Saying Sayonara
Hello!
There has been some news making it's way around the grape vine about me these days and I just want to clear some details up - a few weeks ago I decided to 'retire' from skiing. It might be a bit of a shock to hear this, it wasn't an easy decision to make but I am happy with it and am very excited to explore new life opportunities!
I feel like the time for me to move on to the next chapter in my life is now. I was getting tired of always dealing with an injury (...or two or three) and I was definitely losing motivation for the long run. This was causing all my 'down time' to turn into 'doubt time'...and let me tell you there is a lot of down time. I was fired up for the big picture at the start of the year - one more year, give it all I've got, see what I can achieve, make the surgery (suffering) worthwhile - but when I zoom it into the day-to-day life I was having a hard time getting through it. The last training block was my breaking point, it was so hard to pull myself together for the workouts and I was tired of adjusting workouts because my knee is injured so I can't run, I can't skate or classic too much in a row because of lower back and shoulders issues, I don't want to bike because my 'saddle area' hurts from all the other workouts I switched over to biking, etc, etc... I know there were things that I could have worked on everyday to help with the injuries but my mind just didn't want to anymore. I guess, my attitude was getting negative about a lot of the lifestyle and the only time I was really happy was when I was physically out training with the girls - just breathing in the fresh air and having the sun on my face - and that's when I realized, "hey! I can feel this same feeling without being a full time athlete," So, once I realized that I just waited a few more weeks to make sure that it wasn't just a phase that I was going through and to make sure it was the real deal. When I got home for a visit at the end of July I realized it was the real deal and pulled the plug.
Thank you all so much for the support you have given me over the past years. I am very grateful to have been able to do what I have done - explore the places that skiing took me around the world, meet so many great people, learn so much about the world and myself both mentally and physically - and it wouldn't have been possible without everyone's help along the way. I really hope this decision doesn't come across as me being disregarding of all of that, because I am certainly not. I love the sport, I want to always remain involved in it and its community, and it will be something I'll enjoy for the rest of my life. In fact I have enjoyed a few casual classic roller skis already since retiring!
I am now narrowing down universities for nursing. I would like to explore this field and look more into the career of an NP or even a Psychiatric NP - I really like the human body and learning how it works along with how our brains are able to do what they do. It always manages to baffle my own!
Thanks for reading and for understanding my decision.
Hakuna Matata!
J
P.S. Might I just add that I had probably the best 'last race' that I could have had - I won a strictly-for-fun race called the 'JP Grand Prix' while I was home (yes, a ski race, on snow, in July) and stood on the podium above Perianne Jones (Canadian Olympian and National Team member) and Kristin Steira (Norwegian Olympic gold medalist)!!
It was a wee
little race (but with a big turn out!) set up by an old teammate John Parry in his very own backyard. He saved piles of snow under sawdust and tarps all summer and we all helped pack down a zig-zagy loop that we went around twice, I believe the fastest time was 41 seconds!
There has been some news making it's way around the grape vine about me these days and I just want to clear some details up - a few weeks ago I decided to 'retire' from skiing. It might be a bit of a shock to hear this, it wasn't an easy decision to make but I am happy with it and am very excited to explore new life opportunities!
Not the best quality of photo but this sprint race was my best international result of my career, qualifying 20th at World Junior Championchips, Estonia 2011. (The title photo on my blog is on the start line after this qualifier.)
I feel like the time for me to move on to the next chapter in my life is now. I was getting tired of always dealing with an injury (...or two or three) and I was definitely losing motivation for the long run. This was causing all my 'down time' to turn into 'doubt time'...and let me tell you there is a lot of down time. I was fired up for the big picture at the start of the year - one more year, give it all I've got, see what I can achieve, make the surgery (suffering) worthwhile - but when I zoom it into the day-to-day life I was having a hard time getting through it. The last training block was my breaking point, it was so hard to pull myself together for the workouts and I was tired of adjusting workouts because my knee is injured so I can't run, I can't skate or classic too much in a row because of lower back and shoulders issues, I don't want to bike because my 'saddle area' hurts from all the other workouts I switched over to biking, etc, etc... I know there were things that I could have worked on everyday to help with the injuries but my mind just didn't want to anymore. I guess, my attitude was getting negative about a lot of the lifestyle and the only time I was really happy was when I was physically out training with the girls - just breathing in the fresh air and having the sun on my face - and that's when I realized, "hey! I can feel this same feeling without being a full time athlete," So, once I realized that I just waited a few more weeks to make sure that it wasn't just a phase that I was going through and to make sure it was the real deal. When I got home for a visit at the end of July I realized it was the real deal and pulled the plug.
This is the quarter final at World Junior Championships in turkey,
2012 . It always excites me to see my name on the big screen like that! (I'm in the red in 4th spot)
Thank you all so much for the support you have given me over the past years. I am very grateful to have been able to do what I have done - explore the places that skiing took me around the world, meet so many great people, learn so much about the world and myself both mentally and physically - and it wouldn't have been possible without everyone's help along the way. I really hope this decision doesn't come across as me being disregarding of all of that, because I am certainly not. I love the sport, I want to always remain involved in it and its community, and it will be something I'll enjoy for the rest of my life. In fact I have enjoyed a few casual classic roller skis already since retiring!
A morning ski on the Dachstein Glacier in Austria with the Yukon Ski Team, 2010...
...and then the afternoon roller ski down in the village after a long nap. I thought it was suitable to wear our purple cow tights to ski with the cows. Mooo. (It's just blurry because I'm moving so fast...ha!)
I am now narrowing down universities for nursing. I would like to explore this field and look more into the career of an NP or even a Psychiatric NP - I really like the human body and learning how it works along with how our brains are able to do what they do. It always manages to baffle my own!
My first time making World Junior Championships was in 2009 in Praz de Lys, France and I was lucky enough to have my brother also make the team for the first time that year. Here's my bro chasing down a Russian in the pursuit race. David and I also represented Canada together in Turkey in 2012.
Thanks for reading and for understanding my decision.
Hakuna Matata!
J
Im'ma miss these sassy chickas! (AWCA girls team 2012-13)
P.S. Might I just add that I had probably the best 'last race' that I could have had - I won a strictly-for-fun race called the 'JP Grand Prix' while I was home (yes, a ski race, on snow, in July) and stood on the podium above Perianne Jones (Canadian Olympian and National Team member) and Kristin Steira (Norwegian Olympic gold medalist)!!
Needless to say, I
felt like I was going out with a bang :)
The podium had great prizes with hair products and tools from Joico (thanks Bill Parry), champagne to spray, a beautifully hand crafted wood medal (thanks Knute), and of course a bouquet of flowers. This is the most shwag I've ever gotten on a podium!
CBC was there to capture it all so they could play it as a segment for The National - Only In Canada, watch the clip here. It was a great way to bring the Whitehorse ski community together in the summer and it was perfect timing with having almost the whole Canadian National Ski Team attend!
Here is ColCol's lunge across the finish line. The stakes were high and I think the National Team guys forget what it's like to do a race 'just for fun'...all the more entertaining for the crowd though!
And of course there was a bit of a party afterwards.. :)
Ok for real now, thanks for checking in.
Adios!
J
