Marianne's Blog

My first world cup finals

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:21:00 GMT

I got to spend a week in Burlington with my parents before heading to Europe for the final trip of the season. We had two world cups on this last trip. One in Spain and the other in Italy.

I had a great time in Spain, it was super nice off the hill. At least 20 degrees but still great snow on the mountain.

We had a few days of training before the world cup and my riding was continuing to improve, I still had some hard times not getting every movement I was working on but overall I could see myself moving forwards.

The race day was gorgeous and I was in good spirits. I wanted so badly to make a world cup final and I knew I could get there with two good runs. After the first run I was 7^th in my course. Things were going well and I didn't want to change anything for the second run. I focused on each turn and what I could control. I got to the bottom and was 3^rd in my course but still had girls to follow down behind me. I've had that feeling a lot this season waiting for the girls to get down knowing how close I am to making the finals but being disappointed as I was 3 tenth off or so from making top 16. However I really felt good and thought today is my day. I hadn't seen the results yet but my friend Ola from the polish team came up and said “Marianne you are 14th” I was filled with emotions and couldn't believe I finally got into a top 16. Something I have been striving for, for years.

In the afternoon I raced Marion Kreiner from the Austrian team. Marion has been on the podium numerous times this season and is a rider I watch on footage for pointers. She qualified in 3^rd that day and I knew I had a tough race ahead of me but I also knew I could win this race.

Marion won our heat but I put up a good fight being only 2 tenths behind her in both runs. In qualifications I am a second behind Marion, so I need to find that aggression I had in finals and put that towards my first two runs, so I can qualify higher. I was slightly disappointed as anyone would be when they're are in competitive mode but I was very happy with my day and now my next goal is a top 8 in the world cup.

We had two days off so we went to Barcelona which was amazing. Beautiful place. I don't normally get to sight see because I am so busy with training and competition and then we are on the road for the next race. So I was excited about sight seeing in Barcelona. There are so many unique buildings and castles and everyone is just so relaxed. I walked around with the girls, checked out the area, had lunch on a patio and then went to the beach.

After two days in Barcelona we drove to Italy for the final world cup of the season. I was really hoping to get into another top 16 but my day wasn't as good as it was in Spain, I finished the day in 19^th to have my 5^th top 20 this season.

This was by far my best season finishing off the year at 26th in the world and second Canadian female. I'm already looking forward to getting back to it next season where I will be starting to potentially qualify for the 2014 Olympics :)

Hat Trick

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:10:00 GMT

After a weekend at home with my Teammate Ekaterina and my coaches Paul and Mark we headed to Ellicottville in the U.S where I had two Norams back to back.

Last season when we raced here I had two bad days. Both days I crashed and didn't make the finals so my confidence level on this hill was low, but my season had been going well so I put last years result aside and concentrated on the positives that were going on with my riding this season.

The past couple years all the parents on the hollimont team have offered to have the athletes stay in their homes so we can save money. Ekaterina and I have stayed with Gillian Bogden. One of the nicest people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. She made us feel at home and would always make sure we were doing okay.

First day was the parallel giant slalom event. I worked on staying in the fall line more instead of coming across the hill and having a quite upper body while moving my legs underneath me. After the two qualification runs I was happy to have qualified in 1^st.

That afternoon I continued with the same plan. Mark stood on the side of the hill to watch our team and give any feedback. If he had any he would radio up to Paul where he was making sure our boards were in prime condition and helping us in the gate with support and feedback. That helped a lot and I thought was smart on their part to do that. I raced a few teammates that day and had a few close races but I finished the day in first and was happy to have won my second Noram.

That night we had a banquet which the parents put on. They presented the awards at the banquet and served us amazing food.

