World Cup Race number #1...Winterberg, Germany

So, the first World Cup race has come and gone and it was a GREAT day for the Canadian Women's team in terms of results as for the first time EVER on a German track a Canadian sled (well, actually a non-German sled) won!  The Canada 1 sled of Helen Uppertonand Jenny Ciochetti were able to beat 9-time winner on the Winterberg track Sandra Kiriasis of Germany.  Kaillie and I  were able to stay on the World Cup podium placing 6th.  Amanda Moreley(my best friend) and Lisa Szabon placed 8th putting all three Canadian sleds in the top 10!  GO CANADA!!!!   We made a pact to sing  "O, Canada" as loud as we could during the anthem ceremony... it's so refreshing to hear your anthem played 5000 miles away from home.  Well, not everyone sang that loudly but I wasn't letting the chance pass me by!

One of the funniest things about making the podium or better yet, the top three at these European contests is what your prize winnings are.  Winterberg, for the past few years has given a set of rims to the winners! Yes, you read correctly, a set of RIMS!!!  There is also, usually a glass or stein of beer given to the top three. And not any ordinary stein either, this thing is hold 2 litres of beer - you need two hands to hold it for sure!  This is normal for Europeans i suppose, but we North Americans always get a kick out of the fact that it seems perfectly acceptable to offer the mass amounts of alcohol to elite athletes....directly after they've finished competing! LOL!  This year in winterberg (besides the rims) the podium places ( 1 through 6) received what I thought at first was a cool and funky vase, but I found out after a few minutes is actually a VERY expensive and avant-garde wine decanter - that I will never use because unfortunately I don't enjoy wine in the least.  But I will probably make someone very happy because re-gifting is a beautiful thing! :-)  

As always, the first week on tour brings with it our annual Adidas haul (YESSSS!) which we are very happy about but always takes a looong time to finalize. Especially this year because we received probably twice as much as I ever have in any previous year.  Ask any of my friends about something that I dread doing- and they will undoubtedly tell you -shopping.  I hate shopping SO MUCH!  It's not that I don't like clothes...I am still a regular girl after all....it's just the shopping for it that gets to me. The trying on, the fittings, the inevitable disappointment when you cant find your size (which happens often when you're built- well- like a bobsledder!), the walking up and down and then for me, the thought that plagues me as I near the check-out counter: "Do I really need this?"  So, needless to say I don't shop a whole lot.  When the adidas gear comes in, the hallway of whatever hotel we're in explodes into a scene from some kind of bargain basement shop with clothes everywhere and flailing limbs rifling through piles and a crush of bodies in various states of deshabille while voices can be heard shouting back and forth,  "Does that fit you? What size did you get? Ooh, that looks sooo good on you!  Hey, I didn't get that hat!"  And so on, and so forth.   It's my worst nightmare.  So, I try to collect my bag and avoid the scene like the plague...but this year the biggest drama was provided not by the common clothes but by our racing gear.   In previous years, Canada has worn a basic black with fading red sleeves and legs.  I admit to thinking we were one of the better looking teams out there...NOT any more!  Bright Red suits that look like something Santa Claus might have in his closet greeted us this year....and when we squeeze our bodies into them....they turn pink in certain areas - like our bottoms!  We had a great laugh about them and the fact that we probably wouldn't be very intimidating looking like elves from Santa's Workshop but we wore them anyway...at least we could all look like that together!

 We are in Altenberg, Germany at the moment and the 2-man races are tomorrow,(December 6th) and the 4-man race is on the 7th.  I have this week off of racing and instead Amanda will be racing with Kaillie. Wish them luck!  

I'm actually really happy that I'm not racing this week as I've been suffering from the worst case of insomnia I've ever had. I haven't been able to sleep for about a week and a half now and I have no idea when sleep will be returning...hopeuflly it's soon.  Yesterday I went to the German drugstore to try and find something that could help me sleep, but we have to be so careful about what we take - even seemingly innocent looking things can be banned -that I didn't end up taking it. I felt like crying when the sun shone through my window at 6:30 this morning and I realized I hadn't slept a wink.   If you're a praying person, please pray for sleep for me!

I'll be back on the track next week when we head to Igls, Austria.  If you want to watch the races they are streamed live  atwww.cbcsports.ca . 

Til next time, 

thanks for your love, support and well-wishes.

Shelley-Ann

p.s.  I've attached a pic of the decanter and our now infamous santa suits!