Of course, the next day was clear skies and clean ice. I remember sitting in the start house listening carefully to the finish times. People were going substantially faster than the day before and crashes were probably double. I felt confident I was ready for the speed difference but as I looked over, I got the distinct feeling that Madi and Meaghan were not.

After many years of sliding, I have come to realize, or at least convince myself, that more speed actually makes it easier to get down. At faster speeds you have less time to make as many mistakes!

Training for the next couple of days was interesting. Ian dove headfirst into a major mental slump after crashing on his first run, a trend that would continue throughout the week despite obvious improvements and continuous encouragement. Jorgen had his share of crashes but gained confidence every run. Jeff encountered minor problems but generally slid consistently and was fast.

In singles, Sam drove great lines and his position was superb but he was losing major time in the bottom. In doubles, he and Gwyn would fix one problem and then have another one somewhere else. They did however, come within four hundredths of the doubles start record on that track. Grant and Eric were sliding alright having no major problems driving but still were below their capability.

Madison in general tends to drive great lines, it's her high position with her head that continue to be her biggest challenge and the point of frustration for the coaches.
Meaghan, who last year finished this race in 16th and pulls a very fast start on the ramp, struggled on and off in two separate curve combinations and seemed to be convinced that she 'just couldn't do it'.

For me, Altenberg is a place of trials and tribulations. It is the track that I made my final qualification on for the 2002 Olympic’s and finished 4th on in the 2000 Junior World Championships. However, it is also the track that I have broken a sled on and crashed on the most. It's that love-hate relationship.

It's a track that will fight you and you either have to fight back no matter how many times it dumps you on your face, or you will quickly develop a fear of it. It smells fear and laughs at you in the face. It has the world's smoothest and fastest ice. It's sent the most sliders to the hospital. And I love it. I love feeling challenged constantly.

I was probably sliding the best I have this season. Not that I didn't make mistakes, I feel like I just defeated them. I won the mental game and for me that was a huge victory...one I have struggled with throughout my career.

Last year the International Luge Federation (FIL) implemented a new system where only the world's best sliders would actually compete in World Cups. This meant that there would be a 'qualification race' for athletes prior to every race which would determine the top 15 doubles teams, the top 22 women and the top 30 men. So on Thursday evening we had to qualify in the one run race to secure a spot in the WC. Everyone except Meaghan and Jorgen managed to put it down and qualify.

It was a great accomplishment for Madi and Ian since they both missed it last year and disappointing for Meg since she raced it last season. Jorgen missed it by four hundredths of a second but was happy with his performance considering the problems he had in training.

Race day. Doubles were first up followed by the women and then the men the following day. Scattered flurries made it a guessing game at the top with coaches franticly applying wax and then taking it off.

Sam and Gwyn were amongst the fastest starters and held their position well down the track until some major mistakes cost them the race finishing in 15th place. An improvement from last year when they failed to compete due to Sam’s broken hand. Grant and Eric had two mediocre runs and ended up 9th. Not bad, but not even close to their personal best of 4th.

In the ladies competition, Madison finished off the day in 20th after two clean runs. I ended up in 7th - a great result for me. I tied my personal-best finish from last season when I finished 7th at home in Calgary.

The men's race had it's ups and downs. Jeff made his mark in the strong men's contingent finishing an international personal best in 13th. Sam, who was in 18th after the first run, got inched out of his goal of a top 20 after his final run finishing 24th. Ian entered the race with a renewed spirit after a great qualification race, but crashed his first run and failed to finish.

Here I am now, typing on my laptop in Latvia with my foot up and iced because of a broken toe from earlier today. A small mistake before the last corner on the track wrangled my foot around enough that I made a trip to the local hospital for some X-rays.

Let me be the first to tell you that if you are ever in a poor, foreign country and feel injured or sick and debate going to the hospital, chances are you'll feel worse coming out.

I'm pretty sure that I will have nightmares about that hospital forever. But that's a different story. I had the option to cast it but decided just to tape it and continue sliding. I mean it's a minor inconvenience to walk on, but luckily luge doesn't require extraneous use of your pinky toe!

I've been forewarned that if I smack it again, there could be more serious implications…but that's always the case. The track is bumpy which can make it a little dangerous, so many of the nations complained, requesting they fix the ice or they would pull their athletes from the race. It's a common threat that only half of the time is taken seriously. I guess we'll see.