further damage. All the creeks, rivers, and lakes have overflowed and many roads around the county have completely disappeared- not under water- but just crumbled from all the flooding. I was unable to leave the county until Wednesday or Thursday as there was no way out- all the roads out in every direction were flooded! Luckily, people are kind and they have come to the rescue of Douglas County, providing assistance and bottled water to all those in need. Please keep us in your prayers, as I can imagine this is going to be a long recovery.

I leave for Lake Placid in the morning and team trials start soon!!! Wish me luck...

Colorado Springs

It's been a while since I blogged, but in that time we had a team camp out in Colorado Springs, Colorado. During that time- all the bobsled and skeleton athletes come together to have an annual board meeting and to do some team bonding activities, including a Gala- which is an award's ceremony and a chance for everyone to get dressed up. The picture above is from that event. Although it can be nice to see everyone, it brings the reality that the season is almost here. Time to buckle down and get to work!

Hang Clean- 82.5kg

Part of our testing is an exercise called a power clean. This exercise is designed to develop power, and it's important to do this exercise quickly and explosively to maximize all potential gains. Here, I am doing a hang clean (a power clean is the same exercise done starting from the floor vs a hang clean which is completed by starting just above the knee). Our testing maxes out at 100kg, which is the weight needed to get 100 points on our testing scale. Here I am doing 82.5kg for a set of three. My goal is to get 100kg from a power clean by September when we test.

Lex Gillette

Lex is my friend that I met here in the training center in Chula Vista.  He is a blind paralympian and is the current American record holder for the long jump for totally blind athletes.  Not only is Lex athletically gifted, he is also very musically gifted.  Listen for yourself- he's awesome!

Bobsled 101

As bobsled is not popular in the south- and really not anywhere in the states- most people don't really know what the sport actually is.  I usually get asked if it's like the movie, Cool Runnings, and have even been asked if I'm on the Jamaican team (Cool Runnings will give you a rough idea of what we do- but it is fiction and no- I'm not on the Jamaican team).  Anyways, bobsled traditionally has two disciplines, 2-man and 4-man.  Only men compete in both disciplines, while women only have 2-man.  There's many reasons why this is- but I'll save those reasons for another post.  In a 4-man sled, you have 3 brakemen and one driver.  The 3 brakemen are actually two side pushers and a brakeman (the person who sits in the back and pulls the brakes at the end- usually the last person in the sled and in 4 man- the one who feels the most pressure).  In a 2-man sled, which again is the only discipline in which women compete, there is just a driver and a brakeman.  The brakeman is responsible for the initial velocity- pushing the sled at the top of the hill to get as much speed as possible to start the run.  Brakeman are judged on 'start times' or the time from the first timing eye to the 50m mark.  Start times vary per track- with some tracks having start times around 5.20s (Whistler) while others have start times sometimes in the 6.00s (St. Moritz).  The U.S. team has some of the fastest push times, and as a brakeman, you make the Olympic team by pushing fast (and by being able to play the game- something I'm not very good at and another topic for a later post).  The driver, the person in the front of the sled, is responsible for making sure the sled makes it down on all 4 runners (the blades that are on the ice- they're not sharp but actually curved) and for making it down as fast as possible.  Drivers or pilots drive the sled onto and off of curves in order to reach the bottom the fastest.  Our sport is a sport where time is critical, and races can be won or lost by hundredths of a second.  For World Cup races, the fastest time after two combined runs is the winner, while in the Olympics it's the fastest time after four combined runs is the gold medalist.   There's more to bobsled- but I think we've covered the basics for now.  

Training Diet

I had a comment asking what my diet was like.  I constantly have to be aware of what I eat.  In bobsled, we have to make weight as a team.  The maximum weight is 340kg (748lbs), which includes the sled and the brakeman and driver and all our gear.  Our sled alone weighs anywhere from 176kg or 387lbs (USA 2 sled) to 184kg or 405lbs (USA 1 sled) and we have some of the heaviest sled's in the world!  The Germans use sleds that are minimum weight (170kg or 374lbs) which allows them to be have heavier brakemen and drivers.  Unfortunately, we don't have that luxury in the U.S.  I am the heaviest brakeman- my in season weight ranging anywhere from 80-82kg (176-180lbs) and my out of season weight (and my current weight) at about 84Kg (185 lbs).  Ideally, I would be 80kg and am working to get down there.  Although I have my ups and downs and diet mistakes (I had to try IN-N-OUT for the first time and it was delicious), I am starting to find a diet that will allow me to make weight and allow me to keep it off.  Before I've tried all types of diets- mostly eliminating carbs- which worked temporarily- but I was never able to keep the weight off- it always came right back.  Now I've learned that carbs are not the enemy!!!  It's all about eating the right types of carbs at the right time.  My coach described it like this: if you divide your plate into thirds, there should be 1/3 good carbs, 1/3 good fats, and 1/3 lean protein.  Now each meal I focus on having exactly that.  Good carbs are carbs that are low glycemic carbs, foods like whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, etc.  These are important because they provide energy, and when you workout as much as I do, you need the energy.  Often as power athletes, we overload on the protein- but really this isn't an efficient way of giving your body the energy it needs (although protein can be converted into glucose, the only substance the brain can actually use, it is much harder on our bodies and not efficient).  Good fats are things like nuts, peanut butter, avocados, and even butter- yes butter!!!  I'm not saying to overload on the butter- but definitely butter over other spreads.  Lean proteins are things like chicken, lean beef cuts, turkey, and fish.  I personally don't try to count every single calorie, but I do write down what I eat and try to eat balanced meals with plenty of vegetables.  If you have to eat high sugary foods, the best time to eat them is right after a workout- your body will use them the best.   As for me though, I'm trying to avoid them, but as you can imagine- that's much easier said than done!  If your trying to loose weight, it's important to remember- this is not something you do overnight!  You didn't put on the weight overnight and you're not going to take it off overnight!  So give yourself some time to lose the weight.  You're better off losing gradually then losing all at once and gaining it all back.  One last tip- STAY HYDRATED!  People often think they are hungry when they're just thirsty.  I drink as much water as possible (and tea).  Water is your friend :)  Your body does so much for you, the least we can do is give it the proper fuel it needs.