If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you

After a well needed break back at home, I had a pretty good intense training block of slalom and giant slalom in Hinterstoder, Austria. It was then time to go to Bormio for the English Alpine Championships. Bormio is definitely one of my favourite places to race, the weather is almost always perfect and the hills are great for racing!

Hinterstoder

The races didn't go too badly, I think it took me a while to get into it. I didn't feel hugely race ready, its not something I've experienced so far into the season before but I think I managed well. In the first slalom I put down an average first run full of mistakes, but followed it up with a pretty fast second run. I need to find the right mindset to nail it on the first run next time! Then came my first GS start of the season, and it didn't go to plan. I wasn't confident enough and a huge mistake on the flat meant I didn't finish the first run.

Bormio FIS GS

The Super G in Bormio is always great fun. I don't ski a lot of speed, but it is probably my favourite Super G. Despite not being on my skis since October and not had a proper Super G run in gates since February last year. I was feeling pretty good and confident. I was happy with my performance, I would have liked to have been a bit closer to the leader but I skied to my points in the first, and scored points in the second - can't argue with a personal best!

I got a second attempt at the GS a day later in the NJR races, I think skiing the Super G made a big difference. I was happy with my performance, although I didn't make points I'm now definitely ready to get some more GS races under my belt. 6 races in 5 days is a pretty intense programme, I finished the week with another slalom race, on a pretty strange hill but came away with a personal best score in slalom which I was pleased with and I know there is room for more :)

Chamonix Valley

After Bormio I returned to Les Houches. I decided to leave my team in Austria. I wasn't happy and wasn't sure things were working out. I think its hard to perform your best when you are in an environment you aren't happy and comfortable in. I think I made the right decision and hopefully things will get a lot better towards the end of the season. I'm now back training with Ali at the British Ski Academy and things are working out well. I've got 3 races lined up for the end of this week (providing snow conditions are good) 1 slalom in Morzine and 2 GS races in Les Gets. Fingers crossed I can my head down and put in some good performances!

Back to Business

I did finally reach Champéry after the journey from hell! Once I arrived in Geneva I was faced with the situation everyone dreads when flying; your luggage not appearing on the baggage carousel and with both airports and easyjet not having a clue what could have happened... With only a ski bag and a race bag to carry it did mean taking the train was made a little easier than before. Thinking it couldn't really get much worse, someone was mugged opposite me on the train going through Lausanne and the police were called and started an investigation delaying the train therefore missing my connection onwards.

I was hopeful that when I got to race in Morgins I would finally get a GS start under my belt but the GS race was changed into another slalom as it was decided the piste wasn't really suitable. Luckily friends helped me out and let me borrow clothing and a race suit so I could actually race! The first slalom I was happy with the way I was skiing but unfortunately crashed out on the first run - injuring my thumb again in the process... Thankfully my lost luggage finally turned up 4 days later so for the second slalom I was in my own gear! Again happy with my skiing in general but still looking to get a quick first run in, rather than having to make up the lost time on the second! I didn't score my lowest points but I got my second best result and claimed the Welsh Slalom title! 

Huge thanks to my sponsors for this season! 2PureActive (POC), Rossignol, Bounce, X-Bionic, Jack Wills, Reusch UK

The rest of the week I foreran for the U16s Welsh Championships and helped out with the Dragons U12 racers. Conditions were perfect and it was a good way to end the week. I decided to go home for 5 days, I felt like it was time to take a break and I had to see my surgeon for my final review on my thumb. Injuring it in the slalom didn't do it any good, but no permanent damage was done. As I'm still struggling with the strength of my right hand, hearing that it won't get any stronger without further, quite drastic surgery (not ideal for someone my age) was hard to hear. As long as I look after it in the near future I should be ok for another 10 years or so! A huge thanks to Reusch UK for providing me with new gloves that have even more protection for my thumb, it's gives me a bit more peace of mind!

Now back to Austria for a training block before the English Championships in Bormio - hopefully with some time on GS and Super G skis! I had the usual crazy journey by plane then train to Hinterstoder, Motion Team's new base. With a delayed flight, delayed baggage, traffic jams, every single lift/escalator in Salzburg station being out of order (resulting in me falling down the stairs with 2 pairs of skis, and 40kg of luggage) and making my train with only 2 minutes to spare. I'm hoping it's the last time I'll have to experience public transport with ski kit across Europe! 

5 countries, 7 days...

I finally managed to get my first few races underway at the beginning of this year. On the 3rd of January I started my mega eurotrip from Weissbriach to Chamonix. Getting a train from Austria to Ljubljana, a flight from Ljubljana to Zurich and then a train from Zurich to Geneva. I have to admit travelling all of that distance by public transport with 2 pairs of skis, suitcase and race bag wasn't the easiest of things to do, but it was really cool to see new places.

5am wake up calls and no time for breakfast - bounce balls come in handy!

