THINKCODY.COM

MUSTACHE MARCH!

2011-03-12T03:35:00Z

My bother is telling me it's mustache March and I should grow back the epic stash I was sporting in the hospital. I'm thinking its a good idea.

My trip to Europe was awesome. I was only there for five days, but it was great to be back. Usually I spend November - March in Europe, so it has been strange for me to be away for so long. It was cool to be at a world cup in Europe again, so much energy and excitement. Ted and Nolan made it especially exciting for the US team. Ted was on the podium again in the GS, keeping him comfortably in the lead of the overall GS standings. And Nolan skied insanely fast and landed his first world cup podium in the SL. Mike Day, the head tech coach, asked me to stick around for the rest of the season because he thought I was good luck.

I'm back in Utah now. Enjoying some lovely warm weather and getting excited for the summer. Chelsea is back in town too. She had to stop skiing for the season because of consistent back problems. It finally got to a point where she couldn't ski anymore. She's back in Park City to focus on rehab, so she can get back at it again next season. A good call I think. So its a bummer for Chels, but it's nice to be hanging out with her again. If you guys want to check up on her you can follow her by going to her new blog at chelseascookies.blogspot.com. It's really cool and I highly recommend a visit.

Draven has been back in town too. He is only here for a short visit and it has been great to hang out with him a little while he is here. Draven still manages my website. Actually he designed it and is still the one who has to post this blog after I email it to him. So if you guys can say hi to Draven bellow and tell him how much we appreciate him helping me with this awesome site, that would be sweet.

Other than that not much to report. Class has been going well. I have been enjoying being in school, it gives me something else to do, which is nice. I got a 90 on my last essay, which was about my injury and how it affected me as a person.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to check up on Chelsea at

http://chelseascookies.blogspot.com/

Cody

Blog Time !

2011-03-02T00:26:00Z

I know I promised to be more involved with the blog this winter, and that I have been less than frequent with my posts. Let me fill you in on what I have been up to since thanksgiving.

Where to start?

I have been coaching for Park City Ski Team since November. It is definitely different to be on the other side of things, but I have been enjoying working with my athletes and trying to help them with their skiing. It has been frustrating at times, but I know what I was like at that age, and if the last year has taught me anything, it is to be patient and to know that the work you put in will make a difference.

I have also been taking a class at Westminster college, in Salt Lake. USSA has a program set up for athletes that want to attend classes at Westminster, when it is convenient for them. There is also a grant that covers the cost, so it makes it easy for injured athletes to start their education. I thought it would be a great way for me to continue my recovery, and have enjoyed being back in school for the first time in eighteen years.

Since we are on spring break from school, I have decided to head over to Europe for a little vacation next week. I am flying over to Munich tomorrow and driving to Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, to meet up with the US team and watch the World Cup GS and SL on the 5, 6, of March. I'm going to be up on the hill a little, to inspect the courses and be around the environment that I have been missing the last two years. Kranjska Gora, was the last World Cup I raced before my injury, so it will be cool for me to be back there again. Ted Ligety has also won on that hill for the last three years, so it will be fun to watch him do it again.

When Im not in school, or working, I have been loving the winter out here in Utah. Best snow and skiing in the world. I have had a chance to train some gates with my athletes, which has been a blast. Hopefully, I can track down some video of my training and put it up here soon.

Thanks for reading, let me know if you have any questions, I'll re-post when I get back from Europe next week.

Cody

The first day back in gates in twenty-two months, eight days

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T23:54:00Z

I just got back from Colorado last night and now I'm on my way to Montana with TJ Lanning to celebrate thanksgiving with his family in big sky, Montana. I hear they got 17in. of new snow last night so I packed my powder skis in the back.

Teej and I have a 6 hour drive today and we have been throwing around ideas about how we can stay involved in skiing now that we are inactivate. I thought it would be a good idea for us to throw a camp this spring/summer in Hood or Bachelor. What do you guys think? What would you guys like to see at a camp hosted by two world class ski racers that other camps don't offer? We have plenty of time to think and talk about it today, I'll let you know what we come up with.

We are stoping for some coffee now, so I have to run. Before I do, I want to wish everyone a happy thanksgiving. I'm certainly thankful for all the fresh snow!

Cody

New Site Launch!

2010-11-16T07:19:00Z

I want to share some exciting news with everyone. Draven and I have completely re-done everything on www.thinkcody.com So please check out the new site. New Photo's, Video, and updates on whats going on today. We will be adding more photo's and video soon and will keep you in the loop on how things are going during the season!

P.S. Hover over Cody Marshall to make it snow.

If you don't have Adobe flash player installed you can install it in seconds for your browser here

http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/otherversions/

Have Fun

USST Naming

2010-11-08T00:32:00Z

Hi all,

After yesterdays announcement of the US ski team I have received a number of emails congratulating me on being named to the 10/11 team. There are some misunderstandings that I want to clear up.

