Rostelecom Cup Blog 1: Day 1

Things were going smoothly when we arrived at JFK airport in New york right up until boarding the plane, when I had a brief panic and thought I had lost my passport! After realizing it was in my carry-on luggage and not my pocket, I eventually boarded the plane, and Penny and Evgeny could relax! Finally, they stopped teasing me after I reminded them that it was because of them that we nearly missed our flight home last year from the Cup of China. I guess we are even now.

The arrival day consisted of me having an afternoon nap and a workout at the gym in the hotel with Penny. I then slept a 10-hour night which after a transatlantic flight is usually about the best you will ever sleep! The second and third nights are different but I will try not to worry about that yet!!

Today was our first day of practice and after killing some time before heading out to the rink, the 35-minute practice had come and gone in the blink of an eye! A 35-minute practice seems so short compared to our normal schedule back in training, but you have adrenaline to deal with here, so you feel just about the same after exiting the ice!

The night ended with a nice opening event put on by the Russian federation to welcome all the teams and wish us luck! It was a nice chance to catch up with competitors that you haven’t talked to in a while and also friends in different disciplines.

Tomorrow is Short Dance day, so I had better get off to sleep now! Penny will do tomorrow’s update so “Spakoinai nochee” from Russia!

Nick