Hi all! I'm writing to you from Bozeman following about a month of sickness and what feels like setbacks. My body has been definitively "offline" and, in full transparency, training has felt really hard. I can't say this is a mental space particularly conducive to writing blogs, which are so often filled with wisdom or progress updates. But maybe more people than I realize could use a blog that talks about what it's like to be living through the tough stretch we're usually looking back on and reflecting about.

After dealing with multiple illnesses since August, I'm still trying to figure out what recovery looks like and what this all means for the winter ahead. I think this kind of uncertainty is especially challenging for athletes because so much of what we do revolves around having a plan. We love structure, measurable progress, and knowing what we're working toward. We spend months preparing for a season, thinking about what each training block will accomplish, whether we're doing enough, and how today's efforts will translate into results down the road. There's a lot of comfort in having a plan, even when executing it isn't always easy.

This year, leading into our fall training camp in Park City, the BSF Pro Team is reading a book called One Day Better by Jeff Troesch. One idea from the book that has stuck with me is the acronym WIN: What's Important Now? The idea of shifting focus from the pressure of winter goals to honing in on what you need on a daily basis is something I think we can lose track of amid all the goals and plans we make for ourselves.

And what happens when things don't go according to plan? When you don't know why things aren't working, or you do know why but have no idea how long it will take to get back on track? It's easy to get caught up worrying about everything that might be affected weeks or months from now.

This is a difficult place to write from because I'm not reflecting on something I've overcome or sharing a lesson I've learned along the way. I'm writing from the middle of it, without the benefit of hindsight or any real perspective on how things will turn out. And maybe that's okay. Or maybe I'm trying to convince myself of that as much as I am you.

For now, I'm trying to shift my attention away from what this season might look like and toward "WIN". Not what's important in a month, or where I hoped my fitness would be by December, but what's important today. Sometimes that's focusing on recovery, sometimes it's finding ways to enjoy being outside, and sometimes it's simply accepting that I don't have all the answers yet and doing my best anyway.

I still care deeply about the goals I'm working toward this winter and in my career. I'm just trying to remember that I don't have to figure out the entire season today. I'm thinking about what's important now, and feeling grateful for my coach, who's been patient, compassionate, and supportive throughout everything I've experienced since joining the team. I wasn't going to chuck any haphazard silver linings in here, because I think that kind of contradicts the whole point of not needing to "just stay positive" or focus on the good stuff when things are hard. But I can't help but notice that it's in these moments that you realize which people are 100% on board with your program, no matter what it looks like or how many podiums you've stood on. And to me, that's a silver lining always worth including every time.

‍