Soho Time Trial- Midway, Utah
Skate 5k: The week prior to this time trail was the roughest week of the season for me. I was home alone, feeling highly unmotivated, forced to cross-train because there was no place to ski in Park City. I distinctly remember going out and doing bounding intervals in the 60 degree weather and thinking to myself that I was going to quit skiing. It was not a fun week to say the least, but I managed to pull my lazy self out of bed and make it to Soldier Hollow to do this 5k time trail. I started really fast and felt good for about the first half of this race, but then out of nowhere I hit a wall and my pace slowed significantly. I finished the race, knowing that my result would not be good compared to my teammates'. I tried not to stress about this result, but it definitely didn't help my motivation. I learned that even in a 5k, you need to pace yourself and stay a bit relaxed.
3rd JNQ- McCall, Idaho
Classic sprint: My excitement towards skiing had been somewhat renewed due to a lovely week in the snowy Sun Valley leading up to this final JNQ. I woke up the morning of this race feeling very excited, especially considering I had thought this was my weakest event. Just like the last skate sprint I did, my qualifier was not ideal, as I stumbled on the one uphill on this course and lost precious seconds there. But that didn't frustrate me because I knew that I still had the heats to come. I felt great in my quarterfinal and ended up coming in first, boosting my confidence a bit. In my semifinal, I was stacked against three of my teammates, but it need up working out because three of the four of us ended up moving on to the B-final, and it felt really cool to be moving on with your teammates. The A-final was one of the best and also worst races of the year for me. Before the race, I committed to using my new klister skis instead of using the more popular "zeros". I started the race a little slow, but caught the other 5 girls on the steep uphill and pushed as hard as I could, passing all but one, my teammate and friend Leah Lange. I tucked in behind her on the downhill and flew by her just as we were about to turn the corner and come into the home stretch. I was going to win, I suddenly realized with a huge burst of energy. I stood up from my tuck and before I could say "knock on wood", both of my skis grabbed the sun-lit snow like glue. I landed on my face and cried out "No!" as all of the girls passed me. I basically walked into the finish line, feeling extremely defeated. I had a hard time getting over what had happened in this race because I had been so close to winning. But I learned that if the stars align, I am capable of killing it in a classic sprint.
Skate 5k: I don't really like to think about this race because it was what I like to call a "throw away race". Coming into the race, I had one goal: to win. But after arriving at the venue and having our coach tell us that we should try to help a few of the girls who were not soundly qualified for Junior Nationals out, I felt very conflicted. The course was basically flat with two uphills and it was an ice sheet. I didn't know it then, but it probably would have been impossible for me to win this race even if I was feeling amazing, simply because my skate skis were way too soft for the conditions. I started the race without a game plan, not knowing whether to stay back and help my friends or to go out hard and try to stay with the front. Within the first kilometer, I knew that it wasn't going to be my day. My skis felt slow and sluggish, and I felt like I was working way harder than the other girls in the front pack. After a few people passed me, I decided that if I wasn't going to have a good race, I might as well drop back and help my team. I did that, finishing right behind my teammate Katy. I was the only one to drop back from my teammates, which definitely felt kind of crappy, but I tried to tell myself that I had done the right thing. I learned that unless you are given strict and specific instructions on working together as a team, you should just go out there and give it your best. This isn't cross-country running after all and it is an "every man for himself" kind of sport.
Junior Nationals- Truckee, California
Skate sprint: One again I felt excited, but also pretty nervous for this race. I surprised myself in the qualifier, getting a solid 5th place. I was borrowing my friend, Kyle's, stiffer skate skis for the icy course and I was so grateful he let me borrow them because they were way more stable than my softer skis. By the time the heats came around, the snow was soft and very slushy in places. I continued Kyle's skis and was able to scrap my way through quarterfinals. In the semifinals I went out a little fast and made a few tactical errors resulting in me not making the A-final, but I still got to race the B-final! I ended up 7th American that day and I felt satisfied with that result. I learned that during sprint races you shouldn't stress out about what place you are in until the final stretch of the race.