The next day we had our slalom event. The snow conditions that day were some of the worst I've seen in a couple years. Beautiful day but the groomer groomed the hill not long after the race on the first day and it was very soft by the end, so the holes that were created were there for the slalom but much more defined. The snow was hard and icy so it was survival of the fittest or as I was saying that day, whoever got up quickest from their crash would win the day. I don't think there were many athletes that didn't crash. A couple of times I thought I had lost it but realized the girl I was racing with had also crashed a little higher than me or a little lower than me and I was getting up as fast as I could and ended up winning the race. Come the 7^th run or so I was grunting to get through it all but I stayed focused on getting through each turn which allowed me to get my first ever hat trick.

Flats to Steeps

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:03:00 GMT

I felt good going into the Stoneham world cup in Quebec after the Noram at Le relais and had another day to train before the race.

I was a bit tired but just needed to get a feeling again on the hill since I was coming from flat to steeps.

I planned to do 4 runs and on the 4^th run of the day I wasn't riding to my potential at all. Coming in late to a lot of the turns and was pretty much headed for disaster. I came off the pitch got super back seated on my board, caught my toe edge, some how got flipped over to my heel and hit my head pretty hard. It took me a couple tries to get to my feet, I put my goggles back on my eyes, instead of my chin and called it a day.

Link to the video Footage of my crash.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO5V7X1pSmU&feature=youtu.be

That afternoon I had to test for a concussion with our team physio and doctor. In the end I had a slight concussion, but nothing a day off couldn't take care of. I was in good enough shape to race a couple days later.

Since Quebec is relatively close to where I grew up my parents are always able to come and watch the world cup every year at Stone ham. My mom said she couldn't come as she had guests at the B&B, so my dad and our family friend Bill Behse came out to watch my race. I did my first run and was 9^th in my course giving me a second run. I had a decent second run but not what I would have liked. I could have brought in my line and moved forward more but unfortunately I was rushing my line and not being patient. I ended the day in 20^th.

At the beginning of the season I would have been ecstatic with that result but I had higher expectations for myself which maybe is the reason I didn't do as well. Again with the putting pressure on myself, but I'm continuing to figure things out.

After my two runs were finished my mom surprised me by showing up which definitely made my day. That night we all went to the pub and drove back to Burlington where I would be for the next week with a couple competitions near by.

Fundraiser :))

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 02:50:00 GMT

Just before going to Quebec this month for a World cup and 2 Norams I went home to have a fundraiser to help raise funds for my season. We were going to have this fundraiser at Christmas but due to schedule changes with the World cups we changed the date to February 11^th. My parents and I were a little worried we wouldn’t have as big of a turn out as we were going to at Christmas. Turns out February is a great month for vacation. But there wasn't any need for those worries. About 80 people showed up to my fundraiser and everyone was so supportive. We raised more money at this fundraiser than any previous. It was also a great night, everyone was dancing, at one point we even had about 30 people singing as loud as they could in a circle to Adele. There was 52 items donated to our silent auction and 50 of those items went. I had an amazing night. Thank you to everyone who came out, donated a silent auction piece, wine, and to anyone who donated me money. I appreciate it more than I can express.

1st Noram win

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 02:42:00 GMT

I arrived in Quebec on the 13th to train for 2 Norams and a world cup. Stoneham is one of the steeper competitions on tour so we decided to come a week early to get some more days training on the race slope. Unfortunately I got super sick. My first day of training was not productive. I had no energy, just walking up the stairs would make me tired so after 3 runs I knew I needed to stop before I injured myself. I took the following day off to recover so it wasn't on going the entire week. It did take about a week to really feel normal again, but that day off definitely helped. The next day on snow was way more positive and I got a much better idea of how I wanted to ride the slope. That night I went to Le Relais to train a session of slalom which was super fun. I really like riding at night, it has a completely different feel to it and it's nice to change it up. I felt confident after that training session for the slalom Noram that was coming up.

The slalom Noram was on the Sunday. I felt pretty good in the morning, except for my neck. On the Saturday my neck seized up randomly. I had some acupuncture done to relieve some of the tightness and pain. It was still very stiff on Sunday but much, much better then the day before.

