Rest, Recuperation, Recovery, Return!

Room with a view-kirchberg
The hill in Kirchberg
My hovel

The past week has been one of the most boring and uncomfortable weeks that I have had in a really long time!

The GS races in Mont Ste. Anne were cancelled due to bad snow conditions. The first day I went up on the hill with the intentions of seeing how my back would react to freeskiing before the race and I was then going to decide if it would be ok to race. However we went up and immediately were told that the day was cancelled. I did one run (terrible grooming though so it was more like high speed sliding) before heading back to our condo. After that run I was having serious doubts about wanting to race the next day as my back was really not feeling great. I called my brilliant sports psych and he helped clear my mind. I already knew there was three options ahead of me.

1.Go full out in the race 2. Race cautiously to preserve my back 3. Not race. Given the circumstances it was impossible for me to go full out because of how sore my back was. The second option would leave me completely unsatified and angry...as well as possible hurting my back more. So after deliberation it was obvious that racing the one day would not benefit me in comparison to resting and hopefully getting better for the races coming up in Europe. It ended up not mattering as the next day was cancelled as well.

On the 7th we headed over to Europe. I got incredibly lucky and got upgraded to first class which was amazing for my back! Sitting upright is one of my more uncomfortable positions.

Upon arrival in Munich we immediately headed out towards the Austrian border. We stopped at a roadside gas station/food place and as I walked through the door I heard my name being called. I turned around and there was a friend of mine named Silvia from northern Italy who raced at Sun Peaks for year in 2005. I have not seen her since then so I was fairly incredulous that I ran into her in Germany four years later at a road side stop! It was amazing to see her! Unfortunately I was really feeling the jetlag at that moment so I don't think it was the highest quality of conversation on my part but all the same it was a coincidence and a half!

Once we reached our destination (Kirchberg, Austria-which in incredibly close to Kitzbuhel) I was able to get physio which was amazing. We had the next day off and I was able to get two physio sessions in that day. The next day (the 10th) we headed up to the hill for some gs and slalom training. I freeskied GS instead of hoping into the course. My back felt tight and unstable. My major problem when I have been skiing has been that my back has been making me nauseous. This was once again the case so I stopped early and went back to the hotel to rest up. In the afternoon I got physio from the WC tech girls physio who noticed that my SI joint was shifted up on my left side. I was not presenting signs of a disk injury anymore though which is good. My back was still pretty sore though. I took the 11th off as well and in the afternoon got physio from the mens tech team physio. Afterwards my back felt a lot better but it was still recommended that I take the next day off.

So now it is the 12th of January and I have skied three days since the 30th of December. My back is feeling pretty good today so hopefully I will get to ski soon! Tomorrow we leave Kirchberg for a place called Rieteralm(not sure if that is how it is spelled) which apparently has amazing training. Next weekend there is a world cup slalom in Maribor Slovenia that I am trying to qualify for. I am hoping to get in some good training before then!

In other news in the world of Elli yesterday I got an email from my Mom informing me of two pieces of news. The first was that my dog Benny, whom I received as a present for my 5th birthday, had passed away. It is going to be really hard to be at home without her! I feel very lucky that I was able to go home at christmas and spend time with her. She was the best dog ever. The second was that the day after that my Auntie Khara gave birth to a beautiful baby boy named Sawyer. I am very excited to have a new cousin and can't wait to see him!

R.I.P Benny

I hope everyone is enjoying their winter and getting to spend time with the people (and pets) who mean the most to them!

Cheers

Elli