The final countdown...

Sorry for the delay in posts... since the last few days in Canada life has been in high gear.  I raced the 30km skate at Canadian Nationals on March 15, left Duntroon, Ontario at 6:25am on March 16, drove to Detroit, flew home via Chicago and had just enough time to unwind, do my laundry, and ski a few times before I hit the road again.  With Canadian Nationals and US Distance Nationals only separated by a week and with all the travel involved in flying from Eastern Canada and driving to Fairbanks, I felt like I was barely home.  I can hardly complain, however, because things are going well.

It felt good to be in Canada and to be racing again.  I like getting into the schedule of racing and with these two Championships back-to-back, I certainly have and have had some solid competitions.  Each race in Canada proved to be a little better for me, like my body was waking up from the slumber of my mid-winter break from racing.  The 30km proved to be my best event at that series, as well as one of the best this winter.  I skied hard the entire way, led my pack most of the time and was able to "break" several of the women racing around me by keeping the hammer down and the pace high for the entire race.  Regrettably I got off to a slow start, likely a result of that aforementioned period of non-racing earlier in the season.  My body is a little slower to activate when it comes to jumping into racing mode, so I inadvertently put myself in the position to chase the leaders for the entire race.  It would have been nice to be in the pack working with them, because it would have been a good challenge.  Rather than dwell on it, I'll use this experience when planning my strategy for my next 30km, which, in fact, is coming up exactly one week from today!

So I ended up a solid 5th in the 30km.  I was happy with my result and fired up for more racing. Now I've relocated to Fairbanks and am beginning preparations for the last races of the season. Since US Short Distance Nationals (held in January in Anchorage) were partially cancelled due to cold, two of the events usually held then have been rescheduled for early in the week of Distance Nationals.  The schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, March 24- 5km classic*

Wednesday, March 25- team sprint skate

Friday, March 27- 15km pursuit*

Sunday, March 29- 30km classic*

*events where I'll be racing

Today was our first day up at Birch Hill, the site of our final races.  The temperature is gradually increasing, with the forecast showing a warming trend as the week goes on.  Today the temperature was in the teens with blue sky and sun.  The trails are in great condition and the volunteers already appear to be hard at work in preparation for the races.  I'm looking forward to some good racing.  My body appears to be firing again, and I can wait to test myself. The 3okm classic a week from today will be my first time skiing a 30km in the classic technique, a pretty significant milestone in my racing career!

More to come from Fairbanks...