Surgery

 Surgery was successful! It's day 3 and I have less and less pain every day. My brother and dad went a little overboard with the entertainment set up in my bedroom - tv, dvd player, playstation, laptop, and coming soon - netflix! (I've been too busy sleeping to use any of it yet) My mom and dad have been truly amazing, helping me get comfortable and making sure I have everything I need. Although, mom gave me a bit of attitude the other day when I refused a glass of apple juice she'd brought upstairs (I specifically asked for crushed ice) 

 It's great to be settled in my own bed after a long, but beautiful drive home. I had my surgery in Banff with the Canadian Team's surgeon, Dr. Heard. He did my last surgery as well and he's awesome. Although we are always disappointed to see each other. The official procedure he performed was the same as last time; an ACL reconstruction with an allograft and contralateral hamstring - which means a small piece of hamstring from my other leg was used. Apparently it helps to have a few of your own cells in there along with the cadaver. Unfortunately, it makes stairs quite difficult having had both legs operated on. 

I feel like I'm in a pretty positive place but there is no denying that being in pain, relying on other people, and not being able to do a whole lot straight up blows. I've found that I pretty much have the best situation I could have in a less than ideal situation... if that makes sense. The next few days will be all about resting, icing, and letting my body adapt to its new ACL. Physio starts in about a week! 

Thanks to family, ski friends, home friends, coaches, and staff for the non- stop support, encouragement, and check-ups. It helps knowing I have so many positive and healing vibes being sent my way. You're the highlight of my day! (next to all this extra cash I'm making selling my left over percocets)

Making preparations

so they operate on the correct leg...

 

Unexpected Change

Today I registered to take a course at the local college...as a full time athlete this can only mean one thing. Yes, I'm injured. It's hard to believe but I won't be racing or even skiing, for the rest of the season. Although at times I have moments of acceptance and even excitement at the new turn my life has taken, I am truly heartbroken. Exactly one week after the World Cup (talk about highs and lows) I crashed in the Super G at Panorma. I won't go into too many specifics but the crash was nothing spectacular. I heard some crunching in my knee that scared me however I wasn't in too much pain. In the days following I saw Dr. Heard and had an MRI. Sure enough, I re-tore my ACL for the third time in the past five years.

 
After what seemed like many days of being in a constant state of ugly crying, I am starting to adjust. It's too much to think about everything I've been through and everything I know I'll have to go through again. For now I am keeping myself busy and avoiding the "what could have been" train of thought.  So far life at home is very different than life on the road. When I'm not activating my glutes or icing like it's my job I have all sorts of time to do things I couldn't do while racing. I've painted my nails more times this week than all of last season. I also threw my very being into re-organizing my room and closet. Coping method? Plus, it's Christmas time, so love and joy are abundant. Yesterday we got our tree and decorated it/I watched it get decorated while icing.

With regards to the future, I'm not thinking too far down the road just yet. I'm going to do everything I can to take care of my knee and take advantage of the time off. I was having so much fun on the Prospect Team and was more in love with ski racing than I'd ever been. It's true what my mom said after observing the many phone calls, texts and e-mails from those who share in my disappointment when she remarked "you sure have a lot of people who care about you."  I want to thank the coaches and staff for constantly being supportive and for providing an amazing summer and pre-season. Also, a big thank you to those who made it possible for me to receive such efficient medical care.. saved me a lot of stress not having to wait too long for my diagnosis.

I might still update the odd blog. Not so much about skiing per say, maybe leaning more towards baking/crocheting/having a social life.

Bye for now and Merry Christmas.

ps: teammates- I think getting to do what we love is a rarer thing than we sometimes recognize..enjoy how awesome it all is. Good luck this season, I'll be watching live timing! (or my dad will, and then he'll tell me how you all did)

World Cup

HEY! I am still coming down from cloud 9 after racing my first world cup yesterday. The whole experience was so straight up cool. After watching Sarah and Tess ski the downhill the day before I started to feel less nervous and more excited. We were all cheering as loud as we could, ringing cowbells and blowing whistles. It was like everyone in the finish felt the same way - so proud of the young Canadian racers.

In the weeks before I talked to Kelly Vanderbeek, Larisa Yurkiw, and Georgia Simmerling about racing World Cup. They were all super generous with sharing their experiences. With their advice in mind, my focus was on enjoying the whole experience and skiing my best.

Tess is stoked!

  It was seriously the perfect bluebird day in Lake Louise. Sarah and I hung out up top, warming up and listening to music. When it was finally time to go I was so pumped and couldn't wait to push out of the start... (there was a little typical 'first race of the season confusion with the start wand'). Other than that, I skied well and the course was a blast.

Thanks to everyone for the crazy amount of support and encouragement. Thanks to Mom, Dad, Sophie, Johanna, Pat, and Arnie for driving out to watch the race. (ski fast) I'm was so thrilled to see you all in the finish.

A little media time

In hindsight, shouldn't have signed kids' new winter jackets.