I want to thank those of you that have contacted me and congratulated me on "making the team" I was named to the team this season, let me explain why and what that means. After an injury that happens before March 1 of the year that you are on the team you will be named to next years team whether you have qualified or not. It gives you a chance to come back to skiing the next winter when you're healthy enough to race. As you can imagine a lot of athletes injure themselves in ski racing. With knees, backs, ankles, legs, you name it and someone has probably missed half a season or more due to an injury. It is difficult to come back after an injury, but it happens every year. This year Jimmy Cochran hasn't been able to ski since July because of an ankle fracture. He tried to ski last month in Austria but had to go home early because he was in too much pain. My injury is a little different. Like I wrote about in pervious posts I have worked very hard to get myself from where I was a year ago to where I am now. I knew in September 09 that it would be very difficult for me to make a return to sport. Not only was I a tiny little guy with less muscle mass then I had when I was 15 but I would have to get clearance from USSA before I could return. Staying motivated to work your way through rehab is always difficult and when you have no clear idea of if you will ever be able to return it makes it that much harder. I had my moments of weakness through my long winter of training and rehab but always pushed on knowing that I could only worry about what I could control at the time.

I was never worried about not being named to the team this season, it was whether I would be allowed to train or race again. Like I talked about a week ago I was not given clearance from USSA to return to sport. I am technically apart of this seasons "team" but will not be allowed to train (on or off snow) with USSA athletes. As much as I would love to get back to doing what I was before the injury, in this case I wont be able to.

Thank you all for the support. I will update later in the month about my first camp as a coach.

Cody

It's Been 5 Months....

2010-11-01T06:28:00Z

It's snowing in Utah now. As I get ready for the winter I thought it would be nice for me to update everyone on exactly what I am up to this winter and what has happened since I last updated five months ago. Sorry for the long absence, I really have no excuse. My long absence was actually brought to my attention today by a facebook message I received. And I quote "Dude, It's been five MONTHS since you've updated. Are you doin' ok these days???" To answer your question Renate, and everyone else out there that cares, I'm doing great. I'll try to fill you in on the last five months and be as concise as possible.

Since May I have been living out in Utah with hopes of getting back to training with the US team. I have been in the gym everyday focussing on one aspect of the challenge- strength training. Thats the easy part. As some of you know I lost most of my strength last summer while I was in the hospital, weighing only 137lbs. when I finally moved back home in September 09. It was a long, painful, and sometimes hopeless journey back, but after 15 months of rehab and training I am in the best shape of my life. I'm weighing 168lbs now, just a little bit heavier than I was before.

The other aspect of the challenge was getting clearance from USSA to return to sport. I will try to explain this as well as I can. USSA (like most professional sport teams) has a committee of doctors in place to review and approve, or deny a return to sport after an injury like mine. When I first met with USSA in May I was told to improve my impact score, and have my doctor (who has cleared me to return to competition) get in touch with the committee about my return. Over the next four months I did as we agreed and waited for a decision to be made. I improved my impact score to an acceptable range, scoring nearly as high as I did before the injury and had my doctor contact the committee. Finally after four months I had a meeting with Sasha, the head coach of the mens team about my return to skiing. So, here is what you have all been waiting for, am I going to be able to ski this season, or not?? Sadly the meeting didn't go as well as I had hoped. At this point I will not be cleared to return to ski racing or training with the US team. I could try to explain why, but it mostly comes down to USSA not wanting to deal with the liability if I were to injure myself again. There is not very much information on what would happen if I were to sustain another serious head injury. One thing they know is that I would not recover from a second TBI as well as I did this time. Am I at a higher risk? Well, sort of... It's tough to understand, and for the most part at this point I'm unsure of what the outcome of a concussion or a more serious head injury would be. So as it stands I will not be making a return to racing this season.

However, I do have plans to stay involved in the sport. I was offered a number of coaching jobs for the winter and I have decided it will be a great way for me to use my knowledge of skiing to help others and give back to the sport that has been so great to me over the years. I will be working with the Park City Ski Team primarily, coaching J1's and PG's. I will also be working with the NDS group of athletes, traveling to two week camps over the winter. NDS stands for National Development System. It is a group of younger, talented skiers from around the country that are trying to make the national team. My first camp with NDS will be in November in Colorado. My younger brother will be at that camp so I'm looking forward to working with him and the other athletes.

So thats about it. If you guys have any questions please leave a comment and I promise to be more involved with the blog this winter. I will be training with the athletes I'm coaching in Park City a little so I should be able to get some video of my first day back in gates up here in a few months.

Cody

LAST WEEK UPDATE OH MY !

2010-06-02T03:45:00Z

Last week I had a meeting with USSA about where I am in the process of being cleared to ski and compete with the ski team. I met with my head coach, the vice president of athletics, our sports psychologist, and our medical director Richard Quincy.