I put that aside and concentrated on what I needed to do to have a successful day. My coach Mark Ballard and I chatted all day about my plan and we stuck to that plan until the race was over. I wanted to keep a good round line while staying under the stubby. I did my first qualifying run and was surprised to see I was in first by a second. I felt very relaxed but I guess that was the key that day. After two runs I had qualified 1^st and was looking forward to an afternoon of racing head to head.

Picture taken that afternoon by Henry Kim www.apexsnowboard.com

I got my way to the final rounds where I met up with my teammate Ariane Lavigne. In my entire career as an athlete I have never won a Noram. I've come close, making my way to the finals but coming in second. This was all mental and so I knew in those last two runs I needed to worry only about myself and stick with the same plan I had going the entire day that was working for me. A couple times throughout the day I started going too straight and had to make a quick adjustment. I couldn't do that this run because I knew this would be a close race. Both runs it was extremely tight and on the last run, 4 gates from the bottom I almost crashed but I made a quick recovery and crossed the line to win the race. I was very happy as this was a huge stepping stone for me. To show I can perform under pressure and I can win :)

Picture of Arianne and I coming across the finish line on the last run

Podium

Europe 2012

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 02:19:00 GMT

After Europe In December, I went home for 2 weeks to celebrate Christmas with my family and friends. It was great spending that much time at home. It was very go, go and some nights I was falling asleep by 8 but it was great catching up with so many people I rarely get to spend time with.

January 6^th I headed back to Munich where I would compete in three world cups. I was coming off a great month and the best results I've had on the world cup circuit.

I had a connection in Boston during my flight, however in Toronto there was a 2 hour delay which was my full connection time in Boston. I was almost certain I wouldn't make the next flight. Luckily 6 of us were headed there a day before the rest of the team so if I did miss my flight I would still be getting in with enough time. There was a delay in Boston as well, so when I landed I had just enough time to run to my next flight where it was being boarded. I wasn't the only one who had problems getting to Europe this time around. Almost everyone had a connection delay and one of my teammates was delayed 10 hours in Toronto.

The 6 of us that arrived in Europe a night early met up with Paul, one of the coaches who lives in Munich and we went to dinner to the Hofbrauhaus. It was nice to see Munich before leaving for Austria the next day.

When the rest of the team arrived we packed up the vehicles and drove to Jauerling. We had our first world cup on the 13^th and the second on the 15^th which was also in Austria at Bad Gastein.

I felt good but also more nervous than before. Maybe because I had new expectations for myself or just because I was out of the routine after 2 weeks at home. The first 2 world cups did not go too well. Both races I made mistakes that cost me. Especially in Bad Gastein. This was a slalom race and one of my strengths is quick feet. I was riding well, moving quickly between gates, I hit a rhythm change in the course, that I was prepared for after inspection but it was much more than I anticipated or saw. I ended up in a very loopy line for the next 3 gates and did not get a second run.

After those two races all the Canadians were feeling pretty low, none of us performed. We have great talent on the team so there was no reason for that.

We had a ten day block in between competitions which is super rare in Europe. We usually hit a lot of the competitions. I was really looking forward to this training block. I felt like I needed to make some changes or some added additions to my riding. I wanted to learn how to ride all styles so when I get to a competition I can decide what would work best with the slope and how the course was set. Making these changes was very difficult for me. I've been doing one type of turn for a long time, so it didn't happen overnight. There were a few days that I started loosing faith in myself to make this happen. I don't break down much in training, it's a process and I needed to take a step backwards to take two steps forward or else I would just stay stagnant. One day however, during training I did let it start to get to me but I also realized how mentally strong I was. I went on the chairlift and let myself break down for that ride but it made no sense for it to go further than that. No one is going to feel sorry for me and feeling sorry for myself wasn't going to get me where I wanted to go. I changed my outlook on the day and decided to switch it up and work on something else. It completely shifted my day 180 and I started having faster and better runs.