Pre-Season Fun

This is a quick "post pictures I haven't posted yet because I haven't had fast internet until now" blog. Sidenote: I have fast internet because I am staying at the Chateau in Lake Louise. (hiiiighhh rolllaaa) I'm in Lake Louise because I will be racing in my first World Cup race, and first race of the season, in this Sunday's Super G.

Madi and I building a snow-dog

Larisa and our snowman

Me, Sarah and Tess road trippin

Loki!

Thanks for taking the photos Dr Annie

Until next time Nakiska.

Nakiska Training

Hey Everyone,

Guess where I am? Back at the Delta Lodge in Kananaskis. aka Nakiska. aka a ski hill about 40 minutes away from Canmore, Alberta. Last time I was here was for Nationals in the spring where I banged my shin and couldn't ski.. so mostly I was just hanging out with Mackensey, buying pay-per view movies and stealing complimentary lip chaps. Good times.

So what's new? We've been training a ton of speed preparing for the upcoming World Cup at Lake Louise and later, the NorAm at Nakiska. It's kind of weird how comfortable I feel on downhill skis now. I can't imagine how slaloms would feel in comparison, probably similar to snow blades. There are a ton of World Cup ski teams here also preparing for Lake Louise. We've been skiing with the French, Italian, and Swedish Women's teams to name a few. Piste libre is what is said instead of the usual 'course clear!' The other night we had the pleasure of having dinner with Anja Pearson. Not that I spoke to her. She mostly told stories about World Champs and the 3 Oympics she's been to while we sat there too enthralled and nervous to say anything. Speaking of being a famous ski racer, some K1 girls asked Kelly for her autograph at dinner last night. When asked if they had a pen, a black marker was immediately thrust forward. After signing and making small talk like a pro, Kelly politely nodded towards us and said “these girls are on the team too” 

“OH!” their faces lit up, and we were also handed the helmet and goggle bag to sign. It was quite cute and cool to find myself on the other side of the pen.

Anyways, like I said training has been good. I'm building confidence and starting to push the line. We've had more days off than I would have liked due to the crazy weather we've been getting. In my experience Nakiska is typically very reliable in providing clear and stupidly cold days. But this week we've had fog, rain, snow, and winds that will knock your poles over. It's kind of a cliché to say but it's true how coaches always say “weather is just one of the many variables in this sport, you can't control it, etc” It does help to stay flexible though. Carrying a deck of cards at all times also helps while waiting to hear if you're going to ski or not. One good thing about bad weather days is that it gives out bodies or any nagging injuries a break. My shins have benefited from the time off. Lili has been going to town massaging my shins.. I don't even know if I can call it massage. It's more like her elbow beating up my lower leg.

Yesterday we went to Canmore to hang out and watch the Men's World Cup at Tess' house. It was nice to have a lazy day (after we worked out at the Nordic Center). We also visited 'Communitea' again – the BEST tea house/cafe in the world. This time I had a Cinnamon Apple Fog. Yum. Okay this is getting pretty long and I should get back to pretending I'm watching the Grey Cup. All in all, life is good. Getting excited for racing with all the World Cups on TV lately! Sarah and Tess start training Downhill at Lake Louise the day after tomorrow!! (Don't ask me what day that is, I am oblivious to the days of the week). I might just make an appearance in the Super G if all goes well and my shins cooperate.

Thanks for reading,

Sarah.

Back on Track

 It's good to be back! On Monday I free-skied GS and today I free-skied Super G and Downhill. During the pre-race season free-skiing isn't something we do a lot of, but it's been refreshing and beneficial to focus on good quality technique without any gates getting in the way. That being said, I am looking forward to training on the new downhill track. The plan for tomorrow is to hit the road after some early morning training - drive straight to the airport, fly to Calgary, and then drive about 3 hours to Panorama. Pano's one of my favourite race hills so I'm looking forward to it.. and to seeing the rest of the team/coaches!

Taking it Easy

It's after 9 o'clock, and usually I would have been in bed for an hour already (lame, I know but we are waking up before 5 am). However, tonight I can stay up past 8pm because I have tomorrow off! Unfortunately, that is because I have a minor concussion and am unable to ski... It was so weird, I remember being in the start for my fifth run of downhill training and then waking up face down in the snow. It was bizarre not knowing where I was. Trying to remember was like trying to recall fragments of a dream. My physio, Lili, and the ski patrol took excellent care of me and reminded me that I was in Copper Mountain. "Lindsey Vonn is here" was one of the first things I vacantly recounted, trying to place myself "and we're training downhill." After getting fully checked out at the clinic and being quizzed with all sorts of memory tests (count backwards from 100 by multiples of 7) I was cleaned up and sent home with a band-aid on my forehead. I'm already feeling better today - just a sore neck and some cuts on my face. Still getting bugged about the Lindsey Vonn comment... Anyways, I am taking it easy for a couple days, trying to be patient and stay positive. Everyone had a day off today so I had company. The coaches treated us to a "friendly team dinner" tonight in Frisco which was just lovely. I even got to play the role of a ski mom tonight and make Tess and Sarah's lunches for their training tomorrow. I'm still figuring out the whole blogging thing, but I will try and take more photos so there is more photo viewing, less reading.