 |
| Relaxing lunch break, doesn't get any more chilled really! |
Firstly, a huge thanks to @atomic and @Intersport Phillipe Roux in Verbier for my Christmas present, a pair of Brand New FIS approved 210 cm Super G Skis. Even bigger thanks to my 'Food Supplier' / Restaurant owner Offshore in Verbier, if it wasn't for him supplying me with 4,000 + calories per day (thats right, 4,000 +) in between training sessions, I would never have been able to acquire 5 kilograms of muscle mass in these last weeks, and my Super G skis for sure would have thrown me to the wolves at 70 mph plus on the bends :-)
Secondly, a massive apology for the silence over the past 8 weeks, given all those who helped me get my super g and downhill career off the ground in 2014. Its been a painful couple of months with multiple broken ribs, damaged metacarpals, busted ACL's, sprains, cuts, bruises, wipe outs, crashes, budget issues, training facility issues, housing problems, sponsor problems, social life problems such as having one when you cant (apres ski at Hotel W verbier is hard to resist, as is the legendary night of a thousand shots @tcs_bar in Tignes, France), you name it, I have seen it, all within 5 months. Foolishly, I didn't factor in that in as much as somebody would want to race professionally within 1 year, that same year would include all the problems that could be encountered in race training.
Thirdly, a massive thank you to the 'Away Spa' @WVerbier, (obviously in Verbier) who have provided me with gym training facilities and allowed me to build a Super G and Downhill body during a mad Christmas and New Year period :-) as well as injure myself every week initially whilst learning to find my feet balancing on a FIS ball whilst juggling to weight balls at the same time, serious, its hardcore, search 'Bankski' in Youtube from Jan 14th to see the Swiss ball juggling ski monkey aka me :-)
And lastly, to all those haters I have met along this journey over these 5 months, who fervently, believed and believe, that its impossible for someone skiing less than half a year, to get themselves into a position of competing on the international circuit in Super g and downhill, well, I would like to say go suck, but instead, because that's wrong, all I will say, is 8 to 12 hour days for 5 to 7 days per week, for months and months and months and months and months (5 in total) even skiing with 2 week old broken ribs, is bound to do something :-) As the tourist skier says, I got me over 100 days ski baby, so, its onnnnnnnnn :-)
So the final chapter has arrived in the prep journey, some admin stuff to sort out my race license occupies me the next few weeks, (alongside the normal skiing from 8am till 4pm and gym from 6am to 8am and 5pm to 8pm daily) in time for Feb races and 3 months left in Europe before moving South of the Equator, but all in all, part one of the journey is complete! To all, Happy New Year, or as we like to say in the French speaking part of Switzerland, Bonne Annee!
One last thing, Sally and Terry from the UK company @Skibartlett rule :-) without the help of the Brits this could never have happened! I feel so conflicted, the Swiss rock, Jamaicans are the best and the Brits rule too :-)
