From Countdown to Countdown

What do you do when Ogden gets a monster dump and you can't go South to pedal the bike...you ski of course! And that's just what we did this past weekend. On Sunday we had a bluebird day, lots of good friends, my madre, and even some leftover powder turns! After a whole day of tele-turns with a bunch of snowboarders, my legs were screaming. Especially after a bunch of squats at Bomber Athlete the day before! While my legs enjoyed the burn of bottomless snow, my soul enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air, and my brain enjoyed the break from life's stressful countdowns.

Powder Mountain Freshies

I have so many countdowns to important dates, I'm not sure how I keep them all straight! I have a countdown to my last day of PA school in August, graduation day in May (I know its weird we graduate in May with the entire school of medicine but our program isn't officially done until August!), my first race in March, and so on! But good news, I now have one less countdown. On Tuesday, March 1st I presented my masters project... and that my friends was a huge milestone in the grand scheme of PA school. I was very studious and stayed on task through the whole project, but I could never shake the anxiety that surrounded it. And even though I had a lot of other countdowns pending, the masters project took up all my energy and focus. Now that its over and done with I'm trying to take a deep breath and take in this amazing feeling of accomplishment! However, there is one problem...the next countdown date is fast approaching. In the angst of the last couple of weeks I sort of stopped looking beyond Tuesday March 1st. Well now its March 2nd and the next important date I'm counting down to is March 12th, Bonelli Park. AKA my first race of the season, AKA my first race as a true mountain bike pro, and AKA my first Pro XCT race. Oh hell, that's a lot of firsts! So just when I felt like I was making some headway with school and the anxiety was dropping to a manageable level, I realize that actually the stress was simply transferred from one thing to another.

Oddly, I think that I'll be more nervous for the race at Bonelli Park than I was for my masters presentation. Maybe because I knew deep down that I worked hard on and was prepared for my presentation, and I was going to be in a familiar setting, in front of familiar faces. Bonelli on the other hand in unfamiliar in every aspect. From the race course to pro race scene to the competition, its ALL new! I took a look at the start list today...lets just say my nerves are very reasonable. Not to mention I'm racing for a new team packed with successful racers and I'll be on a new bike. Whew--I'm going to be shakin' in my chamois at the start line!

Brandon tells me I'm a "glass half empty" kind of girl. Well he is definitely a "glass half full" kind of guy. Thank goodness! He is always positive when I second guess my ability to compete at the next level. I'm so glad he'll be there to calm my nerves, just like he does before every race. I guess until March 12th I'll do my best to scorch the stress by focusing on training (the one thing I can control) and leave the pep talks to Brandon. Oh, and I guess I could pass some time breaking in my sweet new shoes and pedals!

Thanks to Garneau

Gotta love the Crank Bros.