Big Leagues

A week of high pressure racing is over and I have the day off to update all my supporters before training starts again tomorrow. Over the last 4 days the World Cup Trials for the Canadian Biathlon Team took place in Canmore Alberta. The races took place on a paved track at the Canmore Nordic Centre on roller skis to name the top Canadians who would be representing Canada at the first World Cup in Ostersund, Sweden. The top man (behind two pre-qualified athletes based on their results last year) would be named to the World Cup Tour and the next 5 men would be attending the IBU (International Biathlon Union) Cup Circuit.

This is my first year competing in the Senior Men Category and it is an entirely different class to Junior. The competition was at a whole new level and these races were the best way to show me how well I have to perform for me to reach my goals this season. I finished the week ranked 8th overall, one position off qualifying for the first tour. The immediate emotion was disappointment. I have trained the last 11 years to be at this level and I trained the entire year with this goal in mind. Ive spent thousands of dollars and trained thousands of hours to get to where I am right now. Who wouldn't feel unrewarded?

But rewards come to those who earn it. This morning I had two options. I could accept that I tried my best, or I could realize that everyone tries their best, and my best needs to be better. Ive trained hard all year, but so has everyone else. Ive spent thousands of dollars, so has everyone else. Ive made sacrifice, been disciplined and dreamed big.
So has everyone else. Of course everyone goes hard, its a standard for any professional in any sport. My next step in my athletic career is stepping out of my comfort zone. For me this means been meticulous with my training. Its too easy to skip the small details, but together they can make the difference between where I am and where I want to go. I have come to a point where I need to make every little detail work to my advantage. Despite the recent heart break, I feel awake and ready to improve. I have the skills, I have the training base, I have the coach, I have the motivation and I am in the best shape of my life. This week really showed me that I could either 1. simply wonder why I didn't perform well enough to make it, which would probably result in a bitter mood and loss of motivation or 2. I could figure out exactly what details I need to change in my training and racing and start improving them.These are the big leagues and its time to go big or go home!

Thanks for following,