Hats!

I'm sorry the hats have not been as easy to purchase as planned! We are reorganizing the structure that will hopefully make it a lot easier. Thanks for your patience- I'll post all the info when I can!

Fundraiser- Beanies/Touques/Hats- or whatever you call them!

As Winter Olympic athletes, many of us are not professionals and because our sports are relatively small on a national scale, we usually don't draw big name sponsors and have a hard enough time getting any sponsors at all. Bobsled is a very expensive sport, for example, when I go next week to Park City, Utah, to start driving, it will all be on my own dime- especially cause I currently have no sponsorship contracts. In order to help me raise funds to cover these expenses, I will be selling beanies or touques or hats or whatever you want to call them on ebay. The headwear will also be autographed personally by me, for each buyer. Hopefully by various fundraisers and working multiple jobs this summer I will be able to fund everything I need on tour next season. Being a bobsledder often costs more than you'll ever have the opportunity to make, but I love what I'm doing so I'm going to do whatever I can to keep doing it- including work multiple jobs and fundraise like crazy. This one is the first of many- so buy your hats now!!! Here is where you can purchase them on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120538653573#ht_500wt_1182
Check it out! Note: the photo says Dad of Elana Meyers but yours will say Friend of Elana Meyers.

Closing Ceremonies!

Closing ceremonies were amazing! The Olympics were definitely great, but the season it long and I was excited to go home for a brief second. Here are a few pictures with some of the athletes during closing ceremonies:


Shani Davis with Erin and I


Lindsey Vonn, the anti-Lindsey Vonn (Erin was called it in an article- we're confused as to what it means), and I


Figure Skater Rachel Flatt and I

Medical Staff

One of my coaches once told me you're only as good as your medical staff. I learned this Olymipcs that he was truly correct. The difference is not the type of training athletes do, we are all essentially doing the same type of exercises, just in a different order. The difference lies in the medical staff supporting you- which medical staff can keep you healthy the longest and get you competing and training the most days out of the season. I learned that fully this season, after nursing a hamstring injury all season as well as Erin's hamstring injury during the Olympics. Our medical staff has worked so hard to get us and keep us healthy and they deserve more credit than they'll ever receive. There's so many medical professionals that worked with us this season- so thank you all for all you do- but I did want to recognize the two that were with us the majority of the season- Dr. Jason Ross and Byron Craighead. These two were the glue that held the entire US Bobsled team together- you guys are awesome and thank you for doing your job so well that we can do ours. I for one wouldn't be walking around with the Bronze medal on my neck without you.

Why are you blogging in the middle of your Olympics?

Yes, you're probably thinking why is she blogging when she has so much to do with her Olympic competition going on? Well- it's probably because I've been up since 4am!!! After we got done racing we had some media to take care of and then had to prepare our sleds for the race today. Then we took the 30 minute trip back to the Whistler Athlete Village, grabbed a quick bite to eat, did our laundry, and then got some treatment to fix up our aches and pains to get ready to go for today. I feel asleep rather easily, but took a sleeping pill just in case, and then woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed at 4am!! I've been trying to watch movies online (Personal Best, a movie from 1982- before I was born lol), but then I ran out of time (these things are timed when you're watching for free- 72 minute limit), so now I've been twiddling my thumbs trying to fall back asleep but it's not working! So I opened my facebook account and saw all the well wishes and the messages of support- it really means a lot and I appreciate it greatly. All my family, friends, and aquantinces, and even people I don't really know- you guys are making this a wonderful experience and I thank you very much.

Also, the other reason I'm blogging is I'm trying to keep everything pretty much the same as I would for any other world cup race or even a world championship race. It's two more runs and a lot can happen, so I need to stay calm and relax a little. Erin and I can do this, we just need to be confident but still be on our A game. 0.13 from gold is not a lot of time, and Erin, Pinky, and I, plan on making it up...so here goes! 2 more runs! GO PINK! GO PAC!

Joannie Rochette

I am amazed and awed by Joannie Rochette. The Canadian figure skater tragically lost her mother the other day, days before she was set to compete in the Olympics. We were racing yesterday, so I didn't see the performance live, but I saw the replay and I was amazed. She was crying at the end of the performance, and I started tearing up to- if I wasn't so ridiculously exhausted to know up from down, I probably would have been balling my eyes out. My family is so important to me and to be able to not only compete, but compete at the highest level (she sits in second going into the next skate) is nothing short of amazing. I can't imagine what it must be like to lose your mother, let alone at the world's biggest stage and still being able to compete! God is truly looking over her and with her at these Olympics, and that makes me want to cry even more. Her mother is an angel watching her every skate. I know I should cheer for the U.S. but just this once, I hope she wins gold...so I say to Joannie Rochette- GO CANADA GO!

The Hamstring Monster

The Hamstring Monster has been stalking team USA all season long and the Olympics is no exception! Todd Hays initially was sidelined due to a hamstring injury before his career ending crash in Winterberg. Valerie Fleming spent the entire Olympic season trying to over come a hamstring injury to try and make the Olympic team but unfortunately, the hamstring obviously didn't want to go to Whistler. And of course, me, as you all know from my previous blogs, I've been dealing with a hamstring injury all season that has caused some setbacks, but I still raced and made the Olympic team and felt prime and ready to go for some fast pushes when the hamstring monster decided otherwise!

My pilot, Erin Pac, just recently was attacked by the hamstring monster. Unfortunately, she is in a great deal of pain and unsure what percentage she'll be at for race day in one day's time. At this track, the push is especially important and we need every hundredth we can to win a medal and the hamstring monster wants to make this as difficult as possible. Coming into these games, we were one of the fastest push team in the world, but a hamstring injury will most likely slow us down a bit. A slower push greatly decreases our chances of a medal, but I'm not losing hope! Erin is a trooper and I know that she'll do everything she can to push as well as possible, and we'll work with it and compete. We still have a chance, the race has yet to begun, and there's always hope, as long as you still believe and I do. I honestly do.

So hamstring monster, you may think you have won yet another round, but you didn't realize that I know just who to call in this instance...WHO YOU GONNA CALL??? GHOSTBUSTERS!!! THIS HAMSTRING MONSTER IS NOT GOING TO TAKE OUR OLYMPICS!!!