'Tis the season to be skiing and December camp is less than a week away.
The off season is well and truly over, the summer foundation work is done, the new Head skis well waxed and my fitness is ever getting stronger. Even my packing is getting neater.
From almost the moment last season concluded I have been working overtime on my fitness because I knew it was a key goal and an area for development as an athlete. I feel that over the past six months I have gained a lot of power, endurance, core strength and overall good physique and I'm hoping that I'll be able to feel the benefits of this in my skiing over the course of this season.
The Anglo-Scottish championships are only four weeks away and soon I'll be sitting down with coaches Mark Vinter and Sally Bartlett to see what short term preparation has to be done, what I want to achieve and exactly how I am going to make them happen.
However, for now attentions have turned to the more mundane things about being a young athlete, like getting school work for the trip, packing clothes and preparing skis. Its going to be a hectic week and I'll be glad when I'm sitting in the back of the LDV this time next week. Those long sixteen hours of endless roads will give me plenty of time to think about what is hopefully going to be a memorable four and a half weeks.
As usual, Alpbach and Hintertux are both looking amazing and I'm hoping the snow is as great as at was last winter. Looking at the webcams I can see that the boys in Alpbach have been blowing the snow like there's no tomorrow. Currently a cold front is in the process of passing over the area and that's ensured that there's been a nice heap of snow falling for a while now.
I'll keep you posted on how December goes. I'll hopefully be able to squeeze in a couple of Austrian local & regional races between next week and the Anglo Scottish - keep your fingers crossed for me!
Have a great Christmas!