Support systems

Hugging my mom after winning a bronze medal at the 2012 World Championships.  So glad I was able to share this with her and my entire family.

I just recently returned back to Lake Placid to continue training for the upcoming season after driving 20 hours with my boyfriend to Douglasville to surprise my mom for her birthday.  She was completely shocked and I was so excited to see all of my family, as I didn't think I'd get the opportunity to see them until Christmas- and I wasn't even so sure about that.  So in that spirit, I write this blog...

I was talking with my little sister one day, who currently works as a CNA, and she stated that I didn't know what it's like to work with people who don't like me.  Oh to the contrary!  I live in an Olympic Training Center.  I wake up every morning and have breakfast with people who directly want to take my spot.  I eat train with them, eat lunch with them, spend time in the cold tub with them, eat dinner with them, and sometimes there even the last face I see before I go to bed.  It's quite the intense environment!  Every day you are directly confronted with people who want to beat you and of course, being the competitor that I am- I also want to beat them too.  Most jobs you go to work but then you get to come home to a loving family and relax and not think about the competition for the next promotion or the competition for the next big project.  That's not life in a training center.  In life in a training center, you're constantly reminded that no matter how much you may like your teammates, only one team can be on top of the podium and each person is working to be that team.  You are daily, hourly, face to face with your competition not only for a spot on the Olympic team, but also for a spot on the top of the podium.  And this type of environment can drive you completely insane...

But for the most part, I wouldn't consider myself insane (I still do bobsled after all- and that in itself is a little crazy).  So what's the key to keeping it all together in an intense environment?  For me, it's my support systems.  My support comes from all the people who love me regardless of how much I can squat or power clean, how fast I push, how I drive down an ice track, or how many medals I win.  My support comes from the people who know how to make me smile, who know how to make me life, and allow me to be myself and act as crazy as I want to be.  It's hard being over 1,000 miles away from home because in a large part my family is this support.  I love being able to talk football or finance with my father; I love being able to talk politics with my mother; I love being able to talk about relationships with my little sister; and I love being able to talk about all kinds of crazy with my older sister.  Luckily through technology I get to speak with them as much as I want, but it's really not the same as being with them- sharing our lives together.  It's crazy hard, which is why I was so happy to be able to go home this past week and spend time with them.  My support system is crazy vital to my success in the sport of bobsled.

Luckily, I also met the love of my life through bobsled.  Although I don't have my family by my side every day, I do have him and he provides me with more joy and laughter than I ever thought possible.  You see, that's the key to being able to be successful in such an intense environment, laughter and support, and he provides both.  Like yesterday- I've been struggling with power cleans for a long time now and despite devoting an entire month to just technique- it's still not clicking (needless to say I'll never be an Olympic weightlifter lol).  So yesterday was another day spent working on it- another day ending with me frustrated- a frustration that is hard to erase when I walk into the cafeteria and are faced with my teammates and competition.  My normal M.O. would be to wear my emotions on my sleeve, go into the caf and continue with my frustration, but that's not what happened.  What did happen is I walked into the caf and saw my boyfriend, who instantly made me smile and forget all about the power cleans.  We spent the entire dinner making up Cookie Monster remixes to popular songs, trying to see if we could send some to Sesame Street and get published (more on this later- and perhaps a song or two lol).  I didn't focus on my power cleans or what happened that day in the weight room, I didn't stay frustrated as I normally would have, I just smiled and laughed and had a great dinner.

That's what a support system is all about.  A support system loves and encourages you no matter what.  They love you through the rough times and cheer you on in the good times.  They pick you up when you're down and also humble you when you're too high (my mom doesn't care how many medals I win, I'll always have to keep my room clean at her house lol).  I love my family and I love my boyfriend and they'll be right beside me through the good times and bad times, in bobsled and after I retire.

P.S.- there are other people in my life that are support systems- my friends, my teammates, my fans, heck even my agent- but this blog wasn't about them- I'll speak more on that support later.  This blog was specifically devoted to those people who know me best- uninhibitedly.  Thank you to all my friends, teammates, fans, etc for all the support- I love you all!