A lot has happened in the past month that has really shown me the possibilities for my career as an athlete. I feel as though I've taken not just a step but a leap in some aspects of my snowboarding. Not only can I focus for ten runs in training, and for the most part not make any momentum robbing mistakes, I had one of the best days in my career when it comes to focus at the recent Noram at Steamboat Springs in Colorado. You can say the right things and tell yourself what you need to hear a million times over. But does it really sink in? Up until recently I'm not sure it did. I have always wanted to focus on my process, my run, my path. Yet couldn't help but see what the girl next to me was doing, or over think what my teammates were accomplishing. I'm not sure how it happened, but I am now only worrying about myself and what I can control.
Recently a new coach has been brought in, not new to the world of snowboarding but new to team Canada. Rob Roy is a Canadian but lives in the U.S and worked with one of the American athletes Chris Klug that went to the 2010 Olympics. Rob is very passionate and very knowledgeable. He's been working with myself and my teammate Ekaterina Zavialova and we've both made some great improvements in our riding. The key things I've been working on with Rob, have been level shoulders, moving my hips and legs horizontally while staying low on the board and 50/50 even distribution throughout the board, not being front or back footed. These exercises are becoming good habits in my riding, instead of having to constantly think about them.
Last week we had our yearly night race at Steamboat Springs. It's always fun to change it up and compete at night under the lights. The race started at 2 and we did our first two qualification runs to see where we would be seated in the finals. A few world cup riders were at this race including the 2010 Olympic Gold Medallist, Nicolien Sauerbreij from the Netherlands and the 2011 World Champion Hilde-Katrine Engeli from Norway. The points at this race were higher than expected. I did my first run and felt really good. I was focused on my breathing and on what I could control in my riding. Keeping my head up, level shoulders and good movement. When it was time for my second run I was surprised at how calm I felt. I always have a difficult time with the second run. I see the result instead of the process and I rush it. I had second run syndrome. I became that girl, but my mood was different. I was focused on what I needed to do and I crossed that finish line feeling great.
The vibe in snowboard racing is great. We all want to win first and foremost but we're friends and we want to see each other do well. When I finished two runs and finished them well my friends on the tour were cheering for me because they knew this meant a lot to me.
I qualified third and was ready for the night finals. In my first heat I raced against Belle Brockhoff from Australia and continued to stay focused on my race. I moved on to face a friend from the American team Madeline Wiencke. We had two close heats and I squeezed my way to the next round where I faced Nicolien. This was the first time that day, I started to focus on the wrong things. I was thinking about racing her instead of sticking with my plan and focusing on myself. Both runs we were neck and neck, but on the first run I made a big mistake and she got max penalty. Second run I either had to have the best run of my life or Nicolien had to make some mistakes. I did have a great run, I even started to pass her and as soon as that happened I remember my thoughts exactly, “'it's too close for me to win by max and move on but how cool would it be to win a run against the girl who won Gold in Vancouver”. As soon as that thought crossed my mind I lost my focus, I was not looking ahead, I cut off my line and crashed. Nicolien moved on to face Caroline Calve from Canada and I moved on to the semi finals to face Aleksandra Krol from Poland. I was disappointed but also excited about how I rode and what I can accomplish if I buckle down and learn how to never worry about anyone but myself.
I won the bronze for the day. I was super stoked with the accomplishments I made in my riding, but mainly the accomplishments I made with the mental side of racing. I really believe its 70% mental and I think I got a lot closer to that 70%
I arrived at Telluride in Colorado a few nights ago for my first world cup of the season tomorrow. I want to do well of course, but this year I want to stay away from putting so much pressure on myself. If I stick to what I did at Steamboat I think this could be a positive year.
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