Feel free to reply to my thoughts, experiences, and whatever comes out of this head of mine. blah blah blah

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Im too tall!! haha

Kitzbuhel ate me up and spit me out! It was a wild ride there. I had
tons of emotions the whole week! It was only me second time there and
I knew what to expect with the scene and all. On the hill I felt
great. I was quite comfortable and had a good approach, I was proud
of my training runs where I was fast in all the sections. I felt like
I was ready for the race. But I had to face the SG first. They moved
the start of the Sg over to the DH track due to the fresh snow they
received. I was stoked I felt like this suited my style and it did.
I was leading in the first split by a tenth then on the second split I
was in fourth. But as I jumped of the Hausberg the fog totally socked
me in and I couldn't see anything especially the terrain across the
side hill. I misjudged a bump and went way off line and missed a
gate. I was quite bummed, but it was good to know I was skiing fast.

Then came the Downhill day. I felt confident with my approach except
for the last jump. So I went to the start and found the TV to watch
how the last jump ran. It just so happens that Scott Macartney was
the guy I was watching. To shorten it up, he crashed really bad, I
felt sick to my stomach and I really didn't want to charge anymore.
My Mom was at the bottom of the hill and I knew she was freaking out
and all I wanted to do was make it down safe. I ran safely down the
hill and then I went off the hausberg and again the fog was there. I
think the fog Gods didn't like me this week. I was the only one in
the whole race to have fog. But I made it safe. I survived!

Then came the Slalom day. I was planning on racing the combi and
during the warmup I hit a rut funky in the course and jarred my back.
It just so happens I have a compressed L4 and L5. This tall body is
having a hard time holding itself up! So I am going to miss
Chamonix. My rehab is going well and things are looking up for Val
D'Isere, I am pretty sure I will be back in full swing there.

Enjoy the Powder at home! Im jealous
Steven

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

The Monkey off my back

Wengen is over and now I am in Kitz. It felt so good to get the DNF
monkey off my back. It had been six races since I finished! (One I
finished but flipped around backward half way down the course, which
was basically DNFing). What a relief.
Another good ting that came out of Wengen was how I finished with the
intensity I put into it. I skied very safe and didn't take many risks
and still was 11th. Its a good feeling to know I can do that but it
is a bad feeling not leaving everything on the hill. Physically I was
exhausted but mentally and emotionally I was disappointed in my efforts.
Like I mentioned earlier, I am in Kitzbuhel now. Awaiting my first
race down the full legendary piste. (06 was the shortened course, 07
cancelled) The training runs have been going pretty well. I am
excited with my current form. The first time I ran Kitz I was simply
out of control and lucky to survive the piste. Now I feel like I can
regulate my skiing and push myself to different limits. Today I skied
really well on the top, then I got flagged exiting the steilhang. The
reason for the flag was because Andreas Buder crashed and they needed
to helicopter him out. I restarted from that point and skied well to
the finish! I was only 30 min and 52 seconds behind 1st place! haha.
I hope Buder will be alright. He was having a great season. I think
he had a couple of podiums and just came off a fourth place in
Wengen. Hes a good dude. Send him your best if you can.
Alright time for bed!
Steven
P.S. Ted Ligety is really good at Slalom! I trained today with him
and I am amazed with every turn he makes! I hope he wins the Slalom

Sunday, January 06, 2008

Sleep deprived

Hey Folks!
For some reason every night before I have to fly to Europe or any ski function I can't sleep the night before! Maybe it is because I am horrible at packing my bags? Maybe it is because I want to see everyone and I am awake until the weeee hours or the morning. Maybe it is me trying to pre adapt to Euro time zone. But if you ask me I think it is just the kid inside of me. It is the excitement in my bones! I love racing. I enjoy the fact that hundreds of people come
together, close down a massive strip of snow for us to hurtle our carcasses down. I enjoy scaring myself and testing my limits.
Last night I ended up going to sleep at 2 AM and then waking up at 4:45AM. Before I went to bed I was wide awake. I wasn't burdened by tiredness. Thoughts were streaming through my head. I want to ski I want to race. I decided to sleep because I thought it would be good for me! haha
Home was nice. After 30 some hours of traveling I finally arrived at home at 5 AM instead of the scheduled 11PM. I got three hours of sleep woke up at 8Am and went shredding at my old stomping grounds, Sundance. There was 2 feet of fresh awaiting me and I shredded all day! I even found untracked stashes the next day! Did I say Sundance? I meant uh....Sugarloaf, Main... ha ha.
To summarize this blog. I am stoked, I want to race. I feel good, I'm re energized and ready to go.
Steven

P.S. I got a Ukulele for Christmas, I'm going to be really annoying! haha