We all naturally want to become successful... we also want to take shortcuts. And it's easy to do so, but you can never take away the effort of hard work and discipline and sacrifice.
First and foremost, my involvement within the Olympic pursuit and Games were obviously surrounded by only putting the absolute best nutrients into my body.
Early in my career, I had difficulty breathing during workouts and my performance on the ice suffered. It wasn't until I was diagnosed with EIB and received the proper treatment that I was able to reach my peak performance.
I can look into someone's eyes and feel like I know her better, versus a phone call, where you can't get that same type of emotion. That's why text messaging gets you in trouble: You can't bond, and emoticons explain only so much.
I never had one day that I didn't want to be on the ice, because I always had an objective for that day. I had a rigorous plan and schedule in place that I had to adhere to. It was a step-by-step process of slowly but surely inching toward the Olympic Games and using every day as a series of goals to be accomplished.
I am a believer in nutrient timing and supplementation, through 8Zone. I love eggs, apples, wild fish, leafy greens, brown rice, pasta, oatmeal, home grown Washington Potatoes, and cooking with coconut and olive oils.
When there's somebody racing side-by-side, when somebody's right next to me and they're pushing and we're both tired, we're both fatigued, I want to be able to beat them mentally.
I rolled the second car that I ever owned, a Toyota 4 Runner. This was winter in Colorado, two weeks before the 2002 Olympic trials. I was driving in the outside lane, and my rear tire caught some black ice, and we totally turned sideways to the point where we were heading right toward the median.
I have a scar on my left thigh, kind of almost near my knee. I essentially fell in the 2002 Olympics and when I hit the wall - because of the impact - my right leg kind of came in at like a knife-type angle and stabbed my leg with my own skate blade.
I don't have great running technique, but I like to run. I've heard from countless people that the last six miles of the marathon is all mental. But what better city to have this in than New York City where there are millions of people there supporting you?
