Bates Nordic Skiing: A Little "Me Time"

Returning home for the summer after one's first year in college is one of the strangest transitions to make. I came back from Maine to my beautiful home in Crowley Lake, California at the end of May to find that my life at home is much quieter than my life at Bates. The first few weeks were a struggle trying to re-adjust to "home life." Suddenly, I was hundreds of miles away from my batesies and the team I had come to call family. Instead, I found myself at home with my parents, cats, crazy dog, and old high school friends. I wanted out.

Eventually, I settled down, looked around, and was glad to be home. I decided that I would make these three months of summer productive in some way. At the beginning of the summer, Becky told us that this is an opportunity to try new things in our training and figure out what works for YOU. Finding myself alone for the summer, arguably as far away from Maine as one can get (besides our friends in Fairbanks), I thought that this was a great opportunity. I wanted to make it a goal to spend the summer doing what is right for me, so I stopped moping and got to work.

My mom, Nancy, spends her summers being my training partner (thanks, Mom!) and coaching high school kids for skiing. Our local ski club offered me a position as assistant coach and I jumped on it. Coaching the kids has opened new doors in my own skiing. Explaining technique to them has forced me to look closer at my own, especially when doing demos. Also, it's been so rewarding watching them improve and embrace an active lifestyle. We have an awesome group of kids (mostly boys) and they keep me laughing constantly.

In my own training, I've been finding lots of time to work on personal goals. Building strength (this will be a never ending goal for me), foot speed, and refining my classic technique have been the focuses of this summer. Beyond physical goals, I've also been working on honing in on my mental game. Being away from the team has been good for me to look inward. I've been practicing more yoga and have spent lots of time finding zen in the mountains. I've learned that even in the craziest of times when you feel yourself begin to speed up, you must slow down. My hope is that I can come back to school with a more balanced mindset towards training and school.

So it's okay to go home for the summer. When the opportunity is right, I think it's great to meet up with teammates to train, but it's also okay to spend some time training alone. Taking this time for me is only going to make me a better teammate in the fall (trust me, you wouldn't want snorel all year round). Before the craziness of the fall, take some time for yourself, a little "me time," it could be the best thing you've ever done for yourself.