Three weeks ago I started the process of being cleared to ski, hoping that I could get back on snow for training camps in August. First thing I had to do was see Doctor Chuck Rich in Salt Lake. After talking to him for thirty minutes and running through a few tests he told me "I cant find anything wrong with you." The next thing USSA needed was for me to take an impact test. Which is designed for people who have had a concussion. It tests processing speed, memory, and cognitive thought. I took the test back in 08 and that is my 'baseline' score. Now I have to score very close to my baseline score before I am cleared. My thought was to wait another month before taking the impact test again so I could be at a point where I knew I would be in a 'acceptable range' of my baseline score. I explained this to Richard Quincy and he didn't have a problem with my decision.

In my meeting today I was told that I will not be cleared to compete for USSA . The reasons they stated are "current impact testing scores, and clinical evaluation by expert physicians."

The impact scores Richard sent to the expert physicians were from a test that I took in October of last year three months after my severe traumatic brain injury. When I took the impact test last October it was to see where I was at with my cognitive thought and processing speed. The reason I was taking it was to help me with my therapy at the time so later on I could get to a point where I could get to an 'acceptable range' of my baseline score. We were told it would be an 'off the record test' and I would be tested again at a later date.

The meeting lasted about an hour and at the end of it we came to an agreement to meet again under these conditions. I take the impact test again and we send the current information to the ski team physicians to review. I am also going to get some other opinions from Doctors who believe I can compete in skiing again without a high risk of injury.

Not the best news from USSA but I will continue to fight and keep you informed on my progress.

Cody

GO USA GO USA GO USA

2010-02-24T04:44:00Z

I Just arrived home last night from a week long trip in Whistler. Originally I was hoping to go to the Olympics as a competitor but this time around I was there as a supporter and spectator. The US team did a great job making the spectating part fun, so far they have won eight medals, making it the most successful Olympic team in US history. It was really great for me to be up there and watch not only the success of the US team but to see athletes put themselves on the line and give it everything they have to achieve their goals. It was inspiring to to see Bode come down and win the combined event. I haven't seen him ski Slalom like that in a long time and to watch people do things they have to for the win is inspiring. I know he wanted the Olympic gold for a long time, even if he pretends he doesn't. Julia Mancuso was another athlete who skied well above where she has been in the last couple seasons during the Olympics. To be able to move yourself to a different place mentally and just go out there and preform that well is something only a few athletes can do. And I have never seen anything like what Julia has done this last week.

My sister was also racing in the Super G. Chelsea helped me so much in my recovery so it was time for me to show whatever support I could for her in her big day. Chelsea started off having a great run but her skis hooked up and she skied through a gate ending her run. It was too bad she went off course but she was safe with no injuries and she won best crash of the day by NBC! Ha, so not all bad news. If you guys want to check out the crash you can see the top 5 crashes here

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/assetid=11e00cd1-23bc-46d3-9426-04eb0f68dc3e.html#womens%20super%20g%20best%20crashes

After catching my 3am bus to Vancouver, flying to Seattle, Washington, Burlington, then driving home I am certainly glad to be back. It was awesome to see everyone up in Whistler. It helped remind me of where I want to go and what I am fighting to get back to.

Cody

Road Trip - Tuesday 2:00PM

2010-01-19T20:54:00Z

When I talked to my good friend Mikkel about a month ago about helping me drive my car back to Vermont from Utah he was all for it. I waited a couple weeks and called him and asked him again. This time he wasn't quite as excited with the plan. He was on break from school in Vermont and had one week left before school started. Being the amazing friend that he is he agreed to help me out. We only had a week to drive back so it wasn't the leisure trip cross country that I usually take, but we did have time to see some people in Utah and Vail before the long drive begun.

Once we arrived in Salt Lake TJ Lanning picked us up at the airport. TJ is doing well, and on the path of recovery as well. He crashed in his first race this season breaking vertebrae in his neck and dislocating his knee. He is wearing a neck brace full time which will be coming off in a week or so. I had to wear one of those for a little while in the hospital as well. I hated that thing, I kept trying to rip it off! I think TJ was actually one of the guys around that would make sure I wouldn't pull off my neck brace. He is doing full rehab for his knee and things seem to be going well. He is in good spirits and I'm sure he will be back on snow next season doing what he loves. We spent the night in Salt Lake with the Lanning's before heading on to Vail...

The first day of driving was pretty short and easy. About seven hours to Vail from Salt Lake. Thats really what my pace is usually like when I'm driving across country anyway. My friend Kate lives and works in Vail and Mikkel's brother lives down in Denver so it was a great place for us to stop for a night. I had a nice visit with Kate. We were thinking about going skiing in the morning but slept in and made a pancake breakfast instead..... Ha, I had to write about it, it was awesome! She made the pancakes but I made some delicious hashbrowns! After a late breakfast I picked up Mikkel in Denver and the real driving started....