Skate 5k: Unfortunately the weather was not working in everyone's favor on this day and it was snowing/raining during all of the races. All of the athletes had to be a bit creative with their warm up during this entire week because there was limited snow to warm up on. I chose to run for my warm up every day because I like to run and it helped keep me calm, not worrying about how fast my skis were or how fast my competition looked ect. This day was no different. I ran and then skied for about 5 minutes then walked up to the stadium. My coach Gordo talked to me and told me that I should go hard and that I could win this race. I wasn't so sure myself, but I felt excited to get out on course and show off my stuff. I flew out of the starting gate with a smile on my face, knowing that not even this terrible rainy day could bring my spirit down. Unfortunately, slow skis did slow me down a bit and I focussed on not blowing up the first 2.5k lap. I stayed tough considering that my skis were not gliding well on the downhills, and ended up finishing 6th. I felt good about my result, but knew that I had a lot more to give. Intermountain had an all-around rough wax day, and almost nobody from our team had a good race. I learned firsthand that nordic ski racing involves a lot of variables, and many of these you cannot control, including wax and weather. The one thing you can control is how prepared you are to race, and always giving your 100% no matter what.
Classic 10k: The rain was gone on this day and the sun had replaced it shining hot and bright. I generally enjoy mass start races and I was excited to see how this race would play out. Because of the lack of snow, the U20 girls had to do four laps of a hard 2.5k course. I knew that pacing was going to be important. Our group of girls took the first lap pretty easy and I was feeling great. By the second lap a few girls had broken away and I found myself in fourth place. The third lap was hard for me and I struggled to keep my tempo up. I got passed by a few people and found myself in 7th place on the last lap. I finished the race giving it all I had and felt overjoyed by how fun that race had been, despite kind of dying on the final lap. I learned to always have fun while you're racing!
Classic 3x3k relay: Although I didn't plan on it working out this way, I ended up being the anchor for my relay team for the fourth time at JNs. But I was happy because I love anchoring! I was also stoked because my two relay teammates Aja and Olivia are super speedy and I knew we had a shot at doing really well. We glittered up before the race, a JNs tradition and then began warming up. Olivia was our scramble leg (the hardest leg in my opinion) and unfortunately she got caught up in a crash that happened just moments after the gun went off. She did a great job at not giving up and brought us in around 9th place. Next Aja want out and being the awesome racer that she is, brought us up to 5th place, right around about 4 other teams! I was super excited at this point and I went out hard but remembered to stay in control. I caught up to two girls who were skiing together and passed them then pushed as hard as I could over the longest and hardest hill of the course. On one of the last downhills I got passed by an Alaska girl and couldn't quite keep up but I ended up bringing it home in 3rd place, a podium finish! I felt elated after this race because I had pushed myself harder than I had the entire week. I was super happy and so stoked to be able to share it with my awesome teammates. I learned that I push myself harder when I am not just racing for myself and I need to find that fire in individual races.
Overall I had an incredible week at Junior Nationals and really enjoyed getting to know all of the amazing girls on the team.
Sprint Series- Sun Valley, Idaho
Classic 10k- After a week of hard training and then rest, I was super stoked to get racing at Spring Series, the final set of races of the year! I was also beyond stoked because in this individual start 10k, I got to start 15 seconds behind my idol, Liz Stephen! Liz is a member of the US Ski Team and is seriously the nicest person I have ever met. She has so much grit in races and I have never seen someone as determined as her. I hope to someday be the type of person Liz is! Anyway, the 10k didn't end up being that great of race for me because my skis were slipping and I was having a hard time staying focussed because I skied most of the race alone. The downhills were also beyond sketchy and I was just happy that I made it down them alive. I wasn't too happy with my result, but the atmosphere of the race cheered me right up. Getting to watch the best skiers in the US compete was super inspiring! Also my teammate Leah had the race of her life, ended up 11th! Awesome! I learned to adjust your kick zone when the track is glazed over and that I need more practice with classic striding.
