Deep breath! It is a nice relief to finally have enough free time to just sit down in front of my computer without anything immediate on my schedule. As a winter athlete, fall season is pivotal in bringing everything together that you worked the last five months to build. All the gym strength, all the slow and deliberate shooting, all the long rollerskis staying focused on technique over the summer need to come together and contribute to the overall goal. Fall for me is about tweaking and fine tuning the body so it is running perfect come the end of November. Of course that means hard training but what is often over looked (even by athletes) is taking no risks, having a near perfect diet, and doing everything possible to recover and stay healthy. It’s not worth staying up late and getting a cold to lose an edge you've been working all year to gain. Some of the efforts I've made are that I've cut down my work hours, committed to proper eating schedule based around my training, and nap most days to make sure that I’m rested going from session to session and week to week. Proper recovery is underestimated by most people I talk to outside of sport but it is in fact one of the major components to performing. It comes down to lifestyle and doing everything you can do to improve. Recovery on a day-to-day basis is essential but also after completing a thirty hour training week, a full rest day or active recovery day is certainly deserved too!
With the season approaching, I’ll be heading to snow in a few weeks and have my first race at the end of November. North American Cup #1 (November 24-25) in Canmore will be the qualification race for the IBU Cup #2 tour (Estonia and Russia) which I am aiming to qualify for. But for now I am enjoying the crisp mornings and amazing fall colours for the last few weeks I can!
Cheers and thanks for following!
