speed for days!

That’s it, summer is over! I’ve just got home from my camp down in Chile, South America. We had the most amazing training. I hardly saw a cloud in three weeks and the snow was either hard and grippy or ice!
When my coaches said we were going to do a speed camp but I didn’t take them seriously. In 20 days of skiing I only spent one day on my GS skis and one day on my slalom skis – paradise! In Europe during the winter I’m lucky to get three days of Super G training and I’ve never done downhill training so it really was amazing and exactly what I needed.
We had two series of races down in Chile and the first ones were in La Parva. There were two downhills and a Super G. I did quite well in the downhill training runs, finishing amongst the top girls and I was excited for the races! There is quite a big jump at the 3rd gate in La Parva, probably the biggest jump I’ve ever done and it’s followed by a long flat section. Unfortunately, in the first race I completely messed up my jump which resulted in me being very slow along the flat and down the rest of the course. I was annoyed to have messed up in the race run but determined to show what I could do in the second race. In the second race I skied much better and I was happy with my run, my time wasn’t quite as fast as I would have liked but it was still a good day.
After the end of the races we had the weekend off and decided to go to Santiago for the day. Despite having been to Chile two times before, I’d never actually spent any time in Santiago and it was really cool to wander around the traditional markets. We walked up a hill to get a view over the city and even had a chance to do a bit of shopping in some outlets. It was a much-needed break from living at nearly 3000m. We returned to Los Farellones under a blanket of fresh snow. Fresh snow meant speed training was off the cards so we had to do a day of slalom!
Once the snow had hardened up again it was back into training for the second series of races which would be in El Colorado, on the hill we trained on! I had a great week of super g and downhill training and I was feeling especially good in downhill. We were due to have two days off before the start of the races but there was an option to train another day of downhill which I just couldn’t resist, I listened to my heart rather than my body… There is also a jump in the downhill in El Colorado. I’m not a natural jumper but I have been working very hard on my jumps this summer and I do enjoy them; my knee though does not enjoy them. The take-off is fine but the landing… not so much! Despite doing a good jump I hurt my knee on the landing of my last run of the day. I had a day of rest before the start of the races.
It wasn’t enough, my knee really needed a few weeks off. I persisted through and I went from skiing in pain on no painkillers and being really slow to skiing with no pain on a lot of painkillers and being extremely slow (due to my head being on another planet!). Downhill was last up and I made it over the jumps without injury and my times were good, especially considering how much pain I was in.
The races didn’t go to plan but the training in Chile was so amazing that I know it will pay off this winter! I’m now back home again for a few weeks rest before I head to the glacier in Tignes to begin my autumn training.          That’s it, summer is over! I’ve just got home from my camp down in Chile, South America. We had the most amazing training. I hardly saw a cloud in three weeks and the snow was either hard and grippy or ice!


When my coaches said we were going to do a speed camp but I didn’t take them seriously. In 20 days of skiing I only spent one day on my GS skis and one day on my slalom skis – paradise! In Europe during the winter I’m lucky to get three days of Super G training and I’ve never done downhill training so it really was amazing and exactly what I needed.
We had two series of races down in Chile and the first ones were in La Parva. There were two downhills and a Super G. I did quite well in the downhill training runs, finishing amongst the top girls and I was excited for the races! There is quite a big jump at the 3rd gate in La Parva, probably the biggest jump I’ve ever done and it’s followed by a long flat section. Unfortunately, in the first race I completely messed up my jump which resulted in me being very slow along the flat and down the rest of the course. I was annoyed to have messed up in the race run but determined to show what I could do in the second race. In the second race I skied much better and I was happy with my run, my time wasn’t quite as fast as I would have liked but it was still a good day.
After the end of the races we had the weekend off and decided to go to Santiago for the day. Despite having been to Chile two times before, I’d never actually spent any time in Santiago and it was really cool to wander around the traditional markets. We walked up a hill to get a view over the city and even had a chance to do a bit of shopping in some outlets. It was a much-needed break from living at nearly 3000m. We returned to Los Farellones under a blanket of fresh snow. Fresh snow meant speed training was off the cards so we had to do a day of slalom!
Once the snow had hardened up again it was back into training for the second series of races which would be in El Colorado, on the hill we trained on! I had a great week of super g and downhill training and I was feeling especially good in downhill. We were due to have two days off before the start of the races but there was an option to train another day of downhill which I just couldn’t resist, I listened to my heart rather than my body… There is also a jump in the downhill in El Colorado. I’m not a natural jumper but I have been working very hard on my jumps this summer and I do enjoy them; my knee though does not enjoy them. The take-off is fine but the landing… not so much! Despite doing a good jump I hurt my knee on the landing of my last run of the day. I had a day of rest before the start of the races.
It wasn’t enough, my knee really needed a few weeks off. I persisted through and I went from skiing in pain on no painkillers and being really slow to skiing with no pain on a lot of painkillers and being extremely slow (due to my head being on another planet!). Downhill was last up and I made it over the jumps without injury and my times were good, especially considering how much pain I was in.


The races didn’t go to plan but the training in Chile was so amazing that I know it will pay off this winter! Mang thanks to Greg and the rest of the Orsatus team for a great camp. I’m now back home again for a few weeks rest before I head to the glacier in Tignes to begin my autumn training.