Two weeks back in the mountains has certainly revived my passion for skiing! It's been a busy couple of weeks in Austria with the team, but it didn't take long to get back into skiing. A great start to a demanding season ahead.
I have really enjoyed training in gates as well as free skiing. We started the week with speed training then trained GS over some ferocious rollers which we were aiming to suck up rather than get air over, lots of fun! We’ve also worked on slalom, starts and timing in gates and technical work out of gates, with daily reviews and video analysis. Coach is pleased with my progress and expects me to qualify for the World Championships in Korea in February so fingers crossed.
The team psychologist came out so we did some valuable work together, and Paralympics GB Strength and Conditioning Trainers spent a couple of days with us working out exactly how to prepare ourselves physically. Skiing with the heart rate monitors proves that adrenaline really works, got mine up to 212!
The mountain was closed for a day due to wind, and we finally had some snow towards the end of the 2nd week, which meant a well deserved powder day. Great to be back enjoying, I mean ‘balance training’ in powder although it was somewhat heavy.
My new sitski, kindly funded by the John R. Murray Charitable Trust, has arrived and it’s BRILLIANT! Thank you! She’s called Emilie, named after the best female snowboarder I’ve ever ridden with; winner of le Derby de La Meige; the incredibly determined Emilie Corouge. Tragically Emilie passed away this summer in a yachting accident. Emilie’s spirit will live on.
