Happy Easter! I must admit, it is a little strange not to be with my family today but if there was ever a good reason to miss a holiday this is it. My friend Alison is picking me up and taking me to the airport in about 30 minutes (thanks Alison!). I can't believe after all the months of training and getting ready it is finally time to leave!
As is standard practice before I go away, I was up until 2 in the morning last night doing laundry and packing. One would think I would have figured out that part of these adventures by now but not so much. And in typical fashion, I absolutely over packed! Good thing I have a scale this time to weigh my bags, the one bag is 49lbs! When I went to China I had to run over to my friends house at 12:30 at night to borrow her scale to weigh my bags, only to find one was overweight. My mom read about it on this blog and when she picked me up from the airport she had a scale waiting for me in the car, haha!
Now that it is time to leave I look back over the past 6 months and I feel as though I'm in a really good spot. One thing I did a little differently this time around is I was able to get more opportunities to line. For the IIHF I'm a linesman but when I work college hockey I typically referee. While the two positions are similar, they are also very different - different positioning, things to watch for and even a different mindset. I was able to line number of games in the Atlantic Junior Hockey League which was great experience. A lot of the boys who play in that league go on to play D3 or even D1 hockey so they are big and fast - probably much faster than everyone but USA and Canada. You have to have a lot of awareness when working that league because 17-20 year old boys are testosterone filled idiots who do stupid things behind the play so it was great preparation. Physically I feel great. I am stronger than I've ever been. I continued to do crossfit 4 days a week, swam once a week and ran some. This winter I really focused on working on my efficiency and worked on my weaknesses and the improvement has shown. I finished week 4 of the Crossfit Open this week and my results are definitely much better than last year. And mentally I feel ready. I know I've put in the work so I'm confident.
Lastly, a little bit about the other two Americans going with me. Laura Johnson (from Rochester) is the other linesman going. She is one of my closest friends in the officiating community so I'm thrilled to share this experience with her. We were roommates at several camps as well as in China and we get along great. We always joke around that we are the perfect pair because she under packs and I over pack so she just wears my extra clothes! Krissy Langley is the other American going. She is a referee from Minnesota. Krissy is also one of the nicest people you will ever meet. We worked 4 Nations Cup together in Lake Placid as well as a number of national team events and national tournaments. I'm so psyched to be traveling with both those girls.
Time to go to the airport, next post will be from Ottawa! Also, good luck to my men's league team in the deciding game of the championship series tonight! I'll be there in spirit!
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