Because that's what I can do today.

So my new regimen of Fitness has begun. And I'm proud. I'm killing it. I'm on my path and I know it will build from here. Do you want to know what I've done? I've started taking my vitamins.

Yup. That's it. Oh, that, and I've made the choice not to work out even though I have all of the energetic and emotional intent and desire to, because I've been pretty sick for the last week and haven't had enough rest to properly heal and recover.

I also am recovering my knee from a sprained MCL, and skiing in a brace right now, so my Skier's Edge machine is also taking a rest.

I've been in this place before, where I've gained some weight, lost some fitness and been really unhappy with myself. I mean, I have a year and two months before the regional demonstration team tryouts, and two years before the nationals. I can't really afford to fuck around anymore.

But here's something that has changed. For the first time, I haven't had to talk myself out of doubting my ability to continue increasing my fitness. Yes. I am about TWENTY pounds heavier than I like to be. Welcome to Aspen, let me complain about my job, OH MY GOSH I have to stop eating at the Nell and Cloud Nine and the Ritz and the Aspen Mountain Club for breakfast, lunch and dinner or I'm going to need a uniform that's three sizes bigger next year! (That's a horrible fate, isn't it?)

Okay. The point is, yes I am blessed for sure to have such amazing food to taste, and such good friends to share it with. But there needs to be balance here. I think the major shift for me is that I have compassion for myself.

I understand that I need a huge level of fitness to get where I am going. But I also understand that everything I've been doing has been laying the foundation to create a place where I can focus on becoming fit at that level without taking from my kids or my mom or my partner. Moving here was the first step. Moving into three different houses, helping my mom get here, having discussions with her about how much she can give, how much she wants to give and how to make sure her life feels honored and full while still creating the space to allow me to train was another.

Learning how to exist in this environment professionally, focusing on doing my job well and integrating into this amazing school above my personal training goals, so that I CAN focus on my training eventually has been another compassionate step. And the journey hasn't been frustrating.

I find myself in this place, not as fit as I want to be, heavier than I like to be, but with depth in other crucial areas that are now ready to support the huge physical push I have before me.

Last night, my mom and I watched Lindsay Vonn's winning downhill race on the computer. I have never seen a person, male or female, be affected less by the external forces which act upon a skier at such high speeds. She was so often in balance, so rarely pulled or knocked out of balance, and when she was, the movements that she had to make to get back into balance were so minimal, that she was able to ski at an unprecedented level with less effort. This is a direct result, I believe of her tremendous fitness.

This is what I want from my body. If I have a huge level of fitness, the forces which act on me when I am skiing will have a diminished affect compared to other skiers, it will be harder for me to get out of balance, and easier for me to get back into balance. I'll be able to last longer, perform more athletically, and accurately even on the fifth day of the tryout.

Yes, I have one year and two months to get there. No, that's not as much time as I'd like. But its what I have. And now that the foundation is laid, my kids are happy and thriving and well adjusted, we are moved in, my mom is here and much more comfortable, things are hitting their stride, I can turn my focus to taking the time that I have left and maximizing my ability to become as fit as I can.

Today, I took my vitamins. Because that's what I can do today. I went to on snow training, but I didn't work out further than that because I'm recovering from a cold and an injury. Healing and sleeping well is a part of this. Its a part of patience and restraint that will add up to an ultimately much stronger body.

So for the first time, I don't feel thwarted by being sick or being injured or having no time or needing to move or unpack or care for sick kids when I have the need and desire to train hard and get strong. I feel that I have a real understanding of doing what I can do, with intent towards increasing my focus in this area so that in the next three weeks, I'm in a program that allows me to travel toward a level of fitness that allows me to ski in a way that I only dreamed was possible.

Today, I took my vitamins, because that's what I could do today. And I killed it!

Training for Powder 8s with Jill Dorken!

Image from Epicski.com
It's on! I'm competing in my first ever Powder 8 Championships! Holy WOW! Jill and I went out today to begin training for this event, which is two skiers synch skiing down a very steep powder run. The contestants are judged on turn shape and form, and should basically look like the same person, leaving a beautiful clean 8 in the snow. The run will take place in the Highlands Bowl, wich averages between 37 and 50 degrees of pitch.

