My bio

Here is a link to my bio on the USTSA website, check it out!
http://www.ustsa.org/new-site/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=66&Itemid=55

Friday Parallel

Friday was the 3rd ever Telemark Parallel race at Howelson Hill in Steamboat. At 2:30 the qualifiers began. All of the racers first did the red course, then the blue. First run Amelie (Swiss) missed one of the gates and second run Thea (Norwegian) also DQed. After the qualifiers I was in 3rd place. The top 2 women got to automatically move to the semi-finals and the rest of us had to duel it out. I was paired with Madi (USA) and we are very close in our skiing. First run I was on the red course and Madi fell, I won by many seconds. Determined to win, Madi beat me in the second run, she skied very well, but because of the first run, I moved on. In the semi-finals I was paired against Anne-Marit (Norwegian). She is an amazing skier and I doubted I could beat her. If the first run (blue course for me) I beat her through the gates, but she caught up in the skate. I was just enough ahead of her that I got to choose the easier finish. Our finish was so close they could not tell for minutes who had won. I beat her by .045 seconds, the closest race of the night. On the second run once again I beat her in the gates, she caught up in the skate but I had an advantage, I got no penalties. That extra second she had to skate made the difference, I won and moved on to the finals. I was beside myself, I was hoping to not lose and next thing I knew I was guaranteed first or second. I was going to race as hard as I possibly could and shoot for the top of that podium. First run of the finals I did well through the gates but I lost some time in the skate, Laura beat me by about 1.5 seconds. Second run was the red course and I knew I would do better. I pushed hard in the gates, beat her to the skate where she then passed me. As we were skating I looked up and saw the most wonderful sight, I got no penalties and she got 2. I was behind her and that 0 was all I needed, as she skated the extra 2 seconds I turned in ahead of her and beat her. I won a world cup. Being on top of the podium, holding the American flag while singing the National Anthem will forever be one of the proudest moments of my life.

World Cup 2012

So as you probably heard this past week was World Cup in Steamboat Springs, CO. People started to arrive 2 weeks ago (Cory, Jack, The Canadian) and we all practiced together. Training was good and we were all getting pumped. Saturday the 11th at the Winter Carnival night firework show Chad got up on the stage and preformed the opening ceremonies in front of THOUSANDS of people. Probably the first time that many people have watched opening ceremonies ever. We crossed the stage following Charlie who was carrying the American flag and looked out across the mass of people. The races began on Monday on the mountain with a classic. It was a lot of gates, a big jump and a pretty tough skate. Visibility was very low and I crashed on the last gate before the rap. I was tired and it was my first classic of the year for me so I didn't do too well Monday or Tuesday. Wednesday was day off/training day at Howelson where we all hucked so hard off the jump they got slightly upset at us! During the Thursday sprint classic I had an ok first run then second run I was doing amazing when I missed the first gate after the jump and DNFed. Friday was amazing, it gets its own blog so keep an out out for that. Then Saturday was another sprint, tired from my win on Friday I didn't do as well as I could have but I skied well. It was an amazing week of racing, hanging out with the other teams and improving my skiing. Congratulations to every woman for getting a podium and all of the US for showing up and being amazing.

02/02/2012

Great day of training today on Mt. Werner. It was a hard course, really turny with a flat rap halfway down and a skate at the bottom. It was tough but I got about 4-5 really great runs in. I made a promise to myself to get better before World Cup here and I'm feeling like I really accomplished that. Skiing on my home mountain on (hopefully) good conditions and with much more training under my belt, who knows, another American on the podium? I'll just keep pushing it and race like I've never raced before in a week!

Back!

So I know it's been way too long but I'm back and blogging, stay tuned for lots of updates this season, starting with training leading into World Cup!

EUROPE (part 4)

Day 4:
Today was a nighttime classic. That means training in the day, then lunch, then tuning then a race beginning at 4 and going through the dark. Let's just say this course was Howelson Hill on steroids! It was super steep and Jack's way of describing it is: "Imagine an ice-cube". It was bad. But we all survived, many of us slid, slipped, skidded and hiked but we made it through! I ended up in 16th so all in all it was a good day!

EUROPE (part 3)

Day 3:
TRAVEL DAY! It may sound boring but it was an amazing day! We drove from Thyon, switzerland, through Les Alps, through Charmonix to Meribel, France. The drive was spectacularly beautiful. With great music as our soundtrack we traveled over mountains, on tiny windy roads through small European towns It was a blast! We stopped inside the French border for a bite to eat at a surprisingly fabulous petite restaurante then continued on. We got to Meribel and we are all getting ready for our night classic tomorrow night! Will keep you posted on results!