I hurt...

I think I know what a rookie AFL footballer feels like after their first really bruising match, or a lightweight boxer who faced off against a heavyweight champion, it feels like I do right now. Everything hurts. Steamboat, CO, has definitely taught me a lot about what it will take for me to be competitive at this sport, it has taught my body that it can withstand all sorts of pain and still function and it has taught me that I need to be more confident in what I'm doing or it is time not to do this sport.

Racing in Steamboat started off with a fairly intimidating training day. I had had some fantastic days riding powder with my family and teammates and was feeling really great about my snowboarding. Spending time flying through trees, carving up moguls and slashing at powder stashes made me confident that I was in good shape to compete this week. However, inspection of the course showed that just competing would be a challenge, the course was long, very technical and had some massive jumps to contend with. The start section was completely different to anything I had seen before. It consisted of a steep drop in to an abrupt step down, then you rapidly approached a 20-30ft kicker that spat you high in the air. After that you had to make sure that you landed solidly so as to be prepared for 5 very deep rollers into the first burm. This start proved a challenge to almost all the riders, people were being spat out left, right and centre. Nevermind that you still had another 2 step downs, 4 kickers, 6 burms and 2 roller sections to contend with after getting through unscathed. This course was all about commitment, more speed made everything smoother but it also meant facing the prospect of fairly high speed crashes.

It took me a fair amount of time to build up the courage to drop in. I struggled to clear the first jump on my first few runs meaning that hitting any of the lower features was impossible, not having enough speed at all. I finally 'manned up' and followed Justin into the course at more appropriate and committed speed. I took the jump perfectly, landed with aplomb and barrelled into the rollers. Unfortunately I was carrying a lot of speed and was bounced in an epic fashion. Apparently, this was fairly spectacular from the top. I cracked my goggles, bruised my nose and put my teeth into my lower lip (note to self: don't forget your mouthguard next time). Ski Patrol asked me where I was, what I was doing and my favourite whether I remembered what happened - I epically face-planted into the uphill of a roller and smashed my head... is that what they wanted to know? Later on I also realised that my helmet was cracked and my ribs were pretty sore too. This was not how I had hoped to prepare for race day, the only thing to do was to go home and forget about it.

Wednesday I woke up feeling much better than expected and ready to race. I knew I could do this course. I did better in training, Adam was still unsure whether I should be competing. The agreement we came to was that I would drop in but if I didn't have enough speed to hit any jumps I would pull out and disqualify myself. Adam seemed reassured that self-preservation was high in my priorities. I wasn't the only girl not sure if they would compete after Tuesday training and Wednesday pre-race training the number of girls had gone down from 20 plus to 12 starters. No one was feeling that confident. I nailed my first run down the course, albeit very slowly, when I reached the bottom I swear I was the happiest person there despite being in 10th place. Actually riding off of all the features was no small achievement for me, I was very happy with myself for committing to riding the course. My second run was not so successful, I crashed on the first jump and thus did not have enough speed to complete the course, I had to pull off, thus ending my day.

Thursday, Race Day 2 was all about being aggressive in the course and not just making it down. My first training run was a winner, I hit everything at speed and was feeling great. Unfortunately my second training run, where I really tried to match the landing better off the first jump ended in a fairly decent crash. A little more gravel rash on my lower back just made me angry and ready to race. Time trials started with the skiers which gave me even more time to get anxious, not a good thing. I had a small crash into the b-netting off THAT (first) JUMP but got up and rode the rest of the course pretty well.

It was the second time trial where everything went really wrong with a huge crash off 'that jump'. As I took off I could feel that I was on my heel edge, I was flying through the air with little to do but relax and prepare for the impact. The worst part was knowing Mum was standing about 20 metres away watching this all go down. I landed solidly on my hip and was unsure that I could get up. Ski Patrol checked out my head again and got me moving but I needed a little sled ride down as I was way too battered and shaken up to snowboard. The application of iodine to gravel rash really hurts, don't let anyone do it to you unless you have something to squeeze ridiculously hard. Luckily my new helmet was not yet cracked!

I have never felt quite as sore as I do at the moment. I delayed my flight to California for a few days to give me more time to recover more comfortably on the couch with Mum, Dad and Lizzie to nurse me. Also, I don't think I could carry my bags quite yet. I'm looking forward to making amends at Tahoe after a fairly shambolic event in Steamboat. Though, to be fair to myself I was one of the few girls who actually attempted to compete, and was pleased that I did get through the course a few times. My snowboarding was not pretty and it made me realise I need a lot more time practicing being in the air and committing to big jumps.

I have loved having friends and family in Steamboat and have had really relaxed time despite all the crashes, I have had fun eating good food, making lovely new friends and the occasional Margarita. Thanks to everyone here who has made such a good support crew including, Courtney, Rick, Mike, Paul, Ollie, Cat, the Jeremiah's, the Howsens, and especially Mum, Dad and the Lizard.

Sending smiles and the occasional grimace from Steamboat.

Wish me a speedy recovery!!

A little photo update

Here are some photos of the road thus far, keeping up to date is hard with all the travel!

Big White, and the big white-out we experienced there meant many a delay and lots of waiting.

