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We love the bold, beautiful spirit of professional skier and Olympic hopeful Annie Pokorny. Bolder Band Headband wants to follow her through the trials and tribulations and elation of training for the big show: the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. Every month Annie will share some insight into her training so we can train along with her and follow our dreams as well.
Motto of the Month:“Let the dog run!” It’s really easy to overthink ski racing. Next week, I’ll be stepping to the line at Nationals and will probably be surrounded by all kinds of stats, times, points lists, and mental pressure. When those kind of stressful days come, our coach always tells us to relax and remember that we’ve done the hard work to get where we are and reminds us that thinking about all of the excess information will only weigh us down. Instead, we need to let go and let our bodies do what we’ve trained them to do: just ski. A dog doesn’t calculate and analyze and think its way through a run -- it just runs!
Exercise of the Month:To maintain our strength during race season, our strength sessions go to body-weight only exercises, rather than heavy lifting. One of my favorite core exercises is the Dragon Flag, and it’s one exercise I still have trouble finishing during workouts. Lie on your back on a bench and secure your hands under the top of the bench up by your head. Throw your legs up above your head so you’re balancing on the top of your back. Engage your core and slowly lower your body back down to the bench, working to keep a flat line from your toes to your chest. Advanced dragon flaggers can go all the way down and then lift back up without touching the bench, but those are the big leagues (it’s worth a Google.)
Band of the Month:Tropical Turquoise Colder Band: Bringing some island flare to snowy ski trails.
Challenge I overcame in December:December was a tough month for snow. Over in Europe, France had to cancel their World Cup due to lack of snow, and here at home, skiers everywhere were left out to dry (literally!) by mother nature. After I finished the first period of racing, I went home to Washington and had to dry land train for a week before we got the chance to ski, which meant completely rearranging my training plan to create workouts to help me stay fit without getting hurt. It took a lot of flexibility, patience and, most of all, motivation, to keep going strong through the dirt. One day, it was 34 degrees and raining and I had to do a hard running workout through the half frozen mud. Those are the days we call “Championship Days” because the people who can take variable conditions and make them positive are those who are most likely to win on the days that count.
2014 Highlights:Getting to race in Italy for the first time ( parlo un po’ d’Italiano); a sunrise hike my friend and I took for our first Bolder Band photo shoot (the first what became a string of late summer sunrise hikes); having my parents attend all three of my early season competitions; and being an ambassador at four Fast and Female events, where I got to represent the ideals of Bolder Band Headbands in helping inspire young female athletes!
Goals for January (and 2015!):Next week I head to US Nationals in Houghton, MI, a competition that doubles as U23 World Trials. While there, I hope to qualify for U23 World Championships in Kazakhstan. I’ve also had a few races at Nationals that have landed me close to the podium, so I’ve made a goal to ski strong and get myself on that step! For the rest of the year, I want to have races that are representative of my training efforts and continue to enjoy and appreciate every moment of the sport I love so much!
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