A Season in Review

I apologize to everyone for how long it has taken to get to this post. The past couple of weeks have seemed to go way too fast with all the decisions and new things that have been going on.

My season ended with the SuperTour Finals which were held in Fort Kent, Maine. In my opinion, there is no better way to describe this area of the US better than "the end of the world". You literally feel off the map when you are there. The town of Fort Kent runs parallel to a river which is the border between Canada and the US, so you are about as far north as you can go in Maine. As frustrating as this is on the 8 hour drive to get there, it was necessary for these races to be located somewhere like this the last couple weeks of March. It actually felt like full on winter during the week of racing when the temperatures were dropping below zero at times.

The week of racing went pretty well for me. The first race was the 8k mass start classic race, held on friday night. I got to practice my newly acquired night racing skills, as the woman didn't start their race until 5:00 PM. I was able to ski near the front of the pack for the majority of the race but ended up fading a bit in the last couple of kilometers. I was having to work extra hard because of some mediocre kick wax, so it started waring on me by the end when the pace picked up. Regardless it was a fun race and I came away feeling satisfied with my 8th place finish for the day.

Saturday was  a 1.4k classic sprint. The race that I was most excited for at this series of races. I felt like my sprinting had been gradually building throughout the season, so I was ready to test it out against the US skiers. In my qualifier round I finished 3rd, 2 seconds out from Ida Sargent, one of my closest competitors in sprinting this year, and 4 seconds out from Kikkan Randall. Kikkan finished 8th in the classic sprint at the Olympics previously this year, so I was feeling pretty good that I had closed some of the time gap since I last competed against her at Nationals in Anchorage. In Alaska she had managed to space herself 13 seconds ahead of me in the 1.4k course.  

Throughout the next three races that completed the elimination rounds I pushed hard and built throughout the day. My quarterfinal heat started with a hard bang and refused to back off until the three of us racing for 1st and 2nd positions crossed the line, posting the fastest quarterfinal heat. We then went on to the tightly packed semi-final heat, that pushed hard throughout the course posting again the fastest semi-final heat. Ida and I crossed the line 1st and 2nd, excited to challenge for the final. In all the sprinting that I have done yet this season, I have failed to be able to stay strong throughout the three elimination heats. The finals I always drop the plow and drag until the finish. So I was determined to change that with this last sprint of the season. I started hard, and tired a bit over the top of the hill where Holly Brooks managed to squeeze past- but still crossed the line in fourth. I did die down a bit, but this was by far the best I had ever held myself together for the finals. So as disappointed as I was to miss the podium, which I was so close, I was happy with my 4th place finish for personal goal oriented reasons. 

Sunday was my race I had been least looking forward to the entire week. A hill climb, the race that you ski up an alpine run. I decided it was best to not preview the course, and just go with the unexpected. I figured the less I knew, the better. The first two kilometers were normal terrain- rolling throughout the trees. We then made a hard left and started the death march up the mountain. I went into this race thinking it was better not to hold back any energy at the beginning, regardless I was going to be in a lot of pain and die as I hit the wall. So that is exactly what I did. As painful as the hill was, the end actually came sooner than I expected. I managed to be passed by three skiers on the way up, but held my top ten overall position until the end. I crossed the finish line in 8th overall for the mini series of races, the same place I had finished on the first day. As fun as it was to try this little climb up the alpine run, it is not my favorite type of race. I am glad we don't have to do many of those as nordic ski racers!

So with the conclusion of the Super Tour races, the season officially came to an end. This season has seemed long, starting racing early in November- but in many ways it felt like a break away season. Even though the first three months were far below where I would have like to ski, because of some mistakes with training early on, I felt like I learned a ton. I was able to make something of the last two and a half months of my season. Racing in Europe really opened my horizon on what is out there. Not only what is out there, but the fact that we can be there. If the US skiers commit to racing at this higher level, we can easily fight for podium positions. I know from the two months that I spent knocking heads on the OPA racing circuit this year, I gained an endless amount of not only experience and skills, but confidence. I am walking away from this season more excited and determined than I ever have, and am confident next year I can be right there.

Thanks to everyone that has made this year possible and offered their support in many various ways. You guys are making it possible- and I truly appreciate it!

Have a great Spring!

