Intercontinental Cup races 3 and 4 did not go as well as Calgary did. In the first race I took 11th place and the second race in Park City I took 12th.
Of course I wish I did better in these two races because they were so important. Looking at it now, nothing was really in my favor this past week. I wasn't training as well as I would have like to be. I have not slid well in Park City yet this year, during team trials or the America's Cup race. I'm not really sure what my problem is, the only thing I can think is that the whole time I expected to slide well. And let me tell you it does not work that way. Unfortunately that had to happen for two races.
But now it doesn't matter and I am back in Lake Placid ready for one last race before Christmas break. We race this Friday, and I'm hoping the weather stays cold. There is a good amount of snow on the ground so its nice getting into the Christmas spirit. Sometimes while traveling it doesn't even feel like its Christmas time because there is no time to sit around and watch movies or bake cookies. I'm really excited to go home.
Wish me luck for Friday!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Sidebar Links
You'll notice that there are now icons on the side of this blog.
USBSF
USA Bobsled & Skeleton
Vancouver 2010
FIBT
Click on any of the icons to get to the webpages where you can find the latest available results. Annie cannot always get to a computer on her travels, but you can follow her. Sometimes there is live feed available fro FIBT.
More updates on the blog and website to come. Please remember to read the "Support Annie" post.
Thanks!!
-Kaitlin
USBSF
USA Bobsled & Skeleton
Vancouver 2010
FIBT
Click on any of the icons to get to the webpages where you can find the latest available results. Annie cannot always get to a computer on her travels, but you can follow her. Sometimes there is live feed available fro FIBT.
More updates on the blog and website to come. Please remember to read the "Support Annie" post.
Thanks!!
-Kaitlin
Facebook Group
Hello all, this is Kaitlin, Annie's older sister, taking over this post. I just wanted to let you know that if you have a Facebook account, you should go ahead and join the Facebook Fan Page. Click on that link or just search for Annie O'Shea on Facebook.
Also, you can now subscribe to these blog posts by email or RSS. If you subscribe by email, you will only get an email when Annie posts. No junk mail or anything and no mail unless there is a new post.
Thanks for your support!
Also, you can now subscribe to these blog posts by email or RSS. If you subscribe by email, you will only get an email when Annie posts. No junk mail or anything and no mail unless there is a new post.
Thanks for your support!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Support Annie
Dear Family and Friends,
I want to give an update about how the 2008-2009 season is going so far. As you may have read on my blog or heard through the grapevine, I did not make World Cup this season. I had a shoulder injury during team trials and it affected my sliding and racing. Despite this setback, I am committed to working harder than ever in order to improve my world rank in skeleton.
This season I am on the Intercontinental Cup Circuit. The competition is very difficult and I am still traveling through North America and Europe for races. I finished 4th in the first race, and have 2 more races in Park City, and one in Lake Placid before Christmas.
A spot on the World Cup team is funded; unfortunately, the Intercontinental Cup Circuit does not receive any funding. In order to make ends meet, I am applying for a scholarship called America for Gold. America for Gold is an organization that tries to help U.S. athletes by awarding grants to them. The application is lengthy, including financial information, letters of recommendation, and a personal statement. Before I can be considered for the scholarship, I am required to have 25 people who will donate $5 every month, for one year. This can also be done with a one-time donation of $60.
This is where I need your help. I am asking for your tax-deductible donation of $60. By securing donations to my training fund before I apply, it shows that I am dedicated to doing everything I can to succeed. Please consider helping me in my training and helping me to earn additional, much needed funding.
If you are interested in helping me please let me know. You can visit the website at www.AmericaforGold.org, read about the scholarship opportunity and learn about athletes they already support. The link for the EZ giving form is http://americaforgold.org/_doc/EZ-Gift-Enrollment-Form.pdf. You will need to fill out this form, email me at annieoshea.com@gmail.com and I will send you the address to send it to.
I will let you know when I have received your form and when I have mailed everything (all of the application materials need to be mailed in one packet). The deadline is January 15, 2009. I know this is a busy time of year, but please take five minutes to think about it. Your support is worth more than you know.
