Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about what a privilege it is to so fully consumed by one goal that I think about it 24/7 from the moment I wake up to when I go to bed at night (and usually dream about it too). From pretty much December to April, my number one priority is how to get faster as skiing. I (mostly) love the race season intensity and the singular focus that comes with it, but it definitely has some pros and cons.
I’m not sure if this mindset is a good or bad thing, but I think its largely responsible for why I’ve progressed as much I have in ski racing. In the season it’s always “what more can I be doing, what else do I need to work on etc. etc.” And this mentality usually feels pretty good. I genuinely love working really hard at skiing.
But sometimes this mindset can also be pretty draining, especially when I haven’t been performing as well as I’d like. It’s hard to be working so hard on one thing and not be living up to my expectations for myself. I wrote in my last blog about having the speed and not executing, and this is what it felt like after Cortina too. But after a couple of days of reflecting, I’ve realized that Cortina was actually a really positive step for me.
My brother Connor (who made the weekend trip out from London with his friend Will) reminded me that only a couple months ago in Lake Louise I was hardly making it down the DH track and nowhere near in contention for top 30’s. And a year ago when I raced in Cortina for the first time, I was still lost about how to even approach a World Cup downhill.
But this year, I was able to execute and build off of both training runs (albeit a bit more passive skiing than I would like), and had a great first race run (honestly one of my best dh runs in a while). Unfortunately that first day Mother Nature wasn’t on our side, and it was hard for any of the later bib girls to make it in from the back.
On the second DH day, this was not the case and girls were sending it from the back and scoring personal best results in the sprint downhill (the start was lowered due to wind). I was super excited and confident for that second dh day, but skied too straight and made a big mistake costing me tons of speed which I paid for the whole way down the course. It was one of those races that could have been a great opportunity but I didn’t take advantage of it which always feels a bit harder to swallow. It was a good reminder that every World Cup race (no matter how many odds are or aren’t in your favor) is a huge challenge, and it’s important for me to remember this moving forward to stay focused and execute accordingly.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to race the super-g, as the US Team decided to give one of their younger athletes an opportunity to race the hill (I now have my own spot in DH but the SG starts are decided by the US Ski Team coaches). This was a huge bummer for me, as SG is definitely my best event, and watching form the side lines that day was very tough. It also was extremely motivating for me to keep working to be undeniably fast, so that next time I would be racing.
After Cortina, I immediately focused on training as hard as possible. But the next couple days I still felt especially down and struggled to snap out of my extremely disappointed mindset.
I think part of being a competitive athlete, or being solely focused on any one thing, is being able to constantly be working towards perpetual improvement. But this past week I realized that there is a limit to that mindset and sometimes I need to take a step back to appreciate the progress and remind myself to enjoy the journey (something I am usually quite good at while grinding!).
Luckily, this is the one week of the entire season where we have an actual training block of four days! So I was able to take the time to regroup mentally.
After some reflection, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s okay to be both proud of myself and disappointed at the same time, but to never forget to take the time to appreciate how lucky I am to be able to be competing. I know I’ll get to April and want to be right back where I am today, so I’m soaking in all the competition and grinding and highs and lows. :)
Right now I’m headed to Chatel, France for some Europa Cup DH’s and Sg! Here are some photos from the past week:
Now we have one day off and then into Chatel Europa Cup Dh Training Runs!
Race Season Intensity
.. fantastic.. and the photos are too !
Hi Trish,
What a very intense, interesting and exciting life. Enjoy every minute. Believe that God has made possible your ability to be excellent and this is how he has created all of us. Go forward only! Don't look behind you for your best is up ahead. But God...
Laurie K - xo