Up the Spurs!

Hi guys, not much to report to be honest apart from happy halloween haha, not really my cup of tea though. Bad weather here, has not stopped raining and is really cold which can only be good news for the alps. Looking forward to getting back to training this Monday and getting our new clothes from the team sponsor Colmar. We have 4 days of speed lined up in Pitztal which is a really difficult piste where temperatures hit around -20c at this time of year (that will be nice in full lycra). We are training for 4 day blocks with 3 days off in between, up until the first races at the end of November. You might think that 3 days off sounds a lot but when your training at altitude and getting so close to the season you really need to have 'gas in the tank' (as the Austrians say) when the races start.

Also gonna watch the GP this weekend and hope Lewis can do it, he is another young sportsman that has gone right through and he is a great role model to us all.

Anyway i'm off to the gym now, I'll be in touch over the next few days and let you know how the skiing is going.

Bye

Balance and balancing training and school!

Been studying hard for the last few days as it is really important I do well in my sports qualification for Loughborough college. Obviously I just want to race and carry on with this but you never know what can happen and although I have been successful for the last eight years you still have to do the business every year plus you never know what can happen with serious injuries or accidents. I am also going to start studying for A-Level French and maybe English too. I will have to do it on-line and fit it round my training but it will give me lots of uni points should there ever be a need. I did pretty well with my GCSE's and got some A's and A* which I was pleased with because I have never been to school between December and April and always done home school or the BSA which is great and really helped me with both my racing and school stuff.

I have been in the Gym the last few days as the weather here is rubbish (Snow in the Alps though!) and have been practising my unicycling and juggling. Those two things are not expensive and would make great Christmas presents for any ski racer as they are things that at some time you will probably be asked to do to develop both your balance and coordination. I have been juggling years but certainly wish I had started the one wheel biking thing a long time ago. We recently did a unicycle camp in Austria through the mountains, none of us were great at the beginning but we soon got the hang of it. You can often see lots of the top World Cup guys juggling before a race.

Check out the cool clips from YouTube Juggling and Unicycling

Oh well, night everyone x

Snow Forecast

This site was set up by someone we know and is by far the best website for snow forecasts. If you are a skier be sure to book mark it. All our coaches and every one in the 'know' use it constantly. Take a look HERE

Snow-Forecast.com is the biggest resource on the web for snow lovers and winter sports enthusiasts. There are weather forecasts, snow reports, webcams and resort info for over 2000 locations around the world.

Update

Hi guys,
Just a quick update about the week i guess. All is going good and training hard, having a nice day off today then back to work tomorrow morning. I was in Monaco last night with some friends. It took me two buses and a train to get there which was a bit of a sketch but it was good to catch up with people who I haven't seen for so long. I have to be really careful with money because my training and racing costs are really hard to find but being a skier we are all usually trained at getting some free drinks and making our money last! Even the older guys are the same, we are all very hard working and I have had a few casual jobs but it is pretty impossible for us to earn any money because we are just never in the same place for very long.

I don't know if anybody watched it but the world cup was on this weekend in Soelden where Chemmy Alcott came 10th. She had a pretty poor first run with mistakes but had the joint fastest second run so its looking like a better start to the season for Team GB already and we really need the World Cup guys to get some results this year as then the funding from the Government and UK sport will hopefully get increased. I have got two sposors and they really help me out but there is still a ton of money to find.

catch you later
harry x

Me and the Uni

Just to prove I can!

The 'DOMS'

'Delayed onset muscle soreness' is a killer. I went to the gym yesterday for the first time in quite a while because i have not been here and i woke up this morning in some amount of pain. Yet again i got up at 9 which does not sound to bad but when you have been getting up at half 5, you would naturally prefer to hear the alarm at 12. Today is all about recovery, coordination and core. I will do the usual and unicycle for a while and then onto core. The core programs we were set are unbelievably hard, we work on all muscle groups surrounding the core such as your back, obliques and both upper and lower abdominal muscles which can take up to an hour.Then lastly go for a run this afternoon to loosen the muscles and 'free up' the lactic acid build up in my legs.

