The countdown is almost over and my team left for Calgary on Sunday and heading to Vancouver. We have had a good week of training here, especially me as I have been home, but I can tell we are all eager to get to the Olympic Village.

Some athletes are already in the Village now and we have seen videos and pictures, which is making me more anxious to get there. We also got our clothes here in Calgary and it was just like opening presents on Christmas day. Every package you open you can't wait to try on and you have to show everybody how it looks...even though we all have the same things. The clothes are really nice and the Canadians will be a good-looking team for sure.

But enough about all the perks...I am going to Vancouver for a competition, something that is hard to remember at times, with all the distractions, but the bottom line is that my team is going there to race and bring back some hardware!

My distance, the 500 metres is spread over two different days, the first round being on Saturday, and then the next three rounds to get to the final happen on the Feb. 17. At World Cups the rounds are usually only a day or two days apart so it might be nerve racking to wait four days for the final to come (granted that I get through the first round), but every girl will be in the same boat.

The relay semifinal is also on the Saturday, which will be an exciting race for our team. We have been on the podium many times before but so many things can happen in the relay, we will just need to focus and do what we can to get into the final on the Feb. 24...which will be an even longer wait.

In the past the Korean and Chinese teams have been our biggest competition in the relay, but at our last World Cup this season we were right on their backs crossing the finish line. We have been working hard and improving our exchanges so I can't wait to see what we can do at the Games.

The 500m is a lot like the relay in a sense that it is all out and one little mistake can make all the difference. It is my favourite race and has been since I was little, so I can't wait for that moment to race it in front of such a huge home crowd.

Chinese dominance

The gold medallist from last Olympics in Turin was Meng Wang of China, and she has won most of the 500 races since then over the last four years.

She is the one to beat, but is not unbeatable! She will also have two teammates that are very fast and quick off the line as well, girls that my teammates and I are always battling with. We have had two Canadian girls on the podium before at the World Cups, so it is definitely possible and will be very exciting if we can do that again in Vancouver.

There is a possibility I will be skating the 1000m as well, but that decision will be made during the competition in order to have the best racing team possible. So for now I will be focusing on the relay and the 500m and possibly will get to skate one more distance, starting on Feb. 24.

Hopefully I will be able to watch some other events, but keep the focus on my events, obviously. But this experience is once in a lifetime so I will try to soak everything in as much as possible.

I am still in shock that this is happening so soon!