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Livin the Life...Part II Early January saw me was back in Canmore for a short ten-day stint and the last of the Canada Cup NorAm race series before heading to Europe. Teamed up with fellow National Team racer Sean Crooks I was able to stand on the podium for the second time of the year with a second place finish in the men’s sprint relay. Soon thereafter my plane departed for a trip that would take me to Amsterdam, Switzerland, Germany, Italy (twice), Austria and finally Slovenia. Judging on how the season had progressed up to this point I have to admit that while excited about the prospect of racing in Europe, I was a little apprehensive with regards to my ability to compete at the level necessary for success on European soil. After pushing too hard and after being in such good shape so early in the training season, I was simply running on fumes and was neither mentally nor physically ready to compete at the level that I am capable of. As expected Europe came and went in the same fashion that had characterized the first three months of my season. I struggled with a cold for the first two weeks however I was able to pull out a respectable finish in the 70km Marcialonga World Loppet Race. It is always disappointing to not be on top form but it is especially difficult to race well below your potential on European soil. While I did enjoy my time in Europe; the sights the food, the wine, I returned from the other side of the Atlantic the same way in which I departed, tired, frustrated and ready to call it a season. Upon my return to Canada I had just over two weeks until the beginning of the Canadian National Championships. I stacked myself with intensity in a feeble attempt to get some snap back but it was utterly too late to do much about my state of fatigue. I was simply too far gone to recover fully. The only way back was through a long break at the end of the competitive season. And alas….here I am….in the middle of the break that I so desperately needed. My goal going into this spring was to distance myself from the elite athlete lifestyle as much as possible. No firm bedtimes, no watching what I eat (or drink for that matter) and very little structure in my life are my main objectives until training begins in early May. This has been something that in past years I have failed to do but I feel that this year, the best way to recover from burning out is to put the fact that I am an elite athlete on the backburner for a while and live a normal life for a month or so. So far my time away from an athlete’s lifestyle, with the exception of a few choice mornings, has treated me well. I am having fun doing many of the things that I do not allow myself to do for much of the year. With no academic obligations this spring I am working part time. I have been alpine skiing a lot for the first time in a while and while a couple of nasty injuries that resulted from crashes on rails and off of kickers have put me out of commission for a few days, I am no worse for wear at this point and have plenty of time to heal my body before the real work begins. The only real training I am currently doing is pumping hard at the gym…a little obsession of mine. So there you have it my friends…. a synopsis of my season, a window into the gong show that has been my life as of late as well as some of the lessons I have learned from this year. There are always good things that come out of a bad year on the trails. For me the positive is knowing for certain that I have what it takes and knowing that when I am on, I am capable of reaching the goals I have set for myself. The trick is timing my peak and saving my top form for when it counts. I am looking forward to making both happen next year….but for now I still have a month or so to kick back and live it up…I have a feeling that there are some sweet times around the corner and know that if I can hold on it will be well worth the ride! Smoke Em if You Got Em!! Kates |
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