Thank you for your time. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Annie O'Shea
USA Skeleton Team
I want to give an update about how the 2008-2009 season is going so far. As you may have read on my blog or heard through the grapevine, I did not make World Cup this season. I had a shoulder injury during team trials and it affected my sliding and racing. Despite this setback, I am committed to working harder than ever in order to improve my world rank in skeleton.
This season I am on the Intercontinental Cup Circuit. The competition is very difficult and I am still traveling through North America and Europe for races. I finished 4th in the first race, and have 2 more races in Park City, and one in Lake Placid before Christmas.
A spot on the World Cup team is funded; unfortunately, the Intercontinental Cup Circuit does not receive any funding. In order to make ends meet, I am applying for a scholarship called America for Gold. America for Gold is an organization that tries to help U.S. athletes by awarding grants to them. The application is lengthy, including financial information, letters of recommendation, and a personal statement. Before I can be considered for the scholarship, I am required to have 25 people who will donate $5 every month, for one year. This can also be done with a one-time donation of $60.
This is where I need your help. I am asking for your tax-deductible donation of $60. By securing donations to my training fund before I apply, it shows that I am dedicated to doing everything I can to succeed. Please consider helping me in my training and helping me to earn additional, much needed funding.
If you are interested in helping me please let me know. You can visit the website at www.AmericaforGold.org, read about the scholarship opportunity and learn about athletes they already support. The link for the EZ giving form is http://americaforgold.org/_doc/EZ-Gift-Enrollment-Form.pdf. You will need to fill out this form, email me at annieoshea.com@gmail.com and I will send you the address to send it to.
I will let you know when I have received your form and when I have mailed everything (all of the application materials need to be mailed in one packet). The deadline is January 15, 2009. I know this is a busy time of year, but please take five minutes to think about it. Your support is worth more than you know.
Thank you for your time. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Annie O'Shea
USA Skeleton Team
Last Week Intercontinental Cup Race #1 Fourth Place
The first intercontinental Cup (ICC) race took place last Thursday in Calgary, Canada. I finished 4th. Not too bad to have a medal finish for my first ICC race of the season.
The competition is very close and places were determined by hundredths. I had two pretty decent runs, just didn't pull everything together enough to get on the podium. I'm happy though with how I did.
I love sliding in Calgary although its always freezing. It was about -16 Fahrenheit on race day with the wind chill. Just imagine standing on the start line in a speedo full body swim suit freezing your butt off. Its actually the worst part of it all. I was lucky enough though when I stood on the line the sun came out, when I took my pants and jacket off I had a false sense of warmth. By corner 12 down the track though your arms are cold and you realize how much you are freezing. Your ready to be done even though you still have 2 corners to go. But you make due, I've learned to deal with the cold. I don't love it, but I do love the sport so I'll make due.
Sorry for the delayed updates. My days get very busy and I loose track of what I posted last.
Directly after the race and the medal ceremony I had my car all packed up, with all my teammates sleds, so they wouldn't have to pay $200 to get their sleds on the plane. I headed back to Utah. I got stuck in 45 min of traffic outside of Calgary. I had one of teammates GPS that I was using since I would be driving back in the dark just so I didn't miss a turn. Well that GPS cursed me. I know how to get back into the states but I was following the GPS and wasn't paying enough attention to the road signs. (the easiest way to go is to take I-15 all the way down). For anyone who doesn't know always check your GPS before you start a trip (I didn't know this) it took me to the border and I knew I was lost, not lost just not where I wanted to be. I entered the US in Glacier National Park. (not the way I wanted to go) The roads up until this point were bad, a little icy, very gusty with a ton of snow. I was already driving slower than I wanted to be. The border agent was so nice and gave me another map to follow and directions back to I-15. I didn't end up using them because I would have had to take so many turns and it was too dark to see everything by myself. So I continued to follow the GPS, which ended up taking me back to I-15 but going through Glacier National Park was insane. I was going about 20-40mph for some of the drive, and was so lucky I had a jeep because of all the snow on the road. If it were the day time I would have loved the drive because I hear it is beautiful, but all I could see was what my headlights lit up.