I drove for about four hours through Colorado and in to Nebraska before Mikkel took over. At some point I fell a sleep so I could get some rest and drive a little later. Everything was going smoothly at this point, or so I thought. At about 2am Mikkel pulled off an exit to go to the bathroom. We were in the middle of no where Nebraska off some random exit. When Mikkel was about to get back into the car a police car comes up behind him with his lights on. The cop comes out and yells "GET AWAY FROM THE CAR, HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM" Mikkel at this point is just thinking oh my god what is going on? I'm just starting to wake up in the passenger seat and see Mikkel getting questioned by the police. Apparently in the town we were in there were two businesses that had just been robbed and the police wanted to see if we were involved. After looking at me half a sleep in the passenger seat and running our ID's they turned out to be really cool and let us on our way.

Other then our one run in with the police we had a smooth trip back. I am glad I have my car back home now. Makes life a little easier. For now I plan to be home for a while..... I have been talking to Warner Nickerson about a possible trip over to Europe in February to travel with the guys and watch some racing and be around the scene. I'm not sure if that will happen or not.

Thats all for now,

Cody

P.S. You easterners will be happy to know that there is more snow in Vermont then there is in Utah!

Thoughts and Prayers For The Pearce Family... Jan 1st

2010-01-02T02:24:00Z

It's time Blogger's to send out all the positive energy we can. As you may know Kevin Pearce a US Snowboarder and fellow Vermonter has been in a serious accident. He is currently at the same hospital as Cody and in critical condition. We want to extend ourselves to the family and let them know if there is anything they need we are here. Having been through this with Cody for 6 months I/we know what you are going through.

If there is anything you may need at all or if you have any questions we are here for you. Being the main caregiver for Cody I know all the Dr.'s and the routine so please feel free to use me and/or us as needed. I will tell you he is in very good hands! Please don't hesitate if there is anything you may need.

I cannot express how sorry I/we are to hear about this. I know there have been a lot of people there showing their support and we are with you as well and as available as you need us to be by phone.

The people that have been following this blog are incredible and we ask all of you to send all of your energy to the Pearce family now, please send your wishes, thoughts and energy out to the Pearce family in this time of need.

Candles lit, positive energy and all the love for the Pearce family!!

Hugs and Best Wishes,

Draven, Cody and The Marshall Family.

OH THE NEW YEAR WED DEC 30 8:20PM

2009-12-31T03:19:00Z

New years is upon us! This is a big one too. We can look back on a whole decade and reevaluate our lives. Or not. Sounds kind of stupid to me. It's just another day passing, who cares what the calendar says? I look back on 2009 and I'm glad its over. Not that things are suddenly going to get easier for me once 2010 comes around. We are all going to have challenges to face throughout our lives and no matter what the calendar says I am going to try and enjoy the journey.

My journey has taken me all over the place in the last week. Up to the mountain for my first day of skiing! A trip to the hospital at 4am with my mom.... I will stick with the skiing story.....

I was a little nervous for my first day back on snow, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. With all the physical training that I have been doing off snow I have found that for the most part I haven't lost much athletically. Other then a lot of strength. When I started working on coordination and speed I was a little shaky at first but after spending a little time on it I could get things back to where they were before. Once I clicked into my skis and started skating over to the lift I knew I was going to have no problem skiing. Just moving on the snow and feeling the snow underneath my skis was enough for me to know that I was going to be fine. I skied all morning with my family and it felt like I had been skiing the whole time. It's funny because I had been worried about coming back to snow for months and other ski team athletes were telling me I was crazy and I had nothing to worry about and that it was just like riding a bike! Now I have say they were completely right.

Now the not so fun story....

I wake up at 2am to severe stomach pain. I'm not sure what's going on, but this is bad. I try to wait it out maybe I will feel better soon..... I started throwing up and feeling deathly ill by 3:30. My parents are awake now and of course think I have a stomach flu. I think yeah, maybe, or maybe not! I feel like I'm about to die, we have to go to the hospital. After five hours in the hospital and numbers of tests the Doctors found a kidney stone. I have been through a lot in the last six months two brain surgery's, 8 fractured ribs, a splenectomy nothing hurt as much as passing a kidney stone.

I wish everyone a happy New Year! Don't forget to enjoy the journey!!!

Cody

Skiing, Christmas and other stuff....SAT DEC 19TH 6:30PM

2009-12-20T01:30:00Z

Life in Vermont is great. I have a clear focus on what I want toaccomplish in the next six months and very few things are around todistract me. It's so quiet here and you're isolated in a lot of ways.It was amusing to have Fox sports come in to my living room to do astory on my recovery last night. If you guys are interested it will beairing on Wednesday night on the East coast.

My older brother Jesse will be coming home for Christmas! I called hima couple nights ago and asked him when the last time he skied was. Veryquickly he answered "February 13, 2006" I thought wow that's reallydepressing you know exactly when you skied last. Jesse had backproblems for years while he was on the national team and finally onFebruary 13th he couldn't ski anymore. He flew home from Europe and hadto have surgery on his back ending his career. I suggested that we bothhave our first day back on snow together. It's been a little longer forhim but it will be a huge day for both of us. He loved the idea and weare going to head up to Killington (where we both learned to ski) nextweek. It means a lot to me to have Jesse with me on this day and therest of my family will be there as well.

