You might have read that title: Reality Check, and thought “uh oh – something not good is up..”. Well, dear reader, this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact this reality check is all about the good stuff. Really good stuff. The last two days have been break-through days. Mentally.

I’ve just started working with a mental training coach and I wasn’t expecting much this early in the process. But was I wrong. This guy is super good. He really gets to the core of what is going on in my head, asks the right questions, waits for me to answer and then prods and digs some more. Before I know I’m letting it all out and telling him about some of the crazy thoughts that rattle around in my thick skull. Then he sets me straight and we work on ways to help keep me in a positive frame of mind.

My most recent call with him was pretty World Championships focused. It was an awesome call. We laid down my goals for the race. Created a coping strategy/mechanism for when things leading up to the race or during the race “don’t go according to plan”. He gave me some homework focused on building my self-confidence. All super good stuff. When the call ended I was on such a high. I just wanted to jump on my bike and go race.

I’m not sure how he does it, but this guy just knows the right questions to ask and how to get me pumped up about myself. My only regret is that I didn’t start working with him sooner. But I’m doing it now, so this is much better than nothing.

Suffice it to say, I’m stoked to be racing this weekend and next weekend. I’ve got some awesome goals to focus on. I’ve got some practical and purposeful coping strategies in place.

I’m feeling good. I’m finally feeling confident in myself. I’ve finally clued in that I deserve this. That I worked hard to earn my spot on the World Championships team. This is something that no one can take away from me.