But do not worry everyone. I made it back to Salt Lake City safe and sound. I stopped in Dillion, MT for a few hours of sleep, just enough to make great time back to Utah. The drive was interesting. I have never been more alert while driving, since I had to pay so much attention to see the road! It was an adventure, it would have been so much fun if someone could have been with me.
I just thought it was such a funny trip. Its crazy the things you do in this sport. I love driving though thats why it was so great! Next time I travel anyone is invited if you have free time and want to keep me company!! Seriously let me know!!
The competition is very close and places were determined by hundredths. I had two pretty decent runs, just didn't pull everything together enough to get on the podium. I'm happy though with how I did.
I love sliding in Calgary although its always freezing. It was about -16 Fahrenheit on race day with the wind chill. Just imagine standing on the start line in a speedo full body swim suit freezing your butt off. Its actually the worst part of it all. I was lucky enough though when I stood on the line the sun came out, when I took my pants and jacket off I had a false sense of warmth. By corner 12 down the track though your arms are cold and you realize how much you are freezing. Your ready to be done even though you still have 2 corners to go. But you make due, I've learned to deal with the cold. I don't love it, but I do love the sport so I'll make due.
Sorry for the delayed updates. My days get very busy and I loose track of what I posted last.
Directly after the race and the medal ceremony I had my car all packed up, with all my teammates sleds, so they wouldn't have to pay $200 to get their sleds on the plane. I headed back to Utah. I got stuck in 45 min of traffic outside of Calgary. I had one of teammates GPS that I was using since I would be driving back in the dark just so I didn't miss a turn. Well that GPS cursed me. I know how to get back into the states but I was following the GPS and wasn't paying enough attention to the road signs. (the easiest way to go is to take I-15 all the way down). For anyone who doesn't know always check your GPS before you start a trip (I didn't know this) it took me to the border and I knew I was lost, not lost just not where I wanted to be. I entered the US in Glacier National Park. (not the way I wanted to go) The roads up until this point were bad, a little icy, very gusty with a ton of snow. I was already driving slower than I wanted to be. The border agent was so nice and gave me another map to follow and directions back to I-15. I didn't end up using them because I would have had to take so many turns and it was too dark to see everything by myself. So I continued to follow the GPS, which ended up taking me back to I-15 but going through Glacier National Park was insane. I was going about 20-40mph for some of the drive, and was so lucky I had a jeep because of all the snow on the road. If it were the day time I would have loved the drive because I hear it is beautiful, but all I could see was what my headlights lit up.
But do not worry everyone. I made it back to Salt Lake City safe and sound. I stopped in Dillion, MT for a few hours of sleep, just enough to make great time back to Utah. The drive was interesting. I have never been more alert while driving, since I had to pay so much attention to see the road! It was an adventure, it would have been so much fun if someone could have been with me.
I just thought it was such a funny trip. Its crazy the things you do in this sport. I love driving though thats why it was so great! Next time I travel anyone is invited if you have free time and want to keep me company!! Seriously let me know!!
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Drive from Salt Lake City to Calgary
Although everyone was really nervous for me to drive from Salt Lake City to Calgary, I had a great time doing it. Friday, I flew into Salt Lake and left for Calgary Saturday morning at about 7am. Before I even left I was planning to take a nap somewhere along my drive before it got dark because I only got 5 hrs of sleep the night before. (Yet again, I couldn't sleep. Shocking.)
My drive was great; it wasn't too sunny, just overcast, for the most part, which was good because driving in the sun always makes me a little more tired. I had fun singing to myself and just looking out the window for the drive. I had planned on just renting an intermediate car, but when I got the counter I was explaining that I would probably be driving in snow. The man who helped me was very nice and he upgraded me to a Jeep Grand Cherokee. I know it's not the best on gas, but I figured it was the best choice in case the interstate roads were bad.
