Concrete and runners do not mix…..
Did I slide well enough to win the race? Probably not, but the time on my first run of the 3rd selection race was definitely affected by the runner damage I incurred somewhere between corner 9 and 12. My line out of corner 10 was rally nice and the transition from 11-12-13 was as good as I expected – so where did that .3 or .4 seconds go…..? The only explanation I can come up with is runner damage. My right runner was severely damaged and took a furious 10 minutes of sanding after the run just to make it safe to use on the next run (safe – not necessarily fast). Anyway, no excuses, I slide well enough to be 2nd or 3rd but ended up 4th and that result was enough to be 1st over-all in the team selection process. I am very happy with what I learned in Placid at this race and it will certainly help me compete better come February’s World Championships. Still a few corners to work on, but several key areas were cleared up for me this week. Now it is off to Germany for the next 3 weeks – rest and recovery week, Winterberg race #1 on Nov. 28th, and Altenberg race #2 Dec. 5th. Looking forward to kicking some ass……. Here come the Pain Train.