Another blog about spring.

Though I'm sure most of you have been reading all the OTHER skier blogs about springtime-funtime, I still figure I'll pitch in my two cents on this our one month of leisure. I ended my season a bit earlier than expected; following a dismal slew of results in Europe I opted to skip SuperTour Finals in Maine and concentrate on getting some rest in, then try and get a head start on spring volume. After a week of re-adjustment back in the states, I headed south to reunite with a group of close college friends in San Francisco. It was my first time in the Bay Area and I was shown a great time, indeed. We spent the week kayaking the South Fork of the American river, eating delicious ethnic cuisine, running the vast acres of parkland in the city and sampling the hoppin' urban nightlife, something which I must admit the Methow sorely lacks.

Another week at home and I again packed a bag and left, this time heading east to Missoula to help my very pregnant sister move out of her current home in anticipation of a relocation to eastern Montana. While it was less of a vacation than San Fran, it was still great to see the sis and family and spend some quality time with them and two close family friends over good food and wine.

Back in the valley again for a few days before leaving AGAIN, this time (three days ago) for Bend, to give company to my friend and esteemed ultrarunner/massage therapist Alison Hanks, who competed today in the Peterson Ridge Rumble 60k race. Held in Sisters, Oregon the race allowed Alison to bring along her young dog Nikki for the run. I took the opportunity to hike Black Butte with a couple of friends before returning to cheer Alison to the finish.

Tomorrow's plan includes a morning of sport climbing at Smith Rocks before heading back to the Methow. Throughout this whole "vacation" period I've been slowly building up my running hours and trying to get my fitness back to a baseline with long, very easy run/hikes in hilly country. One of the strongest aspects of our training over the last few years has been muscular endurance, and I feel the best way to get that process started is by logging a lot of vertical feet over the spring months in anticipation of more focused training in the summer and fall.

Stay tuned for another year of MOD's dryland season adventures!

Season Comes to an End

This past Monday Sadie, Scott and I got home from Super Tour Finals in Fort Kent, Maine.  The races were held in a Tour-style competition. A couple things usually happen during a tour; first, there is usually no rest days in between races, as this is better for spectators but harder for racers to recover. Second thing that happens in Tour-style competition is that on the last day you do a handicap start. That means that they add the time back of your first two races and that’s what time you start at. For example I started the third day 3:03 back from the leader. These couple of changes make for a more friendly spectator event and also I find them pretty fun.

The first race was a 11km classic mass start over a pretty gentle course. We did 3 laps that went 2 or so kilometers up a gradual low incline hill and then turned around and came down. It was a hectic start; there where 100 guys trying to fight for position on a pretty narrow course. I managed to get through without falling, and after a lap in it started to spread out. I felt like I skied the last couple laps slowly picking guys off and managed to out sprint a someone right at the line to finish 32nd.

The second day was the classic sprint. It was on a fun course with a good size hill in the middle of it.  The qualifier was held in the morning, still cold enough that the tracks where hard and fast. I had my usual pretty good qualifier, qualifying 21st, but knew where I could make some changes to make a fast performance in the rounds. There were three or four hours before the rounds so I got a chance to relax and shortly talk to Torin Koos, US Ski Team athlete, and get pumped for my race. I was in a heat with Andy Newell, a US Ski Team athlete and Ivan Babikov, Canadian National Team athlete, along with three other guys. I had a great start and got into 3rd position. Before long I had made my position up into second behind Newell before the downhill corner. I was feeling good and knew if I could stay in position around this corner I would have a good chance at moving on into the semi finals. Babikov was slowly gaining on me from behind. I took the corner pretty sharp cutting Babikov off a little and just as we made it around the corner and I thought I had made it, Babikov falls over beside me and we get tangled up. I got up as fast as I could and to try and catch back up to the group, but I had lost too much time in the fall. That’s how heats sometime go; it was a little unfortunate but I was happy with how I felt.

(Trying to get untangled)

The third race was the hill climb, the one I was looking forward to the least. I had an alright race, but it was a tough course. It did 3 km on a rolling course and then up a downhill area finishing with a kilometer or two.

I ended the week in 37th overall. It was one of the best sets of races I had this season although the results might not show it. Now it's time to relax for a bit and get excited to start a new year of training!