I have spent roughly 15 Thanksgiving holidays in West Yellowstone. During that time I have never seen the town so dry as it was this time around. If it had been ten degrees warmer, people would have been mowing their lawns. During such an 'off' snow year, we have to make do by skiing up on the plateau, about a 20 minute drive out of town. Although sometimes treacherous, the drive was easy for all but the last day of this year's camp.
I spent the days there getting some long, easy sessions on snow. I had no plans to race as I really was not ready at all. I needed a few days on snow to readjust and sort a few things out. I needed to figure out just where I felt that I was in regards to fitness. After four long days of training I felt as though things were progressing and that i was ready for some sort of intensity. I had planned a workout for the last day but when we drove up to the plateau, several cars were off the road due to ice and it didn't seem like the way would be clear anytime soon. We headed back to town and settled for an easy run along the famed Madison river before making the drive back to Park City.
Park City is dry in terms of snow. The training was miserable. It has been cold and rainy off and on, which makes for ice. That makes for bad rollerskiing. I heard reports of snow in Colorado and made a call to former Rossignol teammate and friend, Josh Smullin, who lives in Steamboat. He said they had snow, so I packed my bags and hit the road.
Steamboat didn't have a ton of snow when I arrived but about a foot fell the first night I was in town. We got out for two workouts the following day, both in deep powder but both on skis, which was nice. My afternoon workout was even an intensity workout, the one i had planned in Yellowstone.
There was a decent sized race in Breckenridge planned for the weekend with all of the big western college teams attending, I decided that now as as good as any to jump in a race and get an even better read on my status. Initially I had planned on just one of the two races but I woke up on Friday morning excited to wear a bib again and registered for both... Soon after I made the drive to Summit County.
The first race was a classic one and a little off balanced for many reasons. I didn't bring any of my skis from last year, as I hadn't planned on any classic racing. So I had to race on some brand new, never skied on skis. I also hadn't done a bit of intensity on classic skis this year. In fact, I had only done one fast workout in the past 15 weeks and that was two days earlier, so I didn't exactly feel snappy or coordinated... But I was happy to compete and put in a solid effort, indicative of where I am right now. The following day, today, was a skating race. I was hoping for a little better but the effort was similar, feeling like I just haven't gone hard for a while... i'm just not comfortable being uncomfortable... nor was I efficient.
After the races I reflected on the efforts and am ok with the outcome. I can't expect a lot more but I can be happy to be making steps in the right direction. I am fairly certain that I can go about a minute faster in either race, given another week of training on snow. I am not concerned, I just need to be patient and smart about making those steps. I've done it before and I'm going to do it again.
I've been lucky to stay with another friend, another former teammate from the Maine Winter Sport Center, Justin Easter, here in Summit County. It has been awesome to catch up on life since we spent the summer squatting in a ski lodge in Northern Maine. Its awesome to see guys like Josh and Justin, motivated and positive figures in ski racing, taking the reigns as coaches for the next generation. Its cool to see them so passionate about what they have undertaken. I am sure that their clubs will be generating plenty of skiers for the future.
This evening we had a conversation about outlook on sports and a view that I hold as extremely important for any athlete. Its my position that the two of the most important things an athlete can have, mentally, are complete passion and love for the sport and the process of becoming better within that sport and a wider perspective on where sport fits in a greater framework of reality.
The first, a love for the sport, is extremely important. It is the reason why. Why do I train all these hours, why do I fight back from adversity, why do I move forward from failure to achieve a certain goal... love of the sport. It cannot come from external sources, it cannot be received from someone, it has to be a deeply personal and satisfactory experience. It has to be something you really, really want, above almost all else.
The second, perspective on where sport fits in, is most important during the tough times. An athlete must realize just how minor sport is. A bad race is a bad race. It doesn't mean you won't get dinner that night, it doesn't mean anyone will like you any less. Your friends are still your friends and the world is still round. People are suffering great atrocities around the globe and the Earth is being ruined, if an athlete wants to dwell on something they should dwell on something bigger than a bad day. A bad performance is a pretty minor in the grand scheme of things.
Its a tough dichotomy to swallow, but the bottom line is that any outcome in sport is a minor outcome in the bigger picture. A peak performance ought to be something an athlete seeks to achieve for him or herself. There will be no rapture or opening of the clouds on that day. It won't really matter to anyone but that athlete.
Its late now and I feel like I'm rambling. I'm really tired from the races and I need some sleep.
I'll leave you with a few pictures from the road. Thanks for reading. Z.
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