Siri...Seriously.
I’ve been in Barcelona for the last three weeks for training camp.
Well, more specifically…
we were at the high performance training center in Sant Cugat which is only a twenty minute drive from Barcelona.
I chose to rent an apartment in Barcelona and commute to training daily from here.
Anyway…
the other day we had a group dinner. Coach asked me to take the “party” bus (I now know we have very different definitions of “party”) with the group to dinner.
This meant that I’d drive from my flat in Barcelona to catch the bus in Sant Cugat and ride it to dinner at the restaurant, back in Barcelona. After dinner, we’d reload the bus…drive back to Sant Cugat at which point I’d hop in my car and drive back to my flat in Barcelona.
Let’s just call that “taking one for the team.”
I can get back and forth to the stadium from my flat from memory, without using Siri or Maps at all.
But getting back and forth to the hotel in Sant Cugat where the rest of the team was staying is a different story entirely.
I got lost coming…
and going.
But it wasn’t until I was driving back home through the dark twisted and tight village roads that I realized something…
I had no idea where I was…
But I knew where I was trying to go.
Despite being on a entirely unfamiliar route.
I knew that I would eventually get to my destination.
Why?
Because Siri knows how to reroute.
Duh.
Simple as that.
Have you ever missed your exit and just thought, “it’s all good…I’ll get off at the next one and the GPS will reroute me”
yea…me too.
But I remember when I had to print my directions from Yahoo! before embarking on a trip, and a wrong turn meant I had to backtrack.
So I’m in my car…with my “Cool Head” playlist providing ambient music while also listening to Siri adapting to my route and rerouting me so that I can get back on track.
And it occurred to me that the ability to “reroute” is something I struggle with in my real life, or have viewed as a sign of weakness before.
When in fact…
Adaptability is a survival skill.
Some could say it's THE survival skill.
Even in sport.
I spent most of this camp frustrated that I wasn’t on the route that felt “normal” or “familiar” to me.
Movements that used to be familiar just weren't there.
Routines that were normal to me felt foreign.
And things I didn’t have to think about before I have to be overtly deliberate about now.
But I think about that time in the car…
Saturday night with Siri...
being lost…
turning a twenty minute drive into a forty minute one…
now understanding that
it may take longer
it may even be a different route entirely.
but I’ll still reach my destination.
Blogger’s Note: Originally I wanted to have a storybook indoor season (who doesn’t) returning to the long jump after eleven years, reappearing on the scene as a sprinter in the 60. But over the last week, and after several conversations with the people closest to me I realized that there was something I wanted even more than that. So I’m rerouting. I’m not going to tell you my plan. Just know that there is one.
Indoor Competition Schedule:
January 26th Berlin (Germany): Double Duty 60/LJ
February 3rd Karlsruhe (Germany): Double Duty 60/LJ
February 6th Dusseldorf (Germany): LJ
February 16th-18th USATF Nationals Albuquerque (New Mexico)
February 25th Glasgow (Scotland): LJ