The past few days have been the most amazing learning experiences. Not only did I get to experience what the real world cup atmosphere feels like, I learned a lot about myself and the way I function best in competitive atmospheres. Three days ago my coach unexpectedly told us that three girls (myself, Nat and Devon) were forerunning the Lake Louise Women’s World cup Downhill the next day and were leaving that night. Even though I had competed at the NORAM level downhill races last year and had run almost the exact track last year, my stomach dropped and I became very nervous. This would mean that I was running my first downhill of the year AND my first race back from tearing my knee along side some of the best athletes in the world. For some reason, my emotions got the best of me and I started doubting myself. I started to second guess myself and wonder if I was really ready to race; let along race a downhill traveling at speeds up to 125 km/hour. Could my knee handle it? Watching the mens world cup made me even more nervous. It looked bumpy and extremely icy and a bunch of the top speed skiers even made comments on how difficult the track was this year. I broke down, but luckily my teammates started to pick up on the fact I was a little nervous about my knee with downhill and with their help and support I came to my senses and realized I would be just fine. They reminded me that I was skiing really well in super g in the previous days and that my knee is the strongest its ever been. I then turned to my favourite sports psychology book that had helped me through tough times with my injury. “Mind Gym” is full of inspirational quotes and mental training ideas to keep the mind positive. After all, “90% of the game is half mental”-Yogi Berra, and “You have to train your mind like you train your body.” –Bruce Jenner.
Once I arrived in Lake Louise I realized we weren’t forerunning the race that day and that we were just “test pilots”, and that tomorrow was really the first day the world cup training was starting. Nat, Marissa, Devon and I were the only four to ski the track on Monday while the 120 volunteers for the race observed and slipped the course. If there were any problems with the course, we were to tell the people at the bottom so that they could make decisions based on safety for the real training day. We started from the top of the downhill and got to ski the whole course without timing which was a relief. I wasn’t sure I was ready to through down an amazing first run so I took it easy and made sure I had the right line and was in the right position. The top was really bumpy and rock hard ice but I managed to make it down alive. The course was a lot less fast then I remembered but then again I wasn’t tucking much. When I got to the bottom I was relieved but at the same time wanted to do it all again; that’s when I knew I was in the right place. Tuesday was the first ‘real’ training day and I was a little nervous but feeling a lot more confident on my skis. As we inspected I took my time and made sure I knew exactly where I made mistakes the day before and needed to make changes to be faster. Luckily, the moved the start down because they felt the top section was unsafe for the women to run. We started lower but still, standing in the start gate with skis longer then you can reach is nerve racking. Funny thing is, I was totally relaxed and ready to take on whatever the course through at me. When I leave the start my mind is immediately cleared of all thoughts and emotions and is in race mode. Although I think fast, and my body reacts fast; in speed, you have to tell yourself to relax and be smooth on the edges. During the race I don’t feel anything; let it be pain, freezing cold wind in my face or fatigue in my legs from the long course. But as soon as I cross that finish line everything comes back. This is the feeling of adrenaline I live for, and for some reason I thought I would lose the love for this sport when I had taken time off for injury; but just the opposite happened. I have become more in love with the sport now more than ever and I push myself every run to become a better and a faster skier.
Everyday is more fun than the last. Yesterday I spoke with Lindsay Vonn about her run and today I realized I wanted to really compete at the world cup level someday. It always had been a dream of mine but for some reason, today more than ever I realized I was closer than I thought to achieving this dream. I ran the straightest line I could and jumped in the bullet whenever I got the chance. My knee felt better than new. One last quote that stuck in my mind this week says, “You must be 100 percent committed to each action. If there are doubts in your mind, your muscles won’t know what to do. Let your routines switch you from the thinking mode to the trusting mode.” –Harvery Penick
Hope this makes up for the past missed days I haven’t been able to blog! Pictures to follow....
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