The first state to go through is Idaho. It's a pretty flat state, where I was. I stopped in Idaho Falls for gas. It was perfect for my trip that gas was so cheap. I was able to fill up my jeep for just about $17 or so per fill up.
Here is some more of flat Idaho. I took most of my pictures thinking of Kaitlin, because she always takes pictures on her road trips. I thought I needed to also. I will say it is quite difficult to take pictures and drive when you want to get the picture perfect. The picture below is what it looked like for a few hundred miles. I think the best picture
will be the one to the lower right of the screen. It was the craziest thing. All of a sudden I was looking out my window and saw a truck driving with a man running next to it and cattle herding behind the truck. It was just so 
insane to me there would be about 10 or so cows then a 50m break then more cows then another break and then more cows with their calves. It looked like there were hundreds of cows coming out of the ranch. I just loved that they followed each other down the side of the ranchers road.
My next stop was a little bit past Butte, Montana for more gas. Now Montana was a little bit better than Idaho; it's more mountainous. I just loved looking out the window and seeing the snow covered mountains. It was really beautiful, at one point I looked out my side view mirror and was just in awe of them. I mean just look at those mountains - that's why it
was such an amazing drive. I was really surprised that I wasn't the least bit tired. 
Mom this picture is for you. THE COWS!! Every time I saw cows just freely walking in a field I called them happy cows. There were a few places where the cows didn't look too happy and it made me really sad.
That was basically my drive. Montana got a little flatter but still hilly once I got closer to the border. Crossing the border is always nerve racking to me. For some reason I'm just afraid that they are going to make me pull over and just take up more of my time. It took about 20min as it was though, there was a little bit of a line. I think the worst part of the whole drive is going through Canada. You think once you cross the border Calgary should be an hour away but really it's about three. I did start to get a little sleepy when I was about an hour outside of Calgary.
I made it though, no naps or anything. I did though get a little lost as I got into Calgary. There are two ways to go into the city and for some reason I went the opposite way I knew. I don't really know what came over me. The drive though only took me about 13 and a half hrs, including all my stops. (it helps that my stops were never really longer than 10min). I'm glad I drove up to Calgary it was fun, and I had some good alone time. Which is something that is hard to get when you travel with people and live with them all the time. Quiet time is nice.
Kate and Mom, I hope you like my pictures. I have a few more but I didn't want to make an entire picture post!!
My drive was great; it wasn't too sunny, just overcast, for the most part, which was good because driving in the sun always makes me a little more tired. I had fun singing to myself and just looking out the window for the drive. I had planned on just renting an intermediate car, but when I got the counter I was explaining that I would probably be driving in snow. The man who helped me was very nice and he upgraded me to a Jeep Grand Cherokee. I know it's not the best on gas, but I figured it was the best choice in case the interstate roads were bad.
The first state to go through is Idaho. It's a pretty flat state, where I was. I stopped in Idaho Falls for gas. It was perfect for my trip that gas was so cheap. I was able to fill up my jeep for just about $17 or so per fill up.
Here is some more of flat Idaho. I took most of my pictures thinking of Kaitlin, because she always takes pictures on her road trips. I thought I needed to also. I will say it is quite difficult to take pictures and drive when you want to get the picture perfect. The picture below is what it looked like for a few hundred miles. I think the best picture
will be the one to the lower right of the screen. It was the craziest thing. All of a sudden I was looking out my window and saw a truck driving with a man running next to it and cattle herding behind the truck. It was just so 
insane to me there would be about 10 or so cows then a 50m break then more cows then another break and then more cows with their calves. It looked like there were hundreds of cows coming out of the ranch. I just loved that they followed each other down the side of the ranchers road. 
My next stop was a little bit past Butte, Montana for more gas. Now Montana was a little bit better than Idaho; it's more mountainous. I just loved looking out the window and seeing the snow covered mountains. It was really beautiful, at one point I looked out my side view mirror and was just in awe of them. I mean just look at those mountains - that's why it
was such an amazing drive. I was really surprised that I wasn't the least bit tired. 
