November marked the start of luge season with three weeks of training in Lake Placid.
The team spent time preparing our sleds to get them in shape for the season, adjusting the balance and sanding and polishing the steels to ensure optimal performance.
Almost every day includes a workout at the Olympic & Paralympic Training Center, such as weightlifting for strength, stretching for flexibility, and gym games for coordination.
USA Luge’s indoor start training facility is right next door to the OPTC and features two parallel ramps at four different angles, designed to simulate various start angles at tracks around the world. In addition to pulling starts on the ramps, we used the treadmill to practice paddles for the first time.
It’s always an exciting day when we get our new team coats from Karbon! (Mom / Team Chaperone / Photographer got a matching warmup jacket of her own.)
Camp ended with a race off for spots in the North American Continental Cup taking place in Park City, Utah. Brady was recovering from an injury and was not cleared to race, although he did have a chance to forerun on the second day of racing. Ian secured 5th place overall in the competition, with a combined time of 1:35.455 on day one and 1:36.779 on day two. This performance qualified him for a spot in the NACC in December.
Though the ground was bare when we arrived in Lake Placid, we finally saw some snow before heading home for Thanksgiving:
