Megan Farrell

2020 was going to be The Year...

I had the most training heading into the season than ever before. I was feeling confident (for the first time at a World Cup!). I had finished 2019 with some solid results in Russia, (only 0.03 away from top 16!) and was ready/excited to see what could happen!

How 2020 went...

January

• Lackenhof, Austria World Cup - rescheduled
• Scuol, Switzerland World Cup 
• Bad Gastein, Italy World Cup
• Rogla, Slovenia World Cup
• Piancavallo, Italy World Cup
• Carezza, Italy FIS Race
• Lackenhof - cancelled
• Lenzerheidi, Switzerland World Cup

We left for Europe after a very brief 6 days.. at home for Christmas holidays. Although I was sad to leave my family and friends after such a quick time, I was excited to finally feel "ready" for the first World Cup of the year in Lackenhof, Austria on the 5th. Unfortunately, Lackenhof was rescheduled due to lack of snow, so we arrived in Europe with even more time to train before the next race in Switzerland. During this time, sickness spread within the team and unfortunately, I caught it right on the cusp of going to Scuol. I felt dizzy, weak and extremely frustrated. I did everything I could to try and recover and went into the race feeling determined. Unfortunately, it was not my day. I pulled out of the gate feeling confident and excited, but after my first few turns, I realized the snow was nothing like expected. It felt slippery and I ended up sliding out on a toe side part way down, my day was over. The race ended up being a little wild, with a majority of the field falling or sliding out. This was a lesson for me: new day, new snow. How do I change my game plan when I meet snow like this again? 

Right after Scuol, we headed to Bad Gastein, Austria. I was still feeling sick but I love this venue and I was excited for the more challenging terrain. Things shifted ten minutes prior to the race. I started to feel nervous, my goggles kept fogging up, the light had changed and the hill was now in the shadows, my boots didn't feel right... I pushed all of this aside and went into the gate. Wrong move! I wasn't giving myself time to process these "problems" and find solutions. When I went into the gate, I had a second to breathe and all I could think about was not being able to see. I wasn't scared of the hill, the snow, or the course (it was a very turny and atypical course). At this point, I was so out of the race and it hadn't even happened yet. I was SO disappointed in myself. I ended up finishing in the top 25 and had qualified for the team event the next day. This was a huge lesson for me - don't doubt yourself. Stick to your game plan - but make adjustments and ALWAYS have a set of spare goggles ready. I went into the team event the next day feeling more than ready. I was still sick, but it was a late start and I was able to finally get some rest. My teammate, Darren Gardner, and I had a terrific race and ended up beating the Austrian team to make it into the top 8! This event meant a lot to me because I was able to turn my disaster of a race the day before into something positive. I ended up leaving Austria disappointed in my first result, but excited for what it taught me. 

Which moves us into Slovenia... This one was interesting. The travel time was finally getting to me (5hrs here.. 5 hrs there..then 5 more hrs..) My back felt like it was broken for the first time in my life. I was more than frustrated because I was finally winding down from my cough only to injure my back! Luckily, the most pain wasn't from the actual riding, but from putting on and off my binding. Problem solved! I had someone help me out and do up my binding in the gate, then raced my race. Unlucky for everyone, the snow in Europe at this time was ROUGH. There were chunks of rocks everywhere with a soft, unpredictable base. Rogla always does an outstanding job with their grooming and snow conditions, but sometimes you are not blessed with enough snow to really pull off a good race. I ended up pressuring just a little too much on one turn and sank ever so slightly into the base, losing speed on a very flat hill where you can't make any mistakes. Once again, I was just out of making the top 16! 

I left Rogla feeling mentally drained. I had tried to keep up and push through the sickness and the setbacks but it got to me. Luckily, we had two days off from training and a full week until the next event in Piancavallo. I was feeling like this was going to be my race. I was feeling confident in my riding and (finally!!) gotten over my sickness, plus my back felt better! I ended up having a decent first run, but was ready to really go after it on my second! Unfortunately, my equipment had other ideas... My binding ended up breaking after the first few turns. I was able to make it down the hill... but it was not the confident, clean, powerful riding that I was training so hard to achieve. 

This was a big let down for me. I had all the good feelings, but lost it on equipment. Despite this, I finished in 24th and less than a second from finals. Luckily, I had another opportunity to race with Darren Garden in the Team Event the following day. I am proud with how I rode and really surprised myself with my matchups with some of the top riders! We ended up making it past the top 16 and only narrowly missing the top 8.

After this, I had another three weeks in Europe due to a change in schedule with Lackenhof, moving from early January to mid February. To fill the time, I raced a FIS event in Italy where I placed 1st and 3rd. After that, I was gearing up for a Europa Cup in Lenzerheidie, Switzerland when FIS gave word that Lackenhof race would be cancelled due to poor snow conditions. This was the second event of the year to cancel due to lack of or unsafe snow. I was extremely disappointed that the race was cancelled so close to the event.. especially since we had changed our flights to stay an extra three weeks in Europe. Such is the life of a North American rider! Living on the road is what we sign up for.

