Monday, October 1, 2012

Off Season


Hey guys, I just finished up my first camp of the year. That means winter is around the corner and I am starting up my blog again!

My 2012 season did not go completely as planed, but I ended it on a strong note cutting my speed points in half. Right after the season ended I went to Mammoth Mountain in California to test out the new GS skis (35 Meter Radius). At first they were difficult to turn but I don’t think they are going to make a huge difference in the future of ski racing, like some said would happen.

Earlier Last season one of the US Team doctors noticed my left ankle was extremely unstable and weak, which was causing my ankle to constantly roll over. It also explained why I couldn’t flex my left boot all the way. So, immediately after Mammoth (literally the day after) I got ankle ligament reconstruction surgery.  It was a struggle spending a lot of my summer on the couch, but I knew it would pay off in the end.

I started my Physical Therapy in Park City, Utah at the US Ski Team’s Center of Excellence. Whenever someone on the US team gets a surgery or gets injured in any sort of way, they have access to this facility. Some of the nations best physical therapists and doctors are there 6 days a week and are completely devoted to helping the athlete get back on snow at 100% health.

After spending all of May and June on crutches, and then committing 6 days of the week to physical therapy in July, I was finally cleared to start working out.  At home I began working out at Crossfit Wachusett in Fitchburg, MA, and continued Physical therapy 3 days a week in Waltham, MA.  One of my coaches from Stratton Mountain School now owns Crossfit Wachusett, and I go workout with him about 4-5 days a week (when I am home).



Finally, on September 12th, I left for La Parva Ski Resort, Chile. Though the snow was minimal, La Parva was willing to stay open for just the US C and D teams, the British National Team, part of the Canadian National team, and the US Western Region Development Team. When we go down to South America, we like to spend most of our time training speed, but because I was not able to ski over the summer, I trained almost all GS and Slalom (which actually turned out to be really good for me).

Now I am back home and I will continue with my workouts at Crossfit Wa-Wa, and keep up with my physical therapy, as my ankle is technically not supposed to be 100% until 6 Months Post-Op. Next on the schedule is Physical Testing in Park City at the end of Oct. and then Right into ski season in Colorado on November 1st.