Julia Roth

Yesterday we had a day off and I basically took time off to catch up on some sleep from the early morning wake ups and let my body relax. I went to the gym alone to flush, stretch and do some ab excercises as well as listen to some tunes on my ipod without the chatter of anyone else. It was peaceful and relaxing to get out and walk around and reflect on this trip so far. I have been surprised by my speedy recovery so far and I can't believe its already time to race. I feel so strong and I'm ready to kick off the season with some sweet downhill races coming up next week. Today I skied gs in the morning and slalom in the afternoon. The hill we trained on was challenging but I'm glad I got to train more tech before we jump right into more speed. I feel like I have come along way in the last month and a half and I can't believe the gains I have made with my technique in such a short period of time. I think it was a good thing for me to take so much time off. I got rid of some bad habits in my skiing and have had time to reflect on what I need to focus on to make improvements. I had time to look back on video from the pervious year and really simplify the mental cues I need to use when I step into the gate. Lately, in slalom I have been focusing on pole planting... seems simple enough and many of us have been working on this our whole lives but when the hill is slick and steep its easy to get into the back seat because of a lack of pole plant. Pole planting moves the hips forward instead of up... something I have had troubles with. Keeping the skiis on the snow is another cue I use when I get into the gate. It reminds me to again move forward and allows for smooth turns without mistakes that throw me off. Finally, a quote that stuck with me today was... "Sports are filled with ups and downs. Remember the first rule of holes is to stop digging. Go back to the basics and keep things simple." Something else my coach would say to me last yearin the start was "NOTHING ELSE MATTERS" (in a hurminator voice which made me laugh). To me, this reminds me that at this moment in time, in the start, nothing else but my skiing matters. Results, snow conditions, weather, competition, and other peoples times do not matter because I can't control them. Its what I do that is the only thing that really matters.