Where Did Summer Go?

How is it already September?! This off-season has flown by. I've been in Dallas and working full time since April and training at Performance Vault since early May. The last week of July, I headed to a week long push camp in Lake Placid, NY. Other than that, I've been putting in the hours at the office and the gym, and now my pre-season bobsled events have begun. I am looking at the calendar and seeing my life in weeks instead of months, which means summer is over. I skip fall and go directly to winter. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.

This happens every year, just like summer break did when I was in school. The beginning of the off-season is great. No training. Just rest and recovery from beating my body up for the past 6 months of the season. We don't report back until October, so the next 6 months seem like they stretch on forever. About 2 weeks in, I start getting antsy. I'm ready to get back in the gym and start prepping for next season, but thankfully I have a trainer who looks at the calendar and sees reason. Jonny knows the plan, and he won't start training before early May so my body is ready for everything at the right times. I train in 3-4 week blocks, so May, June and July don't seem like they are moving very fast either. I'm definitely ready for new exercises by the end of the month. That brings us to August. We typically have some team activity in August/September that slaps me in the face and reminds me that the season is coming. Some switch in my brain flips, and I start to panic. "Oh no! There's not enough time! I need more time! It can't be the season already!" This usually happens about 8 weeks before I head out for another season on the road. In reality, that's a lot of time. 2 whole months. That's 1/3 of my off-season. "You're fine. Don't panic. There's plenty of time," I reassure myself. So I continue to train and then all of a sudden, it's time to pack for 3 months of travel. Time just disappears, then I'm on the road for more bobsled adventures.


September 9 was my last day in the office for the summer, and now I'm in Calgary for 2 weeks for National Push Championships. We normally hold push champs at the Lake Placid push track, but occasionally they are held here in Calgary. It's an annual piece of the puzzle in the team selection process. You have to compete in order to be eligible to make the National Team. We compete on an indoor ice start ramp where they collect times and speeds for each person. We have individual pushing on Wednesday of this coming week, followed by pairs pushing Friday and Saturday. The selection committee looks at these numbers when selecting the team. I keep improving every season, and I'm looking forward to seeing my numbers next week. No matter where I finish, I will do my best and see what happens. I keep reminding myself that I can't control all the factors and just enjoy the journey.



So here's my life for the next few weeks:
2 weeks in Calgary, AB, Canada, ending with National Push Championships
1 week at home packing and making final preparations for the season, and of course training
3.5 weeks in Lake Placid, NY, training, pushing, working on my sled, combine testing and 2 team trials races
2 weeks in Park City, UT, for 2 more team trials races

That brings us to early November, when the national team is named and that determines what happens for the rest of my season. I may go on World Cup tour or I may go on North American Cup tour or I may do both. I could be in Calgary, Whistler and back in Lake Placid before Christmas. We shall see. Until then, I am enjoying my trip to Calgary in the non-winter months. It's lovely to be here in fall with the sun shining and not a trace of snow in sight. It's fun seeing all my teammates again after so many months apart.