During this ten day block the coaches set a plan for how much we would train on snow. Some days we would do 3 sessions and some days two. We wouldn't taper down to one session a day until closer to the world cup. I drove from Austria and got to Sit Tirol Italy where we would park ourselves for ten days. We arrived at 2pm and right then the training started. 4 of us got our boards and trained on the slope right on the hotel grounds. The next day we woke up and had 3 training sessions. I put on my boots and didn't take them off until 530 that evening. We continued training sessions like this for the next week. Some days longer than others.

Things started coming together in training, I started taking those 2 steps forward, no longer looking backwards. I fixed my line and started to carry more speed through the course. It's a great feeling to sit down with your coach and know that things are working. From there it continued to get better. My timing with the other girls was where I wanted it to be and this ten day block was one of the best things for me. I needed to breathe and make those adjustments.

We headed to Germany for our last world cup of the month. We arrived for a day of training on the race slope, a day off and then the race. The weather was amazing on the day of training. Blue sky, sun out. Come race day we were not so fortunate. It was so foggy at times you could only see 3 gates in front of you. By the time it was my turn to race half the field of girls had crashed, and I wasn't any more fortunate than they were. 5 gates in I did a 360 and tried to get back into the course as quickly as I could. I rode as well as I could for the rest of the run hoping for a second run. I did get a second run but it wasn't any better. I went flying into the course beside me and ended the day in 28^th. It was definitely disappointing, coming home from Europe knowing I didn't have any good results but I knew I had made some great changes in my riding that were going to set me up for some great results in the future.

End of 2011

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:29:00 GMT

Before Christmas I finished a block of world cups. One at Telluride in Colorado and two at Carezza in Italy.

The world cups in Italy were originally at the beginning of December but there was absolutely no snow. I debated not going because the change fee was pricey and I was taking the chance of having to change it again if it didn't snow, but it was important for me and what I wanted to accomplish to go. I booked my flight and crossed my fingers.

The World cup at Telluride was a flat course with a small pitch at the bottom. After the first run I was 12^th which felt ok but not great. The second run felt a lot better, more smooth and aggressive. I finished the day 19^th overall. My best world cup result so far.

I headed to Europe the next day and after 15 hours of flying and some much needed sleeping pills I felt pretty out of it. We waited an hour to figure out rentals and bags and were en route for the 4 hours to Carezza Italy . I tried hard to stay awake. I don't do well with jet lag, but I was out within a half hour. I surprisingly slept fine until the 3^rd night in Europe. Which was the night before the first world cup. Not easy to get up but my energy was good until the race was over and then I hit a wall. Definitely made it easy to sleep that night.

Michael and Matt after our flight. Just a little tired!!

Our first day of training, did not start off well for me. The top of the hill has a great pitch, a pitch you need to be aggressive on. I took an aggressive line but on the 4^th gate I got very twisted in my body caught an edge and went flying into the fence. That hurt, but I was lucky with just a massive bruise on my thigh and nothing more. I had to rest for 10 minutes and debated calling it quits for the day but I knew that would have played with my head, not training the race slope before the race. I took 4 more training runs and realized it hurt less being on the board then off.

There is so much room for girls to do well at the world cups. The difference in not making it in the finals versus making the finals is tenths and 2 out of the three world cups I was only a few tenths from taking that next step in my athletic goals.

So far this year has been my best by far. I've always been told I have potential and the coaches have stuck by me supporting me because they believed I could do well. I feel like I'm finally moving from potential to performance, and it feels good that they're support is not being wasted.

The first world cup in Italy was a parallel Giant slalom. The race didn't go as well as I hoped and I was actually a little confused by it all. My teammate Caro and both my coaches Mark Fawcett and Paul said I looked fast but when I came across the finish line I was 16^th in my course which is the last position to get a second run. The clock didn’t agree that I was fast. But I did get a second run so I decided to go all out. Nothing to lose at this point. Things felt good, and up until the 3^rd last gate I thought I could pull off a decent result. Not a result I would have hoped for at the beginning of the day but something I could be happy with, with not such a great first run. Then I got to the bottom of the course only a few gates to go and I crashed. I cant remember how it happened. It was all really fast and that was the end of the day for me. I finished in 32^nd with a disqualification. I was disappointed but I had to focus on the next day.

