The Power of a Safe Haven: How a New Home Led to a New Personal Best

As an athlete, you spend countless hours optimizing your physical performance. We obsess over watts, nutrition, recovery protocols, and sleep. But one of the most critical performance enhancers isn't found in the gym or on the track: it's the feeling of being safe in your own home.

For the past few months, my focus off the bike wasn't on recovery, but on a low-level, persistent anxiety. The neighborhood I was living in was unsafe, and the constant stress was a draining undercurrent to my daily life. True rest felt impossible when a part of my mind was always on alert. I knew a change was necessary not just for my well-being, but for my Olympic dream.

On December 6th and 7th, I finally made that change. Those two days were a grueling marathon of boxes, stairs, and driving across Southern California to my new apartment. It was a significant financial stretch, but the relief of moving into a safer area was immediate and immense. By Saturday night, I was physically exhausted, surrounded by unpacked boxes, but for the first time in a long time, I felt a sense of peace. I had a secure home base.

On Sunday morning, December 8th, a last-minute time trial at the velodrome. My body screamed "no." After two days of heavy lifting and virtually no rest, my legs felt like concrete. The logical expectation was to just survive the effort, to post a time and get back to unpacking. I had no performance goals; the only goal was to show up.

I went through my warm-up, feeling every bit of the weekend's labor in my muscles. I rolled up to the track for my flying 200-meter effort, pushing the exhaustion out of my mind and focusing only on the black line.

Pushing through the last 50m of the F200TT

And then, something incredible happened. I set a new personal best.

That personal best wasn't just a number on a stopwatch; it was proof that mental and emotional security are as vital as physical training. The weight lifted off my shoulders by feeling safe was far heavier than any box I carried. This new home is more than just a place to live; it’s a strategic investment in my recovery, my peace of mind, and my relentless pursuit of the 2028 Olympics.