Allie and Nate taking a nap in the lodge while we waited for the late start due to snow.

Moving on to Mt Hood, OR, despite the fact that it had been raining for 10 days prior and immediately started to rain the day we left, both of our race days were beautiful and sunny.

Adam and Rachel surveying the course before inspection.

Photo op, looking out from Mt Hood

Also, look at who I found from Australia in Oregon...

Amanda and I chilling on the wax bench

Courtney Date - who thought he would finally take himself a little seriously and try and race!

So there is a little catch up on photos. Steamboat, CO is proving a very enjoyable time with family here, lots of old friends and some new friends too. The course itself is pretty tricky. After a fairly epic goggle smashing, helmet cracking crash in training and not actually hitting the large majority of the course in training I was pretty pleased with making it down in the first day of racing. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. A full update will follow once I make it to California!

Sending smiles from a rather bruised face.

2 races down, second town and moving on

We have had our first races for the season. After arriving in Big White on Wednesday we were greeted by fog and sleet on the Thursday, with a little fresh snow! This meant that the afternoon free-riding was restricted to tree-riding - which was very fun but cold too. The course was still being built but we were the 'test-riders' for the starting wu-tangs. Lets just say they were bigger than anything I had ever seen and fairly tricky to get over!

Friday training day was foggy once again. Apparently Big White is called as such for a reason, it is often a "Big White"-out. The conditions were somewhat similar to a horrible day at interschools at Buller. I'm sure many of you can sympathise that we were, therefore, somewhat relieved when training was cancelled and replaced with only course inspections (that is slow side slipping). The course was big, fast and a little terrifying if I'm being perfectly honest. I had definitely never tried something like this before.

After not being able to train on Friday we were eager Saturday (foggy but not so bad) race morning to get to the course nice and early and get as many training runs as possible. Unfortunately for me I dropped in third out of everyone and managed to have a fairly large crash over the second feature. I still managed to qualify though did not snowboard as well as I could. I crashed out in my first heat giving me a final result of 14th - not too bad.

Sunday, was another foggy day; suprise, suprise! I had a better training session and was much more confident on the course so saw it as an improvement though my placing stayed the same coming 14th again.

We travelled from Big White to Mt Hood on Monday the 17th and I was pleased for the change in scenery. I just want to relax a bit more, as I think my snowboarding really suffers if I'm too stressed out. It has been a great treat to have a couple of Aussie friends, Courtney and Amanda, to hang out with here. Courtney and I have had some delicious milkshakes - great race preparation, who needs to carbo load? Training day was puking snow, the course is quite small in comparison to Big White but still fun. Our first race day, today, was gorgeous and sunny. I qualified in 14th - AGAIN! I was please with how I was snowboarding and had a great start in my heat. I was riding down in a close third into the last little stretch when a lovely girl from quebec decided to t-bone me into the last burm. She came off second best though and landed on the gate; that's what you get for trying to pass an Australian! This meant no hope of catching up to 2nd and my day was over, I think in about 12th place. I JUST WANT TO RACE AGAIN NOW - definitely have the fire in the belly!!

Stay posted for pictures, this place is beautiful!

Sending smiles from Oregon - fingers crossed for race two tomorrow!

On the Road!!

I am sitting here writing this when I really should bet getting a little bit organised for the 'tour'. A couple of very cold but beautiful days in Canmore have capped off a big week of training and we are now just getting ready to hit the road.

After the Christmas Break I have found it a little difficult getting back to race intensity. I had a promising first day on the start section with just Nate and Adam. I definitely 'chicked' (a.k.a a girl beating a boy) him a couple of times. However, from there things seemed to go a bit awry. I couldn't get focussed on my snowboarding, finding my energy being spent on things that I can't control - like what time we leave the house eventually in the mornings, or if the dishes are done at home. This led to a couple of pretty crappy days training. Though I did manage to go off the biggest jump I had ever tried and land it pretty well which was exciting. We had Mel, another Australian girl who, with her coach Rachel, will be traveling with us to share costs, staying at the house which was good for female company, but unfortunately didn't improve my riding at all. The Saturday rest day couldn't come too soon, this final week of training was proving not to be the ideal preparation.

On Sunday I woke up determined to make the day count and get in a better head space. Adam suggested I try running in the morning so that I don't sit around stewing before training. This meant a pretty cold (-15C) and dark run, but I definitely was more fired up and happier when we got to the hill, albeit 1 and a half hours late due to a number of factors. After I warm up ride on the Chairlift I headed straight to the start section, and I destroyed it! I wasn't beaten by a girl all day and I was pulling out so much faster than I had the whole previous week. Yeah! Bring on Big White!!

It was a great way to finish off preparations here. I'm happy now to do recovery gym sessions and pack the bags for the big tour. In terms of dates and places here is the plan:
Jan 12th - Jan 16th: Big White, BC, Canada
Jan 17th - Jan 20th: Mt Hood, OR, USA
Jan 21st - Jan 27th: Steamboat, CO, USA (Mum, Dad and my sister Lizzie will be here!! I can't wait!)
Jan 28th - Feb 4th: Alpine Meadows, CA, USA
Feb 5th - Feb 13th: Canyons, UT, USA
At each venue there are 2 Nor-Am (North America Cups) on consecutive days.

