Day 2 - Practice

Well, today was practice. We woke up at the butt crack of dawn to get to Copper Mountain early so I could register and get my credentials and bib. I slept most of the car ride, but opened my eyes to sneak a peak of the wonderful scenery and some wildlife...coyotes and rams. It was snowing in the morning, so the road conditions weren't that great and it was cold in the morning on the mountain. I couldn't get on the course until noon, but I took a lap near it to view the course and HOLY SHUTTERBUGS...it was INTENSE!

So by the time I was ready to get on the course, my legs were shaking and I was extremely nervous. The turns were narrow, the jumps were big, the gaps were long, the whoop-dee-doos (rollers), were tall and close together, and the transitions into each turn were tricky!

My first run was inspection only, meaning, you are not allowed to go top speed, but rather just gently run the course to see what it's like. YIKES! It is a scary and really tricky course! They only allowed my group one hour for practice and by the time you take the lift back up to the mountain, I only had time for one more run. This time I was allowed to go full speed, and full speed I went, and at full speed I flew into the air, and at full speed I hit the ground!!!! I fell about three times on the course!

Currently, I am not too enthused and I am FEARING my race on Wednesday. It's a super fast course and I lost control VERY easily during practice. The jumps are tricky because you need a lot of speed to carry yourself over the gap (about 4 feet wide). If you don't, then you really hit a funny landing and lose control and fall, which is exactly what I did. There weren't too many place on the course to check your speed, either, so falling is very hard to avoid, unless if I want to go down the course at a glacial pace. I suppose that wouldn't be terrible, though. It's better to go slow than to fall. I would lose more speed falling than I would if I slowed down, the only problem with that is then it creates hard, awkward landings from the jumps. Decisions, decisions...

At the bottom of the course, my thighs were on FIRE!!!!!!! Holy crackers my legs were so sore and BURNING! Not only that, I but I was sucking wind! I was soooo out of breath! It really takes a lot out of you!

It basically comes down to this: go big, or go home. I am dreading Wednesday because today's practice really made me realize that I am in over my head and that I will most definitely be bringing in the rear.

After snowboarding, we went into Denver for dinner and to walk around. It was beautiful weather...about 65 degrees! Unfortunately, I started to feel the effects of the altitude and felt incredibly sick, but it was still nice to be in Denver. It's a beautiful place to be and the weather was perfect!

Tomorrow and Monday we'll be relaxing in Greeley, then Tuesday, it's back to the mountains!

Let's hope for a miracle on Wednesday!