Pique Magazine, published 19.11.03

After a few weeks off snow, I have found my way back. For the past week I have been on snow, building back slowly and getting back into my rhythm. I came out to Alberta on the 10th of November where we launched the team at the Canadian Olympic Park. Since that date I have been working with our team physiotherapists everyday in order to give my knee the best treatment so that I could get back to the snow feeling strong and confident.

It took one full week of training in Calgary with one of our team therapists, Kent Kobelka. He was also there when I injured it in Solden, so he therefore knows the history of my knee. Communication between therapists, doctor’s, coaches and athlete is very important when returning from an injury. It is important for me to communicate everything that my surgeon has told me, i.e. restrictions I need to be aware off and certain precautions that I need to take. My therapist will also contact the surgeon to get the full report as to what was done during the surgery.

When I came back to snow it was very important for me to let the therapist and my coaches know how my knee was feeling. On my first couple days back on snow I skied with our physiotherapist and we just took it run by run. The snow conditions here at Nakiska where great, the sun was out, the run was smooth and groomed and it wasn’t too cold. It is also very important to stick to a good warm-up and activation program for my knee or whichever area has been injured. When I step out onto the snow I need to be confident that the joint is warm, moving smoothly and is ready to ski!

Right away when I stepped onto the snow I felt strong. After a few runs free-skiing on the hill I felt like my rhythm was back and honestly felt like jumping in the course. This is why is was important for me to have our therapist there because he quickly said, “Britt we are going into the lodge and following the plan we set out, it’s time to ice”, so this is what I did. Icing is very important, ice! Ice! Ice! I never believed it before but now ice is my best friend. I would ice in the lodge and then once again go through my warm-up and activation program. This takes about fifteen to twenty minutes and is a mix of exercises using tubing and some agility exercises to really warm-up the joint.

On Wednesday when we woke up to go skiing we had a bit of a surprise, we woke up to fresh snow, a good twenty centimeters. Now, these are conditions that I need to be conservative in at first, but I went up because who can pass up fresh snow. I didn’t take as many runs as I had in the day’s prior and I also made sure that I took more time to warm up the joint. The coaches and physiotherapist were concerned with the conditions, and wanted me to stay in. I chose to go out because I felt strong and confident that I could benefit from going out in the conditions. It was key for me on that day to let them know this and I felt better because it was me who was pushing them and not the other way around. And, I got some knee-deep powder!

We have a couple more days before traveling to Park City, Utah on the 25th for the next World Cup GS and SL races. The other girls, Gail Kelly and Allison Forsyth have been training with the Swedish women’s World Cup team, who are here at Nakiska for their first time. Also here training was our men’s team and the Swiss men’s World Cup team. In all my years training at Nakiska I haven’t seen such good snow conditions as we’ve had this year. I am happy to be back on snow and am looking forward to the upcoming weeks, but for now I am taking things day by day as I try to build back my confidence and strength. I am thankful for the strong staff around me, who has set out a great recovery plan for my return to the snow. I hope that everyone back home is getting ready for the new season and hoping for lots of snow.

Enjoy, have fun, and always cheer on your Canadians!!