Out of Action For a Time

Two weeks ago I nervously blundered through my first live radio interview just days before the start of the Olympic trials races in Canmore, AB. My radio appearance was the result of me chiming in on twitter about a CBC news article mentioning Northerners who were trying out for the Olympics, an article in which they forgot to mention me as the lone Yellowknife Ski Club athlete in attendance. Sure, the radio interview was good for exposure as an amateur athlete, but my chime-in on twitter was more so because I had been forgotten as one of the few northern ski racers in Canada and less so to say that I was legitimately trying out for the Olympics. Not that the Olympics weren't a dream of mine. One of the questions that I was asked was how I had been preparing for these races. I blurted out something about skiing in Europe in December. Later, after my dad had listened to the interview, he mentioned that I should have said how I have been preparing for this my whole life, since I was 3 years old.

You see, my training leading up to the races had not been optimal, and this probably added to the nervousness of being live on the air. In the radio interview I mentioned my old knee injury several times and how my goals and expectations for the races had been adjusted after 2 years of inconsistent training. Although training has been inconsistent, there have been some periods of consistency. In the fall I was really excited to start the race season. Training was going decently well and I was starting to show good signs of fitness.

Two weeks before leaving for Italy and the World University Games, I felt a bit of discomfort in my abdomen. I took some rest. It wasn't a huge issue and it didn't affect me much in the one race I did overseas. Once I was back in Canada, it was a major issue in my high intensity sessions in preparation for the Olympic sprint trial races. I went to the hospital and was told that I have a spigelian hernia, which is a shearing between layers of abdominal muscle. Racing was out of the question. Aches and pains are normal in any high level sport, but for a seemingly minor issue to completely shut down my body was a big frustration. There was no crazy weight lifting or any discernible specific moment when the injury happened - it just gradually cropped up and got worse even though I was resting it. 

As it stands, I am out of action for an unknown amount of time. It is now a matter of going through all the steps of doctor and hospital visits. I may require surgery. The one upside is that I am currently in school and have something to fall back onto while ski racing is on hold. I am dreaming of the day when I am healthy and can let loose on the ski trails once again. Regaining that health is my #1 priority.

Here is a picture from a photo shoot I had last year with my friend Jen and photographer Toshi Kawano. It's at the inspiring Callaghan Country near Whistler, my favourite place to ski.