Coming Down from the High - Altitude, NCAAs, and a Great 4 Years

And just like that its over! NCAAs, SLU (until April maybe), and my SLUSKI career. It is comically difficult to encapsulate four years with so many friends made, ups and downs, dreams come true, goals left unfulfilled, life lessons, laughs, and calories (LONG LIVE DANA DINING HALL!). However, I am going to try! The past few days have involved a lot of thinking as I come off the high of Bozeman's altitude, NCAAs, the excitement of skiing through bison in Yellowstone, and the best college career I could have asked for. This is a long one, but perhaps in the age of social distancing, you won't mind. 

First off, I want to send out my heartfelt gratitude to everyone that has been on this journey. I usually leave this for the end, but you're all too important. From alums all over that send their best wishes, to other EISA coaches that give splits, to the other athletes in the best ski league on the planet, to parents, to the Townsends and Gwen who host us again and again, to Meghan (our amazing sports information specialist), to Brian (our athletic trainer that has put most of us back together more times than we'd care to count), to my friends, to my family, to Liz, Kyle, Bob, Jordan, Dana, and ETown, and to my incredible teammates, thank you, for everything. 

When I first came to SLU, racing at NCAA's was the top of my long-term goal pyramid. Out of high school, I wasn't wanted by many college teams, and I had no idea what to expect. So, I just made some stuff up to fill in the rest of the pyramid, as one does. I figured I should make it look like a linear path to the top. Well, as probably anyone but freshman me could have guessed – it didn't quite end up being the straight up journey I hoped for. I started out well enough, making the top 20 in my first carnival weekend rather than my junior year (never count yourself out!), but then things got a bit murky. Sleep deprivation, perfectionist pressure, anemia, a loss of the joy of skiing, and performance anxiety beat me down more times than not. Sure, I would have loved to have had some better results in the middle of my career there (who wouldn't), but getting the chance to have this year, with this particularly amazing team, was truly the icing on the cake. 

Freshman me just picked some random stuff to put underneath NCAA's, because I didn't really know how to make it happen

“If it doesn’t hurt, then you don’t get the fast” - The NCAA Chapter

Two weekends ago, ETown, Dana, Jackie, and I headed out to Bozeman (along with Riley and Coach Willi of the alpine team). Expecting mid 50's and sun all week, we packed a lot of t-shirts. Instead, we got a taste of a West Coast East Coast Spring! It is just like Spring in the East – unpredictable and occasionally unpleasant – but in the West! The change in weather was actually really nice, though, because it was much easier to race in. The altitude already made it a bit tough! Bozeman wasn’t too high, but Crosscut, where the races were held, was at 6100’. ETown assured me it would not be noticeable. It was noticeable :) But as one of the guest speakers at the banquet (on Tuesday night) said something along the lines of, “If it doesn’t hurt then you don’t get the fast.” He is from Norway, and while his English was awesome (and way better than any second language I could speak), it was not perfect. Nevertheless, I haven’t heard anything so true in a long time!

Yes, that's a lot of baggage fees (Riley & me - Dana photo)

Quite the crew! (Jackie, Dana, me, plus former SLUSkiers Kyle and Eric) (ETown photo)

Gang on a sunny afternoon! (Jackie, Dana, & me)

My first race was not until Thursday, so we spent most of the week getting to know the course, going out to eat, eating awesome food that ETown made, and eating awesome food at Graham’s house! Lots of eating. Thank you so much to Graham’s parents for having us over on Monday night. It was wonderful to see their beautiful home, meet Heidi (an awesome SLU alumna), meet Ginger the dog, and eat amazing food. I particularly loved the tapioca pudding! Graham's parents were wonderful and were warm company in a week of crazy news. Overall, though, things were very chill in Bozeman (as evidenced by the number of episodes of Gossip Girl I watched) if not in the wider world.

In Montana, jerky gets its own spot in the store

Getting the artsy shots at Treeline coffee, plus, Dana doing some schoolwork... (Jackie photo)

The place may change, but the people don't... Jackie and I were sure to check out the library and bookstores (Jackie photo)

Jackie, always the MVP and up for getting dragged on an afternoon walk

Race morning dawned rather clear, and then, after lots of ski testing, it abruptly turned snowy. So much for that testing... I was incredibly happy to get to race at NCAA's. It was the same as any ski race anywhere, but it was made all the sweeter knowing how long we had all worked to get there. My own race was solid, but not spectacular. Very run of the mill. I was 31st out of 40 people, and while the altitude hurt, it did not hurt any more than a normal race. I just went slower! The skis ended up great, though. I knew we picked the right ones! Just kidding, I don't think I have ever actually been able to tell the difference between skis I'm testing. Anyway, Jackie and I loved cheering out on the course for the men's race! The sun came out, and on the whole, the EISA threw down, which was awesome to see. UVM Men and Midd Women won the Nordic day. GO EAST.

