This past month of August has had its up and downs. It
started great with a productive on snow camp in Hood where we had 3 SL days and
3GS days. After the Hood camp I took a 3 day road trip around the Oregon Coast
to go surfing and camping in the Tillamook Forest.
After that it was back to the gym for a 5 week fitness
block. In week 2, my minor back problems took a turn for the worse. On one of
our heavy lifting days I felt my back give in on a power clean, and all of a
sudden it was a struggle to walk and even sitting down was uncomfortable. I saw
a back specialist the next week to get some x-rays and an MRI. The doctor
diagnosed me with 2 inflamed discs in my L4-L5 and L5-S1, and they found an old
micro fracture in the lower spine as well.
Over the past 3 and a half weeks I have been getting
Physical Therapy every day, and strengthening my core muscles to support my
back. Surprisingly (to me too) my back feels great now and I am ready to get
back on snow. I just arrived in Chile, and will be skiing tomorrow! This
training camp is mostly Downhill and SG. Luckily the speed events are easier on
the back then technical events.
Out on the lake with my friend and teammate Sam Dupratt
Hopefully in about a week I will have a video of full length
DH on here. Maybe even a couple POV shots with my new GoPro!
