Pushing the "Reset" Button

Sometimes the best option in life is to stop what you're doing and start over.  It's refreshing beginning with a clean slate, putting past expectations, goals, and disappointments aside.  But as I recently discovered, starting all over again can also be incredibly difficult, especially when it means letting go of your plans and drastically changing course.

I am a ski racer, which means that the winter months should- and most often are- packed full of skiing, whether it is traveling to a venue, prepping for a race, training or competing.  From mid November thru March I am 100% ski racer.  This season, however, will not look like the rest.  It started as most have, on the SuperTour circuit in the western United States and Canada.  I came home for Christmas and then competed at a less than normal U.S. National Championships.  I was named to the U.S. World Cup team competing in Whistler, B.C. Canada and also to the U.S. Under-23 World Championships team, both teams I hoped to make.  After a cold Nationals I flew to Vancouver, B.C. and drove to Whistler to prepare for the World Cups, which is when my life began to change.

Since last spring I have experience sporadic rough periods of training and racing.  My immune system seems prone to illness and my body has gone in and out of feeling good during training.  I have trained a lot, certainly not too much, but I have taxed my body nonetheless.  The fact is, you can't expect to be a world-class ski racer if you don't train hard, and this inevitably promises both good times and bad.  In hindsight, this period was especially hard, and it will likely be the account that down the road I tell others, similar to the numerous stories that have been told to me over the last few weeks.  

The World Cup in Whistler was a continuation of this frustrating trend, just as several of the SuperTour races had been.  I didn't ski like myself.  My body wasn't firing the way it should, and I finally came to the conclusion that it was time to press the "reset" button.  It wasn't time to give up, give in or quit ski racing.  No, it was time to take a deep breath, sit down with my coach to reflect, release, and make a new plan.  In brief, that is what I did...

After the races were over in Whistler, I decided it was best to make a change.  Rather than getting on a plane to France for U-23s, I made the tough choice to go back to the drawing board.  I was not in the position to meet my goals in France, and it was unlikely I was going to make serious gains while I was there either, so I let go of my dream of a medal at Under-23 World Championships and with the blessing of all my coaches, booked a flight home. In Anchorage I could sleep in my own bed, train twice a day, and prepare myself to meet a new set  of goals.

In the interest of mixing things up, I chose to stayed in Whistler an extra two days with my Dad and my fun-loving relatives who had come to cheer me on.  In the time between letting go of my former race plans and beginning anew, I took the opportunity to rent some alpine skis and spend a day skiing the slopes of Whistler and Blackcomb with my family- a refreshing change of scenery and company!

Now I am back in Anchorage with a clear mind, a new "road map" back to my old racing self, and renewed sense of purpose.  I have let go of the frustrations that came from not meeting my expectations and have embraced the challenges of elite sport.  I have pressed the reset button.  Stay tuned...