FOR SUPPORT...

...place a pillow behind your lower back. For support, lay with your knees up - feet flat on the ground. Or, be a cross-country skier and you will receive more support than you ever could imagine!

I cannot express how much all of your calls, comments, emails, texts and well wishes have meant to me. They have kept the tears a bay and my spirits high. Since it hurts to cry and REALLY hurts to blow my nose, thank you also for helping my body heal, as well as my spirit.

One of the hardest parts about my situation is that there is no time line. I might be training again by Monday or it could be more like May. I saw someone two weeks ago, four days ago, two days ago, an hour ago... the answer is always the same: See you next time and we'll see where you're at. In the mean time, don't do anything that hurts. Let pain be your guide.

As athletes, we submit ourselves to and endure, sometimes even thirst for pain. So when my doctor asks "does it hurt?" I have to think for a minute - yeah, I guess it does hurt. "Has it hurt all day, all week?" - I think it has. Yes, it has.

It would be so much easier if my arm was broken - You hear the crack, it hurts a lot, they cast it and it heals. Black and white.

So what am I to do with this gray? I close my eyes and think about skiing, about running, about the rush that cannot be purchased by any drug - the feeling that costs all the effort you have in your legs, your heart, your lungs and your head but it is free... and then I think of how many days in my training log are blank....

My big brother, always there with a pep-talk when you need one, says Like a crocodile: Wait, wait, wait... Attack! That is all it takes for a kill.

And so I lay on my back with my legs bent - feet flat on the ground and wait.

I searched for today's results from the freestyle mass start up in BC without any luck... I'll post when I know how things went. A classic sprint and a pursuit on the docket for this weekend for those up there. Good luck to all.