Merry Christmas

Hi guys,

Saturday I got back from a week’s training with Ben Reid out in Austria, where I got to try out my new sit ski. It was a great camp and it was very productive.  The goal for the camp was to get used to my sit ski, and decide on any adjustments that needed making to my new rig whilst also improving my performance in gates. 

We flew into Ljubljana in Slovenia and then took a coach into Austria. Arriving in resort (turracher höhe), the hotel was half way up the ski slope which led to a very exciting trip up to the hotel via a snow mobile. That kicked ass.

The first day we were out on slalom ski’s, where we ski’d down to the training run, instantly my sit ski was comfier, easier to turn and much more reactive than my old one. Which led to many MANY occasions where I was over turning and going back down the hill backwards as I had to put less into it to make it turn that I was doing previously. It was quite exciting at times. 

We got back to the hotel that night and Ben and I did a dowel test on my rig. Which basically involves sticking a broom handle underneath the centre of the ski whilst I’m sat in the sit ski to check which way I tip (forward or backwards) to check if I am using the full amount of the ski correctly. We found that although it was handling much better than my old rig, my weight was too far back. The scarver allows to very easily solve this by undoing a few bolts and moving the whole seat forward…..much easier than my old one as this one would have involved the welding tackle previously…sorry dad. 

I went out the next day and I’ve never turned a ski like that in my life, it was so aggressive and responsive. It took a lot of getting used too but my god, if that’s what it feels like to turn a ski properly I’m going to be in for some fun. That day spent most of the time, really trying to get used to new setup and not crash. This brought back a lot of bad habits but it was just because I wasn’t used to it and over the week this sorted itself out. 

Getting back to the hotel was quite fun, sit skis are pretty well designed for getting around the mountain, you have a rope with a quick release for going up T-Bars and you have a button that you can press to allow the sit ski to release from it’s suspension and be scooped up by a chair lift. The one thing it can’t do very easily is go along a rope pull. A rope pull is basically a rope that you hold onto and it drags you along the snow. This one in particular was fine for the majority of it but the dismount at the top was done on a bit of a hill, which meant that the minute I let go of the rope I would go backwards down the hill and I needed both hands on the rope to be able to pull myself (being a fat b*stard doesn’t help with this one.)  We solved this by one of the guys on the camp Tim, grabbing hold of my sit ski seat and holding the ski flat whilst I dragged us both up the hill, when we got to the top, he slowly rotated me round and stopped me going backwards whilst I could let go and steady myself again. 

Everyone on the camp was fantastic, they couldn’t do more to help, whether this involved bringing my sit ski in at night so it doesn’t freeze, picking me up when I decide I fancy eating some snow or just carrying my coffee. This made my life so much easier and a special shout out goes to Tim who was just mega. 

My favourite day of the camp was definitely when we trained giant slalom, it was fantastic getting back in the gates and I was beaming from ear to ear after every run, even the ones that didn’t go to plan. 

      

During this camp I suffered with fatigue quite badly for the first few days, I think staying at altitude affected me much more than it normally does and it took a few days to get over that. I had to duck out of the afternoon sessions due to feeling absolutely exhausted but towards the end of the week I was raring to go for both sessions. 

Anyways I’ll leave it here for now, I’m really pleased with the new kit and I can’t wait to get back on snow again. Now for a bit of R&R and enjoy Christmas with family and friends. 

Have a lovely Christmas 

Love 

Alex 

Photo Credits Alice Luetchford

A change of path

It has been a long time since my last blog and there have been a number of reasons for that. For the last 18 months I have been reviewing my progress in skiing and constantly looking for what is going to give me the improvements I need. If this means an orthotic suit, innersoles, Pilates classes or even dance lessons, I have done it….and had A LOT of fun in the process.

The reason I started skiing was I saw it as a challenge and I wanted to ski with friends, which I achieved. I then wanted to explore the mountain, which I achieved, a year later.  My next goal was to start racing, which albeit it a little early than I should have, I achieved and met some amazing guys along the way.

Now comes a different challenge, I have decided to make the change to sit skiing.

I have always considered this a possibility, but due to my stubbornness and my determined nature, I didn’t want to give in. Over the last year, I set myself goals as a stand-up skier and tracked my performance against them. I’ve also been reviewing how working full time and skiing nearly a full race calendar, affected my condition. The decision to change is mainly around sustainability and the impact that skiing and working has on my wellbeing. This decision also allows me to control the variables more, improving my daily life. Fatigue, coldness and hydration play massive parts on my ability to walk, not only ski and race.  Sit skiing allows me to limit these.

I don’t look back over the last 2 years with the team as a waste, now I have made this decision. I have learnt a lot about myself, skiing, and improved a lot physically and mentally. I achieved many things and I am proud of that.

I have shared elations and also frustrations with you guys and I hope I can carry on doing that.

