Big Changes

Huge changes. For me at least.

When I got off the plane Monday night, Brad picked me up from the airport and told me a rumor that one of the ICC sliders wasn't going to do the second half, and that I was next on the list. Um, what???

Oh, wait, backup, you need a bit of history / info to understand the importance of that statement. After Team Trials in October, the various US teams were decided as follows:

• World Cup: those ranked 1, 2, and 3
• Intercontinental Cup (ICC): those ranked 4, 5, and 6
• Europa Cup: those ranked 7 and 8
• America's Cup: those ranked anywhere that have the time to go (usually it goes to those ranked 9-12, but this season the WC and ICC sliders took most of the spots; they have priority anyway)

So I came out of Trials ranked 7th, putting me on the Europa Cup team, just off the ICC.

Now, back to the changes. One of the ICC women is not going to do 2nd half, and being 7th, I'm next in line to take her place! It's an honor and I'm still kind of unsure how to handle it!

It was just a rumor at that point, and I was falling over exhausted, so I tried not to think too much about it. Over the week, I chatted with work about the possibility, emailed the various peoples involved, and then relaxed and enjoyed my Christmas holiday.

Saturday morning, it all suddenly became official. I'm now on the ICC team for 2nd half, which throws EVERYTHING into disarray! No, I'm not complaining, at all...it's very exciting, just a lot of changes!

So, the ORIGINAL plan included going back to Europe for 2 weeks, to race at St. Moritz, Switzerland and Cesana, Italy (the 2006 Olympics track). New plan:

• THREE weeks in Europe, from January 17 - February 8
• First week: Cesana, Italy for 2 races
• Second week: back to Igls, Austria for 1 race
• Third week: Konigssee, Germany for 1 race

It's been a crazy couple days, emailing professors about missing 3 weeks of class, coordinating with work, buying my airline ticket, and chatting with my new teammates about rental cars and hotels. (Have I mentioned before that I LOVE MY JOB??? Not only do I love the work I do and the positive change I am a part of, but they are SO good to me to allow the time off and be so supportive and flexible. Otherwise, I don't know what I would do!)

Anyway, in case you can't tell, I'm super excited! I probably won't be getting any more top-10 finishes, since the ICC is made up of people who just barely missed the World Cup teams in their respective countries and so competition will be fierce, but intend to do my best and try to be top-15 at least! A reasonable goal.

I'm also back to my training / workout schedule between races, so hopefully can maintain a decent push at each track and do well.

Speaking of training, lifting weights yesterday was a relief since I was worried the trip to Europe may have resulted in diminished strength (we try to work out, but can really only do sprint warmups and some limited plyo stuff, no gyms available, so I was worried). But, I managed to squat and snatch the same maximums as before I left, with no trouble. It's such a relief!