Congratulations to my teammate Caroline Calve who won that day. First win for Caro at a world cup and she rode so well. We were all super stoked for her.

I competed in the Parallel Slalom world cup the next day and the end result was better, but it was a rodeo in there. Athletes were getting chucked left, right and centre, and generally with slalom it gets worse by the finals, but the day started off that way. There was a bank formed very quickly and I needed to change my plan. Its all about being smart now. How can I stay on my feet and get the fastest turns in these conditions.

In the first run I couldn't get my rhythm until the 6^th gate or so. I was lucky to have even stayed on my feet with the way I was riding through those gates. I got my self together and made the turns I needed to make. Second run I felt was better but looking at video, I looked sloppy. But then again, so did most people. I finished in 20^th with an overall time of 115.94 and to get into finals was 115.48. I know I can make it happen this season, and once I lace 2 solid runs I'll get in those finals. From there its a whole new game.

Thanks to all the staff on that trip Mark Ballard, Rob, Mark Fawcett, Sylvain, Cliff, Paul, Chris, and Luca.

Steps Forward

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 19:34:00 GMT

A lot has happened in the past month that has really shown me the possibilities for my career as an athlete. I feel as though I've taken not just a step but a leap in some aspects of my snowboarding. Not only can I focus for ten runs in training, and for the most part not make any momentum robbing mistakes, I had one of the best days in my career when it comes to focus at the recent Noram at Steamboat Springs in Colorado. You can say the right things and tell yourself what you need to hear a million times over. But does it really sink in? Up until recently I'm not sure it did. I have always wanted to focus on my process, my run, my path. Yet couldn't help but see what the girl next to me was doing, or over think what my teammates were accomplishing. I'm not sure how it happened, but I am now only worrying about myself and what I can control.

Recently a new coach has been brought in, not new to the world of snowboarding but new to team Canada. Rob Roy is a Canadian but lives in the U.S and worked with one of the American athletes Chris Klug that went to the 2010 Olympics. Rob is very passionate and very knowledgeable. He's been working with myself and my teammate Ekaterina Zavialova and we've both made some great improvements in our riding. The key things I've been working on with Rob, have been level shoulders, moving my hips and legs horizontally while staying low on the board and 50/50 even distribution throughout the board, not being front or back footed. These exercises are becoming good habits in my riding, instead of having to constantly think about them.

Last week we had our yearly night race at Steamboat Springs. It's always fun to change it up and compete at night under the lights. The race started at 2 and we did our first two qualification runs to see where we would be seated in the finals. A few world cup riders were at this race including the 2010 Olympic Gold Medallist, Nicolien Sauerbreij from the Netherlands and the 2011 World Champion Hilde-Katrine Engeli from Norway. The points at this race were higher than expected. I did my first run and felt really good. I was focused on my breathing and on what I could control in my riding. Keeping my head up, level shoulders and good movement. When it was time for my second run I was surprised at how calm I felt. I always have a difficult time with the second run. I see the result instead of the process and I rush it. I had second run syndrome. I became that girl, but my mood was different. I was focused on what I needed to do and I crossed that finish line feeling great.

The vibe in snowboard racing is great. We all want to win first and foremost but we're friends and we want to see each other do well. When I finished two runs and finished them well my friends on the tour were cheering for me because they knew this meant a lot to me.

