Hello from Derby, NY :)
I am back home after a hard and productive 5 weeks in Chile.
This is the last two weeks I’ll have at home before I am on the road for the next 6 months! (With the exception of hopefully coming home for Christmas.)
I usually feel a bit restless during September and October, but because our break in between camps is so short and there is a lot of things that still need to get done, I am feeling very busy and happy at home. The rainy and chilly weather has helped with productivity and my sister Mary (who is the only one home right now) has been providing great company and very yummy meals.
*My parents get back this week from watching my younger brother Andrew crush it at World Rowing Championships where he just finished 10th: If you want to follow his journey he also has a blog :) *
The last weeks at home in the fall truly feel like the calm before the storm. I use them to get in one last good strength training block, try to get on top of all the team logisitics, budget, planning etc. and also to mentally prepare for the season ahead.
My dryland training now is focused on POWER, and I have been feeling pretty good, although I will admit that I am very tired and sick of lifting at this time of year. There is always a bit of a motivational struggle with going back into the last gym block after summer on snow training, but the end is near! So I am using that to get me through :)
The team logistics are also going well. I think that Stef and I do a great job of splitting up responsibilities and communicating well with each. It’s pretty empowering to be planning our season on our own and to fully take ownership of our careers. This entails everything from hiring our staff, to coordinating where and when and who we can train with, figuring out lodging and transportation, managing our training load and schedule, coming up with a budget, fundraising, sponsorships and a whole lot more! Our coach Thomas helps a ton as well, and we ask plenty of people for advice.
Being fully in charge is a bit of a double edged sword. We are able to be super flexible with our planning and change things last minute if we need depending on training options, weather, what other teams are doing etc., which is awesome! But this also means that we are responsible if we make the wrong decisions! There is no one to blame or defer to: it’s up to us.
Stef is better at coming up with a plan, figuring out how to make it happen and sticking to it, whereas I am always looking for ways to optimize our training (or our budget:)), so together we make a good team! We were considering heading back to Chile for a training block becasue the speed training is so good down there and Europe hasn’t had much snow this summer, but we officially decided last week to stick to our original plan and will be heading to Saas Fee, Switzerland on October 5th for some final prep before the first World Cup in Zermatt on November 5th and 6th (two downhills).
I’ve also been using my time at home to mentally prepare for this season. I’ve talked a lot about on snow training and working out, but there is also a ton of mental work that is going on behind the scenes at all times. My mental game has been a big focus of mine the past couple years as I have started racing more World Cups as there is so much potential edge to be gained from a strong mind (in sports and life). I will definitely dive into this deeper in future blogs :)
Here are a couple photo updates: