Well it’s December already. Normally this blog would be saying how good the snow is, how well training is going out in Austria and how I’m looking forward to my first race etc…

However due to injury I’m enjoying the snow in London instead! Sadly sitting in my sitski in my garden just isn’t the same and the snow is just making me miss my team mates out in Austria. I know training for them is going very well and want to wish them good luck for their races coming up.

I now have a date for my operation (5th Jan) and can now really focus my energy on rehabilitation so I can come back fitter, stronger and more focused than ever before.

I’ve not been getting idle in my time off and have been working hard at keeping the fitness up. I’ve also been working hard with a couple of seating companies to find the best seating solution so when I get back on snow all the other issues I have should be sorted and I will just need to worry about skiing and getting back to where I should be (At the top of the podium!)

I’ve also found a new little hobby to keep me busy along with Sean Rose and Ben Hopper from the team we’ve been learning to fly kites hopefully to enable us to start snow kiting and kite surfing in the near future. A possible kiting expedition could happen in the near future as long as I can get myself back in shape in time but I will let you know more in the future.

The other exciting news is my new sitski, Thanks Get Kids Going, has arrived obviously it’s going to have to wait a little while before we can go tearing up the mountains but it won’t be long and will hopefully see some real benefits when I return.

Well the snow is falling already in the Alps and the team is all packed off training. Sadly I am looking at having my first winter at home for about five years!!

Very strange but I am swaying more to the idea of having the operation to sort out my hip. It will be a big surgery and means I’ll have to focus hard on the rehab to get my strength back before I can get back on the snow hopefully end of season/summer season.

However, the plan is to come back more motivated and in better shape than ever.

Just because I’m unlikely to be on the snow competing this season doesn’t meant that I am going to be inactive as soon as the op has been done I will be hitting the S&C hard and there will be lots of other adventures over the next few months to keep me going and make sure that I don’t lose focus so make sure you check out the blog updates.

In the meantime I feel slightly in no man’s land as I’ve now had the pins out of my leg which has solved the irritation that I’ve had but now it’s a waiting game before I’ve the next op to sort out the other issues I’m having.

Then the rehab to get my leg back to where it should be! I’ve a lot of hard work in front of me and just want to get on with it now.

I would say that the years building up to the Vancouver 2010 Paralympics for me didn’t go to plan with more injuries than I would have liked, frustratingly a few of them from skiing and not all my own fault!

So going in to the new season and four year cycle, with the goal of getting on the podium in Russia, starting with an injury is not ideal. You would have thought that I’m used to injuries by now and that I know how to cope with them. I’ve learnt a lot from them but sadly this is looking like the most serious!

Although the original fracture happened back in May and I’ve been working hard with my rehab and usual strength and conditioning to get me to the point where I am actually the fittest I’ve been. Unfortunately as the fracture wasn’t picked up straight away has caused some complications. The first meant that I had to have existing pins taken out my leg which was done last week. This will keep me off snow until just before Christmas while the bone heals from where the pins were.

The other complication is that the bone has moved and compacted which although fine if I’m not doing too much at the moment means that I can’t get the same movement out of my leg. This does affect my skiing; preventing me to get into the position I need to! I also have to look at long term issues which might arise.

The standing and (little wobbly walking) I already do will suffer now due to this injury and also if it will cause any long term issues just being in my chair slightly rotated!

At the moment I am not sure if the next large surgery will go ahead. I have to make a decision while I recover from the removal of the pins. I know this might be a possibility for a little while so I’m focusing on all the positives I can get out of my time off snow.

I’m looking at all the other areas I can work on and improve so by the time I get back on snow, be it before Christmas, or at the end of the season if I have the next op, I will be ahead of the game in those areas and can concentrate on catching back up with the training on snow.

At the moment I just hate that feeling of been in no man’s land as I can’t really commit to anything until I know what the plan is but I am looking at the positives. Pros and cons of both and know that whatever happens I’ll be able to make work and be fighting for the medals again in no time.