I qualified third and was ready for the night finals. In my first heat I raced against Belle Brockhoff from Australia and continued to stay focused on my race. I moved on to face a friend from the American team Madeline Wiencke. We had two close heats and I squeezed my way to the next round where I faced Nicolien. This was the first time that day, I started to focus on the wrong things. I was thinking about racing her instead of sticking with my plan and focusing on myself. Both runs we were neck and neck, but on the first run I made a big mistake and she got max penalty. Second run I either had to have the best run of my life or Nicolien had to make some mistakes. I did have a great run, I even started to pass her and as soon as that happened I remember my thoughts exactly, “'it's too close for me to win by max and move on but how cool would it be to win a run against the girl who won Gold in Vancouver”. As soon as that thought crossed my mind I lost my focus, I was not looking ahead, I cut off my line and crashed. Nicolien moved on to face Caroline Calve from Canada and I moved on to the semi finals to face Aleksandra Krol from Poland. I was disappointed but also excited about how I rode and what I can accomplish if I buckle down and learn how to never worry about anyone but myself.

I won the bronze for the day. I was super stoked with the accomplishments I made in my riding, but mainly the accomplishments I made with the mental side of racing. I really believe its 70% mental and I think I got a lot closer to that 70%

I arrived at Telluride in Colorado a few nights ago for my first world cup of the season tomorrow. I want to do well of course, but this year I want to stay away from putting so much pressure on myself. If I stick to what I did at Steamboat I think this could be a positive year.

Vail Colorado

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 02:33:00 GMT

Back on the board, and loving it. My season has officially started and my first competition is next week.

I've been in Vail Colorado training the past week and feel like I've taken a step forward in my riding. I'm more consistent, not crashing and able to stay focused throughout the entire training session. I'm really excited to see what I can do this season.

On Thursday Ill be heading to Copper Mountain with my team and will be competing Monday, Tuesday.

Picture below : This past week training giant slalom at Vail.

Thanks to Mark Ballard, Mark Fawcett, and Sylvain Jean for a great camp thus far.

How bad do you want it?

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 18:44:00 GMT

Check out this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jal4OkZtz8g&feature=related

Its really inspiring and I could watch this everyday. A lot of things in this video really spoke to me. This more so than anything. "When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you'll be successful. I dunno how many of you have ahsma here today but if you ever had an ahsma attack, your short of breath SOB shortness of breath, the only thing your trying to do is get some air. You dont care about a basketball game, you dont care about whats on tv, you dont care about anyone calling you or a party, the only thing you care about when your trying to breathe is get some fresh air. Thats it. And when you get to a point where all you want to do is be successful as bad as you want to breathe then you'll be successful"

That's truly motivating to me, and I wanted to share that. Thanks for passing that along to me Mark.

Testing

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 21:06:00 GMT

I've been doing numerous testing in the gym this week getting ready for the season. I had Anthro testing done, getting my fat vs muscle determined, I've had a physio assesment done, and I had physical testing done in the past 2 days. Unfortunatly I cant do all of the testing. And alot of testing has to do with jumping and running which right now I'm avoiding. There is nothing I can do to speed up the recovery of a bone bruise but I'm trying to be creative and think of alternate activites and my physio has given me a few exercises to get stronger.

Summer on snow

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:19:00 GMT

A week ago I got back from probably the best summer camp I've been on in my career. Not only was the riding great but it was still summer in Oregon. I was training at Mount Hood for three weeks.

The snow was very soft by 10 so we would start training by 8 and go until 12. On really warm days it was soft at 8 in the morning. We salted the snow everyday so it would harden and we could get some good riding in. I figured out alot of things on this camp which has got me looking forward to the upcoming season. I feel strong physically and mentally and I'm stoked to see where that can take me this season.

When we wern't training we were swimming, playing ultimate frisbee, surfing or mountain biking. That's the great thing about summer camps is there are so many activities to do on your downtime.

For some reason I've been freaked out with mountain biking for a couple years. Might have something to do with going on black runs when your a beginner :/ But after a week of being left behind while everyone biked I wanted to try it again. And to be honest I dont know why I was scared to begin with. I found myself doing things I didn't think I could and being able to keep up with everyone. I walked out with some bruises but I would love to do it again and if I could I woiuldn't hesitate to buy a good bike.

