calgary push camp and xc drive

Well here I am, in the midst of my biannual reminder of how big this country actually is. Annie and I are currently passing from nebraska into iowa, on our trip back to NY in preparation for the winter season. Every time I make this drive it blows me away how much open space there is in America.

Priceline is my new best friend, you can get 50 percent off on almost any hotel and it sure has been helpful on these long trips.

Last week we had our calgary push camp, where we practice our push starts in an indoor refrigerated facility. It was a great week and I took more than 50 starts over the 5 days. At first it was very difficult to make the adaptation to running on ice pushing a sled compared to the higher friction improvisational things I do during the summer. It was very clear to me that I am the fastest I have been in my life. I was within two one hundredths of my 2006 olympic year personal best even with being as uncomfortable as I was with the adjustment from the track to the ice.With Every push session I became more efficient in my starts and more comfortable on the ice, finally feeling good during my last push session. The uncomfortable transition to ice is something that happens every year and is exacerbated by the fact that the us does not have its own push track to utilize year round. If the usoc and usbsf want to do the one crucial thing to help the usa win more medals in bobsled and skeleton it needs to get an iced push track on us soil. Overall the camp was great and I am looking forward to solidifying my technique in the weeks that come.

I will arrive in lake placid on the 6th of sept and am looking forward to the fall air, the training, and seeing my family. This is the best part of the year for me.