This Saturday saw me take part with four other members of the British Team in my hardest and most grueling charity event yet, raising money for Disability Snowsports UK and some much needed money for the underfunded British Disabled Ski Team.

The event took place in the Scottish Highlands and consisted of a 70 mile (nearly all uphill) bike ride from the bottom of Ben Nevis in Fort William and riding over 2500 feet across to Aviemore and the top of the Cairngorm Mountains.

It was really sunny on the train journey up giving me some hope that the weather meant we would be riding in good conditions. Of course that was short lived as when I woke early the rain and cloud looked liked it had settled in for the day.

Although I thought we would all try to stay together it seemed harder and everybody soon seemed to settle in to their own comfortable pace. Jane and Sean took the more steady approach while Russ, Ben Hooper (Development team) and I took the front. We managed to stick together most the way, except for the uphill where I felt my gym and Richmond Park training had really paid off.

At the first water stop, at around 15 miles, my left shoulder was already aching with most the way already having been all uphill. The rain didn’t seem to stop until around the 30 mile mark. But despite the rain the Scottish scenery was still breathtaking (or that could have been the hill I was going up at the time!)

After the lunch stop I seemed to get in to my rhythm. Having done over 50 miles, I smelt the finish with Aviemore getting closer I seemed to find another gear and push on. Knowing that I had the last good four miles steep uphill towards the bottom of the Aviemore Ski Hill I was trying to reserve some energy.

However by the time I had got to the bottom of the hill I had nothing left in me! Every muscle and bone ached. The pain in my left shoulder seemed to have gone as I warmed during the ride (as long as I kept moving) but the pain had moved down in to my elbow which ached with every movement and lactic acid was in every muscle telling me to stop.

It became a real mental game not knowing how far I had left to go but I know I wasn’t going to give up whatever it took. It was a real battle focusing on target to reach before having another rest. I seemed to only get eight to ten meters before having to stop for a couple of seconds.

Nearly half way up the hill Debbie arrived in the van to stay behind me and keep traffic from getting too close. Knowing I had that support really gave me that extra drive I needed.

Reaching the top was met by great relief and pride. After over 60 miles I had given nearly everything, body and mind, with not much left in me to get to the top of the last few miles and the satisfaction was well worth it. My joy and sense of pride was then doubled as one by one the rest of the team made it to the top having faced their own battle.

Bubbles flowed for a while before we were rewarded with the best prize for reaching the top… The ride back down (quickly followed by a couple of burgers!)

Thank you so much to the organisers of the event and volunteers for making it run so smoothly it was a horrible thing to go through yet amazing, enjoyable, painful and satisfying all at the same time!

I need to thank all those that helped get me in shape for this and the exciting season and world champs that now awaits us.

Well I have finally started training again. It’s a great relief as I start to get myself in to shape for the forthcoming season and actually feel like I am doing something constructive. My hip is still far from perfect as I train cautiously around it (slightly paranoid not to put back my rehab).

I still have a long way to go, further than I would like but it’s strangely nice to feel the burn of the gym again. But it’s going to take more hard work to get the movement back to where I was before. Thankfully I have done it now at the start of my campaign which gives me plenty of time to build things up again.

Although being injured I have not sat idle, making the most of my time out of the gym and off the slopes, searching for the funding for a four year program that will take me to Sochi and hopefully the podium.

I have been working on sorting out my seating issue finding a seating specialist eager to help. With the Combined Services Disabled Ski Team we have been looking at the suspension units of the sit skis making sure that we have them set up right.

I can now turn my focus on my next challenge; a 70 mile bike ride in September raising money for the Disability Snowsport UK and the team and helping my get fit for the season.

I don’t know if I’m quite ready yet but I am looking forward to the challenge from Ben Nevis to the Cairngorms and it will give me certainly give me something to aim for over the next month I just hope it doesn’t take me a month to recover.

If you would like to help please sponsor me at www.justgiving.com/bdstpeak2peak.