I hope everyone is doing well, Merry Christmas!

Cody-

CODY UPDATE -THURSDAY 5:12PM

2009-12-11T00:12:00Z

I just arrived back home in Vermont last night. I was in Colorado for a week watching the World Cup at Beaver Creek. It was awesome to see everyone and spend some time with my second family. I also stopped in to see TJ Lanning at the hospital in Vail. TJ is a good friend of mine who has been through a mess of injures in his career. TJ missed most of last season because of a torn ACL in January. While competing in his first race back in Lake Louise he dislocated his knee and broke vertebrae in his neck. Injures are a really hard thing to have to deal with as an athlete and TJ has been through more than anyone I know. TJ was so supportive and helped me a lot in my recovery while I was in the hospital so send all your healing powers to TJ.

One plus about not competing this season is that I dont have to travel as much. I forgot how much I hate flying. Checking in the first day my bag was one pound over weight. I could either pay $150 or take a shirt out of my bag. This stuff drives me insane! I did get to see Chelsea on the way home. We were in Chicago at the same time. We were both connecting, she was on her way to Munich. Chelsea will be in Europe training and racing for the next couple of weeks before she comes home for christmas.

The snow is starting to fall here in Vermont so it wont be long before I will be writing about my first day back on snow!! I will be waiting a little bit longer for there to be a little more terrain open at Killington before I head up there.

Cody

THE GREEN MOUNTAINS -- CODY UPDATE SAT 1:30 PM

2009-11-28T20:33:00Z

I'm sitting here enjoying a nice cup of green mountain coffee roasters made with my french press that I have in my room in Vermont. Luckily when I was younger I was smart enough to set myself up with the important things. This coffee is delicious! Its funny and a little weird to be moving back in with the parents at this point in my life. I have always been someone who lives in the moment and goes his own way. One of the things I have been struggling with in the last few months is my lack of independence. I have come very far in the short time that I have been out of the hospital and being around my family with their support and love creates a great environment for my continued recovery.

It is great to be back home in Vermont. I have traveled the world and spent some time in some very beautiful areas but nothing is like Vermont. Unfortunately there is still no snow in the green mountains and I will have to wait a little longer before I click into my skis again. Killington has been very supportive of my recovery. The day I arrived home Tom Horrocks called me, he set me up with a membership to the local gym and a season pass to the mountain. The support I continue to receive amazes me and does more for me than I can say. Thank you very much to Tom and anyone in the area should come skiing with me at Killington this season!

I have been enjoying my time at home but will be leaving again on Wednesday to Colorado to watch the World Cup at Beaver Creek. It will be a little weird to travel to a race as a spectator but I cant wait to see our boys in action.

NBC Olympics wrote an article on my recovery, if you guys are interested you can check it out

http://www.nbcolympics.com/news-features/news/newsid=372843.html#one+ste

Take care,

Cody

UPDATE FRIDAY 1:30AM - CODY

2009-11-21T08:18:00Z

Packing, packing, packing. Well, that's what I am supposed to be doing anyway. I have successfully procrastinated for the last three days so now I have one day to pack everything. That is typically how I operate when I need to pack for a couple month trip for skiing so I am confident I will get everything done at the last minute as always. Or I will make Chelsea do it for me. Sisters are good for stuff like that.

Chelsea will be coming back from Colorado tomorrow night and making the trip home to Vermont with me on Sunday. I haven't been home to Vermont since April and I am excited to see the family and spend the holidays with everyone. I will be In Vermont for ten days before heading out to Colorado to cheer on my team mates at the world cup at Beaver Creek in early December.

We received some exciting news from the doctor on Tuesday...

Everything looks good. She says I can drive. That's cool.... Oh, yea, and I can Ski!!

I'm thinking since I learned to ski at Killington and I will be with my family it seams like a fitting place to get back on snow. Maybe while I'm home for Thanksgiving.

I will keep you guys posted.

Cody

UPDATE THURSDAY 4:30AM - DRAVEN

2009-11-19T11:29:00Z

Hello All from Codyland,

I have spent the last couple weeks reflecting on our time since July 15th.

We first got the phone call from worm at 1 am about the accident, I remember having to calmly deliver the news to Jesse and while it was sinking in, I immediately began booking tickets to leave California at 5 a.m. We had no idea if Cody would be alive when we landed or not and from what we were told it was highly unlikely. We began making phone call after phone call and receiving phone call after phone call. "In the midst of this chaos, keep stillness inside of you" I remember repeating in my head several times so that I would keep level and calm for Jesse, friends and family calling on the phone.

