AST Athlete Journal: Zoe Gray

Hi everyone!!!

Thanks for joining us for another athlete journal 🙂

My name is Zoe Gray, and this is my second year on the Alberta Ski Team. As my teammates mentioned, our season started off with lots of volume, and since being back on home snow the hard work put into our early season camps is now paying off. We had a couple weeks at Nakiska before making our way to Panorama. In Panorama we did lots preparation for our up coming NorAm race block. We were able to have organized Super G put together by Alpine Canada, which allowed us to train with other Provincial teams and create a really good dynamic for future NorAms.

Everyone had the Panorama glow, happy mornings with the sunrise shining on Mount Nelson, and many productive training laps on Mile One. Our girls were skiing very well, Polly had amazing GS and Slalom training, keeping it quality over quantity to avoid flaring her current back injury. Eva was able to find her flow in her GS, as well as take on the SG old-timer, and Mikayla did lots of fine tuning with her speed events so she can approach these speed races with confidence. I was stuck in a funk with my skiing prior to Pano, but I was able to regain some confidence with a little help from my home hill.

On the last night in Pano, we had a big team dinner with all the athletes and coaches. We did the famous boursin feta pasta that was a staple meal for us while being on the road last year, big thanks to Julia, and of course had a delicious dessert. CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRIES!!! The girls came over early to help cook, as I can’t handle cutting onions as well as Polly, and our boys took over when it came to dishes. Our boys also got to challenge my younger brother at a chess game, which is very much a ritual for whoever comes over. Fortunately, the Men’s Alberta Ski Team can ski a whole lot better then they can play chess. Our girls on the other hand knew better then to start a chess game, and chose to accompany my dogs on the floor for some cuddles. You would have thought Polly was a paparazzi with the amount of photos she took of Bubba and Mowgli. We did the official drawing of names for our team Secret Santa, so stay tuned for the athlete journal covering our Secret Santa presents!

Once everyone had names, we called it a night and all left with full stomachs, and in Gray fashion LOTS of leftovers!

The following week our speed team was able to join in Downhill training at Nakiska with the Austrian Europe Cup Team, they sure gave our boys some speeds to chase. Nakiska showed off a little for us with many blue bird mornings, and great snow conditions. Although we were on the very flat Map Maker the speeds still got decently fast, I believe Caleb clocked in at 130km/h! After our morning speed session we would go into CSI to see our favourite strength trainer Nate, and of course lift a few things:)

It is safe to say our team is well prepared for next weeks races. We have Eva, Polly, and Caleb racing this weekend at Norquay, and the rest of the team traveling to Copper Colorado to spend a few days learning the downhill track before we race it! We are all so excited to be kicking out of the start gate!

I wanted to thank everyone who has donated, and all our sponsors for making this season possible. As well as my personal sponsors who are helping me reach my goals!

See you on the slopes,

Zoe Gray 🙂