What to Read When Reading is All You Can Do Because You're Sick or Injured and Have To Stay On the Couch (The WORST)

This was my car when I moved this summer.
The problem is real people.

I'm probably one of the biggest book nerds you'll meet. I mean come on, in my free time from skiing I work at a bookstore in Ketchum (Iconoclast, absolutely fantastic place).  I have shelves and shelves and SHELVES of books in my house, I'm known to bring 5-6 with me on any given ski trip, I love recommending books to people, I devour multiple books at once, I update my GoodReads profile more than my Facebook profile, I book hunt in every town we travel to, and also if anyone wants to start a traveling ski book club I'd be totally in.

So basically when I'm injured and out of the ski game, its pretty easy to say I do a lot of reading. This whole intercostal-rib-strain thing (slight bump in the road, lolz) has really let me take some time and gain some perspective, but not without a few incredible books to help along the way. And I feel like it's only fair if I share them with you, in good old-fashion book nerdy way. Then we can have book club about them, duh.

Numero Uno! Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck

Some of you might recognize Carol's name through her work with the U.S. Ski Teams in sports psychology. We studied this book in college and I always go back to it mid-season as a refresher. Dweck has developed the theory of the two mindsets: a growth mindset and a fixed mindset.   In the growth mindset, if we firmly believe that our hard work can create results, we have a better chance of fighting through setbacks, improving, and reaching our goals, no matter whether we have "innate" talent or not. When we get bogged down in the fixed mindset (the idea that what we're born with is what we have forever), we are less motivated to try and more likely to ignore useful feedback given to us by coaches and teammates. The growth mindset fosters a love of learning and the acknowledgement that the road might always not be easy, but hard work pays off. This book is a great read with excellent studies and examples, applying the mindsets to all aspects of life.

Numero Dos! The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials Into Triumph by Ryan Holiday

This book was recommended to me by fellow skier Annie Hart (Thanks Annie!) and I loved it. Holiday does an awesome job at finding characters that demonstrate the philosophical principles of stoicism, Marcus Aurelius's theory of enduring. Holiday lays out three steps to turning an obstacle around to overcome itself: perception, action, and will. What makes an obstacle "an obstacle" is our negative perception of it. When we act to control what we can control, we treat the obstacle as an opportunity to improve. We use our will to persevere in hard times, and this turns our adversity into an advantage. This book is great for whenever you feel stuck in a rut and aren't sure how to turn things around. The examples he uses range from Ulysses Grant to Amelia Earhart, and help to apply the theory to sport as well as business and life in general. 

Numero Tres! Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better by Pema Chodron

This was originally a commencement speech given by Pema but has been turned into an great little book and interview. A quick read, this book teaches us that when we fail, if we spend time absorbing and accepting and experiencing the feelings we associate with failing, the next time we make a mistake or something goes wrong, we won't feel quite as estranged and it will be easier to move on, accept, and learn from it. Pema stresses that our failures should not be treated as extensions of ourselves, rather as mistakes that happen along the way. This book is particularly great for skiers because we tend to take our failures very personally. After putting in hundreds of hours each year, it's hard not to let disappoint slam you into the ground. By being curious about our gut feelings that come with failure, we learn to externalize the mistakes and keep pushing.

Well, that's all for now folks. Go read these three books and let me know what you think. As for a health update, my ribs are still sore. Turns out I did quite a number to them. But I've been spinning on the bike (which allows for even more reading, pros and cons, people) and am going to try to ski tomorrow and see how it goes. The rest of the season is up in the air right now, which can be the worst feeling ever, but I think what happened has allowed me to figure a lot of things out. Hopefully I'll be able to get back out there sooner rather than later. 

Ski fast, work hard, stay positive, and absorb those feelings. 

Seeing Through the Frustration

I'm in the process of updating the pages on my blog (as well as writing a new post) and let me tell you this, nothing is more depressing than writing DNR (Did Not Race) next to almost every single race so far in to this season.

frustration 

frəˈstrāSH(ə)n/  

noun: 

the feeling of being upset or annoyed, especially because of inability to change or achieve something

OR

the prevention of the progress, success, or fulfillment of something.

synonyms: disappointment, vexation, exasperation, derailment

Frustration is an excellent definer when trying to talk about this race season (or lack thereof). I'd be lying if I tried to say I've been okay with it or that I've been positive throughout it all.  

Thanks MTU Athletic Department for the sweet kinesis-tape job.

After a great training camp in Canada, I came down with what seemed like a brief head cold, but lasted for an entire month, resulting in harsh, endless, dry coughing. When that cleared, my ribs were left feeling sore. I blew it off, excited to finally be skiing and trying to play catch-up with the season I'd missed so far. But skiing only made things worse, and last week I was forced to face the horrible-sounding-music: I've strained some of the intercostal muscles that run between my ribs. It hurts to take a deep breath, breath fast, twist, reach, pole, and basically, to move.

Who the **** strains muscles in their body because they've been coughing so hard for so long? Apparently me, so that's cool. 

After talking with Colin and Rick and Tom Jorgenson, who all offered endless support and a listening ear, we agreed that the best move would be to sit out on Nationals and head home to heal and relax.

As a professional athlete, racing is only worth it when you're at your best possible fitness, basically within feeling 5% of 100. Because we aren't skiing for mediocre results anymore, the only ones that count are the best ones. And if you step out there knowing that something can hold you back from performing your best (whether mental or physical), you might as well not even step out the door. Our racing reflects the work that we put in, but also the work our coaches, techs, teammates, and support systems put in as well, and we strive for positive results that reflect on everyone.