I have friends in most places and am very much looking forward to catching up with them. If anyone else happens to be in a town at the same time please let me know. It would be great to see as many friendly faces as possible on the road!

I am really excited to start racing, a little nervous that this will have been a big waste of time and money but I know I'm as ready as I can be, so what will be will be. As coach Adam says, now is really the time to focus on the process, the actual results we can't control. There is plenty of opportunity for improvement over the many races so Big White will be all about testing the waters, and seeing what my goals really should be.

Please virtual wish me lots of luck - it will be much appreciated!

Sending love and smiles from Canmore for the last time for a while.

Christmas Training Camp - some photos (a little late I know!)

Lake Louise came good on their promise and we now have a start gate and a start section, the full course should follow shortly after Christmas. This meant that the Christmas Training Camp was all about starts. As my other team mates were off with family and friends, coach Adam and I joined the younger boardercross group for 2 days of mayhem on the start section. It consisted of the gate, two small wu tangs and then a series of rollers. Although the features were small they were the perfect way to get the legs moving again - Adam had insured that they were set up nice and tight which made for fun and funny attempts at pre-ollying the second wu tang. I'm sure this sounds like gobbledigook to those non-snow people. Pretty much it meant we were compressing and extending our legs over and over again as quickly as possible trying to accelerate through all the bumps in the series.
And here are some pictures from us hitting some features... finally

The gate and the wu tangs

The grommets (aka the younger boys) walking back up, this was tiring after two full days!

Coach Adam raking out the snow  on the wu tang - critical to ensuring we didn't completely trash the features by snowboarding on them

Getting some advice from PJ, the coach of the junior team.

The camp was great, it was fun training with the younger kids and I definitely feel a little more confident about pulling out of the gate. However, on the second afternoon my legs had completely given up the ghost and I was struggling to make the changes the coaches wanted. Adam, wisely, advised me to call it a day. I find it really hard to know when enough is enough, thankfully he called it for me.   I'm trying to learn to make my training quality rather than quantity but it is a lesson that goes against my usual ethos, as former coaches would know. I remember Brad Fry, my rowing coach in Year 12, responding to an email from me during the summer holidays regarding my training schedule, with a rather honest, "Alex, you will injure yourself if you keep that up." He was right, I was slightly injured constantly and definitely not in peak condition. I try to keep reminding myself to rest and take it easy, but hate knowing that there is more I could be doing.

Taking a break after hitting my head a couple of times pretty hard. It was definitely time to call it a day!

The last few days have been relaxing with a bit of snowboarding, lots of reading and eating. I also went to the Banff Hot Springs today which was a nice way to chill out before getting back into training full time tomorrow. I'm looking forward to  starting training again up at Louise, getting back in the gym with the team and hopefully going to the park at Norquay to hit some jumps. I  will keep you posted as we get ready to leave town on the 12th for our first race on the 15th at Big White, BC. Pre-race nerves are settling in already!

Happy New Year!

The Canmore fireworks (though I may have cheated as my pictures aren't great, this is from Canada Day!)

I hope this new year in a new decade came in with a bang: be that fireworks, a massive party or even a self-revelation. I hope that you have grand plans and big dreams for the year to come, I do.

My New Years Eve was very quiet but that is okay - I spent the time writing down some resolutions, eating a delicious steak and of course went for a bit of a snowboard too!

2011 started off particularly well. A guy I had met at the house of a friend of Hannah, my sister, a couple of weeks ago and I went to Sunshine. Talk about a tenuous traveling relationship! It was nice to have the company to ski and definitely nice not to have to hitch a ride. We headed up early and were out riding in chilly but sunny conditions until about 3:30. As both of us were pretty wrecked by this stage I suggested a beer at the Canmore Hotel, we also ordered a poutine. This was my first try of this Canadian delicacy and it was delicious! Poutine is hot chips covered in gravy and cheese curds. Pretty bad for the waistline but very very tasty, especially on a cold winters day. So the first day of 2011 was not bad, and I know that this year is only going to get better.

So, you ask what are those resolutions I pored over on New Year's Eve? Pretty simple, I want to change three things:

1. I want to be a better friend to all those people I value so much. I know I'm hopeless at keeping in contact, but there are so many people that are important to me whom I don't think know it.

2. Watch less televisions, read more, play my clarinet more, go running for fun and hence waste less time.

3. Never regret anything I do. Traveling this year has meant relying on the support of my parents, at times I feel guilty but at the bottom of it I know that this is what my family wants for me, so I will make the most of every opportunity and be proud of what I'm doing.

I know these are fairly corny sentiments to put out on the internet. However, I think it is pretty important to express goals are for the year, sharing them with the public only makes them more real.

I have a feeling 2011 will be pretty exciting and I plan of attacking it as aggressively as I would a boardercross course. I will be the best I can be at snowboarding. I will finish my University degrees. I will cherish every happy and more difficult experience in the mean time.

Here's to searching out are partaking in adventures throughout 2011.