Silver in First races!

Soft snowy conditions at Copper Mountain caused problems for some racers but I made it down the Giant Slalom course and finished 4th. I was pleased to be first loser behind the World, Paralympic and US National Champions.

Slalom was even more successful; A PB won me my first medal of the season: Silver!

Unfortunately the Speed races in the Winter Park Open were not as successful for me but I managed 4th place in the Super Combined (Super G followed with Slalom).

I’m now working towards the technical events in the Park City NORAM in Utah in the first week of January where I aim to sneak in front of those experienced American racers!

Training for Copper races

Spent the week training hard, working out in the gym and pool, doing yoga and getting fast turns in. Now packing for Copper Mountain NORAM races... Slalom on Monday, Giant Slalom Tuesday, back Wednesday and racing speed in Winter Park Thurs, Friday. Bring it on!

Race Prep.

At the top of the Zephyr chair, Winter Park with guys I trained with last season: Aussie Mark, American Alana and my Icelandic roommate Erna. It's so good to be back in Colorado! Had a few great days training slalom in preparation for the races in Copper in a week! I'm making progress. Conditions are hard packed, icy snow which is great for training although a couple of feet more snow would open more of the resort. I've also been working hard in the gym and pool, yoga class this evening.

Back in WP and on film!

I arrived in Colorado feeling much more human than usual after a Trans Atlantic flight, having sat in a comfy chair and been spoilt by gracious flight attendants, thanks for the upgrade British Airways!

There's plenty of snow and I'm really looking forward to the next two months of intensive training and racing with the NSCD (National Sports Centre for the Disabled) Alpine Race Team who I trained with last winter.

I hope you enjoy the documentary (click on the title), thanks Georgia! Please vote for it via the link!

Hintertux Pre-Season Team Training ‘09

Three weeks excellent training in Hintertux, Austria, sets me in good stead for the coming season. After a few days free-skiing in powder with teammates and super-buddies Johnny and Georgia, I was ready for gates training when the management team arrived. In typical Tux style we spent a few days in cloud but the ‘hero snow’ kept us smiling!

The team’s been really supportive as always, and GS training was fun but I was most pleased with the last week of Slalom training. Video analysis provided evidence of significant improvements and I feel positive about the December NORAM races in Copper Mountain and Winter Park, Colorado. I really feel huge benefits from summer training in New Zealand, Many thanks to GetKidsGoing! for making this possible.

For the first time, the team's worked with a Ski Tech (to tune skis) and it was great to learn from Spike and ski on perfectly tuned skis for the conditions. Looking forward to building on the relationship.

Lifestyle Support provided by the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) looks to offer dependable backing.

Best wishes to my teammate Jane for a speedy recovery from a fractured collarbone.

Pre-season Preparations

A busy off-season; training at MK SnoZONE 2-3 times a week, in the gym everyday, sorting out skis and kit for the coming season, teaching and getting engaged! I’ve made rather an unromantic rule banning wedding planning until after the 21st March (the Paralympics)! Focus is key!

Last week’s trip to Austria was cancelled due to lack of snow, but it’s been coming down ever since and I’m looking forward to 3weeks training on the glacier in Hintertux, Austria with the team from next Sunday.

Thanks so much to Two Seasons for sorting me out with various bits of kit, I don’t know how I’d manage without you!

I’ve now joined twitter and tweet regularly, follow me! It’s really easy and fun: www.twitter.com/skiraceanna

Here's me winning silver in the NZ Winter Games!

A big thank you to Ali, Glen and Matt and the guys at the Milton Keynes
SNOzone for the excellent training sessions. I've been training regularly in slalom courses, and even raced there on Monday and can see my improvement. Hard training in the lovely David Lloyd Gym is also paying off.

I'm off to a Paralympics GB team training camp for the weekend to train on the new Hemel Hempstead indoor ski slope, discuss goals and season plans. Can't wait!

