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.