The most memorable to me, would be finishing my first race in Landgraaf, missing the last gate and having to hike back up. The entire crowd were cheering for me and urged me to cross the line. I received an unbelievable amount of joy and achievement when I did that and will always stand out as a key moment in my career.

SO now brings the next task of getting reclassified to race but also more importantly, to learn how to sit ski.

I have a great support network around me, so I am sure I will be back up and ripping in no time.

I have just got back from a week in Arinsal, Andorra training with Scott Maughan. After a bit of a frustrating start, eating lots and lots of powder, I am started to pick it up.  Scott is great and we had a great laugh, he is really good at focussing the mind and making sure I am not trying to jump the gun, before I have the skills…which I am definitely trying to do.

Unfortunately we only got two days on the snow due to the weather, but I really enjoyed the trip. I am looking at trying to get a long weekend out there early March, to make up for the lost days.

In the meantime I am training hard and currently on the look out for a new job as my contract is coming to an end at work. I am hoping to stay with Post Office but nothing can be guaranteed. Will update you guys soon.

Much love

Alex

x

 If anyone would like to sponsor my cause please click here Or email me on alexclarke1992@outlook.com

Winter is coming

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

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Norway and the tale of the broken tethers

It has been a while since my last blog so I thought I would update you on my escapades and my time in Norway.

Norway is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. To even get to the hotel we had to cross Fjords, mountains and even mile long tunnels.

My first impressions of Norway was….WET. For the first week we had pretty much non stop rain on the hill but glorious sunshine at the hotel.  Which made for great recovery post training. We could ski in the mornings, come back soaked and then go and swim in the sea to relax….

Oh yeah the Hotel was a 5 – 10 minute walk from the nearest Fjord, which was tidal and had a very low salt content. Which meant it was really nice to swim in.  There was even a diving board, which I HAD to jump off, at least once.  It wasn’t in the easiest of locations to get to. We had to walk over rocks, slippy cambered surfaces and even climb a few steps with no hand rail and then when we got to the board there was no rail or anything to hold onto whilst you were on it. I set off on the trek, picking my line through rocks and climbing onto the slippery camber, making sure to avoid the rock pool, Catherine the physio caught up with me and asked me the question “are you sure this is a good idea?” My reply “Yep it will be fine”. I was determined to have a go and needless to say when my mind is made up, there is no going back.  Catherine just sighed and and helped me climb the steps by guiding my foot, making sure I don’t drag my toes up the rocky steps and cut them (isn’t she a good un?.)  I get to the top and stand on the board, I then decide to let the rest of the group know, I don’t like heights…  The board had two metal bars going across the bit you walk on at different points, which meant I would have to really pick my legs up if I wanted to walk.  As the water was so deep it meant that If I jumped in with my crutches I wasn’t sure if I would ever get them back and that wasn’t a situation I wanted to be in.  I suggested dropping the crutches and just running for it….needless to say that went down like a ton of bricks. I decided (with some slight persuasion techniques from the rest of the guys) the best option was to crawl to the end.  I crawled to the end, posed for the obvious photo opportunity and flopped in. It wasn’t the most graceful of things I have done, but it was fun to say the least.  I swam to small ladder, climbed out and decided that was enough for me, so I spent the rest of our time there relaxing in the sun.  

This was the first camp we have worked with Dougie Mill as a coach. He was a lot of fun and has a strict but fun work ethic. He really cares about your development and definitely thinks outside the box.  As mentioned in my previous blogs I have moved to a rope holding my skis together rather than a steel bar.  Dougie was a key part of trying different types of ropes and straps to see which worked best. I must have broken at least one a day…some days two, if I was on form. These ranged from belt, to a bit of paracord, we tried everything. Towards the end of the fortnight, I think we found the method that worked the best with a bit of input from John Clark.  Whenever I broke one, Dougie would disappear and come back 5 minutes later and it was fixed…mega.

A bit on the technical stuff . At the moment I am working on a couple of aspects. One is to flex the front of the boot to be much more progressive in the turns. This will allow me to control my speed and really regulate the amount of pressure I can put through the ski.  The second is to turn my feet together on the steeper terrain to give myself more direction and control as I head down the hill. I felt a lot of positives from this camp, I am starting to feel more and I think my new boots are working perfectly.

As I mentioned in my last blog, I was looking to secure funding for a orthotic lycra suit that would help pull my body into the position it is meant to be in.  I have been lucky enough to secure this and I have just started training with it.  It is a bit of a devil to get on without a hand. I definitely feel this is an invaluable investment into my development.

So what's next?

Currently I am in Wittenburg Germany for a week training in their indoor ski slope. This is a great training place as the snow is very consistent and is basically bullet proof, which is a great challenge and means if you are not on your edges you are on your backside. I will update you all when I am back.

Much Love

Alex  

If anyone would like to sponsor my cause please click hereOr email me on alexclarke1992@outlook.com