Indoor training

I'm now back in the UK, training in the gym and Milton Keynes Snowdome. Had a great slalom session on Monday evening, getting faster and fitter and ready to race!

NZ Winter Games 09

Super G: Cancelled
GS: 2nd!
Slalom: Disqualified (missed a gate)
Anna's a very happy girl!
Plan: Serious preparations for Vancouver Paralympics in March (189 days!)

That's Ski Racing!

Tuesday: Super G race
• 6am: Load minibus with people, skis, wheelchairs. Ride minibus up, listening to some tunes and getting excited about racing my favourite discipline.
• 7am: unload in the rain. Told to wait ‘Race is on hold!’
• 8am: message to wait until next announcement at 10am (still feeling positive and excited about the prospect of racing although the rain doesn’t look pleasant).
• 10am: told to wait until 12 (the rain eventually stops).
• 12am: Inspect the course, it looks nice, the snow has held up really well and is perfect for me, hard packed but not icy. Feeling positive about racing.
• Race ‘On hold’ for a few more hours, then told to go to start. The weather has improved. Forerunners run the course.
• ‘Race postponed until tomorrow’. It turns out the timing gear was run over by groomers and is not working.

Wednesday: Super G race, take 2
• Load bus, get up hill in rain. Rain stops, racers warm up.
• Race on hold, safety netting has blown off course.
• Chairlift stops due to high winds but the race organisers are doing everything they can to make the race happen so we take another chairlift then get dragged by skidoo to the start for course inspection (its now an ice rink).
• The able-bodied guys do their race, and make the steep icy section look difficult.
• We get dragged up to the start again to wait for another hour, the safety netting gets blown off the track again and the organisers call it a day.

No Super G race for team GB in NZ. Really frustrating but that’s ski racing.

Pre-race training at Queenstown

Monday:
5am start, 6am load bus. Skiing Coronet Peak for sunrise on 2m speed skis. We skied straight down the race hill at 20s intervals with other disabled and able-bodied (AB) racers. Good practise to experience the course and be surprised by a little air (flying). There’s lots of terrain on this course and a tricky steep section but I know I can do it.

Then I did more super G turns with the Winter Park Team who I trained with last season, before the lifts opened to the public at 9am (it’s unsafe to train at speed with the public). I am feeling really positive about my speed skiing and ready to race!

Slalom and adrenaline training!

Excellent slalom training last week at Mt Dobson and my summer training in UK snowdomes has paid off. Dobson is the only mountain I've ever skied at without any permanent buildings, just a caravan, container selling lift tickets, mini cafe and drop toilets (no flush necessary)! The skiing however was well worth the minimalist amenities. We had mostly sunny weather, just one snowy day followed by powder 'training'.

After a beautiful drive through the Mackenzie country, we are now in Queenstown where we started the NZ Winter Games with some adrenaline training today, swinging off a 60m rope swing into a dramatic river gorge!

The plan is: race training Monday, then racing Super G Tuesday, Giant Slalom Friday and Slalom Saturday. Bring it on!

TRAINING IN NZ

The British Disabled A, B and Development Teams arrived in New Zealand two weeks ago, for some excellent training. Mt Hutt has some good steeps for gates training. Last week we focussed on Giant Slalom and got a few runs in on speed skis. We've been doing early starts - on the lift at 7:30am, which means 5am rise, so lots of early nights and beautiful sunrises. Unfortunately its turned windy and the mountain’s been renamed ‘Mt SHutt’ for the last couple of days.

We move onto Coach’s home mountain, Mt Dobson on Saturday to train Slalom for a week followed by the NZ Winter Games for which we’ll be based in Queenstown.

This country is beautiful, my wonderful cousin Rob’s been putting me up, helping out with the team and adapting, fiberglassing and fixing my monoski which all seem pretty successful. Thanks cuz, you’re a superstar!

Coach is pleased with my skiing progress. It’s all going well!

The Joys of Spring!

I'm now back in the UK enjoying a surprisingly sunny April. It's nice to be home although I hear the end of season snow's been good in Europe and Colorado.