Training for this event is great for my skiing, because the turn shape needs to be so smooth and specific, and I can't be hard on the bottom of my turn. So I'm needing to fix some of the issues in my skiing, such as speed control without jamming the bottom of the turn on steep terrain. Looks like I'm going to be getting in shape, I need to hike the bowl a LOT before March 4 and 5!

Jill and I have to get matching outfits, and we're thinking of going for a western theme, just cuz we can... She had the hilarious idea of looking for a pair of chaps like the Colts Cheerleaders wore in the Superbowl... I didn't see the Superbowl, because I don't have a TV, but it sounds like a good time to me!

We are, of course, looking for sponsors for this event, because the entry is pricey and we need to get clothes. We are hoping for white pants and chaps with a sky blue jacket and a little bit of BLING. Perhaps sky blue helmets with white goggles.

The great thing about this training is that it opens up a bunch of performance issues that have been hiding for me. I have gotten used to skiing in clinic and skiing for exams, so I don't face a lot of nerves right now. But the Powder 8s are going to more appropriately simulate the tryout siutation (minus the bling, of course).

Training with Jill puts some pressure on, as well. She knows what kind of turn we need, and its up to me to make it happen, because I am in front. While we were training today, I found myself wondering, am I doing it right? Do I have the pressure in the right place, is the turn shape consistent, am I gaining speed, can she follow me?

What I really need to do is just let go of those thoughts and think to myself: There is my target down the hill. Screw the outside ski into the snow, and then let it go. Over and over and over. If the initial pressure starts to move down in the turn from the top to the apex, I need to make a rounder turn to give myself enough time to reset to the top of the next turn. Jill can make that adjustment, she is really good at following, (The stronger skier goes in the back, they have to be more adaptable).

So now, my plan is to get out into Spar and Copper and Thunder Bowl and get a long, consistent pitch of rhythmic turns. Then, I plan to get into the steeps and refocus on my steep skiing tactics. Then, I plan to synthesise these two together.

Should be fun!

First Workout in the Gym!

The warming room at the Aspen Club and Spa.

Welcome back to training, Kate! Wee Hoo! I have a month to get a routine established before my kids get here. Did my first weight workout today, back and legs, tried to take it easy because (confession) I like lifting weights, and I tend to overdo it every time I start fresh.

The workout felt pretty good, it was nice to get back at it. The only thing I felt (aside from out of shape) was that my ribs still don't want to do sit-ups, they made a gross crunching noise and are a bit sore. But I need to make my core strong! So I'm gonna ask my wonderful sponsors at the Stone Clinic how to handle that conundrum.

Lucky me, as an employee of the Aspen Club and Spa, I get to use the facility, so its not really all that bad. I'm sad, tho, I was looking forward to joining the ski conditioning class, but they close it after a few weeks so people won't hurt themselves working out super hard without a base. Smart.

Tonight, Gaelic music at the Wheeler Opera House with my friend Casey from Qittle! Time for girl clothes! YAY!

Meet the Trainer! Welcome to the team, Stone Clinic!

Laura Keller, MPT

Head of The Stone Clinic Physical Therapy Department, Laura will be putting together the team that will train me!

With a master’s in physical therapy, Laura strives to stay on top of the most innovative and progressive techniques in her field through continuous education, She has completed the highly esteemed Folsom Long-Term Advanced Manual Orthopaedics Course. She has participated in many community health action outreach programs as a physical therapy coordinator and has been involved with treatment and instruction on injury prevention for the Sacramento Ballet. Before she came to The Stone Clinic, Laura was the manager of two outpatient orthopaedic clinics. Laura has a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and spent a year living in Spain to master the language. She received her master’s degree in physical therapy from Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California. Laura's interests lie in all things outdoors including mountain biking, volleyball, skiing, and travel. She has contributed to Ski Racing Journal, Backpacker Magazine, Ski Magazine, Skiing Magazine, and SkiNet.com.

Sometimes you have to get out and push.

Hello, again. So I've had a lot to write about, but I was bottle necked, I couldn't seem to get anything but a little hiking done for the last week or so, and now, something is uncorked, so hold onto your inbox, i guess theres a bit of posting coming your way. If I was smart, and i had less of an instant gratification kind of personality, I'd time release these so they'd publish one every day for the next week. But when I think of them, I think OOH OOH! I need to write that down, and then, OOH OOH! I wonder if anyone understood what I wrote? So not so much with the patience thing... although, perhaps that will come.

