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My past week started with a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. It was the first time I was able to spend it in a place I feel at home! My mom recently moved to the outskirts of Denver, and I have 3 cousins in Colorado! So we all spent Thanksgiving dinner at my mom’s place. My sisters flew in for the occasion as well. It was a lot of fun, and as a tradition we normally say what we are thankful for. I am sure this is the same tradition in most households for this special day throughout the United States, but it was especially moving this year because of everything going on right now whether its the slow economy or personal funks… When talking to my family at dinner as well as calling my other family with whom I was unable to be with on this special day, the re-occuring theme was health. I am so lucky to have a healthy family, and for myself to be healthy again.

I can’t tell you how many people have come up to me lately and say I look so much different from last year. Even my uncle gave me what I would call a back handed compliment saying “wow, you look so much better than the last time i saw you”! Thanks……. I guess. But really I feel great.

This weekends results may not seem the best, but like a friend of mine told me… I’m not 18 anymore!! Possibly another backhanded compliment, but I interpret it this way…….

In my life, and in more specifically my ski career, I have had many peaks and valleys. Climbing to the top with the innocence of a young girl, anything was possible, and any result was a great result. Not qualifying for a second run was still fresh in my memory and every day was a learning experience. That flowed naturally into a year where everything was possible, and the podium was waiting for me at the finish of every race. Then something knocked me off my game, and after a few mediocre results, and some injuries, my body was not responding to my mind, and thats when the ripple effect happens, slowly my mind stops responding too… So here I am with a new body that is responding great! But now my mind needs to catch up! So I am working on that innocence I used to have, and to erase last year, and move forward!

So on what I think about my 13th place! I kicked ass. It was so good to feel like anything was possible when I left the start gate. Now with those first race jitters out of the way, I am so stoked for Downhill in Canada. And to be healthy.

There were too many injuries this weekend on the women’s side and men’s side to not sit back again and be thankful for my health. So lets all wish Tj, and the rest health and smooth healing.

Aloha xoxo
Julia

p.s. I am also thankful for all of my fans! You keep me smiling everyday no matter how icy it is out there!

I’ll be on the Today Show on NBC Monday between 7:30AM and 9AM! Check it out!!!!

I love to Ski. That’s why I ski race. There aren’t too many things in life that I could say “i would love that to be my job” Day in and day out; rain or shine; powder or bullet proof ice. The only thing that gets in the way of being a perfect job is timing.

We have to get on the lift at a certain time. We start out of the gate at an exact time. We get a time at the finish of a run to get judged on. We get one minute every four years to show the world what we are made of. We can loose a year because of something that happens in a split second.

Its the silence when you kick out of the start gate that makes all of the chaos disappear. It makes living out of a suitcase for 6 months seem easy. It makes below freezing temperatures seem normal. It even makes the saying ” i can’t feel my toes” a common thing. And then when you cross the finish line, its the moment of truth.

When time is on my side, I have endless amounts of energy, and everything flows so easy. But when it isn’t, the questions never end. Its the endless chatter in my mind that can be my worst enemy. I want to just shut it out and move on to something to else, but thats not how I can become stronger. Its a never ending quest to get time on my side.

I have to admit that I have had some of the best timing ever. My Olympic Gold was my very first international victory. Timing couldn’t have been better. Then there is the bad timing, like almost every race last season.

It’s really tough to remember the good, when the bad seems to cloud everything up. My teammate Resi Stiegler crashed a few days ago with another season ending injury. That is what made me think a lot about timing. Its an Olympic year, and pretty much the worst timing to get injured. Being in the same shoes as Resi, and knowing what its like to struggle with an injury, I can say its one of the toughest things to wrap your head around. For her its three years in a row now. For me it was just last year, and I was still able to race. Even though the racing was painful and my results even more painful, at least I was able to live in my passion.

So I am thankful, and grateful for my health and being able to live my dream. Race season starts next weekend, and I am ready to get this show on the road! I feel great, and I am just waiting for my mind to follow. Its taking a bit longer than I had hoped to get my confidence back, but its there…. under the small blanket of doubt that I work on shedding every single day, is a defending Olympic Champion, ready to fight back! and get time on her side once again:)

See you at the race…

XOXO,

Jules