I remember feeling every part of me tensing up as we exited the plane and made "the call" to see if Cody was still with us. Rushing to the hospitals 3rd floor, turning the corner and seeing everyone standing, sitting, pacing, cringing, sweating, with these looks of helplessness and desperation that mimic-ed ours. I remember just trying to get Jesse to Chelsea and them together to Cody. I remember absorbing the environment around me, the florescent lighting, empty used beds in the hallway, the families passing by crying dazed and lost in fear, I had idle conversation with whomever I was next to at any given time as we wore down the wax on the floor pacing back and forth, I'd listen to the double doors to the NCCU open and close over and over with no new words exiting to comfort, resolve or give us false hopes. Not knowing which one of the passing by families we would soon become. We were all just there, individually lost but together.

Then just as we went from minute by minute, we went to hour by hour, then day by day, moving to week by week and then month to month. We continue on going through the months and the motions, trying to make progress, achieve goals, and make the right decisions in this confusing world of recovery.

Cody and I have been charging through this together for over 4 months now and the day has come where we will be parting ways here on the 22nd Sunday of November. I have pushed for this and the trip to Vermont for a while now to happen and believe me it wasn't that easy, he is a stubborn booger sometimes. Though it will be undoubtedly more difficult for me as I have been the watchful eye, I feel it is the best thing for him to move forward in his recovery and to achieve his goals. I had many conversations with Cody about his recovery and getting on snow. He agreed about getting on snow of course but living with barb's turkey ankle wasn't so easy. I think it best for him to go to Vermont and get on snow so I became relentless about it and I set an absolute date and made him book a ticket. He needs to live and feel his passion everyday to move forward. He WILL NOT be racing but he will be on snow with as minimal risk as possible.

I think this is a key element to his future success in every aspect. Independence has been a theme for the past couple weeks with us although it is all with me supervising, he is doing it, He has been driving the car, again with me in it of course, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, going to the gym everyday etc. He is all grown up now and I will be an empty nester. Calling and nagging him, checking in too often, sending care packages, checking up on him through friends, inviting myself to visit whenever I want, You know, now that I think about it, I can't wait it will be so much fun to push his buttons. However, I think he will miss me more than he knows. I'm pretty cool and I let him beat me at chess

The good thing is we will see how it goes and we will go month by month. No decision is set in stone. He can go to Vermont and ski see how he feels and we will go from there. We will be playing it by ear. I will be doing all the things above, plus we will still be posting blogs which will keep all 70,000 of us together and informed as we move forward. He has several options and we will be exploring all of them together. So the next month will be difficult for both of us I think, yet exciting, I am looking forward to him getting on the snow and then calling me the moment and I mean the moment he gets off....

So for now until then,
Draven

INSPIRATION FROM DAVID GOGGINS -- MONDAY 6:00PM

2009-11-17T00:54:00Z

I was introduced to David Goggins blog through Barb. She shared this post with me which he wrote on July 14th and I thought it fitting to share. I posted this as he wrote it below. Draven

Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The Man in the Mirror

What do your really want?

Every morning when you wake up what is the first thing you think about doing. I'm not talking about work, family ect. I'm talking about personal ambition. What is it that you desire to do?
Think about that. Then think about how long you have thought about doing it. Next, think about what you have done in the last year, 2, 3 or 4 years to get you closer to that goal. For some of you the answer may be simple. You may desire to do something and work toward that everyday. For others, it is harder. Some of you may desire to do something that seems impossible to do because of obligations. Work, family, and finances, can all play a role in what we desire. I will tell you this though. You will only truely want something when you work everyday at getting that something. What I am trying to say is that if you wake up in the morning and your true desire is to run a marathon, if you don't think about that everyday and work toward that everyday, you will never get there. I believe in life you have to be selfish sometimes. When we get older and can no longer do the things that we desire, what then? If you want to acheive something you have to be selfish. You have to put that goal in front of everything else. When you wake up in the morning it is the first thing you have to think about. You have to say to yourself, what is it that I am going to do today to bring me closer to my goal? For some, it may be waking up an hour earlier everyday to get to the gym. For some, it may be putting back $100 dollars a month toward that dream vacation. Whatever it is that you want to do, work for it. It has to become a part of your daily life. Until then, it will remain a desire, or a goal. You have to be upfront with those around you. Let them know what you are expecting to do, what you want to do. If they don't understand or support it, so what?!? It is your goal and your desire! Do what you have to do to get there. When you do. It will be the best moment in your life. Most likely you will find that those who truely care about you want you to succeed. They want to help you acheive. Your mind has to overtake you. You have to be in constant pursuit. When it is all said and done with you will see that you were truely not selfish. Through your hard work and dedication you probably inspired some of your friends and family to do better themselves. A lot of people say that I'm selfish. Is that the case? I have been able to raise a lot of money for a good cause. So you tell me. Is the time and energy worth it? Why don't you find out for yourself? A lot of people say that they are the ones that have to look at themselves in the mirror everyday. Everyday when I see my reflection. I see a man who is not yet satisfied. What does your reflection say to you?

David Goggin

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE CODEMAN TODAY!!! - Draven

2009-11-15T22:55:00Z

Hello All !
So Cody was born on the 15th day of November in 1982....Here's what was going on as some of us know....

