Tons and
tons and tons and tons and tons and tons of things have changed since I’ve last
written in my blog…
It’s crazy
to think that I am almost finished my first year of University!!!! For those of
you that don’t know, I am studying Kinesiology and living in residence at the
University of Waterloo. A week after Junior Track Worlds in August, I moved to
Waterloo and started my University career. I have enjoyed every second of
living in residence and meeting so many new and amazing people. I have also
loved the fact that everything I am learning is teaching me more and more about
my body as an athlete. This year has proven to me how passionate I really am
about health, fitness and nutrition (and cycling of course).
Which
brings me to my next topic…. cycling. Yes, I am still training and racing on
the track and on the road. And yes, it is difficult to manage at times with a
full course load. However, I do feel like school and training help each other
in a way... When I find myself stressed out with school work, I squeeze in a
bike ride or a workout and almost instantly feel like a load was taken off.
Right now, I am enjoying the challenge of balancing training and university.
I’ve also signed with a new team for this year,
High Gate Racing. I feel so lucky to be on a team with so many amazing women. The
kindness, support, and strength this team has is something I feel so lucky to
be a part of. In terms of racing, track season wrapped up last weekend for me
with a win in the Provincial Championship Points Race. This was a pretty
special moment, especially because all of my new High Gate Racing teammates were
at the velodrome watching me and my amazing teammate Aubrie! My friends from
Waterloo even streamed it online to watch the race. It was an amazing feeling
for everything to come together, especially after all of the unknowns and doubt
that of what university life would bring.
Here is a
list of a couple tools that I use throughout racing and also use here at University…My
days are pretty hectic, so I wanted to share a couple of things that have
helped me with the transition to uni and help me deal with the associated
anxiety of balancing racing and school:
1. Living in the present moment. This one can definitely apply to training, racing
and school. At races, I often find myself getting anxious to the point where I almost
feel sick. In moments like this, I find my brain taking me somewhere else that
I am comfortable and relaxed, such as my home or on a vacation. Recently
though, I have been really trying to “stay” where I am. I feel SOO extremely
lucky to be able to go to the track, see a lot of my favourite people that are
supporting me, and ride my bike because I CAN and I WANT to. Why would I want
to be anywhere else? Being able to race and attend university are amazing
experiences that don’t last forever and I don’t want to fly by me. I have
noticed that practicing mindfulness and being in the moment has really helped
me get the most out of the fantastic days and the tougher days (whether that be
cycling, school or work) because there is always something to learn from both
of them.
2. Staying organized and prioritizing. I found this especially important when it came
to juggling lectures, tutorials, midterms, deadlines, training, friends, family
and races. When I have everything mapped out in front of me, I am better able
to prioritize what is more important at that specific moment. Having multiple
calendars has helped me plan out my day, week and month so that I can get
everything I need to get done, done!
3. Remembering the bigger picture. This has been the hardest one for me.
Sometimes I get caught up in what everybody else is doing and need to bring
myself back to the fact that I chose to
be here because I want to be here. Sometimes
I worry about not getting in as much training if I would if I stayed at home,
but I am doing what I need to do and want to do at this moment in time. I have
a poster on my wall that says: “Life’s about the journey, not the destination”
(with a picture of a bike on it…cheesy, I know)… But for some reason I have
really connected to that quote this year. This can apply to racing also, as I
know it is easy to look at every race as the end-all-be-all race. I will never
forget my coaches over the years saying “It’s JUST a bike race.” Remembering
this helps me put things into perspective. Zoom out every once in a while.
Where you are at is a small piece of the puzzle and there are many more pieces
to come.
4. Taking care of your body. This year especially, I have learned the importance of health and taking
care of yourself. Busy schedules can easily take time away from self care and
healthy habits, but guess what? Healthy eating and self care can actually make
you a more productive and happy person so you can tackle EVEN MORE in a day. Making
time to do a face mask, spend time with
friends, watch Netflix, etc is so so so important to being able to juggle
everything.
Healthy eating + self care + sleep + training = productive Ali
These past
few months have been full of changes, opportunity, new friendships and so many
more unknowns (which I’m ok with!). It was hard to make the decision to pursue
university full time, but honestly, I can’t imagine my life any different.
Thank you to
all the amazing people and sponsors that have supported me through this
journey!
Ali