Mom this picture is for you. THE COWS!! Every time I saw cows just freely walking in a field I called them happy cows. There were a few places where the cows didn't look too happy and it made me really sad.
That was basically my drive. Montana got a little flatter but still hilly once I got closer to the border. Crossing the border is always nerve racking to me. For some reason I'm just afraid that they are going to make me pull over and just take up more of my time. It took about 20min as it was though, there was a little bit of a line. I think the worst part of the whole drive is going through Canada. You think once you cross the border Calgary should be an hour away but really it's about three. I did start to get a little sleepy when I was about an hour outside of Calgary.
I made it though, no naps or anything. I did though get a little lost as I got into Calgary. There are two ways to go into the city and for some reason I went the opposite way I knew. I don't really know what came over me. The drive though only took me about 13 and a half hrs, including all my stops. (it helps that my stops were never really longer than 10min). I'm glad I drove up to Calgary it was fun, and I had some good alone time. Which is something that is hard to get when you travel with people and live with them all the time. Quiet time is nice.
Kate and Mom, I hope you like my pictures. I have a few more but I didn't want to make an entire picture post!!
Home for Thanksgiving
After the race in Lake Placid, I drove back home with one of my teammates, John. It was a good ride we didn't stop once you save a lot of time that way.
It was so nice being back home for the week. The whole family was home for the first time in what seemed like a while. Thanksgiving was great and the food was amazing. Especially since I wasn't home for it last year. I was in Calgary last year for the world cup race, I went to Banff for Thanksgiving dinner with Caleb. It was a good dinner but nothing like being home.
Kate and Erin did the Turkey Trott 5km race Thanksgiving morning. I was planning on waking up with them and going and taking pictures. I didn't make it out of bed with them because I didn't get much sleep the night before. Sometimes I just don't fall asleep at night, I've decided if I get more than eight hours of sleep 2 or more days in a row then I don't sleep fully for a few nights. Kind of annoying but you make due. That's besides the point though, they came home and we watched the parade. I think I was packing and mom was making the turkey.
I love being home, I never feel the need to do much, just say hi to people and workout. I didn't get to see all the people I wanted to because the week goes by fast when there's a holiday. I prefer just staying home anyway.
I had to fly out to Salt Lake City the morning after because I was driving up to Calgary for he first race. So I packed up some leftover turkey for my carry on and was on my way.
It was so nice being back home for the week. The whole family was home for the first time in what seemed like a while. Thanksgiving was great and the food was amazing. Especially since I wasn't home for it last year. I was in Calgary last year for the world cup race, I went to Banff for Thanksgiving dinner with Caleb. It was a good dinner but nothing like being home.
Kate and Erin did the Turkey Trott 5km race Thanksgiving morning. I was planning on waking up with them and going and taking pictures. I didn't make it out of bed with them because I didn't get much sleep the night before. Sometimes I just don't fall asleep at night, I've decided if I get more than eight hours of sleep 2 or more days in a row then I don't sleep fully for a few nights. Kind of annoying but you make due. That's besides the point though, they came home and we watched the parade. I think I was packing and mom was making the turkey.
I love being home, I never feel the need to do much, just say hi to people and workout. I didn't get to see all the people I wanted to because the week goes by fast when there's a holiday. I prefer just staying home anyway.
I had to fly out to Salt Lake City the morning after because I was driving up to Calgary for he first race. So I packed up some leftover turkey for my carry on and was on my way.
Race Catch ups
So past race results, in Lake Placid for the America's Cup I finished 2nd in both races.
I was really excited with how the races went, I was sliding pretty well for the week. I really put everything together on race day. Each day I had two good runs, they were consistent with each other, which I think I might have said in one of these that is my ultimate goal this year.
It was kind of crazy, race day one I beat last years World Champion. I didn't look at it that way, but everyone else did. I was just so excited for my runs, they weren't pr's or anything but they weren't too far behind the German World Cup girls either day.
Thats about it from that race.
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