Monday, July 16, 2012

warrior dash!

On July 29th, my dad and I are competing in a country wide event called the "warrior dash."  It is a 3.25 mile run, that includes 11 different obstacles.  These obstacles consist of scrambling between barbed wire, balancing across a wobbly rope, swimming, climbing through a waterfall, and even leaping through fire.  This event also raises money for St. Jude hospital.  I am honored to be able to race in this, and cannot wait.  I have been training extra hard these past few weeks to be in the best possible shape for this run.  Yet, not only does it take great endurance to run the 5k, but strength to complete the major obstacles, so I have stepped up my strength workout as well.  Included is the link to the Warrior Dash website.  warrior dash website

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Summer 2012 Plans

Just because my season on snow is over, doesn't mean training is.  This summer, I have been, and plan on continuing my intense dry-land training.  I spend a lot of my time working out.  My work outs consist of around an hour of cardio, which include biking, running, or even zumba, then an hour with a trainer at a local gym, working on strength, endurance, and plyometrics.  I also spend a lot of time stretching, which is very important to go along with this intense training.  I had a minor injury in my knee during this past season, so I went to physical therapy for 6 weeks, and thanks to my therapist, I am back to normal.  Another thing I do to train off snow is work on starts.  My dad so kindly bought me a world cup start gate, and we built a ramp in one of our barns.  By having this, I work on my reaction time, strength, and form.  
This year I also graduated high school.  So I have had many exciting festivities to go along with this.  Prom, commencements, and graduation parties are some of the many things I have done now that I'm a Romeo Alumni. 
Following my graduation party, I headed to Mt. Hood, Oregon, to catch the end of the US Team gold camp.  I could not attend the whole camp because my party fell in the middle of camp, and this was something very important to me, and I wouldn't miss it.  But, I felt that any training at this camp would be very beneficial, even if it was only two days, and I was right. Unfortunately my first day on snow was cancelled due to bad weather, but I still had two amazing other days.  Coached by former US Team riders, Ross Powers, and Graham Watanabe, I learned so much, even in just two days.  I worked very hard, and was very satisfied with my riding.  It was sad to leave, Oregon is such a beautiful place. I do wish I could have been there longer.
As for the rest of my summer, I have no specific "plans."  I am just going to relax, enjoy my time off, yet still do my dry-land training.  I'm spending time at my cottage in Northern Michigan, for about ten days, due to the fourth of July.  I boat a lot as well, which is one of my favorite parts about summer.  I try to take out my boat as much as possible, and I wakeboard and tube while I boat.  I really am having a great summer, but I cannot wait for winter to arrive.  

2011-2012 Season Recap

My snowboarding career was not going to go much further if I continued living in Michigan.  I lacked the courses, training, coaching, and experience, that my competitors had.  I have known Jon Casson, the head coach at SSWSC, for a while, and after thinking through what I needed to do, training with his team, full-time, was the best option for me.  I chose to do online classes, through Romeo High School, and move out to Steamboat, Colorado, with my mom.  I can honestly say this was one of the best decisions I have made in my life. Though I gave up a lot, including my senior year, other sports, and leaving not only my family, but my friends, I had the time of my life in Colorado.  I went from snowboarding maybe once a week, usually only when I compete, to every day.  I rode with professional athletes, and learned more then I could even imagine.  The beginning of the season was rough.  I was not doing as well as I hoped. I wasn't qualifying top 16, to be able to race, and it was very frustrating.  But by the end of the season, I finally was able to do this, and all my negative emotions were worth it.  I not only improved as a snowboarder, but as a person.  I learned how to deal with the mental aspects that comes along with competing.  I was very proud of myself this season.  I improved so much, and gained a lot more confidence.  Being my first year in this level of competition, I can honestly say I am impressed with myself.  With more experience, and training under my belt, I cannot wait to see what next year has in store for me!