Winter is Just About Here!

I spy snow on the mountains, and snow on the ground every morning! Word on the street is A-Basin and Loveland are open! All this means WINTER is just around the corner, and I cannot be more excited! The last month I've been in summit, I've been putting a lot of time in the gym and in my yoga practices, and think I'm ready for the season to begin!! On top of that, I got a teaching job at Summit Hot Yoga, on Tuesdays at 6:00 am! 

BUT, the most exciting thing of all, is in just about 2 weeks, the ISTC is off to Austria for a camp and 2 competitions. I cannot wait to go back to Europe, and get back on a boardercross course!

This is going to be a good season for me, I can feel it!! 

Fall in the Rockies

I'm finally back in Colorado, and it's around my favorite time of year.... fall! The colors are absolutely breathtaking and the weather has been so nice!! On top of that, my home for the next 7 months couldn't be any more perfect.  Its not only a beautiful home, but just has just as nice of a backyard!! I even have an awesome porch to practice my daily yoga!! Nala is loving life too.. though I think she really misses Burton (our family dog back in Michigan), she is having a ball running around, hiking and enjoying the outdoors!!

Monday starts gym training with my team, and I couldn't be more ready for it!! I cannot wait for the snow too fall and start snowboarding... but in the mean time, I'm going to embrace this beautiful weather. You can find me outside :)

                                             

Parents are here with me for the week :)

Trip Down Under

It's been about a week since I've been back in the states, after being in Australia for 2 weeks! I had such an amazing time in Australia. Unfortunately we were only there to snowboard, therefore I wasn't able to do much site seeing, but from what I did see, I can see why there is so much hype about it.  What a beautiful country Australia is!
My coach and teammates Senna, Duncan, Sean and Hyeong Bae (and his translator Jaqusang), along with myself, made the small ISTC crew down under.  I unfortunately had some sort of bug (I think the flu) the first day and a half we were there, so that obviously was no fun.  But I recovered very quick and was able to take full advantage of being on snow.
We had two competitions within the first couple days of us being there, then we did a training camp after.  I placed 7th and 4th in the two competitions.  Bummed I wasn't able to get to the podium, but I still was very content with my riding, especially coming off the flu and it being my first day on snow in months!
The training camp went very well too.  The weather in the mountains of Australia is known to be very windy and foggy, and that is exactly how it was.  With this being said, every training day that we had, had weather like this. One of my goals for this upcoming season is to be able to ride in any conditions, and not to hold back regardless. So personally, I was stoked with the weather.  I felt really confident riding when I couldn't see anything in front of me, which was a HUGE accomplishment for me.  I also feel that I progressed in my turns and my starts.
I wish this trip was a little bit longer, on and off snow.  Note to self, next time I go down under, I have to stay for a couple days to site see!
But overall, this was such an amazing experience, I am so blessed to be able to travel the world and see things that the average person cannot!
One more month and I'm headed west, to Colorado! I cannot wait to move back there! Until then, its serious gym time, and also now that I'm officially a RYT 200 - yoga instructor, I have a lot of classes booked to teach :)

The typical weather day

                  The one nice day that we had! we did a banked slalom, and had some fun with it!

Summer Plans!

Well tomorrow is officially the first day of summer, although Michigan's weather hasn't felt like it! 

I've had an extremely busy summer so far.  I decided I was going to go back to school, so I am taking a full load of classes this summer, in hopes to graduate by the end of next summer! I have also been working for my dad a few days a week.  On top of all that, I just got myself a new puppy! Her name is Nala, and getting her has been the best thing ever!! She is a black Lab, and will be 13 weeks on Wednesday! I keep telling her to stop growing, but she isn't listening!!  

A week from today I'm going to Tahoe, in California, to visit my boyfriend! He's getting ACL surgery too, so I'm also going to be nurse brooke! When I get home from Cali, I am taking a 16 day, RYT 200 class.  This means I'm going to be certified to teach yoga! I am SO excited to be able to learn more about yoga, and then be able to teach it! After this class, I'm off to AUSTRALIA!!! You can say I'm a bit excited for this! We head down under the beginning of August, and there will be competitions and a camp! I cannot wait to see my friend's, teammates, and get back on my snowboard!! I love being able to travel the world, and experience things outside of our country!!

