Well as most of you may know I am officially back in Calgary for the start of the 2019/2020 Bobsleigh season. The summer flew by; I made pretty good use of my off-season though and am feeling confident and excited about what this winter has in store for me. This post may not be as informative and exciting as the last but I figured it was time to give you all an update and reassure you that I am still alive… Bobsleigh hasn’t got me yet. I decided to go sit in a coffee shop to write this because, well it beats sitting in my room all day, and if I am not there I am at the gym. So I’m hoping that maybe being in a different environment I will meet new people so I’m not so bored in Calgary. I mean yes I get to decide how I feel but it’s hard to motivate myself to go out and adventure alone. Its much more enjoyable with a buddy. So far though I haven’t seen anyone under 50 in here so I don’t think ill be finding a sky diving, or hiking buddy in here haha.
Ok but in all seriousness I did want to talk about the kind of life most athletes live. It is a challenge to have a life outside of your team and family, or at least this is what I’m finding. As athletes we spend so much time bettering ourselves, moving towards our goals, and focusing on how are body is preforming and recovering that it can be challenging to find the energy to invest in relationships out side of our daily realms. So we build a family within the team because we are together a lot of the time. We don’t have to figure out each other’s schedules to make time for one another, we can hangout at meals or in our houses or rooms that we share. I have found that many of my relationships have fallen to the side. Not necessarily because I chose that, but just because life got to busy and the relationships became to time consuming or pulled me away from what I needed to be focusing on. To exert unnecessary energy is not appealing to anyone, let alone someone who has decided to dedicate all their energy to one thing. Its not to say I don’t think about those people anymore, or wonder what it would be like had I kept up with them or not fallen off their radar. There will always be a part of me that will wonder what if, what if we were still friends, what if I was still dating that person, what if I had given them more time. But I can’t think those things for to long or I start to mentally drain myself, so the thoughts pass and I go back to my small (amazing) bubble. I really truly love all the people who I’ve let into my bubble, and I wouldn’t be where I am today if they weren’t such amazing, understanding, supportive, fun, loving human beings.
Sometimes I like to think about it like this, if the world was flooding and I had a boat but my boat could only hold 20 people plus myself… who would I take? (I would say 20 is generous). Well I would take the people who build me up, who’s relationships don’t drain me, who’s love is unconditional, and who I enjoy spending time with. My family piles in, my handful of best friends jump on board, and by then my boat is over half full. So I’m left with maybe 5 spots, and I have to choose those people carefully. So now it’s your turn, think about who is on your boat. Are you willing to sink your ship for the extra people sitting on your boat eating your food? It’s not meant to be a negative exercise, just one that makes you think.
So for now I will leave you with that! I have a big couple of weeks coming with push camps and physical and push testing. I will be sure to let you know how it all goes and what my season is starting to look like as soon as I know.
Hugs,
Kenz