Hey guys,
It has been a while since my last blog but I thought I would
update you on a couple of things. I have just got back from 10 days in
Hintertux Austria, It was a great camp, lots of snow and I am definitely the
post mountain blues.
I have been struggling with a neck injury the last few camps
and thus struggled with training and
generally getting about. Although, inefficient, the way I learnt to walk means
I use my neck muscles for pretty much everything I do, which when pulled, makes
getting from A to B pretty difficult, but its on the mend now.
I have recently started Ballroom dancing. Absurd ? no, well
I did think that a bit to begin with but bear with me. The idea was to improve
my balance and my footwork whilst being able to work at a higher intensity and
still have precision in my movements. Darren at Footloose dance studio in
Barlborough has been great at easing me into it. I keep warning him that I will
end up falling over at some point but luckily, this hasn’t happened…yet. He has been getting me to do Cha cha, Waltz,
Fox trot and a bit of rock and roll. I am really enjoying it and it has brought
a different focus to my training. 
At the beginning of September we spent a week in Hintertux,
it was a hard camp for myself, there was very little snow(pictured right) and we spent most of
the time skiing on glacier ice. I
struggled with the snow, it was like skiing on marbles, which wasn’t very fun.
The skis vibrated under foot and I found it hard to relax. As the week went on
I felt as I was beginning to relax to it but still struggled to keep an
edge.
I arrived back in the UK on the Sunday to stop off in Luton
to commute straight into London for work on the Monday morning. It was a strange feeling being back at sea
level, Hintertux is a glacier that sits at 3250 m, and the hotel we stay at is
around 1000m above sea level. The next
four days brought on the feeling that can only be described as being drunk on
oxygen. I felt energised and felt like I had drank 100 espressos. I don’t think
my colleagues knew what hit them when I walked in haha.
This week I started my next rotation at work for my graduate
programme. I have moved into the Network function and I am working on a project
to streamline the business. The first week has been a steep learning curve but
I am starting to get my head round the challenge. This job is based in
Chesterfield and I will only be in London 1 -2 times a fortnight. This is going
to cut my costs down dramatically and help me manage my energy levels more efficiently.
If I am having a ‘tired’ day I could restrict my walking to a minimum of 5
minutes a day. Which will be great for my general well being. Although, I am
sad to leave London, I will miss the people and the fun I do have down there. I
am excited to start this next challenge.
As I said earlier I have just got back Hintertux from another
training camp. There had been a dumping of snow since the last camp in September
and the glacier looked much more inviting. It is getting colder and it feels
like ‘winter it coming’ (check out the below picture, even my hair froze.) I have been trying to work on rolling my skis more and
pressing through the shins to get more drive.
This is the first time I have ever enjoyed powder skiing. Having outriggers and generally limited control over my feet, powder and I have never really got on. There are too many things to get caught and I just normally end up face first in big mounds of snow (look over previous blogs for evidence.) But on this camp, I have started to see the fruits of my labour. We got on the hill early, and there was miles of untouched snow waiting for us. Feeling a little apprehensive I made my way to the meeting point, a short ski down the mountain. I made two turns and suddenly realised what all the fuss was about. I forgot everything my coach had told me to focus on and just ripped some massive turns, spraying powder everywhere. I felt like I was floating, it was a true feeling of freedom.....AWESOME !!! ....Even If I did get a little told after for not focussing on the drills....it was worth it (don't tell Dougie that.)
We have even been doing off snow
drills but on skis to try and perfect the movement. This involves me stood on
skis but on a mat, trying to replicate the movements I would do to ski but on dry
land. This helps greatly, as we can control a lot of the conditions and get my
body understanding what it needs to do much more easily.
On camp we have 3 rules to ensure to define our culture, to
provide a bit of order and to show that we are respectable to each other and
the other teams.
These are:
- be punctual,
- no swearing
- carry your water bottle wherever you go (hydration is a hot topic at the moment)
To add a bit of fun into the mix we have forfeits to do if
we break one of these rules. These can
consist of 10 press ups to hill sprints to dancing in a random place for 60
seconds to singing a rendition of Singing in the rain outside (in the the
rain). These have brought a lighter side
to training and help define our values and the performance side of our
training.
Well, I will leave it there for now, it is 4 weeks till my
next race, I am training hard :) and making the most of my new working location. I will update you when I am
settled into my new job.
Much Love
Alex
x
If anyone would like to sponsor my cause please click here Or email me on alexclarke1992@outlook.com
