Wednesday and Thursday, November 27th and 28th, Team Fenlator and other Team USA athletes suited up for what is the start of the 2010-2011 Bobsled Competitive season.  It starts off every year with team selection races where 2-man and 4-man bobsled athletes push their bobsleds as fast as they can down the icy tracks in Lake Placid, NY (home of the 1930 and 1980 Olympic Games) and/or Park City, UT (home of the 2002 Olympic Games).  The objective: to push FAST, drive well, and finish FASTEST!  There were 6 women’s teams competing in order for team ranking and approximately 11 men’s 2man sleds.  Women raced both days in their 2-man discipline where the men raced each one day 2-man and 4-man.  The top three finishing sleds on the women’s side are named to the National World Cup Team which will travel throughout North America and Europe in international races against many 2010 Olympians and up and coming elite international teams.  The remaining 3 sleds whom do not qualify for the World Cup Circuit (based on not placing top 3 during team trials as well as not having enough races on 3 different tracks per the International Bobsled Federation rulings) will compete on the America’s Cup Circuit throughout North America to qualify for World Cup next year as well as prepare for Junior World Championships held in Park City, UT.  On Wednesday, I awoke to a change in race schedule due to severe warm weather, rain and wind overnight melting much of the ice off the bobsled track.  The first team trial races were postponed until further notice.  I waited anxiously, nervous and not able to eat most of the day waiting for the coaching staff to inform us when the race would be held if at all that day.  Around noon the athletes were contacted that the race originally to begin at 11am that day would be pushed back to start at 6pm.  Mind back in focus and get into race mode was my objective.  I told myself “Eye of the Tiger,” time to put it all together on the hill.  My brakeman for the first race was JennaBree Tollestrup-Brown (Utah), a rookie brakeman just starting this season.  She has been training very hard since mid-summer to get back in shape post her college track and field heptathete days.  She was actually feeling under the weather for a few days prior to the race but did not want me to worry or have concern so ended up not telling me until after the race.  We ended up having the 2 fastest pushes on the hill for the women with a 5.69 and 5.71 respectively.  After a 2-run total, I slide into second place behind my teammate Elana Meyers (2010 Olympic Bronze Medal Brakeman, also a rookie driver this season), with Jamie Greubel (rookie driver) close behind in third.  We were all very close to each other at the top with pushes and Elana put together 2 solid runs after having some difficulty in training during the week.  The camaraderie amongst the USA athletes is one of a kind.  Although we are competing and fighting on the bobsled track against each other for top ranking, equipment and funding, WE ARE TEAM USA!  and it is a huge privileged and opportunity that we don’t take for granted to represent our nations and be surrounded by the tremendous caliber of athletes amongst us.  After Race #1 was post-poned, the track crew and “Bob Father,” Tony Carlino worked their tails off to make it possible with the warm weather for us to squeeze our very much needed race in the evening.  Still due to the conditions many of us had huge concrete gashes and scratches in our runners that had to be sanded and smoothed out by hand in order for us to be ready in the morning for Race #2.  Elana, Jamie and I decided to join forces and have a “runner sanding party” in the hallway between our rooms with all the rookie brakeman to cut down on the labor and time needed to get it done.  Between 9 athletes participating it still took us over 3 hours to sand 12 runners in good enough condition to race with.  It was a LONGGGGGG day and we all needed to be up early to eat, prep and be ready for the morning race.  Thursday, October 28th, my second official Team Trials Race has arrived.  I am excited to improve upon the previous day’s performance and work with a new rookie brakeman, Kristi Koplin (Utah – Track and Field Athlete).  We packed up my SUV with our equipment, turn on a pump up CD mix and headed to the bobsled track.  Upon arriving to the sled garage, I felt calm, collected, pumped up and confident for the day’s events.  In bobsled things on the track and off the track very rarely seem to go exactly as planned and this is a sport where adapting to your environment and being able to handle adversity is key.  One of our elite brakeman (specifically, Valerie Fleming, 2006 Silver Medalist) was injured do to a crash in training and was not able to perform on race day.  I needed to give up my brakeman to my high ranked teammate Shauna Rohbock (2006 Silver Medalist Pilot) and take the alternate rookie.   This was a last minute decision and sometime for the benefit of Team USA sacrifices and alterations need to be made.  Regardless the alternate chosen for my sled was Megan Hill (Auburn) whom was ready, prepared and confident.  We quickly went over some race protocol and our team cohesiveness at the start and adapted to the change in the day’s events.  Megan did a great job of mentally and physically preparing for the last minute call in and doing her best as a rookie push athlete.  We ended up finishing in 2nd place out of the rookie drivers again, this time behind teammate Jamie Greubel whom had two solid pushes and down times to edge ahead of us and pick up from the previous days 3rd place finish.  Over all it was a great first team trials racing experience as a pilot.  I was over-all happy with my performances and know that I can only continue learning and improving from her.  Off to Park City, UT for now!

Check out the below links for the official race results and articles:
 
Race Day #1
Race Day #2

 


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