Skiing Through Pain

Molly on the right

Just a week before JOs, I fell skiing and injured my shin and calf. I convinced myself it was just temporary but JOs got closer and closer and I was still unable to put my leg into a boot. My mom wanted to pull me out of the race completely but I had worked all season toward it so I pleaded and convinced her I would be fine. We left for the race, uncertain that I would be able to compete but hopeful. I skied only the inspections and race runs but my leg was still blue after the first two days of racing and I only managed with pain medications. I was in tears after my Super G inspection because the chances of my being able to race were slim, but after having a long talk with my coach, it was decided I would race. My coach center mounted my bindings so I would be able to bend the ski with less ankle flexion. I placed 11th in the Super G. Not the result I was hoping for but I was amazed I was even able to race.

I was very unlucky with my bib draw for slalom. For a reason I don’t understand, I was placed in second seed and had the last bib draw for second seed girls. The course was very turny and the snow was soft so by bib 31, the course was already in awful condition. The run was very painful and it was as if I was skiing on one leg. I made lots of costly errors, landing me an 18th for the run. I had a good starting position for the next run so in turn, I had a good course. I was learning more and more about skiing through pain and that helped me on the second slalom run, which I won by a second. I moved up to 7th place. The GS was cancelled because of snow condition, much to my dismay.

After returning from JOs, it was still almost a week before I could ski again (still in some discomfort) so I entered Snow Cup (GS) and Last Chance (slalom) both open series with no training for several weeks. I placed fourth on the first Snow Cup race but I was not happy with my skiing. I was in 6th place after the first run of the second race but the times were very stacked. Not very far into my next run, I ran into some course workers for the second time this season. I went around for a rerun but the lift took a long time so it was not till about 30 racers later that I reached the top. The sun was beating down, making the snow slower and slower and the ruts bigger and bigger. I still managed a 5th place despite the course interference.

The Last Chance slaloms went very well though. I placed second on the first day after winning the second run. I placed third the second day. I scored a 51 and a 55 point result, giving me a slalom point average of 53. This qualifies me for the Park City A Team, one of my top goals for the season. What an up and down month!

.)) Molly Leavens

SRD sends 4 athletes to 2011 Whistler Cup!

Good luck to SRD Squadra athletes Sam Morse, Andrew Hancock, Serina Kidd and Breezy Johnson at the 2011 Whistler Cup this weekend!

Seasons End

As the snow starts to melt away and the days getting longer, the skiing season comes to an end. After some bad post-season races, I got my skiing together for some USSA races. I was looking to finish and score points, rather than to go all out.

I progressively got better, and each race I lowered my points. The first three of my GS races were not very hot, I messed up in a bunch of turns and they were all mid 100's points. But on my last GS, I put together a solid run which landed me with 84 points. Same thing for my SL, I progressively got my points down each race and ended up with 91 points.

I know I could have gotten better results, but I'm happy that I finished with points for next year. I look forward to skiing FIS next year and I plan on going to Chile next fall. Thanks for everything this season SRD!!!

.)) Kazui Kusumi

Barounos' Blog

Just finished the last FIS races of RMD season, and overall, I feel like it’s been a decent year.

In the beginning of March I went to J2 Nationals in Maine, along with 5 of my Steamboat team mates (2 girls and 4 boys). The weather was pretty rainy, which is something we are not used to here in Colorado.

A bunch of races got cancelled, but it was still cool to be racing against a national field. I got 12th in one run of GS, and 20th overall, which I was pretty happy with since I’m a first year J2.

Today, I got 3rd as a J2 at the Breckenridge Surefoot GS. It was really awesome to be racing against some World Cup athletes like Will Gregorak, and some of the US D Team men. I was a bit worried, because I’d tweaked my knee a week ago during high speed training in the soft Spring snow. Spring in Colorado is weird, because we’ve still got lots of snow, but it’s super sunny and everyone gets sun burns.

Our mountain Steamboat is closing this coming weekend. The only race left for my season is the Loveland Derby, which has been going for about 50 years now. I’m crossing fingers for a good result there, and I always have a good time at the Derby.

.)) Alex Barounos