Peace x

Up Early

Would love to have had a lie in this morning but I have to set the alarm early now every day because I can't afford to miss breakfast or my energy drinks and supplements (LEGAL OF COURSE!)For breakfast I will have a high energy drink with plenty of milk, big bowl of Weetabix, some muffins and eggs. I am also in to green tea at the moment which is meant to be really good for you! I need to go to a couple of gyms later today and find a squat rack and someone who will let me train for free. I can't afford to join a Gym but anyway I am not home enough to warrant paying every month. I get a pass from the British Olympic Association who have nominated me as a future Olympian and get lots of discounts and free entry to most Gyms BUT they all the benefits are in the UK which is not that helpful to me. I am sure we can pitch someone round though, I am going to go out with the old man and also need to find a decent area where we I can do a 45 minute session on my uni-cycle, it is great for your legs and also brilliant for your balance. It's bloody hard though!!! Next I have to learn to juggle whilst riding it as this helps with your peripheral vision. Most skiers can juggle and uni-cycle but not many can do the two together! At least if the skiing doesn't work out I can get a job in a circus. I then need to do another hour session on the bike but I will do that while I watch a movie because it is just so boring! Oh well off to train...later x

Grand Prix

Just watched the Grand Prix in China, Lewis Hamilton is such a great role model and so focused, it will brilliant for GB if he wins in Brazil. I am going to do half hour on the static bike and chill for the rest of the day. I need to eat plenty as really I could do with putting on some weight, there are so many elements to making it in sport, it's not just the skill factor but you also need to be strong both mentally and physically, avoid injuries plus you need to worry about your size and then somehow you also have to find the money to pay for it all! That's why you really need to admire the guys that make it and think how well the GB Olympic team did because believe you me it took years and years of hard work. I have been training like crazy and missing lots of school and friends since I was nine. That is 8 years so far and realistically I have at least another six years before I can hopefully do my first Olympics. That is 14 years which is a pretty long apprenticship! Still I have picked up a good few British Championships along the way and had some great experiences so I just need to stay focused and injury free because this is a pretty dangerous sport remember! Catch you later.

A great night

Just got back from a great night out, we pitched Dwayne (my dad) to come down and pick us up at 5.00am this morning (he is always up anyway!) outside The Meridian casino (right), the club is about half hour away and cabs are just too expensive. We had a great time and now I am going to bed until lunchtime, it was great doing some normal going out, I miss out on all the social stuff being away so much but I have some great mates in the team that I have grown up with since I started skiing when I was nine. I guess you can't be a party animal and a professional athlete but at least I can have a blast now and again.

Home sweet Home

It is great to be home, the sun is out and I have just got up, travelling, training and very early starts make it all pretty knackering but at least I have today and tomorrow off before I start strength and fitness training on Monday! I have a strict programme to follow before I head back up to Austria on the 3rd November and stay there until December 22nd. I am usually away from home for about nine months of the year and even when I am home we do not get to rest much, being a full time athlete is great but it is much harder than people think. Plus I have to find time to study for my qualifications at Loughborough, still I would never complain because it is a great life. I am going to go to a club in Juan les Pins tonight with harvey and some friends, it will be good to catch up because I don't get to see them very often PLUS have a drink of course!

travelling home

Just finished my last morning's training and the snow was great, packed the mini bus and now getting dropped off in Imst which is about an hour away, then it's a four and half hour train ride back to Munich airport and finally get home at about 10.30 tonight. Looking forward to some luxury, good food and seeing the family of course. It is great living in France but we have far less of a choice of airlines and airports so usually I fly in and out of London because the Lufthansa flights are much more expensive.It has been a great camp though and I feel I am skiing really solidly in Slalom and have much more strength than last season. I just hope I do not get injured this year like last year I broke my hand twice in the two months pre- season and then in one of my first races, I was skiing really well then too and it really screwed up a big chunk of my season. Oh well fingers crossed, need to go catch the train now.

Home tomorrow!

Just been training in Pitztal which is a small valley town close to Innsbruck in Austria, nothing there except some good all year round training pistes, not even any wi-fi which is a pain. We have been here two weeks and have had 6am starts every day and trained until 3pm which makes for a long session, then it's back to the hotel for a warm down and a sleep. Pretty hard going but I am skiing well at the moment so it is not so bad and I can't wait for the season to start.