There is NEVER a dull moment in my life, but I wouldn't change it for the world!! 

My biggest secret

I am not EVER usually open to others about myself, especially on social media, but I need to share my own success story because I hope to reach out to others and help them through the obstacles their life throws at them.

For as long as I can remember (way back to middle school) I have been suffering major depression and anxiety disorders.  This was something that I kept to myself for years, in fact, was never expressed to ANYONE else until a little over a year ago.  I go through stages when it gets extremely bad, to almost non-existent, which is very common for these disorders.  I always used to put on a huge act, that I was so happy, when in reality, I always felt as if I was in a dark cloud, holding this huge secret in.  My smiles were always fake, even if I couldn’t explain why I wasn’t happy.  I would often get confused why I was always so tired, unmotivated, sad, or simply just feeling like shit.  Excuse my French, but that’s the honest truth.  People always say, you have SO much to be happy about… I have an AMAZING and supportive family, I have friends who love me dearly, I’m been blessed with athleticism and brains, and a chance to be an Olympic athlete.. but that’s just it about these disorders.  Chemically there is something wrong with my brain that just doesn’t let me be as happy as I should be. 

With all this being said, I have been taking medications (antidepressants and Xanax) to get me through my dark cloud I felt was hovering over me for years.  Since being on medicine, I have felt like a completely better person.  I have more patience, motivation, energy, and overall am finally actually HAPPY! Unfortunately, being the health nut I am (for those who don’t know, I’m crazy about my health), I hate putting these chemicals in my body day after day to ease my depression and anxiety.  Essential Oils were brought to my attention, and I began doing my research on how they can help me.  I found an unreal amount of oils that could replace my medicines from my medicine cabinet, so I took the dive and experimented.  Using these oils daily, I have begun easing my way off the medicine, and still feel as happy as ever! It is an amazing feeling that I can use something all natural, organic, and chemical free to be HAPPY (and who doesn’t want to be happy). Though I am not completely off my medicine, my goal is to get off of them in the next couple of months, (with the help of my oils of course). 

Depression is something WAY more common than you think, and I am reaching out because I know I am not alone.  So to anyone who feels they are suffering, don’t be afraid to reach out to ANYONE.  You are loved and I promise you, there is a way to get better! :)

Horrible Blogging this Winter!

Wow! I usually am so on top of it with my posts. I am so sorry I have not made a single post this whole winter.  On top of that, winter should be when I make my posts, to update after each competition, but I did not do so. I honestly think a lot of that has to do with my frustration with my season.  Result wise, I did not do nearly as well as I wanted too. I felt so strong going into this season, thinking I was going to get at least one podium, but I failed to do so.  I mentally struggled a lot this season, especially towards the end of the season. I had a lot going on, especially a death of a very close loved one, which was extremely hard to deal with. Unfortunately being an athlete, there will be A LOT of obstacles thrown at you, but it's up to that individual to work through them, despite the severity.
Thinking about my season and evaluating it myself, although I was very frustrated and upset with myself on my results, I had an overall good season.  Being a part of the ISTC was the best decision I could have ever made. I grew so much as a rider, and an individual, and believe I improved so much. My carving (previously my biggest weakness) I think is now one of my strong suits.  I also have made a huge improvement on my movements, my confidence, and hitting larger features, especially larger jumps. So looking at my season overall, though I did not get the results I wanted, I still think I had a very successful season in the fact that I've improved more in this season than any other season.  With the continueous improvements, the results WILL come, and then everyone better watch out!! :)
    

AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF GRANDMA GERACI <33

  

Competition Season Is Almost Here!

A week from today I am finally off to my first competition of the season, a NorAm in Mt. Tremblant, Canada. I am extremely excited for the season to finally kick off! I've been on snow for about 5 months already, doing nothing but training.  Throughout these 5 months, I've learned a lot about my riding, as well as many different techniques to go faster. With the help of my three awesome coaches, I can honestly say I am a totally different rider.  I am more confident, strong, quick and knowledgeable about my sport.  I have never felt so ready to going into a competition season. Check out my videos and pictures from training!

                                                              Nastar Speed Racing

                                     

With my favorite Olympian, Nick Baumgartner. Michigan Pride!

Training with ISTC and the US team!