In order to be the best athlete you can be, it is important to listen to your body, your mind, and your heart. It is easy to get caught up in the daily or yearly training plan and do what you are “supposed” to do, but if your body isn’t responding, or if you mind isn’t in it, or if your heart isn’t there, you will not achieve what you are set out to do.
I came to this realization a couple months ago and recognized that I was going through the motions day in and day out but I wasn’t physically or mentally in the game. Instead of just grinding through it, I accepted the fact that something had to change. Since then, I’ve switched up a few things such as my training plan- listening more to my body and doing workouts suited to the way my body is feeling. I’ve also worked on finding balance in my life- between training, work, and rest. And lastly, I’ve opted out of some training camps to get a change of pace. Things are starting to come around with these few adjustments. I am enjoying skiing, especially now that we are on snow, and my body is responding.
So, instead of riding in a van to West Yellowstone for the first races of the season, and not to mention the 7th year in a row, I am on a plane headed to Alaska. I plan to get a couple more weeks of training in before I kick off the race season in Silver Star, B.C. As I was packing today, I forgot what it felt like to pack for two months. No matter how hard I try, I never seem to be able to pack “light.” My bags always end up 50 pounds even! I guess it’s hard to pack light when you have 12 pairs of skis in your bag. Aawww, the joys of being a ski racer!
