💜The TOP thing athletes forget when they get competitive

Hey Reader!

We’re 10 weeks away from Deka World Championships so that means a lot of athletes are entering a hyper-focused training block.

Invites are rolling out and it’s easy to get swept away in the excitement and prep…

Pause.

Let’s take a second to appreciate the process.

(Because above placements & podiums, the journey is what it’s all about in the end)

Remember the Fun & Celebrate the Journey

We dial in so narrowly that sometimes we lose the joy we initially had for racing.

It happened to me last season for a bit until I pulled my perspective back and took stock.

Most athletes start racing because it’s FUN and it made them feel accomplished, proud, strong, and athletic. THAT is a core aspect of your why, don’t forget it.

The journey is long and sometimes monotonous (hello zone 2🤪), but we can find aspects of training we enjoy and focus on those.

One thing I did for fun this year was learn a kipping pullup.

It's a skill-based move which took lots of reps, patterning, and time to get, but having that ah-ha lightbulb moment and a new cool skill I can whip out brought me so much joy!

Yeah, I don’t have to do them in hybrid racing, so it’s not going to directly help my racing, but it was something that brought me joy and made me a more diverse athlete in the process.

So maybe while you’re training the rest of this year (holy cow, only 3 months left in 2026!!) find something that brings you joy and use that to keep you grounded.

Knee Update...

I’m 19 weeks post ACL reconstruction!

I’m still working through the hitch in my ROM, still not cleared for jogging.
It is getting a bit frustrating going from “ahead of schedule” to feeling paused in process because of this small issue, but I know I’ll be stronger starting back to running if I can iron this out now. It’s just a lot of the same old, putting in the reps and waiting for it to smooth itself out.