Jit's Journal: Here we go again

Jit's Journal: Here we go againWelcome back to Jit's Journal for summer 2006! Preparations for a new season are beginning and I find myself skiing in the beautiful country of New Zealand.

Many times when I'm training or racing, I forget to stop and take a look around at the amazing places I am fortunate enough to see. At Coronet Peak in New Zealand, I am having little trouble getting my bearings for the surroundings. The valley below the mountain is like a scene straight out of “Lord of the Rings,” and every time I get a moment's rest, I try to take it all in. The air is refreshingly cold and for the first time since I blew my knee out in France eight months ago, I'm back training on winter snow.

Riding up the chairlift the first day, I reflected on the past eight months of my rehabilitation: the endless hours of sweating on the spin bike, and the struggle to rebuild the lost strength and muscle. I think about the lessons I have learned from my injury and what it taught me about myself. I catch myself smiling because I realize that the injury might have been the best thing that could have happened to me. Being injured allowed me to take a break from the sport of skiing and return to it with fresh eyes and a different approach that I would never have been able to take had I not crashed in that Europa Cup.

With that same smile on my face, I kicked off from the chairlift and ripped down the mountain at full speed … and never looked back. I would see a similar smile a couple days later as Bryon Friedman strapped on a pair of super G skis for the first time since he severely broke his leg at a World Cup downhill in Chamonix nearly two years ago.

It is a full crew down here in New Zealand. The entire World Cup tech team is here followed by the entire World Cup speed team, which is getting back into the swing of things after a break from a long season. As for me, I'm here with the Europa Cup tech guys getting some much-needed training in gates after my “long vacation.” Though we are all on various parts of the team, we train together when we can and combine our afternoon workouts to keep things interesting.

The best way to find out just how competitive people are on the U.S. team is by having an intramural soccer game. It doesn't matter how wet and muddy the field is, intensity couldn't be higher, feet will be flying and bodies will be hitting the ground. The main reason bodies are flying is because the traction of running shoes in mud and wet grass can make quick stops difficult. When a couple of 200-pound athletes are running at a ball between them and they can't stop, the result is usually a heavy collision, a couple of curse words and some wet workout clothes. In the end it's all good fun and a great release from the normal routine of skiing.

If you haven't guessed it by now, the weather down here has been mixed. You know it's going to be a long day when you walk out of your condo and it's raining so hard that it feels like someone is spraying you with a garden hose. The amazing thing about New Zealand is how fast the weather changes. One day feels like spring and the next day it's as cold as a January morning.

Even when the weather is bad, this place still manages hold on to its surreal image. Nevertheless, the training has been productive. Some guys will train giant slalom while others will train slalom. What athletes are training just depends on what each person feels they need. The bottom of the lift is crowded with all of our skis and on-hill gear, and tons of little kids looking for Bode. We all take a moment between runs to rehydrate, look at times and to shoot the breeze before getting back at it. Before you know it, the session is over and we're driving back down the mountain.

I always told my parents when I was developing as a ski racer that I would most likely die driving to the mountain rather than on it. Comforting thought for a parent I'm sure. This theory has definitely been put to the test down here in New Zealand, as people drive on the left side of the road vs. the right side like we do in the United States. I constantly have to tell myself to stay on the left side of the road when I'm driving so I don't end up putting the car into a ditch.

If you've traveled with U.S. team for a while, you know two things about rental cars. First off, always get the insurance on the rental car, and secondly, it never fails that someone is going to rip off, or smash, at least half a bumper or fender. At this point, I've assumed that this is more of a tradition than accidental. Why? I guess you'd have to ask the ski racing gods about that one, because I've given up trying to figure it out.

When night falls, it's time to refill our stomachs with some much-needed dinner. Dinner usually consists of a large serving of pasta and whatever meat we can find to cook up. After we've stuffed our faces, sleep seems to come easy. A long day on the hill, dryland training and a couple of time-zone changes will definitely do it to you. The soft beds at the townhouses we are staying at are a welcome comfort for a tired body.

I briefly think about the coaches who, in the darkness of the night, are up on the ski hill injecting water into the snow to make it rock-hard for us when we arrive for training the next morning. The coaches put in a lot tireless work for us to make sure that we get the most out of every training session and deserve a lot of credit. I know that they probably won't see the back of the eyelids till the wee hours of the morning, and I am glad it isn't me out there. Things fall silent, athletes call it a day, and I find myself finally letting out the long breath I seem to have been holding in all day.

Tomorrow is a new day and a new adventure, and it is nice to be back and living it.