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Managing the energy is key

December 3, 2009 03:18 PM | Posted by   Matt Hallat  

The excitement of the Games is definitely starting to build. Once the snow hit Vancouver’s local mountains and Whistler earlier this fall, it seemed people shifted out of their summer mode and really started to realize what is just three short months away.

The energy that has developed around Vancouver and Whistler is contagious and it gives me a ton of motivation going into the season.

It has also been amazing to watch the progress of the men’s and women’s alpine teams so far this year. I have had the privilege of training alongside them and watching them over the past few seasons, so to see them having such success early on adds more enthusiasm to what I’m doing.

A bit of anxiety

I am about a week from starting off my race season – finally! It has been a long summer, but a very successful one, and I’m very excited to get the first races underway. Those races mark the true test as to how your off-season has been. While I know what my times are in training, and I have a good idea of where I am capable of finishing, nothing counts until you leave the start gate for that first race. There is always a bit of anxiety to start off with.

All of those factors instill an amazing amount of energy within me and my teammates, and that energy will only continue to grow as we get closer to the Olympics and Paralympics this winter. When I think about all the energy and the distraction from our everyday routine I really have to focus on how that might affect me when the races begin in March.

I heard it best about a month ago from another athlete: you have to “manage the energy.”

This is not only key for the season as a whole, but also the Paralympic Games themselves.

I remember my first race in Torino very clearly. Downhill is the first event and it happens on the first Saturday, the night after the opening ceremonies. What some people don’t know is that for downhill we actually get three training runs, which happen before the official beginning of the Games. So for the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday training runs, I would rip around the last turn, make the steep descent, cross the finish line, stop and turn to look at the scoreboard to see my time and where I stood.

Race day (Saturday) was a little different.

It was cool to see the grandstands set up on the first training run, but after that day the novelty wore off and I hardly noticed them. But on race day, what had been an empty space of silver aluminum became 5,000 screaming Italians with air horns, bells and banners.

I can’t describe the feeling to you of ripping around the last corner, making the final steep descent and hearing nothing but cheers. The energy was amazing.

Using that “extra kick”

Needless to say this time around, with 5,000 screaming Canadians in the crowd, including all of my family and friends, I anticipate the cheers will be a bit louder. This in itself provides and incredible energy which can certainly help you as long as you don’t allow it to engulf you.

The first races are exciting. The first World Cup is also exciting. And no doubt the first training runs in Whistler, along with that first race day, will be something to remember forever.

I realize all of that, but what I need to remember that one of the keys to my success will be the ability to manage all of that energy and use it in the most effective way possible. Some people view that as pressure, but if I turn it around and am prepared for it and use it to give me a little extra kick, that incredible energy that is the “hometown advantage” will help me all the way through the finish line.

Managing the energy is key.

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