Sometimes things just don’t go according to plan and you have to adjust your course of action. December has been one of those months for me. I have just finished the first period of World Cup racing in Europe, which started November 24th in Ruka, Finland and ended this past weekend in Toblach/Dobbiaco, Italy. Over the past 4 weekends of racing I have struggled to find any form resembling to my top race speed. In “Plan A”, I was going to stay in Europe for Christmas and keep racing on the World Cup after Christmas leading into the Olympic Training camp mid January. However, my plans have changed, disappointed with how I am currently skiing, I decided the best option would be to come home to Canada and spend Christmas with my family and friends. Being with your family is the best place to regroup and keep energy positive over the Christmas racing break. Training at home will allow me to put in a good training block and do a few domestic races at the start of January before traveling back to Europe to take on the World Cup again with renewed energy and hopefully speed!
Although this first period of racing has started off slower than I would have liked, I know that although I didn’t race to the results I wanted they aren’t that far off and I am certain that in another month that those 50th and 60th place finishes with be races that are putting right in the mix, battling for those top 30’s and World Cup points.
Some years everything goes smoothly and other years it doesn’t. This past summer had some bumps and everything took a bit longer to hit the benchmarks from the previous year but they did come. So here is to believing that it will be the same for the race season. I had the best races of my season last year the week before Christmas. This year maybe that delay, though frustrating at the moment, will turn out to be a good thing. We all dream of “peaking” (having your best races) when it matters most and this year that’s the Olympic Winter Games in February. After a frustrating uphill battle with racing this past month, I am more determined than every to train smart and hard this next month to be at my best come February 10th when the games start in PyeongChang.
I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who continues to support me on this incredible journey called World Cup ski racing. Progress isn’t always a straight line and your support in the hard weeks means as much if not more than during the highs.
As one of my friends reminded me last week, perspective is important. I posted this caption on Instagram. And my friend responded, changing it to racehorse -> cheetah.
Although I might feel like a turtle on the racecourse sometimes she is right, I need to remember that I have been training my body for this incredibly hard sport for years now and however slow I feel in the moment my body know how to ski fast and push its own limits.
So after another failed “Plan A”, missing my flight in London yesterday due to weather, I have now seen Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and the Big Ben this morning and then I boarded another flight 24hrs later towards Canada. Having just landed in Vancouver I’m only one flight from Whitehorse, a day later than the original plan, eager to see my family, friends and enjoy some skiing at home.
I would like to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season! I hope it is filled with skiing, family and friends.
Merry Christmas and I am looking forward to getting back to racing in the new year!
Dahria
Dahria Beatty 