Speed skater Elise Christie on chimps and being back in fast lane
Sunday 28 August 2016 08:04, UK
It's two months into a new speed skating campaign and Elise Christie is already nursing a few bruises. But it's all going to be worth it.
The Sky Academy Sports Scholar from Livingston has been in reflective mood.
Crashes at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, World Cup glory at the start of the year, her grandma dying, medals in Russia and, more importantly, what she does next.
It seems rogue monkeys, lots of meetings, rugby legend Will Greenwood and fast cars are helping the 24-year-old boost her confidence, prepare an assault towards more ice glory and REALLY fulfill her potential. Here are Elise's latest words....
Right now, I'm feeling flabbergasted, battered, pretty tired. I’m definitely not complaining though as this means I'm a step closer to achieving my goal.
The season began again in May and, as expected, the first few weeks have been painful to say the least. I wouldn't want it any other way. Having not skated for a few weeks, the feeling of racing around the rink again is incredible. However, then comes the pain, fatigue and countless hours of training, mixed with rare hours of rest.
Training doesn’t stop there though. I’ve been to loads of meetings – nutritional, psychological and goal-setting. I’ve decided this year to approach my targets differently. My ambitions aren’t so much based around immediate success and winning a medal at the World Championships, but rather to fulfill my potential, to TRULY fulfill my potential.
It’s hard to explain, but I’ll try. Throughout my career, I have found myself coming away from competitions disappointed with my performances. Believe it or not, even after the World Championships this year, in which I made history and came away with two medals, I still wasn't satisfied.
Don’t get me wrong, I'm massively grateful for all the opportunities that have come my way, and there is no better feeling than winning a medal for your country. But I still don’t believe I got every little last bit out of myself.
Therefore, this year, I have decided to base my goals and ambitions around fulfilling my true potential, one which is very personal. Wouldn’t it be great if I can walk away from my sport, in however many years, knowing there was nothing more I could have done?
The question I asked myself was: so far, what has stopped me achieving this? What has been standing in my way?
The obvious answer, my ego or, as I like to call it, my ‘chimp’. This is the tormenting inner voice in your head telling you all the reasons you can’t or you shouldn't do something, the cause behind all your doubt. To cut a long story short, this season so far has been spent overcoming my chimp.
At the 2016 World Championships (in Seoul in March), I want to be able to race and act fully on instinct. Of course, as we race around at up to 30mph in a very tight oval, the occasional doubt will cross our minds. I believe that if I learn to ignore these doubts, I’ll be able to achieve my full capability.
Risk is often the bridge between success and failure, and that is a very fine line. Right now, I'm training harder than ever, I'm fully focusing on what I need to do and I firmly believe that I’m growing in confidence by the day.
My ego is being tested daily, I’m pushing myself to the limits, and when doing this, I’m trying to expel any inkling of doubt that crosses my mind. But most of all, I'm changing… I’m taking one step backwards in order to take two leaps forward.
I'm having to trust myself and my coach to achieve this. Some days this can be tough. Since Sochi (when I crashed out) I've lost some confidence and my instincts and occasionally I suffer from anxiety when skating. These are the days in which the biggest difference can be made.
If my preparation continues to progress, as it has done over the past few months, then when it really matters (at the important competitions) risking winning and skating with instinct should come naturally. Fortunately, through Sky, I've been lucky enough to gain advice from some top ex-athletes such as Will Greenwood (my mentor) and Johnny Nelson about overcoming great failure, and ways to get the most out of yourself.
This season begun with me visiting the Intensive Rehab Unit at Bisham Abbey. An unfortunate injury I had been carrying for a few years had caught up with me and, as a team, we felt it best to take some time out to heal. The staff there were amazing and it’s turned out to be a great decision. For the first time in four years I'm able to run again!!
Hopefully this can help me make a huge leap forward. I’m now able to train my cardiovascular system harder than previously. This should mean that making moves during racing will be a lot easier because repeated exertions in skating really hits your chest. So, I'm really excited about this development.
I recently visited Livingston’s Sky Academy studios which was amazing. I shared my story with around 40 children in the hope that they will be inspired to start a sport, whatever it may be. I especially enjoyed the opportunity to teach them valuable career skills in the academy studios, one of which involved them learning how to film and present sports news reports.
They had an amazing day and it was great seeing their enthusiasm to learn. Sky are really going the extra mile to help people around the country, and I’m delighted that I’ve been able to get stuck in helping to promote for such a good cause.
As a team we are soon heading to Germany for an intensive training camp. This will be very exciting, especially as we are all going to try long track speed skating for the first time. Our coach is hoping this will help straightaway and pushes out for our short track. In general, this has been one of our weaknesses. The team is trying to overcome many hurdles at the moment. We’re really trying to pull together and help keep each other focus on the right things.
There's been a lot going on in our sport and our performance director has left. We are ready for new things and are now looking forward to developing with someone new. Great Britain Short Track team are rapidly changing, and we hope, over the next few years, to become a world beating team.
As for hobbies outside of skating, I'm really into cars! When I’ve had the time, I’ve been to a few car meets. It has also been interesting to look into ways of making my car a bit more personal to me. Hopefully in the future, I can add a few personal touches. Volkswagens are undoubtedly my favourite though! A V-dub fanatic, you might say.
I’m a fast paced skater with a love for fast cars. That said, I drive at 30mph everywhere… I definitely don't drive like I skate!
Elise Christie is one of 12 athletes being supported through the Sky Academy Sports Scholarships scheme.
The Scholarships offer a programme of support tailored to each athletes specific requirements covering areas such as funding, media coaching, mentoring and wider developmental support.
