AST 2020 Athlete Journal: Alyssa Hill

This week was the week of my first race in a year and a half. One could say I was…a little stressed. It was only one race day in sun peaks: two races, four runs. We had trained there the day before, which, to be completely honest, didn’t instill much confidence in me. The snow was soft and nothing like what we’ve been training on in Nakiska, and even though I knew everyone was probably feeling the exact same way as me, I couldn’t help but feel like I wasn’t as ready as I could be. But that night I watched video from the day with the girls and realized that I looked better than I felt. An experience all of my teammates can surely relate to. I knew what I had to think about in my skiing, but I also knew that I was capable of having a great race the next day and that I had nothing to worry about. 

That doesn’t mean I wasn’t nervous. It wasn’t typical butterflies-in-the-stomach nervous, but I was quiet(even more than usual), and I think my teammates could tell how reserved and anxious I was feeling. Perhaps because I told them a few times. Fortunately the snow had hardened quite a bit from the day prior, but of course, that didn’t stop me from being nervous. But when I got in the start gate and heard my teammates cheering me on, it felt just like every other race I’ve done before, and I knew exactly what to do. I wasn’t nervous anymore. I was just racing.

Overall, I’m very happy with how my first race went. I made it a goal to charge hard every run, and for the most part, I think I was successful. I had some timidness to struggle with, but I pushed through it as best as I could and I think I skied rather well. There’s still a lot I have to work on, but of course, that won’t stop me, and I’m not worried about it. Everyone has things to improve on. I’ve already made massive gains since I began training with AST, and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

I’d also like to thank all of the team’s sponsors for helping us be able to have these opportunities to race across the country, the entire team is incredibly grateful for your support!