I'm teaching again, earning a bit of money and working on fitness again after a short rest. The plan is to go to New Zealand in August to train then race in the Winter Games out there, so I'm building my fitness up again for that.

Oh the joys of spring!

US Nationals

Training's continued with the Winter Park team in Colorado, they're like a big family, it's been great!

The US Nationals were a success, winning another bronze in the first downhill. I flew down the first half of the second downhill race in an excellent time but didn't quite react quickly enough to save myself from crashing out on a sharp right fall-away where half of the men crashed. However I was pleased with complements on my run from a few of the US athletes and coaches! I came 5th in the Super G.

So that's it for the season. Now back to the UK to earn some money and fund this expensive sport!

2009 World Championships - Korea

After the Park City NorAms, where i won bronze in the GS and finished both slalom races, I travelled straight to Korea for my first World Championships! After 2 days of travelling we finally arrived, exhausted, in High 1 Resort. There was no snow to be seen but after a good rest we discovered pistes of man made snow streaking through a vast expanse of deciduous tree-covered hills. It was somewhat icy and strange to ski on.

The ceremonies and suppers were held in a large banquet hall, World Championships posters and the flags of the 25 competing nations, hanging from the walls. A blind orchestra opened the Championships with an wonderful show. I was surrounded by the best skiers in the world, and seeing the winners receive their medals, listening to their national anthems and stories, and seeing them race at breakneck speeds was incredibly motivating. The magnitude of the event overwhelmed me.

On most race days we had a 5:30am start and took the gondola and up the hill with our kit for a 7am course inspection when over 260 competitors side-slip and try to memorize the icy course simultaneously - hectic to say the least! I then warm up and visualise the course, and remember sitting in the start, the team physio rubbing me down, trying to focus my mind. The racer before me started and I tried hard to see my line down the first steep section and ignore the TV camera in my face!

"10 seconds!...Racer ready!...Go!"
I'm off!

I made it through the finish every run, and into the finish enclosure where the team psyche and Paralympics GB staff were waiting. I was gutted to have fallen and had to hike in the first slalom run, but managed to get my head together for a better second run and came 8th. Fortunately GS the next day was much more successful, I came 4th. Sean Rose got an awesome 9th.

These World Championships were a vital learning experience for me in the build up to the Paralympics. I experienced and saw so much, including my first random drugs test! Disappointingly, I didn't qualify for the speed events but watched with the coaches and learned a lot about race line.

Next stop Whistler, to learn the terrain for the Paralympics!

A taste for medals

Kimberley NorAm proved successful with a silver in the Super G (my first medal!) and a 4th in the downhill. The fog came down and visibility was terrible in the Super G but I made it! I was going for it in the second Super G race but caught some air and crashed out.

Now in Park City, preparing for GS and Slalom races here, and hungry for metal! Then I'll join the rest of the GB team in Korea for the World Championships.

Three Years On!

Downhill Training (the straightest and fastest discipline), what an exciting way to celebrate my 'salvatory day' as a guy on a chairlift called it, somewhat more PC than coach, Erik Petersen's expression, 'gimp day' but I feel my progress from a hospital bed is something to celebrate! At the bottom of the run, Erik said 'I think we've made a breakthrough and found your discipline!' and I have to admit, the speed and direct route of downhill certainly gets the adrenaline flowing! Breaking my back was obviously a horrific, life changing experience; life is more challenging in many ways but it is still a lot of fun! Here I am, living in the mountains, developing my skills, getting physically and mentally stronger, battling to achieve the increasingly realistic dream of racing in the 2010 Paralympics.

I've continued working on technique, race line through gates and speeding up my reactions. The transition from a downhill course of 16 gates to a GS course of over 30 over the same slope was a shock to the system but I managed it in the end. Coaches tell me I should be satisfied with my performance and the improvements I've made.

We also trained slalom which felt dreadful and i allowed myself to get frustrated, but my early runs looked surprisingly fluid, highlighting the importance of judging performance by measures other than personal perception, and of keeping emotions balanced.