But being sick and injured for so long takes a toll on an athlete's mentality, as most of you probably know and might have experienced. It's really really hard to think back on all of the workouts you've done and feel that they're for nothing. You've worked your butt off all year, waiting for these moments, the moments where it shows and pays off, and then those moments are pulled out from under you because of things you can't (usually) control. It's honestly embarrassing to not be able to race because on paper it's just "a head cold" or "a strain", and to any doctor or any other person there are so many worse things in the world than what you're going through. And it's no fun to watch everyone race and fuel the competitive energy that runs within you, when you can't use it. You find yourself second guessing it; "Am I really coughing that hard? I haven't coughed in the last hour, maybe I can race..." or "Ooh well if I pole leaning to the right my ribs hurt less, I can do that for a 10k right?" or "This all must be in my head."

But I think part of what brings elite athletes to the level they are at is their ability to deal with setbacks and still find some silver lining or positive ending through it all.  We all have our moments of doubt and uncertainty, I'm not going to lie. And it's way easier said than done to put on a positive face and focus on the future when you're thinking of the opportunities you are missing and the work that's going to waste. But in the grand scheme of things, this is just like a hard workout, and if you come out of it mentally stronger, it makes you a better athlete overall. If you let it break you and throw you down, that's when the sport wins. 

So, while I'm letting these ribs heal, I'm working (as hard as I worked on my physical strength all year) on my mental strength. Forcing myself to think positive thoughts. Reworking how my brain is wired to view training and the season ahead. Finding ways to be excited about skiing again. Because there still are a lot of races left in this season, but if I don't think positively and productively, I won't see any of them. 

pos·i·tive

ˈpäzədiv/

adjective

1. with no possibility of doubt; clear and definite

Some positives in life right now:

"I've never spent Christmas with a BOY before!" 

Zelda Fitzgerald, Mrs Neuman, and Nina Clifford in real life 20's St. Paul CLUE!

I'm obsessed with Christmas. So naturally we had to get a tree.

..which Earl proceeded to treat like his own personal "fort".

It snowed and snowed and SNOWED in Sun Valley.

Reunited with my brothers after wayyyyy too long.

Family christmas in the new house :)

Love spending time with best friends spread across the country.

Snowy Hayward brought back memories of the summer I lived there.

Not to mention... River's Eatery PIZZA!

Ski Camps: The Importance of Training With Others

Ski camp!

Ski camp with F.A.S.T. Performance Training circa 2012

Glorified throughout the high school days, we packed up what seemed like all of the athletic clothes that we owned and headed to stay in the woods for a week and train more than we thought comprehensible. We worked our butts off, because that's what we were told to do. We goofed off and played games and always found some mischief to get into, and stories from each camp circulated for the rest of the season. We came home incredibly sunburned and pretty exhausted but full of memories.

What did we learn? How to train a lot and love it.

Ski camp with F.A.S.T circa 2012

Ski Camp with Minneapolis Ski Camp circa 2010

In the elite, collegiate, and professional world, ski camps are part of the deal. The routines are similar to the camps of the old days, but on a whole new level. Camps now mean flying or driving across the country (or the globe) to spend somewhere around two weeks doing nothing but eating, sleeping, and training. (Oh, and texting/calling the loved ones at home.) They mean leaving the comfort of home to live on top of each other in houses or hotels, sneaking in laundry when possible, and spending hours of recovery trying to make up for the hours of training.

So why do we do it?
Lots of reasons.

1. To get on snow.
Some camps give us the opportunity to train on snow in the middle of the summer, a crazy unique but incredibly helpful experience, because they kickstart our bodies into understanding and correcting the differences between snow skiing and roller skiing. Plus who doesn't love skiing in shorts?

Examples: The Eagle Glacier (AK), The Haig Glacier (Canada), The Dachstein (Austria) and the New Zealand Snow Farms.

The Haig Glacier in July

2. To lower (or raise) our altitude.
A lot of research has been done on the differences in training and living at altitude or at sea level. When we train/live high, our bodies are used to recovering on less oxygen, so when we head low, we deal with muscle cramps from the sudden flow of oxygen. On the other hand, when we train/live low, it's harder to breathe when we head high. Because U.S. Nationals and a significant portion of the SuperTour circuit is at sea level this upcoming season, it benefits us to get our bodies accustomed to skiing hard at ski level. Example: The U.S. Ski Team Camp at Lake Placid, NY (sea level) and the U.S. Ski Team Camp at Park City, UT (higher altitude)

3. To ski around others. 
Skiers learn a lot from each other. We watch each other, we help each other out on technique, and we challenge each other in each workout. When you train with the same people every day, it's refreshing to thrown some new training partners into the mix and shake things up a bit. Different eyes see different issues, and the coaches from other teams have become really good at helping everyone.

Skiing in trains helps mimic racing - when the pace changes you learn how to hold on!

4. To get out of your comfort zone.
It's incredibly easy to tell yourself that you can get the same training if you stay at home and just do the same workouts. But that isn't the point. The point is to pull yourself out of your usual training environment, because you won't always be racing at home.

See here's the thing: what happens at ski camp doesn't stay at ski camp. What happens at ski camp prepares you for the big days, the tough races, the down-to-the-wire race finishes. When you're in the middle of a blasting-fast interval that makes you feel like you can barely hold on and you look over and see somebody who will be your competitor come November through March, your brain and body learn that skiing with them is do-able. You have to get out of your comfort zone to expand it, and training with people faster and better than you is a great way to do it. Then when you catch yourself skiing with them in a race, you won't think to yourself, "Oh sh**, what am I doing?", you'll think, "Yes, this is normal. It might not be easy, but it's normal."

If you challenge yourself you raise the bar on your "normal". And that's how you get better.