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