For longtime LUNA Pro Katerina Nash, the 2012 mountain bike season has come to an end. Here is what Katerina had to say about this challenging year:
“During my brief off season between MTB and cyclocross, it’s time to take a deep breath and say thanks to the LUNA team and everyone that is involved. I feel like this has been the most intense season for all of us and we have had the best season we could ask for. Maybe not all of us as individuals have made it through the entire season as we hoped, but as far as the LUNA team, we were the top players and took over the podiums. From the very best training and racing fuel like Clif Bar products, to perfectly running bikes, smooth travel and large support from staff and all our fans we were able to step it up to next level and compete at our most successful season so far.”
“It was incredible to watch Georgia get the bronze at the Olympics and then the world championships. Catharine won the overall World Cup showing she is the fastest from March to August in a hard series of races. I got third (overall) in the same competition and added few World Cup podiums, which are memorable and inspiring. I had a strong start to the season and.. so maybe some of you are wondering what did happen to Katerina?”
“Well, I finally got some answers. Early this summer there were two things that made my hip hurt. Sitting on a bike and sitting on a plane. Those two things are essential to our job and with the Olympics coming up I pushed through the pain and increased after training icing and stretching. Half way through the world championship race I got shooting pain in my right leg when I landed off a rock jump. My body finally gave up and sent signals that it’s time to heal and deal with the problems. I was diagnosed with degenerative disk disease, which is not really a disease at all and actually pretty simple fix. After my pelvis and sacrum got twisted (another jump on my bike, long term overuse maybe) I was putting pressure on my disk and that disk was poking my nerve when under pressure. I’m off the bike and not competing in the next few cross races. I have to strengthen my lower back muscles, stretch some of the areas that suffered in the process and I’m definitely not allowed to sit by the computer ☺.”
“And so that is where my MTB season has ended. Instead of competing in the World Champ Eliminator race, I opted to go hiking with my dad in the beautiful Austrian Alps. There were still some blueberries this late in the year and they were very good. There will be more racing for me this cyclo-cross season and I promise to be good again!”
See you soon and thank you all,
Katerina
Katerina and her dad take a hike in the Austrian Alps
These would be the Alps
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Katerina goes on a walk with a few “vizslas” (“dogs” in Czech)
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