July Flys By

Hi again!
Right now it's the first rainy day in Collingwood that we have had all summer!! I'm sitting in a Starbucks drinking a mocha and eating a muffin, something I rarely get to do. This past month has flown by. I came up to Collingwood right after my Calculus exam and have been up here for 3 hard weeks of tough training. Looking back, it was the perfect choice for me to move up here and start training in a more intense competitive training atmosphere. I am finally starting to lift some serious weights and grunt through some tough intervals of jumping and running. It is amazing how much more fun training is with friends and some sweet loud beats blasting in the background. Active Life is a great gym and the positive atmosphere makes me want to go back each day. Right now, I feel fit and strong but I also feel like I have a lot more healing to do before I can ski again.

It has been great to have my close friends up here too. Training is more enjoyable if you know you have something to look forward to after it. Takin a dip in Georgian Bay, going to Wing Night here every Tuesday with friends, mountain biking in 3 Stage or even just getting away from it all and having a nap is what keeps me going. I'm always looking for an adventure. Even though my life right now is semi normal, I am looking forward to being back on the plane and rippin some turns. This year, I am going to focus mostly on tech events. I already know what I can do in speed and I want to save it for later. My technical skiing will translate into my speed skiing anyways.

I am counting down the days until I see the Doc in September. I am anxiously awaiting what he will say for my return to snow and an approximate time that I can start back at it. Wearing a brace is on my mind but if it means I can do what I love again then so be it.  All our new equipment is coming in tomorrow and its basically a skiers Christmas. However, I think it will be a tease for me to get all my new gear and not be able to use it right away. The team leaves aug. 1st for Mt. Hood and this time I am actually not that upset about missing it. Of course I would be there in a second if I could but right now I know I'm not ready. Which is a good thing. I look at it as if I have 3 extra months on everyone else to get even fitter. The season is long and I'll be fresh for the race season. Even though I don't get as much training as the rest of the field, I'm confident in myself and my training right now; and for me, thats all that matters. If I know I'm doing all I can, thats what counts when its time to race.

One of the goals I set for myself when I got injured was to create a better life at home away from skiing. I have been branching out and trying hard not to talk so much about my skiing. So far, its been working. I've been tagging along with my brother and his new group of friends where he's been working at our cottage. It has been a blast and I can't help but thank my bro for being such a good friend to me. I am so glad we have such a good relationship and because of it we have a ton of fun together. I've been enjoying spotting for him while he wakeboards and getting tips from him while I try and wake surf. I've been trying to love the small things in life and I think I've really learned even more about myself this summer then I thought I could. Being with my family a ton isn't such a bad thing after all. Laughing and doing nothing but it was also another goal of mine and I've been doing a lot of it. Heres some pics of my bro wakeboarding!

 Flippzzzz

And Grabs

I am looking forward to working in August at the Active Life Sports Camp and I can't wait to be a leader for all the crazy, enthusiastic kids. I know I was one of them growing up and I can't wait to be run into the ground by how much energy they all have each day. Well, thats all I have for now!
Julia.    

Summer Time and the Livin's Easy.... sort of.

Hey Yaaaalll
Its been a while... what else is new.
Time flys when you're heads down and you're working hard and chasing goals. Since my last blog I've been to Punta Cana, Domincan with some close friends, recovered lots, and studied hard too (grosss). Calculus has become my 2nd life. It has taken over it seems, but the end is near! I am finally going to be DONE high school this Friday when I finish my exam. I can't believe I'll be done and won't have to think about school. It will be such a weight of my shoulders to know all I have to do is get fit.... and get fitter.

I don't want to say it too soon but my knee is feeling stronger then ever. It's funny, I hadn't really stopped to notice that I didn't have any pain anymore until this week. I guess its because my trainer has been making each week slightly harder then the last. Without even knowing it, I am starting to clean some serious weight. I felt it today in my traps and back muscles which means I'm heading in the right direction. Life this summer has been very different from last. Even though I would love to be out in Calgary training with the team, I have come to realize that it is better for me to stay and recover fully on my own. I am a super competitive person and when you're injured it sometimes isn't a good idea to be pushing yourself to the limit.

On the long flight home from Austria after my injury, I wrote a page of the things I wanted to accomplish in the next 8 months. 6 months have already past and I just looked back at my goals today. I have accomplished a lot of them but I still have a few to go for the summer. One of my goals was to become more of a professional athelete. When I look in the mirror now, I see someone who could go all the way. I see someone who can over come fear of failure, and over come the mental side of the sport. I sometimes feel like my biggest enemy is between my own two ears and I've really been working on improving this about myself. Another thing to check off on my list was to listen to better music and read more. Two of which I think I've been doing more of. For my 19th birthday my brother and some friends took me to see The Band of Skulls (which sounds hard core rock) but really isn't. It was a really sweet experience that I will remember forever.

Lastly, one of the biggest things on my list of achievements was to believe in what I'm doing and not worry about what the rest of the world is doing. With my injury, I'm doing everything I can without trying to over do it. Confidence in the process is what makes me know that I will perform when I do get time to ski. Standing in the start and knowing I've done every second of my recovery and pushed myself in training everyday is beautiful thing. To know that I don't have to do something extra in the race from what I've been doing is training is such a kick ass feeling. When I get there, I will deserve it and I will know that I can do anything.

I'm sooooo coming back stronger and better then ever before and it feels good to know that even though its been along time since I've skied, it really doesn't feel like it. Its cool to know that I can improve my skiing without even doing it. As my surgeon says... "you won't forget how to ski." Thats all the wisdom I have for now. Here some pics from my tropical vacay to Punta Cana!

 The Beach!

 Kelly, Dev and I

My new best friend... 

Jules.  
1 800 KILL'N'IT!!