The First Weekend of Racing

Our season kicked off this past weekend with a classic prologue, a 10k/15k skate, and a 5k/10k classic. Almost all of the top Canadians and Americans were present and the competition was fierce since there are a lot of athletes vying for a coveted Olympic berth. Mike Hinkley (APU Nordic Ski Center, #166) and Sylvan Ellefson (Vail Ski Team, #165) flying up a hill towards the finish of the classic race. It was inspiring getting to watch the guys put the hammer down after our race-- especially after knowing how much dedication at focused training it takes to ski that fast.

As a whole our team had a very impressive start to the season. We had numerous top 10 Supertour finishes, and Holly Brooks even turned in a jaw dropping WIN in the skate race!! Kikkan Randall, who has her Olympic berth clenched kicked her season off by posting her best world cup distance race ever. It's encouraging to see my teammates perform so well, especially after we have been doing so many of the same things and challenging each other on a daily basis.

Personally, I did not have the start to the season that I was hoping for, especially after making so many improvements in training this past training year. But sometimes I can learn the most from disappointing races and I know I have put in the training so my time to shine will come. Ronski in the 5k classic race on Saturday. Even though there is a list of things I plan to improve upon in the upcoming races, there were also moments where I skied very well and felt awesome. Thanks to Doug Edgerton for taking the outstanding photos and for creating the fantastically groomed ski trails! We met Doug outside the local grocery store. Holly Brooks, Becca Rorabaugh, Laura Valaas, Katie Ronsse (photo credit: Kevin Sweeny of Swix). I am lucky to get to spend my time with such an incredible ladies team.

Let the Racing Begin

The North American ski racing circuit season gets underway tomorrow in West Yellowstone, MT. My teammates and I have each put in hundreds of hours of training so far this past summer and fall and we're looking forward to putting our skills to the test. We're making the final preparations for competition, which includes getting the race boards ready to go.

This year I am traveling with a fleet of 14 pairs of Atomics, each flexed and designed for a specific type of snow condition. Casey (our wax tech) and Erik (our head coach) help us test our skis and apparently skied about 50k each on a 2.5k loop today to help each of us pick two pairs to prep. The coaches haven't stopped yet and are currently in wax room, soaking in a Swix medley and hopefully not inhaling too many fluoros.
My early season race schedule is posted at the bottom of the page. This first trip on the road will comprise of 5 weeks of skiing and in beautiful places, battling it out with the other top North Americans when we dawn our bibs, and soaking up time spent in the company of other dedicated, energetic people. Holly Brooks and I enjoying skiing in the groomed tracks and sunshine. Ski on!