New Year, New You!

New Year's Eve for me is normally pretty straight forward. It's my best mate Paige's birthday so I normally do whatever she wants to do to celebrate (even though she hates having to make the plans!) so this year it was a little odd having to fend for myself. The day started like all my Saturday's do now, with a bit of chalet cleaning but it seemed to go by really quickly. I woke up early doors and it had chucked it down with snow which was amazing. Shame we couldn't hit the mountain hard but think it was good to give my neck a break! We hit Mont Blanc after work which is now a bit of a tradition and managed to make it back in one piece after Alice's epic 'reversing down the mountain with her head out the window'. The lads at the hostel were then on hand to get the drinking well and truly underway before heading back up to Mont Blanc for the celebrations. We all hit the dance floor hard and there were some eye opening shapes being thrown! All in all, an ace night and a great way to start 2012!

Pow Pow POWDER!!

For the first time since being in Les Arcs, the snow started to fall. And BOY did it fall! We all got up for the first bus of the day which was definitely a new experience for me and it was totally worth it. The view had completely changed from the day before as you couldn't see any of the skyline or anything that resembled a mountain. We had to queue a while for the first lift to open and on the chairlift up we tried to decide which route to take. Somehow, the boys convinced me to go down the black run (only the second time I've gone down a black one - the first time was by accident!) but it turned out to be the best decision of the day. I was thigh high in fresh, buttery powder and was gliding down the mountain and it was glorious! I was cheering and wooping the entire way down, accompanied by a few beautifully cushioned splats! We were all a bit excitable (it was James' 30th birthday and he was like a kid on E numbers!) as it was so much fun but then I had a spectacular face plant that gave me whiplash which wasn't so great. BUT I manned up and dealt with it and carried on til the afternoon where the visibility then got terrible and the snow kept falling. It was a challenging day but rewarding all the same. As you can see from some of the above shots, the scenery was amazing - obviously that includes my epic frozen helmet hair! Roll on another powder day!

Ou Est Le Neige? Voila ici!!

So I FINALLY made it out onto the snow and boy did it feel good! Boxing Day was the day and Alice and Alex were my buddies. It definitely took me a while to get my snow legs back and it wasn't until day two that they finally kicked in. This time, Josh and Hywel were my guides (I really must learn to read the piste maps - I'm so lazy!) and I was much more comfortable and confident in my legs. I had to borrow Hywel's spare board as mine has delaminated which sucks but I'm so lucky and grateful that he is short like me (if you're reading this Hywel, I mean that in the nicest possible way!). The piste was definitely in need with another dump of snow but the blue bird sky was incredible. But none of you need to worry, my apres ski is coming along wonderfully.....

Christmas Day - One to Remember

Christmas Day in the mountains didn't quite pan out as I had thought it would but by the end of the day, I wouldn't have changed a thing. I spent the morning working (after taking a couple of pics of my morning view) which then lead to working in the early afternoon so I didn't have the chance to get on my board on Christmas Day which was gutting. I was feeling a bit blue but after a couple of ciders with Alice and a very festive lunch of nacho's and chicken nuggets things started to perk up! We ended up cooking Xmas dinner at Alice's chalet that night and she was kind enough to let me open up a couple of her presents so I could feel more Christmassy which totally worked. After a wonderful roast dinner lovingly cooked by Alex (thanks again Alex!) we did the time honoured Xmas tradition of playing a board game - accompanied by one or six bottles or red wine. The game of choice was Articulate and Alice and I won (was there ever any doubt?!). I've never lost a game so I'm glad my record is still in tact! I did of course miss my normal family Christmas but this was an ace alternative celebration - thanks for those who made it awesome!

We're All In This Together!