Tonight, I schlepped myself out to the M. Again, I wanted to go to Baldy, I'm in need of a good 10 miler or more, but as psyched as I was to get out and hike again, I am tired today.

I haven't been sleeping for the last five days or so, and so I'm pretty sluggish during the day, leading to some coffee and red bull consumption... oh, I had come SO far in finding the ability to be propelled through life on my own Qi... but I can always reach for that again, right?

Okay. So I'm hiking along and sweating and my legs are freakin HEAVY today. I felt okay in the ribs, I can definitely feel them now that I'm completely off the pain killers, it hurts to breathe, but its not awful. Its not really slowing me down anymore.

Today, I stopped three times, with the thought, nothing is as difficult as when it is done reluctantly. And I was having a little pity party while i was hiking, and it was making me hike slllooooow. It took about an hour to get to the Bridger ridge today, but it felt like twice that. I got passed on the steep section by a mom and her daughter and, seriously, I wanted to just say, well THATS IT, I'm going down.

But then the thought that it doesn't really matter what the fitness of this mom and her daughter is occured to me, because they aren't the ones that have to keep up with Megan and Andy and Kurt and Weems in the bowl this year. Their level of fitness is COMPLETELY immaterial to the fact that I have a tryout in a little over 900 days. Maybe I should focus on being where I am and asking my body to do what it needs to do to get strong and stay strong.

So I slogged up further, with the thought that I've climbed this path quite a bit. It feels like hundreds of times, and so have hundreds of other people. I have hiked it when I've been lonely but together, happy but alone, happy but together, broken hearted, scared, frustrated, excited, thrilled, when I've had a broken wrist, a broken arm, and now broken ribs, I've hiked it when its been -6 degrees and when its been 102 degrees. And the one thing that's stayed consistent (aside from my now ragged trail running shoes) is that every time I go up it in less than ideal emotional circumstances, it occurs to me again that the selectors at try outs aren't going to care if I have a splinter. Or a cold. Or a broken heart. If my friend wasn't nice to me that day, or my son puked in my lap the night before. They want to see the ski work in the snow. And to do that, I'd better be able to show up and ski no matter what. Which means that I'd better be strong. Strong enough to ski to my body's potential. Strong in my mind to set aside those things that don't move me toward my goal, but take up space in my mind.

And no, I wouldn't have won any races today. But I did keep walking.

And finally, a wonderful thing happened as I neared the top. This incredibly cheesy R and B song that I absolutely LOVE came on my iPod, Megan put it as the opening song to JGS 5, its Proud by Heather Small. And it makes me feel invincible every time I hear it. And as I'm listening to it, and seeing Jon Ballou ski in my mind, and feeling the powder under my skis, and twisting my femurs and opening my ankles and feeling that beautiful light happiness that spreads through my body like a rampant infection every time I get a chance to make a turn, I get a text from a reader.

"Thanks for the Afraid post. I needed to read that tonight." and I feel suddenly useful, like even the trials have a purpose, like we are all in it together. And then I get a text from Mike and his kids "to our heroine on the hill" and I think its ridiculous, because I'm not a hero, I'm one of six hundred people who have hiked this trail today, but on the other hand, wait a minute, I am a hero, I'm a hero to ME today, because there are so many times I could have turned around, and so many times I wanted to stop, but I need this.

I need to find my place again and feel my body growing strong and see the snow and my path in front of me. And for the last two weeks, its been like white noise, I know my path is out there, but its hard to see with all the pain and uncertainty thats swirling. And these two texts and this little song, well, it was like someone got out and pushed. My legs were not so heavy. It was still a ridiculously hard hike, (this, the second easiest hike I can do...), but I got to the top and was grateful for the people in my life who put wind in my sails and help me puff along when it seems just too hard to do.

Thanks for the help, guys. I feel so much stronger with you by my side.

Rippin' Bridger with Athos and Porthos!

I really felt like I was hangin with the three musketeers today! (That would be Mike Leslie and Alex Sweeny) I guess I'd have to be D'artanyon, being a bit wet behind the ears, still.

After a very tough five days or so... I got to ski the crap out of Bridger Bowl. I honestly am not sure I've ever charged as hard as we did today, fast and fun, through bumps, steeps, off the HiT, through the trees all over the place, through the gullies, off the jumps, just go go go!

