When I was nominated by Hannah to write the first blog post, I decided to write what’s on my mind the most right now. That turned out to be three things: my shoulders, Canadian Nationals, and after Canadian Nationals.I’ve been injured most of the season and it was only just over a month ago that I figured out what to do about it. I think my previous physiotherapists (in various places around Western Canada) may have known exactly what was wrong and tried to tell me, but somehow it got lost in translation. Going into my first races in early January (World Junior Trials), I thought I had solved the problem and would be fine. Unfortunately during and after that week I could ski for about a week using my body 100% and then the pain would come back. Lucky for me I found a great physio here in Squamish whom I understand – despite the Hungarian accent – and have been improving, slowly but steadily for a few weeks now. Last week I allowed myself to stop my modified technique (which involved no extension) and try to figure out how to use these muscles that were almost non-existent! So, I have been focused on my shoulder blades nearly constantly for quite a while now, especially as Nationals get closer and closer!I usually don’t have a problem getting into the right “arousal” state, as my sports psychologist would say. I know where I need to be mentally before races and how to get there most of the time. The other night though, I started thinking about my race plans and got so excited about the races that were just a week away I couldn’t sleep. So I’d better leave the planning to the daytime. For me, these will be important races because I’ve hardly been able to compete this year and this is a chance to get in 5 solid efforts. And it doesn’t hurt that I’ve been training on these trails since January, and that my mom and lots of friends will be here to watch. Speaking of friends, the other thing I’m excited about is the month of April. After moving out of our current team house I’ll spend a few days with family friends in Vancouver and just hang out. Their house has been my home-away-from-home-away-from-home… although I think they’re trying to move up into second spot. After some family life I’ll visit my boyfriend and then go to England with my dad (and my new British citizenship) to see our relatives. Last year my family went to Hawaii where I realized I’m not a huge fan of hot weather. It’s nice, but 10 days was a bit too much. I’ll fit in great over in rainy, damp Britain!

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