We had a couple days off here and there and on one of those blocks I went down to the coast to try out surfing. I've surfed before but could never get up and this time I did. Its an incredible feeling letting the wave take you. Once I was up it wasn't hard at all. It's trying to get up that was causing me to drink alot of salt water.

Im back in Calgary now until November. Working at the tennis club and in the gym at c.o.p until Im back on snow. I've decided to pass on the upcoming world cup in Landgraff to save some money for the season and to let my ankle continue to get better. Im back in physio and feel as though it's progressing quickly.

This is a picture of Mount Hood:

Summer

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 17:10:00 GMT

This summer has been yet another quick one. I've been working back at the Calgary tennis club 6 days a week, trying to get whatever funds I can to pay all my bills this summer, put some money away towards snowboarding and to have a little bit on the side to enjoy the summer.

We lost our trainer Scott. He got a great job opportunity in Halifax and moved there. Our new trainer is named Steve and he's also great. Only my teamate Ekaterina and I are in Calgary this summer, so the three of us meet up every morning and get in a good two hour painful but awesome workout. Steve really pushes us and I can see the results.

My ankle is still slightly injured. I had an MRI and a bone scan done this summer. My ligaments were still slightly torn and I have a bruise on the bone which can take a while to heal. Im seeing doctors and my physio Susan this summer to get back to 100% as soon as I can.

In a couple weeks I'll be heading to Mount Hood Oregon for 3 weeks to get back on snow. It's sweet there in the summer because we can snowboard in the morning on the glacier and come down to the base and be back to summer weather. There are some fields and lakes near by so should be an awesome camp.

Off Season

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 02:48:00 GMT

The off season, felt a bit strange at first, maybe because I started almost 2 months later than everyone else with my injury. But it didn't take long to get into the swing of things.

Tyler decided to take me to Mexico :) This was the first time I went away on a hot trip and I had an amazing time. We met alot of people, went sky riding and swimming with the dolphins. It was relaxing and alot of fun.

This past week I've started work back at the Calgary tennis club and it's been going well. I want to work as much as possible this summer.

Yesterday we started in the gym with our new trainer Steve. He pushed Ekat and I really hard which was painful but good. He already picked up on my problems and has given me strategies to improve this summer.

End of Season

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 20:45:00 GMT

This past week I was at Lake Louise mountain in Alberta competing in nationals. We had a fis slalom event earlier in the week where we did a traditional 2 run slalom course. That's when you set a very long course and do one run then re set the course and do another. The race was about 55 gates which is alot compared to our usual 30 or so. That day I came in 3rd place.

Yesterday was our nationals where I competed in a parellel giant slalom. I qualified 1st feeling really good about my runs. Went into the first heat with my soon to be teamate Kita from Nova Scotia. I moved on to top 8 going into the next heat with Lynn Ott from the american team. Had another 2 good runs and moved onto the top 4. Which meant I had another 4 runs to go. I ended up competing against another canadian Caroline Calve who's had an amazing year on the world cup circuit finishing her season with 2 fourth places. First run I won by max penalty and was in a good position at this point. I just needed to stick with her or even be slightly behind to go through. The snow was alot more soft then in the morning and the ruts were forming. I wasn't riding as well as I was in the morning and started cutting off my turns instead of riding with the rut. I hit a few ruts and everytime that would slow me down a little bit more, enough for her to make up the max penalty of 1.5. Caroline went through to the finals to compete for the win which she ended up winning. I went onto the round to decide bronze and 4th.

I talked with my coaches and they said I needed to ride with the rut and not try to go over them so I did that and won the first round by a little bit against my friend Lindsay Lloyd from the American team. Second run I needed to do the same if I wanted to walk away with the bronze but unfortunatly I crashed near the top of the run and finished in 4th that day.

I was definitly bummed to start the day off in first and finish 4th but alot of positive things came out of yesterday and I'm looking forward to taking that into the 2012 season. It's beeen an emotional roller coaster of a year but I feel as though I ended my season strong.