I felt myself again, playing, having fun, working hard, and my legs were THERE! For the most part, they ended up where I wanted them. I asked one technical question of Mike Leslie, got a straight answer, and got right back to it with great results.

I went down HARD three times, once right off the first run down Slucebox in a total white out, I hit a bump hard and felt okay absorbing it, but then, the evil CLICK! and I stepped right out of my left ski, went right over the handlebars, smacked my helmet on the hard bump below, and munched my right wrist, which was already pole planting on the next bump. Oops.

But aside from that bell wringer, oh, and one on the bottom of Test Face where I decided to go one more bump over and realized it wasn't a bump, it was a huge ROCK I'd just augered my right tip into, flipped over, skis over head, side twist back into the fall line, and according to Mike, nearly skied out of it ( ha ha, didn't feel like it to me!) Things were ROCKIN!

I had two big saves, one in the John and one going Mach Scnhell over the whoopties on my way to go off a big ramping airplane turn (in both cases, I was caught inside, with my face about two inches from my on snow ski and my other ski up in the air)... WHEW! I was like, I AM NOT GOIN" DOWN! The one in the John I managed to save, got the ski back down, twisted around switch in a big V, then took a seat and tumbled sideways, I just really REALLY did not want to land on my face at high speeds, and the one on the way to the jump I managed to get my foot back down and wobble over the cheater's way out of the jump, laughing hysterically. Yes, I did drink a red bull today, WHAT"S YOUR POINT??

Skied my booty off all day, then at about 1:30 my body was HURTIN after the beating I'd put it through, drove down to the Urgent Care and got an xray on my wrist. Looks like a sprain, can't rule out a Navicular Fracture, but it doesn't hurt that bad, so I'm in a splint and feeling good!

Posts coming soon as I catch up on homework and head into semester break.

Stay tuned for possible Heli Skiing in Alaska adventure! Better get on that Skier's Edge Machine and get em strong, the Vertical is a lot longer up there! Go baby GO!

Slack Lining the variable snow!

Its 4:30 in the morning and I can't sleep because I am dreaming about the amazing afternoon of skiing that I had with Zach and Shelby, two really rippin' skiers who teach at Bridger, yesterday. I skied so many lines that I've never done before, and it was so wonderful to feel really good about knowing that my skis would turn where I needed them to. The snow was perfect "test your skills" snow, firmish and skied out in the off piste, with about 3" accumulating on top of it. Perfect for practice.

I have trouble with strong leg steering in the mank, and staying forward in thick, manky snow, patience is so important there, and yet, when you ski trees and bushes in that sort of snow, you have to make the move you have to make, or, well, hello, you are not going to miss that tree and ski into the open space you are aiming for! So I was grateful that the snow was variable enough to present a challenge, but friendly enough to allow me to experiment and play in.

So yesterday I skied the chair line down flippers about three times, first off, a line I've always wanted to ski but been a bit chicken to take, and chasing Zach forces me to ski at a bit of speed, and see what technique stays with me. Of course, I have a LOOOONNNNG way to go, but I was very VERY happy to feel some good turns with approrpriate pressure, and good directional movements that kept me going forward even on the steep drop offs and over bumps and variable snow. On the flippers run, I got in a little hop turn and a small air, which was thrilling, and while I got tossed a bit on the big bumps up top (okay, I skied those really poorly), the ones on the bottom where the pitch is a bit steeper and the speed was greater, I actually skied just fine.

All in all, four days of skiing Last Chance in slow motion while teaching bumps, and doing NO free skiing has proven to be a terrific thing, and I realized that it gave me a couple of days to let my afternoon with Hickey and Casto to kind of gell and set in my mind.

Michael (Hickey) had asked me to start slacklining when we first started working together, and I did it on and off, this summer I got on it whenever I could, and it's interesting: When you slackline, the line is going to move. You have to accept that. If you fight the movement of the slackline, it will vibrate and move more. If you accept that the line will move, and allow that movement to exist, rather than actively trying to quiet it, guess what? It quiets down. The vibrational experience of the "ground" under you goes way down, and you can walk.