Results

Unfortunately, a mere few hours after we finished our first race, they cancelled the next one due to COVID-19. Thank you to all the people that made our one race amazing.

Skiing Through Bison (10/10 would recommend) - The Yellowstone Chapter
Fortunately, if a race had to be cancelled, I am glad it was in Bozeman. There are so many cool things to do! At many people's recommendation (thank you all!), we went to Yellowstone. We drove to the entrance at Gardiner and were met by bighorn sheep, bison, and elk. So cool! We also saw a black bear later on. After some traffic – yes Yellowstone has traffic... bison traffic – we got out for a crust cruise on the Blacktail Plateau. I honestly think this was one of the best skis of my life. We saw some more bison, soaked up the sun, and enjoyed the views. After visiting Mammoth Hot Springs, we went to the Boiling River, a place where incredibly hot hot springs meet the cold Yellowstone River. It is a bit painful to get to a good spot – if you go a couple feet too far one way you feel like you're burning and the other way it is so cold you can't breathe. However, when it is perfect, it is perfect!

Bison traffic (Dana photo)

Happy days! (Dana & Jackie)

Couldn't have asked for better company: ETown, me, Dana, and Jackie (photo from my dad)

The Boiling River (ETown photo)

Jackie and me at our last club practice before college (photo from Coach Marge!)

Jackie and me at our last college "practice" (photo from my dad)

The sappy stuff you knew was coming... (The First Last Chapter)
That pretty much sums things up for that week! It meant a lot for me to be able to get my career goal in right at the end there. The truth, though, is that it would have been alright even if I hadn't. This season was the first where I felt like things slid into place. Where I finally got it. Where no matter which way the results were going, they did not bring my emotions with them. That is thanks to all I've learned over my time as a SLUSkier. I've still got a lot to learn, but I thought I'd share some of the things that I've picked up over the years since that first blog post. In no particular order...(To all you incoming first years out there, take note)

1. It is alright if you only ski 89 minutes and 37 seconds when you are supposed to ski 90. Everyone has seen me do circles in the parking lot to hit the time for the day. It is great to get the time in. However, this annoying habit was always more than that for me. I am a perfectionist, and when I don't meet my standards I feel intensely guilty. Fun fact - perfectionism doesn't make you fast, or happy. The most important thing I've learned as a collegiate athlete is when to be a little more chill (yes guys, I'm still working on it, haha). And if you're wondering, yes, I did run in circles around my driveway today.

2. If you leave Dana before 7 PM, you're doing it wrong. Dana sits are simply the best! More food and more friends, obviously.

3. Carni Crush is and always will be the best race of the year. Off ski game, am I right?

4. Love your teammates and celebrate their success. This team amazes me each and every day. You teach me so much, and you make me so proud. Stay classy.

Long live Mega Bed.

5. Do things that aren't skiing. Having things outside of skiing doesn't make you uncommitted or lazy, it makes you human. And way more interesting.

6. Simplicity and consistency are key. This is a mix of some things Liz used to say. Anyway, training isn't complicated. You just do some intervals, some strength, and some distance workouts basically all year. And it works!

Logging big Thanksgiving hours at Forêt will always have a special place in my heart (Em photo)

7. But breaks are good too. I have made the mistake of not recovering mentally/physically/emotionally more than once. If every part of you does not want to exercise, then, well, surprise, you probably do not need to be exercising.

On your break, meet Stina Nilsson. I maintain that this is the highlight of my ski career.

8. Ke$ha would be a skier in another life, and BOPS and SPARKLES are an integral part of success. Don't fight me on this. Listen and you will understand.

Princess Steffi & Queen Lucy (plus Lawrence) of the kingdom of BOP - bop buddies for lifeee

9. There are so many people here for you! Parents, friends, counselors, coaches, professors, teammates, and on and on.

Team! (2019-20, Meghan Photo)

10. It goes by quick.

Time flies - miss you all! (2016-17 team)

Thank you again to everyone for making these past four years happen! Especially my fellow seniors Emily, Kate, and Jackie (and our sometimes Coach Jordan!) for being there since Day 1. It has been quite the time, and I am so glad each of you were here for it. I am scared to post this, because that will mean it is truly over, but I have to do it soon. These past four years were never easy, were not always what we wanted, but in hindsight, they were exactly what we needed. They were challenging, hilarious, and brought us together. I know I for one wouldn't change them for the world.

So much love. (Lucy, Jackie, Kate, Jordan, and Em)

Loyal readers of the blog, I'm out. But be sure; I leave you in capable hands. Thanks for keeping up.
-Lucy