Happy Birthday Cody

1982 New technology continues to change our buying habits with smaller and cheaper electronic gadgets appearing, including the first CD player. A new industry is just beginning with the use of Genetic Engineering human insulin produced by bacteria is sold for the first time. On the world stage Argentina invades the Falkland Islands and Argentina and the UK go to war over a small island thousands of miles away. After many reports of Whales becoming and endangered species the International Whaling Commission decides to end commercial whaling, and a major recession hits the United States.

Cost of Living 1982
How Much things cost in 1982
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 6.16 %
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 1046
Interest Rates Year End Federal Reserve 11.50%
Average Cost of new house $82,200.00
Average Income per year $21,050.00
Average Monthly Rent $320.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 91 cents
New Car Average price $7,983.00
US Postage Stamp 20 cents
Vic 20 $299.95
Satellite Receiver $245.95

Technology
    •    First CD player sold in Japan
    •    The Weather Channel airs on cable television for the first time.
    •    The Soviet Spaceship Vanera 13 lands on Venus and sends back color Photographs
    •    20 million Elm Trees die in the UK through Dutch Elm Disease
    •    The First Commercial use of Genetic Engineering is Launched when human insulin produced by bacteria is marketed
    •    Times man of The Year is THE COMPUTER

What Events Happened in 1982
    •    Wave of Terrorist attacks in France by Carlos the Jackal
    •    All time record lows in dozens of cities throughout the Midwestern United States.
    •    Argentina invades the Falkland Islands / Maldives on 19th March , and the UK sends the Royal Navy, RAF and the Army and retakes possession of the Falkland Islands during the conflict the Nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano.
    •    HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano.
    •    Argentine Exocet missile sinks HMS Sheffield
    •    Israeli forces invade Lebanon
    •    Thousands of palestinian refugees in refugee camps in West Beirut murdered by Lebanese militia
    •    Israeli returns Sinai to Egypt
    •    The largest cash robbery in History occurs in New York when $9,800,000 is stolen from an armored car
    •    The First Issue of USA Today is published
    •    Disney Futuristic Park EPCOT ( Experimental Community Of Tomorrow )is opened
    •    The Provisional IRA continues it's bombing campaign in London and Mainland Britain
    •    Laker Airways the first of the low cost airlines operating out of the UK Folds
    •    Around 700,000 demonstrators gathered in New York City's Central Park protesting the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
    •    Michael Fagan Brakes Into The Queens Bedroom in Buckingham Palace
    •    The International Whaling Commission decides to end commercial whaling
    •    Tylenol capsules laced with potassium cyanide kill 7 in Chicago September 29th
    •    The Mary Rose, flagship of Henry VIII of England is raised in the Solent on 11th October and taken to Portsmouth Dockyard where it is preserved and on show to the public
    •    Channel 4 is launched in UK
    •    Lech Walesa, leader of the outlawed Solidarity movement is released after 11 months in jail
    •    Yassar Arafat elected the President of the Palestinian National Council
    •    Doctors performed the first implant of a permanent artificial heart designed by Robert Jarvik
    •    Severe recession begins in the United States.
    •    The world's largest oil rig ( The Ocean Ranger ) sinks in the north Atlantic
    •    The Serial killer Clifford Robert Olson is covicted and given 11 concurrent life sentences for the murder of 11 children in Canada
    •    Italy Wins 1982 World Cup in Spain
    •    Leonid Brezhnev the General Secretary of the Communist Party dies of a heart attack while in office.
    •    The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC is dedicated
    •    Gates connecting Gibraltar are opened after 13 years to allow pedestrian access to and from Spain
    •    Earthquake and a volcanic eruption at El Chichon in southern Mexico kills thousands

Popular Culture 1982
Smileys 1982 was the year a computer scientist ( Scott Fahlman ) from Carnegie Mellon University first suggested the use of Smiley or emoticon as a way of expressing emotion in an email

Freeware first used by Andrew Flueleman and Jim Knopf to distribute their application which allowed programs to be copied, in 1984 the distribution of this type of software changed from freeware to Shareware ( name thought up by Bob Wallace )
    •    Michael Jackson releases his second adult solo album, Thriller. becoming the #1 album of all time
    •    Graceland the home of Elvis Presley opens to the public
    •    The screen legend Grace Kelly / Princess Grace of Monaco dies on September 14th in car crash

Popular Films
    •    E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
    •    Rocky III,
    •    On Golden Pond
    •    Porky's
    •    An Officer and a Gentleman
    •    The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
    •    Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
    •    Poltergeist
    •    Annie
    •    Chariots of Fire
    •    Gandhi

Popular Musicians
    •    Human League with " Don't You Want Me "
    •    Bucks Fizz
    •    The Jam
    •    Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder with " Ebony and Ivory "
    •    Olivia Newton-John
    •    Vangelis
    •    Steve Miller band With " Abracadabra "
    •    Survivor with " Eye of The Tiger "
    •    Chicago with " Hard to Say I'm Sorry "
    •    Lionel Richie