When I was out with Michael and Casto, we were talking about how to get my stance operating in the off piste the way that it is on the groom, and I got two quick and sage pieces of advice that really, really stuck. Michael said "slacklining" and pointed at the South Bowl, and then took of in big, sweeping turns through the bumps, crud and bushes, and I followed. Casto skied behind and watched the results.

Something clicked in my mind about the correlation between not fighting the vibration from the ground in the same way you would on a slackline, but it took about four or five days of skiing in slow motion to really incorporate that and have the light go all the way on in my mind. The other really excellent piece of advice, which works better in mankier snow for me, is ski it like you are skiing on very thin ice or a thin sheet of glass.

Essentially, you are trying to keep the forces even, keep the touch light, the pressure from building, so you never break the ice.

Today, skiing down the very steep and moving from thick cream cheese to buffed out steeps and over some rocks (mini-huck!), I felt for the first time a real acceptance of the terrain variability, and stopped trying to fight it. Strangely enough, i hadn't really realized how much I had been bracing in that terrain previously, I had felt aggressive and forward, but that's really the key. This snow doesn't need aggressive, this snow needs touch. Suddenly, skiing was so much easier!

I think this is the beginning of a type of understanding I haven't had before about how my feet function, how my center of mass moves (how quickly, how far, when in the turn, etc), the beginning of something that feels like reaching for flow and really "skiing" it, rather than loading at the bottom of the turn and trying to reach for "control" (ie, the ability to scrub enough speed that I feel in control before the next move), but just feeling in balance and ready for the next move, so I don't HAVE to load and compress.

It still happens, of course, but there is some sort of fantastic change that's beginning! OH! And another good thing! I'm in fairly stiff boots, but my Achilles tendons are sore, and my quads are NOT, so I'm thinking I may actually be flexing my ankles finally! YAY!! FRONT SEAT RULES!

Okay, must get some sleep, have to get up in two hours and do it all again!

Greetings from the top of the Bridger Ridge!

Greetings from the top of the bridger ridge! 45 minutes to the top with a loaded pack tells me training is paying off, even with a full week off. Aspen on Thursday!

First run in 7 days!

Greetings from the kirk hill fire road! 30 min to the top. Time to start soaking myself in Deet. Forgot about the huge horse flys! These two hawks are about 20 yards to 10 feet from me and flew all the way down the canyon with me. jerry garcia band "don'T let go" keeping me company. Time to run!

UPDATE: shaved a HALF AN HOUR off my time! And I thought I was going SLOW because it was so dang hot! Whoopee! Thought of nine more things to blog about. Gonna make a t-shirt first.

Mobile Post: Evening hike up Kirk Hill

Beautiful evening hike!

I know how Rocky felt...

This was a pretty good day. You know, Ice Cream and a hike with the boys, and then, tonight, I needed to get some exercise. I decided to go for a long hike, the Kirk Hill to Leverich Canyon trail that Liat and I used to do all the time last summer. Last year, we felt like intrepid explorers in the beginning of the season when we first topped out on the fire road. Then, there was one long day where Liat, Virginia and I decided to walk along the fire road and see where it would come out.

We were excited and nervous, but we had lots of water and food, and it took us five hours, but we found the Leverich Canyon trail head and connected them. Then, on wobbly, weary legs, we stumbled down the dirt road and called Tom for a pick up. We were so proud, happy, dusty, tired, we had worked so hard and gone so far...

Last summer, Liat and I did it as a shuttle, and it took 2 1/2 hours every time we did it, no matter how hard we pushed.

Tonight, I was tempted to run from my house to the Kirk Hill trail head (1.7 miles) then up Kirk Hill to the fire road (about 3 miles) then along the fire road to Leverich Canyon (about 2 miles, pretty flat) then down Leverich canyon (about 1.5 or 2 miles) then back over to my house (4 miles or so). But I am afraid of running on pavement, I am afraid of getting half way there and being pooped, I am afraid that on my own I wont' be enough motivation to keep moving. In other words, I have a lot of fear and doubt about myself.

So I decided to park at Kirk Hill and do the rest of it minus the run from my house, effectively shaving almost 4 miles off my adventure.

I had my Ipod, which I usually don't listen to while running, but lately, I've been trying it out. I was listening to a mix that I made for a friend, a lift me up mix of all the songs that fill my heart and make me feel good good good, and I was just powering up Kirk Hill! Every time I slowed down, I heard my new mantra, "If you want to be faster on the boot pack, you have to train to go faster. That means you need to practice going faster. That means if it hurts a little, because you are going faster, you are training. Keep going. Go Faster. If you want to go faster on the boot pack, you need to practice going faster..." Wash, rinse, repeat...

