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© 2012 Sprint. All rights reserved.

Big Move. Park City Bound.

It was a pretty stressful conversation back in January when I heard my coach would be moving to Salt Lake City as the national team coach.  I had no intentions of ever moving away from Milwaukee because I had everything I needed for training and I was close to home.  Kip and some others thought otherwise.  I guess in order to make a step in skating I had to take a huge leap and trust my coaches...even if it was very uncomfortable.  I've already taken some gambles with life so why stop now?
At any rate, I finished the 2012 skating season on a decent note, spent time with my family, went crazy on planning and packing, and now I finally made the trip out to Park City.  Thanks to sister Lisa for helping me upgrade my vehicle, thanks to brother Billy for getting my excess 'crap' out of Milwaukee, and thanks to brother Steve and Julie for showing me a good time over Easter and in Florida!  I hope I can keep my head in the game and make my family proud for all the love they show me.  I sure will be far away and I fear I may not see them as often as I'd like, but I got to do what I got to do.  I hope I have lots of good things to say about my time out here in Utah and hopefully some good results come from this training experience!

Fall world cup recap

World cup oval in Astana, Kazakhstan. One of the most beautiful ovals I've ever seen. The trip started in northern Russia. (First, we had a trip of 35 hours to get there) I was a little nervous going back to Russia because there were three suicide bombings the last time the team went to Moscow. One was even at a nearby airport around the time we arrived. However, at the far north city of Chelyabinsk we were much more safe. We actually got to walk outside which is a luxury compared to last years trip.
Kazakhstan was similar to the Jetsons TV show. Based on the architecture I wouldn't be surprised to find flying saucers. It was very futuristic and I would not mind going back to the city.
World cup 3 was in Holland, which is always a good experience. Tons of fans, great food, walks in the woods, and warmer than Siberia. And...we get to spend time with some wonderful Dutch friends who usually treat us to pizza and give us stroop waffles for the road.

MDA Make a Muscle. Make a Difference.

This past Tuesday I got invited to a Muscular Dystrophy event.  I didn't know many of the details other than there was going to be food, fun, and we were to be there supporting children with this disease.  I got way more than I expected.  I made a great friend who showed me a thing or two about life.  Erica (below) has Muscular Dystrophy, speaks to children who have this disease, and has managed to operate her own business.  What an inspiration!!!  At the event we also got to meet the Brew City Bruisers, participate in Zumba, meet former Olympian Chris Scheels, and best of all, we got to give Erica her award for the evening. 

Flexing for the camera

Post Easy Week

Once of my goals this season was to learn how to take it slow when I'm supposed to take it slow. It's so strange now to actually take a break. I'm so used to being all tied up in knots and having complete anxiety over schedules, family stuff, life, training... I'm actually having to learn how to unwind. For most people it's usually the other way around.
Before its was--wake up, eat, train for 2+ hours, work for 4+ hours, train for 2+ hours, teach the kids, make dinner, crash for the day. Over and over again.
Now I'm able to take this year slow, like a new relationship. I'm able to reflect on what I actually want and where I want to go and how I'd like to carry myself. Most importantly, actually working on my God-and-me relationship.
I'm finding that life is very much like how I approach my skating.
If I can't do it slowly, I'll never be able to handle it fast.

Looking forward to baby Danica's first nationals!!! Under 2 weeks away!
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

New Begginings in 2011/2012 Season

Last season was quite a roller coaster.  I finally started to mend after the loss of mom.  As I found out, mending is not smooth sailing at all.  Lots of "firsts" happen the year after a death and I was dealing with a bunch of them.  I was actually dreading the 2011 season and it ended up being better than I ever could have expected as far as skating results were concerned.  A mix of heartaches and special surprises the Lord had in store.
This year I was determined to start off with a level head and heart.  I thought - if I can produce really good results in a mental mess, I just wonder what I can do with a lighter load.  So, I really needed to let go, and let God. 
So far I'm in a much better place.  And I 'm so much happier in relationships across the board.  The loss and grief I was feeling all last year caused me to shut a lot of people out.  But now I'm learning to grab outreached hands and also learning to reach out to others in return. 
Even in this individualistic sport I'm seeing that selfishness is not an option.  My team is made of the people I surround myself with through the journey.