Popular TV Programs
    •    Magnum, P.I.
    •    The Other Arf (UK)
    •    Dynasty
    •    Falcon Crest
    •    Hill Street Blues
    •    Only Fools and Horses (UK)
    •    Knight Rider

Born This Year 1982 (653 Famous people 529 are NFL Players)
Prince William
Andy Roddick
LeAnn Rimes
Kelly Clarkson

Major World Political Leaders 1982
Australia Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser
Brazil President João Figueiredo
Canada Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau
China Chairman of the People's Republic of China Post Abolished
France President François Mitterrand
Germany Chancellor Helmut Schmidt Till 1 October
Germany Chancellor Helmut Kohl From 1 October
India Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
Italy Prime Minister Giovanni Spadolini Till 1 December
Italy Prime Minister Amintore Fanfani From 1 December
Japan Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki Till 27 November
Japan Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone From 27 November
Mexico President José López Portillo Till 30 November
Mexico President Miguel de la Madrid From 30 November
Russia / Soviet Union
Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars Leonid Brezhnev
South Africa Prime Minister Pieter Willem Botha
United States President Ronald Reagan
United Kingdom Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher

UPDATE THURSDAY 11:30 CODY

2009-11-13T06:36:00Z

Being an injured ski racer this time of year makes you loose your mind a little. Normally I would be in Sweden preparing for my first race of the season which is this Sunday in Levi, Finland. I think this time of year is especially hard with all the excitement for the new season. I haven't been on snow for 7 months and thats already been far too long. I know I have been talking about patience recently and I think I have been doing a pretty good job of keeping my head on strait considering everything, like I said before I'm still learning patience.

Step one get stronger. Step three win ski races. Life is pretty simple right? Well, for me to get myself back to training with the US ski team is going to be the biggest challenge of my life. I have had large odds set against me in my career before as a ski racer and rose above them. I was named to the team when I was 23 and was told by the head coach at the time that he had no faith in me. Nice, huh? It didn't bother me much, I was there because I had plenty of faith in myself and I loved ski racing. I had plenty of time to prove this coach wrong. After spending a year with the ski team I scored points in world cups in Wengen and Zagreb having the best season of my life. I think my head coach had a little more faith in me, but I still didn't care... The point I think Im trying to make is that while I have been struggling in my own way in the last couple of months to find inspiration in anyway I can I have found two things. You can get inspiration from all kinds of things people, stories, experiences and they can play a huge role in helping inspire you. However, when you are really in a tough spot and youre thinking how the hell am I getting out of this I think that the true inspiration comes from yourself. If you have a passion for something give yourself up to it completely and good things will happen.
Also, who cares what people think? I never really have. There were plenty of people who told me to stop skiing years before I made the ski team. I knew what I wanted and I did what I had to do to make it happen. Im sure there are plenty of people out there who dont think I should continue with my skiing career. I know what I want and I think thats pretty rare. Im certainty going to go after it.

Are you guys wondering about step two??

Keep reading to find out....

Cody

THOUGHT IT WAS ABOUT TIME......SAT 6:30PM--CODY

2009-11-08T01:28:00Z

Back in Utah! It has been nice to be back home for a little while before the winter really begins. Chelsea came out to visit for a week before she left for Colorado where she has one more training camp before her race season starts. I also had a friend visiting for the week before she starts her job in Vail for the winter. It was really nice to spend some time with them and other friends in town before everyone starts going their separate ways.

I have continued to be busy with my training. Jess (my trainer from USSA) has me working hard here in Park City. I have dealt with injuries before in my career and they have all been difficult. Rehab always takes longer than you want and building back all the muscle you lost is a long slow process that tests your patience and passion for the sport. I had a knee surgery earlier this spring that at the time thought was a huge set back for me. After a couple months of hard work and rehab it was time for physical testing to see how my leg strength compared. On almost all of the tests I turned out to be stronger on the leg with the knee that had just been operated on two months ago. I was really excited with the results and couldn't wait to get back on snow. Of course I also thought, well this wasn't my fist knee surgery or injury, Ive been through this before and I knew how to put myself back together. Now I am looking at things a little differently. I have a much larger set back now then losing a little muscle in my leg. Lying in a bed for two months in the hospital results in serious muscle atrophy. It is a huge challenge for me just to get close to where I was before. Still, I think the same rules apply. Through the next twelve months of training to get myself back to competitive skiing I will try to remain patient and keep that passion for skiing alive. It dosen't matter how big the challenge is. If you know what you want you have to do whatever it takes to get the job done.

I am also in the process of figuring out what I will be doing with myself in the next few months. I have clear goals and ideas of how I will reach them, Its just a matter of where I will be living and a number of other things I need to think about in the next couple of weeks. I do have a few great options available to me so I'm sure things will work out great. What do you guys think, East or West for the winter??

Cody