I wasn't sure if I was going faster, but I know that every time it flattened out, I ran, which is new for me, because I hate running, or I always have. I always used to feel like, "I could be walking..." but I ran a little yesterday and it felt really good to stretch out and feel the ground disappearing behind me, rolling under my feet like a wheel, and so I asked myself to go faster, and that meant that when it was flat, it was time to run.

I made it from the Kirk Hill trail head to the Leverich Canyon trail head in an hour flat. And I was talking on the phone all the way down Leverich Canyon, or it probably would have been faster! I was shocked. I shaved and HOUR AND A HALF off my time, and I felt really good. I ran and I ran and I ran, I ran on dirt, gravel, pavement, over streams and rocks, I ran and stretched and was singing along to my Ipod "Cause I'm willing... willing and able..." by Prince... and in this way, I watched the sun set, I felt my body alive and strong, I asked it to go faster and it did.

Now that I am home, I feel full, happy, rested, like I could run another ten miles. I feel like Rocky.

Thoughts on Motivation

Tonight, I had to get out of here. I have been working on this book for all the folks that went to Academy, and the program is making me want to pull my hair out. I sat, frustrated, at my computer all day, and lost all desire to go outside and be physical. I just wanted to drink a beer and watch a movie. Ugh. What an icky, stuck feeling.

Right now my support group is kind of scattered all over the globe, everyone is traveling, and sometimes, I discovered recently, you make your support group out of what you have available.

Today, for me, that meant me, myself and I. And the promise that I made to do the thing that is hardest for me.

My sister has decided to begin a yoga practice. This is challenging for her. She works 19 hour days and comes home and works on her laptop from bed. Having any energy for anything in her life is asking a lot. But she did it. Today. And yesterday, and the day before that. She did it today with a mouth full of novocane.

SO, I decided I'd better get my butt out the door. I drove, later than I wanted to, to the M trail, because while I've been truckin' around our neighborhood for the last two days and walking our big loop, its not enough to maintain muscle or improve my bootpacking skills.

Today, I really wanted to go to the ridge. I've asked myself to do it several times, and been up before, but today, I wanted to TURN my hike at the M into a hike that turns around at the ridge, and not before.

THIS was really tough. I had my Ipod. I had my rain shell. I was wearing pants instead of shorts just in case.

I had to have an ENORMOUS argument with myself at the place that I usually turn around, because I wanted to be done, I wanted it to be reward enough to get there. Which is silly, because I really like hiking, and I like hiking long distances. I am not SURE where this critical, nagging voice comes in that whispers "give up, its good enough" but I am going to do my best to cut it out of my psyche like a cancer.

I stopped at my old turn around, something I had said I wasn't going to do. I stopped again 15 feet or so above it, and 20 feet above that. And then, the Grateful Dead of all things, came on my IPod, and it was "Truckin'", and man... I just started marching up that thing finally, with no question of whether I was going to go to the top or not, I was just going.

And it was glorious. Sometimes, your support group can be a bunch of flowers in the setting sunlight at 8:30 at night in Montana.

When I got to the top, I turned around and looked at this place where I live, and it just filled me, like cold water into a huge vessel, and I felt happily sheepish for questioning whether I should go to the top or not.

Ill keep my word if you keep yours!

So the answer to the question is... no, I can NOT beat the storm up the mountain, and YES, it was a hail/snow storm, not a thunder storm.

But hiking up something steep, fast, on pace, without stopping, regardless of the weather (unless its a safety issue), is what's hard for me. And I made myself a deal, that if I'm gonna ask the people in MY life to do what's hardest for them, I can sure as heck haul my own butt up this hill.

This is a pretty good shot of how steep the M trail is. Super Fun!

And, hey, mom, thanks for the jacket, its awesome!!

Spring is here! Our first trip up Kirk Hill!

I finally, finally hiked up Kirk Hill today! Wya and I headed up our favorite hike today in the lovely brisk cool spring weather and looked at all the wildflowers blooming like crazy! Spring is officially here!

