Chapter fifteen: Good times and guest appearances

 Home at last! Sitting in snowy Whistler and enjoying a little rest before preparing for the next leg of my journey. This is only going to be a short one, there isn’t a whole lot to say and I don’t even have any sweet pictures to attach to this chapter. Firstly I want to wish speedy recoveries to Andy, Phil, and Erik. The three of them crashed out on podium worthy runs last week while pushing the limits. From what I hear they will be back soon and skiing fast again. I’m excited to have the team back in action. Secondly to wrap up the trip, Aspen had plenty of ups and downs. Like literally I went up the chair and down the mountain a whole bunch of times… yeah fine… I guess that statement could have a metaphorical meaning too... a meaning along the lines of each day was a rollercoaster of expectations and results. Dealing with the hopes and thoughts that creep into your head when you know you have a shot to do something great and then when it doesn’t turn out how you pictured. I started the downhills on a high, my roller coaster was on the way up and I thought the ride was going to be amazing. Despite what the training results say, I was the fastest person to make the whole course, something that I had never done before. I am used to doing training and planning on being fastest by race day, not being fastest and then slowly going insane inside my own head thinking about being able to win… then thinking about not thinking about it… then thinking about getting my head back in the game…but not so much that I over think it. So you see how it’s a tricky position to be in for the first time? It’s also tricky because from that point on being anything but first come race day seems less than stellar, and when I crossed the line outside the top five, my heart broke… then moments later I did the mature thing and destroyed my poles… and moments after that I did the safest thing I could think of and whipped the helmet I would be wearing all week into a ditch. Now on a side note you pretty much will always look like a tool when you have to go pick up the equipment you just threw everywhere during a tantrum in the finish area. So if given the chance I would avoid it all together. From that point though, in a way, the pressure was off and I could start to rebuild and do the work I needed to be faster. Come the third day I did what I could and only thought about my game, the things I could control in order to make it happen. With a clear head I find it easier to have a run flow together. I reached for the finish without expectations, instead I had hopes, and I mean I always have hopes for it to go well but it was just that. I saw my bro and the boys before I looked for the time and I saw what any racer wants to see. Not the shrug or the “what happened to you” look, but smiles and celebrating. It wasn’t a win but it felt like one. The short of this whole story is that I skied myself into a spot at the next World Cup in Norway! I’ll be a first timer there and I’m stoked to get the opportunity to race it. Thanks for sharing that little moment with me and I’ll be writing again from overseas.    

Canadian sweep #boom

Thanks for stopping by


Morgan

Chapter Fourteen: finding an easy way to forget

It may come off as an immature way to look at a crappy day, but when you step back and look at the bigger picture it makes a little more sense. Right now my bigger picture isn’t so bad; it’s a far cry from a masterpiece that’s for sure, I mean I don’t expect a call from the Louvre anytime soon. What I have right now, what my big picture is, is like art that your kid drew back in preschool. If you don’t have kids then think of it like one of your pictures that used to be on the fridge. It might not look like much but you will have an appreciation for it despite what anyone else thinks. So that’s what I’ve got so far, the potential to do much better things. Putting all the metaphors aside what I have is a good series in Vail under my belt and something to actually build off. Today I planned to keep the wheels rolling and start putting some momentum on my side; of course things didn’t really go to plan… Okay, writing “of course” makes is sound like a pre-determined fate but what I mean is if every day went to plan I would never lose, but then again, no one would ever lose so it’s hard to be mad when it’s the same for everyone. Anyways, things not going to plan mean I skied pretty freaking bad. Tippy and then my brain switched off for a while and then when I came around it was wayyyy to late. So those are the things I want to forget, those are the things I can live without and definitely the things I don’t need floating in my head. It’s like a bad pitch… so what, I hit a batter… I still have 99 more before the games through. The rest of these days have been full of the things I need to remember, all the things that make me fast. So the thought in telling you this is that it’s all down on paper and therefore out of my head… I’m not sure if that’s exactly how it works but I’m trusting that it will help. 

Right after this photo was taken we made a rule. Two person max in the kitchen 

The start of a Colorado sunrise 

The owner of the house, or judging by the furnishings... the late owner... 

oh yeah, our whip is a beast.

Well vimeo is being a bit of a pain right now, so all I have for you is this gem of Erik and Phil doing a lovely duet on the piano, I would suggest cranking the volume. I think it's better loud. http://vimeo.com/36581533
Alright, race footage is to follow. Thanks for stopping by


Morgan

Chapter Thirteen: A nothing blog from C.O.

Felt like writing but I really don’t have much to say, and I try not to speak if the only reason is to hear my own voice. I suppose this isn’t exactly speaking though so I don’t think it counts… I was going to write a “training diary” and describe in full the details of my days on snow but it seemed tedious just thinking about it. The skiing is going well, in the right direction as far as I’m concerned. Some days the progress is much slower than I would like and other days I need to remind myself to think technically about how to go faster and stop from just wishing it to be. Calm trumps aggravated in my case, so that’s another challenge to deal with daily. Not like being agro and hating the world and like kicking kittens or anything, more along the lines of keeping things in perspective and looking at it from the point of view where I will get the most out of it. Beyond that Colorado is pretty darn great… I know, that’s a few words away from saying “golly this trip sure is a blast, real nifty” but come on, if you’ve been here you know what I’m talking about. If you have not been here on the other hand it’s pretty much sunshine and blue skies, the water is sweet, puppies roam the country side, and everyone is polite. Well… okay no, that’s terribly misleading, but it actually is nice, especially from a skier’s point of view. The only quarrel I have is that it’s all sooo high up here. I mean you land in the mile high city and then drive UP to the mountains. I’m not exactly one for wheezing but I do my fair share of it here, the first few days always make me feel obese… stairs are challenging and I find myself breathing heavy when I am sitting watching movies (trust me I am much quieter if I have company, for those of you who found the heavy breathing comment creepy). Yeah, so on that note I think I’ll leave you for now.

Riding in style, Kelby was waving...but no lens is big enough to capture all of him

#thumbup

It wasn't that bad

...The actual view in our front yard

It might not look like much, but little guy keeps the beats pumping in our house

The team making use of our multi-purpose room. Its a combo, TV/phsio/dining/gym/internet cafe/nap room.

Races are coming up at the end of the week, and they will last for the rest of this trip, so future blogs will have more of a subject. Until then here are a few links for those who want to see some of my turns. 


http://vimeo.com/36117774 - Thats some GS training here in Loveland


http://vimeo.com/36117954 - annnnnd this, this is the end of a long slalom day, it might not seem like it, but it was a good day. Heres hoping you get a chuckle out of it.


Morgan