It's all about timing

I love to Ski. That's why I ski race. There aren't too many things in life that I could say, "I would love that to be my job" Day in and day out; rain or shine; powder or bullet proof ice. The only thing that gets in the way of being a perfect job is timing.

We have to get on the lift at a certain time. We start out of the gate at an exact time. We get a time at the finish of a run to get judged on. We get one minute every four years to show the world what we are made of. We can lose a year because of something that happens in a split second.

It's the silence when you kick out of the start gate that makes all of the chaos disappear. It makes living out of a suitcase for 6 months seem easy. It makes below freezing temperatures seem normal. It even makes the saying, "I can't feel my toes" a common thing. And then when you cross the finish line, its the moment of truth.

When time is on my side, I have endless amounts of energy, and everything flows so easy. But when it isn't, the questions never end. It's the endless chatter in my mind that can be my worst enemy. I want to just shut it out and move on to something to else, but that's not how I can become stronger. Its a never ending quest to get time on my side.

I have to admit that I have had some of the best timing ever. My Olympic Gold was my very first international victory. Timing couldn't have been better. Then there is the bad timing, like almost every race last season.

It's really tough to remember the good, when the bad seems to cloud everything up. My teammate Resi Stiegler crashed a few days ago with another season-ending injury. That is what made me think a lot about timing. It's an Olympic year, and pretty much the worst timing to get injured. Being in the same shoes as Resi, and knowing what it's like to struggle with an injury, I can say its one of the toughest things to wrap your head around. For her it's three years in a row now. For me it was just last year, and I was still able to race. Even though the racing was painful and my results even more painful, at least I was able to live in my passion.

So I am thankful, and grateful for my health and being able to live my dream. Race season starts next weekend, and I am ready to get this show on the road! I feel great, and I am just waiting for my mind to follow. It's taking a bit longer than I had hoped to get my confidence back, but its there ... under the small blanket of doubt that I work on shedding every single day, is a defending Olympic Champion, ready to fight back! And get time on her side once again :)