Well, my plan last week was to write a blog before the Games began, but here I am, about four days in and I am finally getting the time to sit down and write something. Preparations in the last week or so have been pretty hectic, even with training runs being canceled and schedules being delayed. I truly feel like the days are just speeding by.

Maybe you have noticed that I am not the greatest at 'blogging'! Ha! Which means I am also definitely not into tweeting! So, I've found the time and I'm sitting down for some blogging.

In the last week the Alpine team has been doing a lot of waiting, staying calm and staying focused. The men got their Downhill race off and the women had a training run - in only two sections, but a training run nonetheless. It was so great to get out of the start gate and onto the Olympic track.

I was really nervous in the morning; it came out of nowhere. I just stopped and said, this is my hill, my course and I know what to do and just like that the nerves were eased. I pushed out of that start gate with a smile on my face and aggression in my eyes. The track was fun and exciting, lots of terrain, good jumps but a bit bumpy.

In the past week the weather has been very mild, warm and wet, which has caused the snow to be very warm and wet. The temperature cooled off the night before the training run and men's downhill enough to freeze up the tracks and allow for us to run. However, it meant that every little bump and groove froze and that's what we had to ski over!!

When the track is bumpy it is really important to be nice and centered on your skis and to continue to be aggressive, it is definitely your best defense. Today I am sitting here in our condo, and the snow is coming down and from what I hear they will smooth the track out nicely which should make it great for race day.

So, what do we do while we wait for our training runs to go and while days are getting canceled? Well, most of our days include doing some kind of skiing - training some Giant Slalom, Slalom, or Super G or taking our powder skis out for a few runs.

Today I've decided to take the day off to rest up for tomorrow's race but that doesn't mean I will be sitting around doing nothing. I will ride the bike and keep my body activated. We also do a pre-race activation, which involves lifting some weights the afternoon before race day to 'activate' the muscles.

The other days this week we have been doing our usual recovery workouts in the afternoons. Usually that includes about 30 min on the bike, stretching, some core exercises and then we finish with cold tubs! Out on our deck at our condo we have an inflatable tub, almost like a little kiddie pool except this one has ice cold water in it! We sit in the water for about 5 minutes(way too long) and ice our muscles and joints. It feels horrible when you are in the water but afterwards your legs feel great
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We have also been keeping ourselves busy by doing some puzzling, playing cranium and yahtzee and the time has also allowed me to spend some time with my family and see some friends who are here to watch the Games.

Oh, I nearly forgot, having days off has also allowed us to sit glued in front of the TV to watch Jen Heil win her medal, Kristian Groves, Alexandre Bilodeau win his gold and so many more. Our whole team was going nuts, jumping up and down and cheering when Bilodeau won.

I am also absolutely loving the fact that I am home and competing. Even just to be in North America is incredible. I go into town here in Whistler and I see people I know, I can do something as simple as go to the bank, or just go for lunch at one of my favourite spots in town. It is a bit busy, so I am trying to stay away from that, but it is also good to feel the energy in town and the atmosphere of the Games.

I want to finish by thanking the entire group of incredible volunteer's out here working hard to get things ready for the Alpine events. There has been a lot of work to be done, without a lot of action happening on the tracks and every day and every night they are out there preparing the tracks for us, so that we are able to go out and have our Olympic competition.

Thank you so much for making it happen and for bringing your passion and love for the sport out to the hill every day. I will be racing hard and competing for myself out there with you guys in my heart!

All the best....Go Canada Go.

Britt Janyk