DONT PANIC

Okay. So its been an amazing month, with nothing but fun great stuff to report. But this blog is supposed to be WARTS AND ALL, so here it is:

AHH!!! I have gained 8 pounds in the last two weeks. I kid you not. And I am FREAKING OUT. I know I shouldn't be. I know that I will get back to work and it will come right off.

But having JUST been a fatty about a year ago, its SO scary, and it was SO hard to hike it all off last season, and I got a bit HAYWIRE about my food and relationships with food, and I SO don't want that to happen again.

SO, rather than freaking out, we are going to have a plan of attack. Right now, that means mowing our pasture for an hour or two every day with a push mower, because that doesn't cost anything and is quite a workout.

Tomorrow morning at 5:30, Jill and I are going to hike Storm Castle, only 2 miles but super steep. This weekend, I am skiing. I don't know where or with whom, but this nonsense must stop! Welcome back to training logs, I need accountability to make it happen!

Right back AT YA!

The week in Aspen was, of course, amazing. Here is one little gem that I wanted to share with you: I had the undeniable privilege of working with Kurt Fehrenbach for two and a half days while I was in Aspen. He came to my performance talk, and then... he used it on me while working with me! YES! HOW COOL IS THAT? I got to coach myself through the eyes of an amazing coach (if that makes sense.) Sometimes I have a hard time taking my wins when I get rocked hard, and Kurt made me ski this little transition over and over again that just scared the piss out of me. And every time, he skied by me and said "That's a win! It was better this time!" And, of course, I immediately felt a huge boost, I felt proud and happy for how well I had done, rather than belaboring the fact that I want to do it perfectly. A great GREAT reminder of how positivity works to build positive results. Thanks, Kurt!

I Passed my Level 2!!

WOW, what an incredible weekend. I am completely exhausted. I passed my level 2, and I have great pics, but I'm working with Jill right now on her performance plan for D team tryouts, so I'll have to post tomorrow. I am officially going 100 miles an hour right now!!

Training at Big Sky tomorrow and Wed with my FAVORITE trainer, Squatty, (YAY!) and then taking the level 3 Thurs and Fri!

Cross your fingers!

Gave Self Carpal Tunnel. one handed blogging.

Ow. Five days sick on the couch working on my presentation literally gave me gnarly carpal tunnel! It hurts so much its waking me UP! Good God. So, short posts for now. Skied Big Sky with Ethan today, too fun. Got to ski hard for a bit with Jill, and it was lovely. Stayed on my feet, am starting to feel better, almost like I did the day before my break thru with Charlie. Five days to get on the other side of the learning curve again. Excited to travel and give my talk, which went very well at Bridger. Nervous about money and travel, we are getting broke from all the baby sitting I am using to train. Sad not to live amongst big extended family!!

She Can be Taught! Learning to suck less in the bumps at Snowbird

I want to write a longer post about both of these things, the carve and the bumps, but Its 2am and we have an early morning clinic! So here is a quick summary which I will expand on later:

I pop in the bumps. My hands fly up, my steering move is too quick, single footed, and I am not moving in the direction of my new turn. Hence, I am constantly getting compressed and flying over the handlebars.

Rob gave me a great progression to fix this:
Whitepass turns on the groomer.
Whitepass turns in the bumps.
Allow the compression/absorption phase to be what draws your old downhill ski onto its outside edge.
Phase out the whitepass.
As your absorption phase happens, allow your body to cross your skis over the bump, pulling you onto your new outside edge of the new inside ski. This takes trust and commitment, but is super key to making the move less abrupt.
Use your pole plant to stop your rotation like you would in a short swing.

In this video, I think you can see the top two turns are my old style turns, and I kind of go down the progression, until the last six turns or so are smoother, and I have probably the best ski to snow contact yet! I'll post a bump video from the day before as soon as I get a chance, so you can see it before the 20 minute progression that we did. TOO FUN!!

She Can Be Taught! Short Radius turns at Snowbird

WOW, this is A LOT more fun than it used to be! Reilly taught me how to steer, Charlie Stocker taught me how to rotate my femurs to create higher edge angles and to draw my heel up near my butt to shorten the inside leg, Rob gave me a pole plant, and Josh put the whole thing together simply and efficiently in a way that made total sense. Now, I have a turn that I can start to USE and play with. There is still a long way to go, but its getting better! Thanks for all the help, guys!!