It has been a busy three weeks full of ups and downs! A few more days of GS training in Solden then home for Christmas. Yay! Starting off in Lake Louise I had one mediocre training run where I reverted back to all my old bad habits for some reason…maybe nerves. I don’t know why, but it was ugly. Second training run was going great but then I decided to get a little back and inside (danger zone!) got compressed and sent it into the A-net head first. Ouch. Luckily I was mostly uninjured, just have one rib that still likes to pop out of place whenever is feels like it as a result of that meeting with the A-net. I had to miss the final training run due to swelling and pain in my knee, so after one and a half training runs it was time to race! Finally! But then… the fog, the falling snow, the hour long course hold before me, the one forerunner who went after the hold before me, and then I ended up being five seconds out in the first Downhill race of the year. Uuughhh. Gross. While I was standing in the start for my run it continued to snow and with only one forerunner I really had no chance. The track was so sticky with the new snow. So I’m writing that race off. Second day of Downhill racing was redemption time for me, came down with the lead for a few racers before eventually being bumped back to 11th place. A solid result after such a frustrating day the day before. Still by no means what I am looking for this season but a good place to start. I finished off Lake Louise with some really great sections of skiing in the Super-G race and some sections that really cost me. So no result for me that day. Still, a step in the right direction after struggling so much with Super-G last season. On to Europe! St. Moritz! Time to get another try at that tricky event Super-G…then...start stop, 10 min course hold before me, then gale force winds decided to blow sideways while I was on course. I was blinded for a gate and half, I couldn’t see anything in front of me or even the ground. So I naturally threw in a couple stivots just to have something to do till I could see again; and blew all my speed. It was a strange day, barely windy most of the day but I got the one gust that decided to show up for the race. Annoying. Write that race off too. On to Val d’ Isere! One of my favorite places in Europe, such a fun place to ski. After the first Downhill training run Jules, Laurenne and I went out for a few runs and had fresh powder! It was so awesome. Nothing like a few powder turns on a bluebird day with friends. By the time race day for the Downhill came around Mother Nature decided to be annoying AGAIN. It was too windy on top so we started from the reserve start cutting off the first 30 seconds of gliding. I had a good race run with two mistakes, and ended up placing 8th. It was little bittersweet knowing that if I had been a little bit better that run I could have been on the podium. Just 0.37 from the podium. Hundies really do matter. Every. Single. One. Still a really good result that I am happy with and moving in the direction I want. I need to of course mention Stacey and Leanne! We see Lindsey win all the time and that certainly is exciting and I am always psyched when she is up there on the top step but it is something you come to expect after awhile. Seeing two of my teammates get their first podium results was so incredible and exciting. I am still so happy for both of them. They both earned it with all the hard work they have put in. It also makes me smile to know that in a sport where people always obsess over the next prodigy child that someone who has been at it for awhile can make it happen… yea Stacey! That’s you! I am more motivated than ever to go faster and get better after seeing how possible it is to make it happen. Seeing some of your closest friends finally earn it makes it seem so much more possible. I have improved so much in the past year and I know I still have work to do but I know that anything is possible at this point. Onwards! Happy Holidays Everyone!
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It’s almost time! The first World Cup Downhill and Super- G races
start next week in Lake Louise and I am super excited to get going. It has been a long prep period full of ups and downs but I now feel ready and enough is enough. Let’s race. We finished up in Copper last week and were able to dial in all the new skis and figure out what’s what and decide what to race on. It was a lot more work this summer with the new skis deciding between different lengths, models and even dabbling with the men’s ski a little bit. It was a great camp and the whole team is ready to race. I think we can take the nations cup in Downhill once again this year! Go AMERICA! For now I am enjoying some time at home and recovering from the Thanksgiving eating extravaganza...I also get to watch the World Cup in Aspen this weekend which is always a fun time. I never get to see the tech girls race in Europe so it is great to be able to cheer for them on home turf! Looking back on this summer I was able to fit a lot of things in: surgery in the spring, lots of time in Park City getting my butt kicked in the gym, tons of mountain biking to get my legs and lungs strong again after chillin on crutches for four weeks, camping adventures, slaying fishes, family houseboat trip to Lake Powell, weekend in Vegas (broke even, feel pretty big time about that…), USSA Snow Ball in San Francisco, Moab weekends, hunting excursions this fall (success! I was back up but still, success!) and of course two training camps to the southern hemisphere jammed in there as well. Busy, but only a warm up for the upcoming season, it’s about to get a lot busier and more exciting….whooohooo! I’ll be updating regularly through the season so stay tuned…raaaar! Hi everyone! Welcome to my new website! I decided to upgrade and create this new website, so after ripping my hair out designing it myself it is finally done. There is a reason I do sports and not web design...web design hurts my brain. So I hope everyone likes it... and if not...well that's too bad because I'm not going through that process again.
I am currently in Park City for one last block of intensive dryland training, and I'm getting work done. I'm tired, sore and a little cranky from all the time in the gym but I know it will pay off when we start racing in less than two months. I am feeling stronger than I have in awhile and more prepared for this upcoming season. Last year I was a little weak going into it after being hurt the previous season but I made do with what I had and did pretty well. It gives me confidence that I can push things more and my body can handle it. This summer I was able to go to both New Zealand and Chile for some on snow training. New Zealand was a slow camp for coming off a second surgery this spring to remove the plate and screws from my leg. I "eased" back into things by jumping on the new GS skis and not being able to turn them. At all. I spent two days trying to figure out how to finish a brush course. Some athletes have had no problem switching to the new stuff but Ill be honest, I struggled for a little there. Yikes. I have figured out the new GS skis, they take a lot more effort to turn and are less forgiving but in the end I do like them and haven't thought much about it now that I have been on them for two ski camps. Chile was a really good camp even with the limited amount of snow. I was able to get on the new speed skis and thankfully I didn't have quite the challenge with them as I did with the new GS skis. I was able to jump right into running full length Downhill (yes!) and Super-G which was so MUCH fun! As much as I love summertime and having a change of routine there is nothing like getting back on skis and ripping. For now till I can start ripping again it is back to the gym…physical testing is next week and we are having a team dryland camp in Park City after which will be a lot of fun and also really exhausting. Looking forward to some snow! |