Summer skiing and bikinis

Summer is officially here! Those long nights, warm temperatures and getting up at 5am to go skiing…
Due to breaking my leg and ending my season earlier than planned, as soon as I was off crutches I was back in the gym working to get back all the muscle mass I had lost in my left leg. I had no pain in my knee during this time and really enjoyed being able to go to the gym and go out on the bike again. Earlier this year I had planned an end of season family holiday in the British Virgin Islands for 2 weeks. However, I recently released my very own swimwear collection, Corallina Swim, which is inspired by the British Virgin Islands. I decided to fly to the Caribbean a week early to sneak in a photoshoot of my collection with some local models! Having not taken more than 2 weeks away from a gym or a pair of skis in over 6 years, 3 weeks off was exactly the rest I needed before starting my summer training.

My holiday flew by and it was soon time to head back to the ski slopes. I have spent the last 5 years training with Orsatus in France. They brought me from a 130 point skier to the racer I am today and have taught me so much about team work, hard work and perseverance. I cannot thank them enough! However, it was time for a change and just as I was starting to look at other options, International Ski Racing Academy came along. The team was set up by Chris Knight who has years of experience working with some of the top American racers in the world. I met Chris to discuss the program and I liked the way things sounded and before I knew it I was headed to Val D’Isere for my first camp with them.

There was so much snow in Val that for the first week of training we were training on the top of the women’s Downhill run at La Daille. Having spent the last three weeks lazing around the Caribbean my knee felt great so I overdid the skiing in the first few days which unsurprisingly, considering I was 10 weeks post a fractured tibial plateau, left me with a pretty sore leg! After a good day of rest and some ice baths in the glacial river my knee was good to go again. As with previous injuries, I need to learn my body’s limits and as much as I hate it… stop before it gets sore!

The coaching style was different to Orsatus but it was exactly the change I needed and I felt really good on my skis. Actually, one of the hardest things to get my head around was the language… After training only in French for 5 years I was missing quite a bit of skiing vocabulary in English!

I am now back home in Italy for a week before I head to Glasgow to do a bit of coaching with ATC in Braehead. I won’t be back on snow training again until August when I head down to La Parva in Chile. I’m going to use my spare time wisely in the gym to insure I am as fit as I can be for next time.
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Of course, I have to write a little bit about my bikini company which has become a huge part of my life that I’m learning to work alongside my skiing. I started Corallina Swim in 2017 as a way to earn money for my skiing and also give my brain a break from all things skiing once in a while! I started from nothing except a love of bikinis and spent 6 months sketching, designing and researching how to start up a business. My first collection is inspired by the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean and it went on sale on June 8th 2018. All pieces in the collection are reversible, sold separately so you can mix and match sizes and styles and 100% made in Italy. The theme is unique prints, bright colours and styles that suit everybody! You can follow Corallina Swim on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and of course www.corallina.com Check out my blog on the website too! If you have any questions about my bikinis feel free to message me and I look forward to seeing everyone skiing in my bikinis next season!
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