Skate sprint- The final sprint race of the year and I was not really feeling it. After my sub-par race the previous day, I was feeling a little lackluster. However, with my new pair of stiff Rossignol skate skis I flew through the qualifier round and felt amazing! I wasn't even scared of the sketchy corner before the last straight away and felt like I could push hard all the way to the finish. I even passed the girl in front of me. I ended up qualifying in 29th which meant that I would get to be in heats with the best ladies from around the country later that day! I was sooo happy! During the quarterfinal I was lined up against some amazing ski racers including a World Cup skier, and Park City alumni, Rosie Brennan. It was super cool. The gun went off and I was a little slow off the start but managed to get around a few of the girls before the first corner. On the downhill stretch I was passed back but fought hard all the way into the finish and almost caught the 5th girl but ended up being 6th which I was not sad about at all. It was such a fun day and I was so proud of all of my fellow junior racers who made it into the senior heats. I learned that when you are feeling good, ski racing can be freaking awesome!
Skate 4x5k relay: Sadly most of my PC teammates had to leave after the sprint day so they could get caught up on school but my #OGsquad teammate Leah Lange was able to stay, so we were the two girls to make up our four man relay team. We were grouped up with two young boys from the Steamboat team. The leg order went: classic girl, classic boy, skate girl, skate boy. Leah was going to scramble for us on classic skis because she is an incredible classic skier, and I was going to be the skate leg because let's be honest, skating is just waaay better than classic ;). Leah got our team off to a great start, despite getting caught in a fall, and brought our team in in 16th place. I'm not going to lie, I was nervous about how fast the two boys put on our team would be because they looked so young, but they both ended up holding up their end of the bargain and had great legs! I was tagged off in 27th place and powered through the powdery snow, passing as many girls as I could. It was super fun and I felt really good. I tagged our anchor off in 23rd place and he brought us home in 26th! It was a successful day and it made me love relays all that much more. I learned high tempo in slow snow=fast skiing.
Skate 15k: The final race of the season and my final race in the PCNSC race suit was also the longest race I had ever competed in, it was bound to be interesting, and I knew for a fact it would be fun. I had had a crazy night the night before (see previous post) and my adrenaline was still pumping when I woke up on race morning. I felt like my stomach was in knots driving up to the venue, Galena Lodge, but I wasn't sure if it was nerves for the race or nerves from the previous night. None the less, when I got out on skis and started warming up I started feeling better. I still had no idea how the race was going to play out though. All of the juniors racing the 15k would start with the massive group of 30k racers. I was happy about this because it meant there would be more people to ski with. The race started and I felt light on my feet. I scrambled to pass a few people before entering the long uphill of the 5k course and gained some time on my fellow juniors. However, when the long (and I mean really long) downhill came around, I quickly realized that my skis were super slow. I was passed by about 10 girls on that hill and I felt like all of my hard work on the uphill was for nothing. I considered quitting and telling my coach that he did a horrible job waxing my skis, but then decided otherwise because it would be a waste of money, time, and all of my parent's endless support if I quit. So I kept going and with that I kept passing people. I knew that there was at least one junior who had passed me on the downhill, a Colorado girl so I kept my head up and when I saw her up ahead, I kept telling myself that I would get her. And I did. At around the 10k mark I passed her and passed Leah who was bravely competing in the 30k. I hammered the last lap, not quite sure if I was the first junior, but pretty sure. I felt awesome and never slowed my pace. I came into the last stretch and passed a group of girls, one of which was Jessie Diggins, a US Ski Team member (who, to be fair, had been struggling with illness). I powered into the finish line, but hardly felt tired at the end. I had done it, I had won. The next girl came in 1 minute and 45 seconds behind; that's when I knew it had been a special day for me. It was the perfect ending to my season and my career with PCNSC. I learned that I am a good skier and I can be great. This season made me begin to doubt whether I could ever be a high level ski racer, but this race proved that if I stick with it and keep working hard, I can!
Thanks for reading! Here's to Nordic skiing and its' many lessons!
RELAY DAY!
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