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| The best view of the rink in Inzell (the left side of the picture) and the surrounding beautiful landscape! |
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| Cross-country skiing with Moritz Geisreiter, Jilleanne, Jeffrey, Maria and Kuck to flush our the stiffness and losen up our legs. |
From 'bobsledding' to watching the locals celebrate Fasching (a Karneval celebration in Bavaria like that of Mardi Gras) to seeing Mozart's birthplace to eating at Running Sushi, a never-ending converter belt of food/sushi, to recovering the body in the sauna after all our training, to German Catholic mass to cross country skiing on the most perfect day, and to hours of training, it's been a packed two weeks that have flown by us. This morning we separated; the US Team traveled this morning to Heerenveen for the next World Cup while Jeffrey and I are staying back here in Inzell. Ah, it's too quite here now and sad...sad, too, that our coach and mother has left as well. Because of my frustrating season ending decision, poor mom has to be away from family for the next 4 weeks...she had not planned on this, believing I would have raced better and made the last speedskating competitions so I feel terrible now!
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| The path around the Falkenstein mountain that we run on |
Jeffrey will only be staying til Tuesday when he heads to Salt Lake City for the last American Cup and to hopefully get some personal best times on the fast ice! I, Nancy Jr., will continue to stay here in Inzell for 10 days working on perfecting my technique and getting my mind set for next year.
This last week has definitely been really hard. With not going into complete detail, my poor performance at the World Cup in Hamar, Norway, 2 weeks ago, factored into a decision that put me out of being placed on the Team Pursuit for World Championships. Thus, my season has come to an end abruptly...definitely earlier than I am used to and definitely painful. Again, another trial to overcome...
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| Brian/Jeffrey warming up, cross country skiing, mom getting in her workout |
The decision was made last Monday approx. and since then, it's been a process laying out my schedule for the next months and then leading into next year's season. After not really having skating success since the last Olympics (2 years ago from now), there is a need to gain confidence back by setting goals, both short and long, and achieving them. That already has started this past week by utilizing the ice time here in Inzell and working on perfecting my technique and fixing my weaknesses. We have less than two years to the Sochi Olympics and it's hurt not being able to gain momentum these last two years because of my injuries, but as I keep getting knocked down...I am getting back up. Because of the numerous trials I keep facing, there is no denying I've questioned and asked the Lord to please tell me were He wants me placed and if skating is not it, to help make that clear, for I love this sport and a more permanent trial would have to stop me. :) As of now, I am fully able...so my pursuit to gold and sharing the love of Christ with those around me, continues on!
So on a more positive note (yes, sorry for this heavier-toned post), again these next weeks are going to be refreshing, focus building/goal-writing, but also there will be some fun mixed into it. On the agenda so far: watching the World Championship Biathlon in Ruhpolding (the next town over) next week, going to Munich for a day to explore, jumping in with the Inzell speedskating team for workouts the next couple days and changing up my training regiment, and then ending on a train ride to Switzerland to visit relatives and the birth place of my great-grandfather before I fly out of Munich and back home.
Two verses (of many) that have helped me through this week has been 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
"but He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."God Bless,
Nancy Jr.
1 Corinthians 9:25
Love to you, Nancy and Jeffrey. As always, my prayers are with you both.
ReplyDelete"8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”[a] Since we have that same spirit of[b] faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
2 Corinthians 4:8-18
Love to you both :)