Amy Williams' blog by Amy_Williams

Jet lag - I am just not friends with it anymore! It has hit me hard these last few weeks, waking me up throughout the night and early morning. Which is why I am writing my earliest ever realbuzz.com blog at 5am! I arrived in Calgary last week and it felt rather strange to be there as I hadn’t raced on the track for over 5 years. I actually got my first World Cup medal on the track back in 2007. I've been racing on the Intercontinental Cup level of skeleton competition for a few races, the double race on the 3rd and 4th Feb in Calgary. Then I travelled road trip style across to Park City to do two more races this week, trying to get enough points to compete in the World Championships which will be at the end of February in Lake Placid.

It’s going to be tough to earn my place this year, as my races on the World Cup circuit haven’t exactly gone to plan this past winter. Across Europe there has been a lot of snow that has played havoc with many of the races. Most people sound shocked when I say that snow is a bad thing in skeleton, as you would think it would help us, but it is actually the opposite. Many tracks aren’t covered particularly well on large parts of the track, so the snow gets onto the ice and builds up a layer that you literally have to plough through with your sled! I’ve had a few issues with my sled this year and have subsequently had to test out a few new things in order to ‘quicken’ up. But they’ve actually had the opposite effect and slowed me down!

On a more positive note, I got my first podium finish of the season in Calgary, winning the first race and coming third the day after, which was a great boost for my morale and confidence. I’m now in Park City and really hope I can maintain this momentum. Off the track I’ve got a new job – I became an aunty for the first time! I was lucky enough to meet him the day after he was born back home in Bath. I came home early after a race, so I was able to get in my first cuddle. Big congratulations to my brother and Sarah his wife and their beautiful little boy. It's great to have family so close around you.

After my training session every morning I was able to pop along and get my cuddle fix and help out however I could. I have to get well practiced because my sister is expecting her baby in April, so my job will be doubled! Recently I did some filming for a new children’s TV show called Ultimate Sports Day, which is going to be shown on CBBC every Saturday at 9am. It’s a show which gets school aged children competing against each other in some amazing, exciting and challenging tasks. It's a bit like your school sports day but on a bigger scale, as teams from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales compete against one another in a big ultimate sports show. Check it out if you have children, as it’s a great way to encourage all school aged children to get involved in sport, especially with the Olympics now only 6 months away!