Hi everyone,
I hope you’re all doing well! I’m sitting here sipping some apple cider as fall starts to settle in, and I can’t help but reflect on the past few weeks of training with BSF. We’ve just wrapped up a medium and hard training week, which included a double pole time trial, and some of our teammates even raced The Rut in Big Sky! On top of that, we’ve been increasing the volume of our L3 training, so things have been ramping up. Looking ahead, we’ve got the Après Ski event coming up on the 20th, and I’m still trying to decide what I’ll be wearing — if you have any suggestions, send them my way.
In the midst of all this, I just booked my flight to Cable for the first SuperTour of the season, and I can’t wait to get things rolling. But before we dive headfirst, I wanted to focus on the amazing opportunity we had to work with Amy Pakula, the owner of Momentum PT in Bozeman (https://momentumptmt.com/about/).
Amy brought a whole new level of insight by teaching us how to care for both our bodies and our minds. She’s been incredibly generous with her knowledge, sharing tips on everything from pain management to breathing techniques, and even how to harness our energy for both skiing and life in general.I was most excited about learning more about pain management. Let’s be real: during a race, we all hit that point where our bodies are screaming at us to slow down, and our minds start filling with doubts like, “I can’t keep this up” or “The person behind me is catching me.” Amy helped us understand how to navigate that internal dialogue and turn those thoughts around, reminding ourselves that we’re stronger than we think.
She explained that the pain we feel during a race is partly due to the metabolic byproducts our bodies produce when we push ourselves to the limit. By increasing our tolerance to that discomfort, we can maintain a stronger pace for longer. I found it really interesting when she mentioned that pain tolerance fluctuates throughout the year and tends to peak during race season. The more we expose ourselves to high-intensity training, the more comfortable we become with the discomfort — “the pain cave.” One of the key takeaways is reminding ourselves that the pain isn’t dangerous; it’s just our body’s way of telling us we’re reaching new limits.
Another great point Amy touched on was understanding and using our energy levels to our advantage. She introduced us to seven energy levels, starting with distress (1), anger (2), coping (3), and moving up through care (4), solution-focused (5), connection (6), and finally bliss (7). The key is recognizing where you are and consciously shifting between these levels as needed because the lower the number, the quicker you’ll reach exhaustion. For example, if you break a pole during a race, you might find yourself in distress or anger. But by reframing the situation — maybe thinking, “At least it wasn’t both poles,” — you can shift into a more productive energy level. Being able to navigate between these levels is such a valuable tool in both racing and life, allowing us to reframe challenges and keep pushing forward. Reminding ourselves that we are choosing to be here, we are lucky to be here, and that we have worked hard and have a good base of fitness and we don’t want to slow down.
Until next time, enjoy the changing seasons, and wish me luck picking an outfit for Après Ski!
Best,
Emma