One of the bolts sheared out of my monoski so I escaped Winter Park while it was being fixed by Pat, the wonderful technician in the NSCD, to enjoy warm weather, some perfect brews of Tetley's (proper English tea - in American English a brew is a pint!) and a couple of good nights sleep in a bed. I've spent the last month on a mattress on the floor which has been great for my floor to chair transfers, but a bed's a treat and there's no beating being woken up with a cuppa!

I've moved into a flat with three American lads, who I hope feel the morning porridge I cook and rent make up for the increased pressure on the bathroom and space in general due to a fourth wheelchair.

Fitness training's going well, and I'll be tapering my gym and pool workouts, as specified by the Paralympics GB Strength and Conditioning coach, in preparation for the races. We leave next Saturday for the speed races in Kimberley, where I trained last year. Apparently they are lacking snow up there so I'm praying for more snow so they run the downhill!

Training Speed and Road Jumps!

Training's going great, if you'll excuse the Americanism! Last week we trained speed (Super G) for 4 days last week, and it's been a treat to train on a 2m ski, on a sectioned off course with no other skiers to worry about. I trained on a course with a jump for the first time (a road cuts across the pitch) with it's added technical and adrenaline angle and picked up a fair bit of speed, it was awesome!

I have made some real improvements in my GS skiing in the last week. I find gathering speed relatively easy but skiing a good line more of a challenge, and as coach says, 'Racing is a balance between speed Vs line', so I've followed instructions, slowed down and been concentrating on my line. Coach thinks I'm 'trainable' which I took as a complement, something must be going in!

At the end of the week, my last run of the day I decided to race the course but unfortunately let my focus on line slip. The course had got very chopped up, I skied one gate too direct, bounced out of a big rut and had a real slammer of a crash, flipping over and taking out the next gate with my head. Neither head, body nor confidence seem to have been dented and the lesson about sticking to that good line is being hammered in. Don't worry Mum, I'm fine, just aching a bit now and enjoying a much needed day off!

I'm loving skiing gates this season. The desire to ski trees and powder has been put aside and my race technique is coming on. I am working really hard and aim to be 'haulin' ass' down race courses and to prove my talent in the February races. I'm off to race in Kimberley, BC, then Park City, Utah, before the World Championships in Korea!

The strength and conditioning side is going well. Physical off-snow training was tapered during the pre-Christmas races and it feels fantastic be back in the 'Specific Conditioning Phase' which comprises of 3 weights sessions a week, daily core and injury prevention exercises and 2-3 swim sessions on top of skiing. I'm sleeping very well as a result!

Many thanks to my friend Charlie Murray for editing the attached video of pre-season training in Austria.

Winter Park Take 2

I'm pleased to be back in Colorado, where I first tried monoskiing nearly two years ago. The team flew out at the beginning of December and trained in Breckenridge for a week, getting accustomed to the conditions and altitude - the resort's at 3000m - before the NorAm races at Copper Mountain and Winter Park. There was a good turn out with teams from America, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and of course Great Britain.

Well done to the GB team, winning three silver medals. I had a frustrating start to the season, falling but managing to complete the slalom and GS races at Copper. I hoped for a bit more success in Winter Park and managed a 4th in the GS but was disappointed with my time.

Conditions for the Super G were challengingly soft and I pushed it beyond the limits and crashed, breaking a ski. The second race was cancelled due to unsafe conditions.

I am now training in Winter Park, working hard on technique, especially body position, movement and timing to work the ski. Skiing gates daily is a great way to learn about tactics (race line, reading the course and much more) and I can already see considerable improvements from daily video analysis with the coaches.

The sun's finally come out after a cold and snowy December, where I've enjoyed two great powder days and some Mary Jane mogul training, which is great for balance training as one has to be very light on the outriggers.

With this intense training I should be well prepared to attack the races in the beginning of February. Happy New Year to all, my resolution is to ski faster!