I was able to change my flights once again to leave after the Europa Cup in Lenzerheidie. The first race was a surprise.. there's something about that Swiss snow! Fast and radical weather changes had created the grippiest snow known to mankind and I felt like I had to jump the entire way down the course to get off of my edge. After Bad Gastein, I learned my lesson - what feels wrong and maybe awful doesn't make it slow. I ended up having an okay run and ended up finishing in 7th position overall.

February 

• Blue Mountain, Canada World Cup 
• Blue Mountain, Canadian Nationals
• Moscow, Russia World Cup - rescheduled then cancelled

Back home never felt so good. I went into the World Cups extremely confident. I had my whole family watching at the race for the first time and I had trained on this hill, I knew what to expect. I ended up 0.3 away from finals... again and finished in 23rd. The riding felt clean, but not powerful enough. On a flat hill, you need to make every turn count and I played things too safe. From here, things took another dive going into Canadian Nationals. Snow conditions rapidly changed... to say the least. Since I hadn't done any North American races this season, I started near the end of the line up and by the time I had my qualifying run, the course was looking like a rodeo. Unfortunately, the race staff were not able to do a top 16 flip to give the lower starting riders (me!) an advantage on second run as stated in the rules, so I was starting from the back both runs. Not ideal when conditions are deteriorating so quickly! I made it into the top 8 and raced the first qualifier, who had course selection. I raced my race and had a decent run despite the war zone that was the race hill, but it wasn't enough to overcome the disadvantage. It's all about learning how to focus on what you can control and finding ways to overcome setbacks.. all good. Somewhere in between training and racing, the World Cup in Russia was rescheduled and then cancelled once again... luckily, this time we didn't have to change our flights! 

March

• Tauplitz, Austria Europa Cup
• Livigno, Italy World Cup
• Winterberg, Germany World Cup
• Davos, Switzerland Europa Cup

March was it. I was motivated, I was riding well and I was excited to have more opportunities to race after the disaster that was Canadian Nationals. Unfortunately, we all know how this ends..

COVID-19 in Europe escalated very quickly. One day, the race is confirmed as a go in Italy.. and then the next morning the city is in lockdown. The race in Winterberg was trying to be moved somewhere else in Germany and Rogla Europa Cup was looking like it was going to be cancelled once again due to poor snow. Things were chaotic to say the least. I ended up racing.. and falling in Tauplitz, Austria where another huge snowstorm caused mayhem. 

I left Austria and headed to hunker down at our coaches' hotel until we could better predict our next move. I ended up leaving the following night, drove allll the way to Munich and caught a flight back home that morning.

When I arrived in Canada after a brief long weekend in Europe, COVID was just hitting North America. When I entered the country, border patrol told one of my teammates to isolate if you were feeling sick, but nothing if you weren't... I ended up self quarantining for two weeks anyway, honestly, grateful for the opportunity to rest after 4 months of non-stop. Then things hit Canada.. and here we are. 

5 months later and I am still using my "home" gym. 

Unfortunately, a summer camp just wasn't in the cards for me this year. I am grateful to be able to spend time at home with my family for the entire summer, a first in 5 years! My next on snow camp is planned for October.. in the meantime -

Things I have learned and/or am grateful for in quarantine:

• Seeing my family for the most time in 5 years! Especially with my sister's new baby Eve.
• Online yoga classes have allowed me to do 2 classes a day and work on my mobility and flexibility like never before! 
• My squat rack - though I do not have many weights, the rack has allowed me to work on my technique and get that low range! 
• I have finally been able to properly recover and have even started running again with no pain after tearing my sartorius muscle four years ago! While I love cardio, my focus this off-season is on power and explosiveness... so hill sprints!
• Time to work more with a sports psychologist and reflect on the season, where I'm at and make a game plan on how I can best achieve any future goals.
• I have the time and energy to slalom ski everyday! What a great cross training sport to snowboarding. I'm able to workout the shoulders/arms/core while at the same time getting back some feelings around carrying speed/momentum. It's all about the carve! 
• Brainstorm new equipment ideas!

Find out what drives you. Make a goal. Work hard to achieve said goal everyday in whatever small (or big!) way you can! Most importantly, be kind to yourself and embrace 'setbacks' as opportunities for growth. I'm still at home training the best I can, keeping safe and preparing myself for the unknown that is 2020-2021.

Huge thanks to my wonderful family, friends and main sponsor, Bothwell-Accurate, who help keep me focused and resilient throughout 2020!

Megan