The programme was to have 2 FIS slaloms and 2 FIS GS races. The 2 slaloms ran as planned, the conditions were really tough! The slalom hill was still injected from the men's European Cup event only a few days previously, and after heavy rain the night before the race and it freezing to -10 meant it was really icy. It was also the biggest girls field I had ever raced in with 94 girls starting. I knew it was going to be tough, I hadn't trained in conditions close to those at all so I just gave it my best shot. The first slalom went much better than I expected, I was fairly pleased with my skiing, for the first race of the season I didn't have huge expectations due to training situations... But I managed to score my best slalom points of my career, finish top 20 from a start number of 62 and finish as first British girl. I was really happy! 

Second slalom didn't go as well, conditions seemed even harder on the second day and I felt more nervous for some reason. I think I definitely ski better when I'm relaxed and not thinking too much about the outcome. My first run was full of mistakes and the time showed it, second run I straddled gate 6 lost my ski and crashed out. 

Between the races I had a couple of days to free ski around, managed to get some limited time on my GS skis, th snow conditions have been so bad I hadn't been on them in over 2 weeks. In Les Houches the snow was really really bad you were pretty much limited to 2 pistes and one of those was the race piste for the children's races. I headed up to Argentière to do some free skiing with my Dad. It's the sunny days, views like this and the great snow that make me miss this valley so much! It was so good to be back!

My GS races were eventually cancelled due to a combination of lack of snow and lack of safety netting. The TD decided it wasn't safe enough to race. This meant an earlier return back to Austria. I spent a night in Zurich before flying back to Ljubjlana then getting a train to Austria. The journey went pretty smoothly apart from getting chased by a drunken homeless man around Ljubljana train station. Running around with all my luggage wasn't really the fitness training I had in mind but I made it safely to my train. 

I spent only one night back in Weissbriach, followed by a short morning session of GS in the rain in Nassfeld before our team left for Croatia to do 2 slalom FIS races in Sljeme, Zagreb. Another tough set of slalom races. The World Cup slalom events had been held there just a week ago so the hill was still in good condition. The 20cm of snow we had just before the races made the conditions even harder. The girls field was small but with a really high standard. On the first day only 11 girls finished out of the 38 starters. I was happy I managed to finish a really tough race. I was really tired and probably not in the best shape considering I hadn't had any rest from racing and training in the previous week and the travelling. I wasn't happy with the way I was skiing - all of my bad habits came back. Didn't score any points but wasn't too far off. On the second race I think the tiredness, mentally and physically got the better of me. I had a poor first run and in the second run I made so many mistakes I had nothing left in the tank to make the recoveries I needed and came out. 

Recovery run in the amazing sunsets!

Once the races had finished it was time to hit the road again, I took a 7 hour train from Zagreb central station to Vienna to catch a flight to Geneva. I'm now off to Switzerland for the Welsh Alpine Championships in Morgins. Hopefully I'll be able to get my first GS race under my belt, I feel like I have done too much slalom!

Post Surgery!

I finally had surgery to repair my injured thumb on the 1st of August! Surgery went well, it was slightly different to originally planned. They managed to create a ligament to support my thumb but they were unable to reset the break and they confirmed I have early onset arthritis that will require surgery again in the future.

Unfortunately I won't be able to be back on skis for almost 3 months, I really need to give it time to heal as there is a chance that I could rupture the ligament again! This does mean I will miss 3 weeks of glacier training in Hintertux in Austria in October and the end of the summer indoor season. I'm pretty disappointed as I had scored good points in the indoor series at the beginning of the summer but I'm really looking forward to focusing on the winter season!

Recovery so far hasn't been easy, it has been painful and I've struggled with a combination of sleep deprivation and illness! I get my cast off on Wednesday to be replaced by a more comfortable removable splint. This will hopefully help me get back into training, I was really happy with the progress I had made in the early parts of the summer in terms of fitness and strength so I'm paranoid all of my good work will be undone! I think for the next few weeks my training will mainly be cycling (on a stationary bike), sprints and interval training, lower body weights and core. Thanks to Bounce Energy Balls I've got the healthiest way to keep my energy levels up when I'm training! I will keep you updated with how it goes!

Next week I'm going to Les Houches to see my old team mate Jazzy Butcher who has been there for the summer. I can't wait to be back in the mountains, go hiking and just chilling in Chamonix! It will be nice to see it all in the summer!

I also need to say a huge thank you as I'm really happy to announce that Reusch Gloves UK have kitted me out with gloves and mittens for the new winter season! The best brand to ensure warmth and protection for my newly healed thumb! Also a big thank you to X-Bionic and X-Socks UK who will also be supporting me this winter by providing compression base layers and ski socks, its essential to be comfortable to get the best out of your training and X-Bionic are perfect! Check them out! 

I've played around with the layout on my blog, I'm no expert in web design but I'd love to hear any feedback and tips to make it look and work better! I've also got some cool things to announce over the next few weeks so I will keep you updated!

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