I wanna go fast

Tucking into the Swiss abyss

The team getting revved up

Our third on-snow training camp has been really good.  Naturally, some wind has kept us off the hill some days.. but when we've gone up, we've skied lots.  And fast.  In Zermatt, they built an incredible downhill track full of all the qualities a track should have.. a gliding section to work on aerodynamics, a pitch to work on tactics, a jump for technique and a fast section to see what you're truly made of.  Skiing at 128km/h doesn't creep up on you... it's just there, in your face, sucking the air out of your lungs.  Somehow, that's addictive.

I can't wait for my first race of the season.  November 30, 2012 in Lake Louise, Alberta.  Visualizing that race is the only thing that makes my cardio sessions whiz by.

But there's lots of work left to do.  We're in Saas Fee now (Zermatt's neighbouring valley) and we got rained/winded out today.  We did a weight session in our driveway and then I went for a really nostalgic walk.  I haven't been to this Swiss town for over 8 years.  It was funny to walk past the mailbox I used to put my postcards in, or the phone booth.  I remember shutting the phone booth doors and thinking that maybe the glass was dirty enough to hide the homesick tears on my face.  Other times, I'd dial the 54 numbers required to use a calling card.. then proceed to make a collect calling saying "himomanddadi'mhavingsomuchfunloveyou" ...instead of saying who's calling.  That way they didn't have to accept and pay for the call.  But the biggest wave of nostalgia came when I started to think of my headspace when I was 15.  I knew about this thing called hard work and the 'grit' I'd be in for to be an elite athlete, but living it.. that's how to write the definition.  

The training lanes available for purchase each day

So here's to this week, an addition to the definition.  We have as many staff as athletes.  It's a mixed bag, to say the least.  We have girls with fast twitch muscles, girls with quads for days, we have a Brit, a Swiss, an Austrian and, today, we have a birthday girl.  Together, we are moving fast towards representing Canada in Alpine Skiing at Sochi 2014.  We have 501 days left to be better.  And everyone's counting :)