Christmas Eve. My normal Christmas Eve routine involves eating, watching TV, going to the pub, not drinking and being designated driver home. It was a bit different this year as I started my job as a chalet maid and got straight to it. There is such a lovely bunch of girls in the maid crew and all of them are Brits. We had to clean three chalet's and they are gorgeous. The view was incredible, as you can see from the first pic! I was in a team with Alice and Patience and as you can see, we had a bit of fun as we went along. To wind down after a long day of cleaning, we headed over to Chalet Nova where some of the maid crew live and they had a Christmas tree so it did start to feel Christmasy! I must tell you all, that on day two in France, I fell in love. Head. Over. Heels. His name is Charlie and he is gorgeous. Like a big cuddly bear. Did I forget to mention that Charlie is a Burmese Mountain dog?? Anyway, so in love. We headed out to Moulin to a bar called Greg's and danced the night away until Christmas day chimed in. Those green shots you see above were actually blue and tasted like mouthwash - yum......oh and from the pics above, you'll see a picture of Mitch and you MUST agree that he looks exactly like Kurt from Glee - am I right?? He can't sing though. Disappointing. En route home, Patience and I had a little dance and then it was time for the epic walk up the mountain home. To say it was cold was an understatement. Don't know how me Mitch and Sarah made it up there to our warm and cosy chalet but we did and it felt good! Then I got plenty of shut eye whilst waiting for a visit from Santa...........

The Start of the Season

After 5 weeks of planning, the day for me to leave the UK finally arrived. It didn't seem real as I hadn't been planning it that long but once I started packing up my life and I realised I had a shed load of stuff that I needed to take with me, it started to hit home what I was about to embark on. I promise you, I tried to pack light. And I did remove loads of 'unnecessary' items but I just couldn't cut down any more - everything in ALL those bags you can see above is 100% crucial! Promise......anyway, the epic journey to Bourg St Maurice then commenced which started with a lift from my Dad to Wokingham Station, accompanied by my Mum aka Chief Bag Carrier, and ended with leaving from Victoria Coach Station. My Mum and I had a cheeky glass of prosecco to see me off in style and we were waiting to load on my 'light' luggage when I heard someone say 'Jo!' and I turn around and low and behold my awesome mate Paige was there with a 'Bon Voyage Jo!' banner!! I was so suprised and it was a lovely send off! A few tears were then shed from the three of us and I got on the Snow Express for the 17 hour coach ride. Fortunately for me, I can sleep anywhere so for 10 of those house I was out for the count. I arrived into Bourg St Maurcie at about 1pm, French time, to then start my journey to my first home in the mountains.......

Barefoot Running is the Way Forward

For those of you that don't know, I was running like a mad woman a few month's ago after my friend Kat had inspired me with her marathon efforts. I was training with her when she was doing the 5 milers and was really enjoying the experience and was motivated and in the zone. So much so that I signed up to the Nike Run to the Beat half Marathon which takes place on 25th September. Then disaster struck, an injury! I went to the doctor's and she diagnosed me with plantar fasciitis which is a very painful foot injury. I've been to see a physio but don't start treatment properly until the 22nd August which then only leaves me a month to get the stamina for a 13 mile run.

I've been cycling every day which I've been loving, until my bike got reversed over by a van 2 weeks ago! Not having much luck am I........

So until I get my bike and my foot back on track, I've been struggling to stay motivated for this run. That motivation came last night in the form of my sister who has signed up for the half marathon with me. To give you a bit of a background on Laura, she's never been a massive exercise fan (and she won't mind me saying that) but she has decided to undertake this challenge with me and last night she text me to say that she'd just completed a 3 mile run!! Now, that was a massive deal as she's never run that far before and it gave me the kick up the behind that I so desperately needed.

I woke up this morning at 7:15am and was wide awake. So I decided to put this extra time in my morning to good use and went for a run! Now, I'm not really supposed to be doing high impact activity at the moment (doctor's orders) but when I was in Austria recently and went running with the Ultra Man legend that is Jonas Colting, he taught me all the techniques of barefoot running. It's made a MASSIVE difference to my running technique and to the pain in my right foot. With Jonas in my head telling me to land on the ball on my foot and to keep my arms close to my chest around my heart at all times and to take smaller paces, I survived a 2.5 mile run this morning! I'm so chuffed to be back on the horse, so to speak, and well and truly back in the game!

So watch this space world! I'm back and running and it feels ruddy great!