Nationals
Despite having to race some days in slush at 20C, Nationals in Quebec were a blast. Stepping out of the van in the sandy parking lot, smelling sunscreen in the air and seeing everyone walk by in shorts and race bibs was a great, casual way to finish off another season of racing.
The week started off with the club team sprints. They were held at the Plains of Abraham again and it was a fun race to watch. The conditions were less than ideal; slushy snow with a few puddles here and there with a big herringboning hill due to a lack of tracks. Watching the younger categories race was pretty funny because for some of them it was their first time skiing on klister wax. Skiing on klister can take some getting used to, so they didn't know how to prepare themselves for the really soft spot at the bottom of a gradual downhill and when their skis stopped dead they would catapult forward and face plant. I can laugh at this now because I'm sure I was one of them back in the day...
Emily Nishikawa and I were partners and it felt great to be racing in the black and white Yukon suit again! We finished the day in 4th spot.
Starting the sprint relay qualifier (Photo credit: Charles Brassard)
Emily racing one of her loops (Photo credit: Charles Brassard)
After a day of relaxing we had our first individual race which was the 5km classic. This race was kind of funny for me; the whole time I felt like I was going hard and fast, but the results showed otherwise. I was a little confusing! I think everyone felt a little sloppy out there though just because of the conditions.
The next day was the 10km skate individual start. This was definitely an improvement from the day before. I felt really strong starting, so strong that I didn't know if I should be going as hard as I could because surely I was going to bonk if I did, but I went hard anyways and trusted my body. I didn't bonk, but my second lap was definitely harder than my first one... This was also by far the hottest day of the week; by 11:00am the thermometer read 19C and it was still warming up!
Taking a feed; They were a necessity in the heat! (Photo Credit: Bernard Pigeon)
This is how hot it was... (Photo Credit: Bernard Pigeon)
After another rest day we were all ready for the sprints. After qualifying 2nd it was time to start the heats, the two-rows-of-three-lanes heats. Too much snow had melted to have a normal six lane start so they made it two rows, the second row about 4m behind the first row. A bit unfair (or a lot unfair, really)...but we had to make due with what we had. All the heats went smoothly until the A-final. It seems I had bad luck this season with broken poles in A-finals because it happened again here. Going up the very first hill someone stepped on my basket and plucked it right off my pole and because the snow was so soft the bare shaft was plunging right down into the snow. Half way through I was able to grab a pole from a coach but I wasn't able to get it on my hand. I was still in the pack though, and wanted to stay there, so I just gripped it tight and kept going. Coming into the finish there were three of us fighting for 2nd and 3rd place. Unfortunately I got pushed to the outside finishing lane which hadn't been skied in all day it seemed and I was sinking almost ankle deep trying to fight to the line. Well, here's how it went:
(Photo Credit: Bernard Pigeon)
I NEED TO LUNG!!
See, in my head at that point I really thought I was almost a foot and a half behind them. So I didn't think lunging would have helped. Wrong. Looking at these pictures makes me really frustrated because I'm sure I would have medaled had a just done a big lunge. One more thing on my list to improve for next season.
Last but not least was the 20km classic. This was my first race (other than a loppet) longer than 10km! Being last year Junior Women it shouldn't have been that way, but it was. And it was fun! It was four laps of the same 5km loop we used for every other race and it started off pretty easy and by the end of the second loop the group started to break apart. For some reason there seemed to be a few times during the race where I knew I should be pushing harder and that I had the energy to do so, but my body was tired from the long week and I guess I just didn't have the strength. That was something I had to overcome mentally and just make sure I skied as smoothly as possible to not waste any of the strength I had left. The last lap and a bit I skied on my own, I was in 4th place and was trying to chase down 3rd but couldn't quite make up the time.
Here is teammate Rebecca and I leading a section in the first lap (Photo Credit: Bernard Pigeon)
This week was a great way to finish off the season and I am ready to relax during the month of April and have fun at home!
The week started off with the club team sprints. They were held at the Plains of Abraham again and it was a fun race to watch. The conditions were less than ideal; slushy snow with a few puddles here and there with a big herringboning hill due to a lack of tracks. Watching the younger categories race was pretty funny because for some of them it was their first time skiing on klister wax. Skiing on klister can take some getting used to, so they didn't know how to prepare themselves for the really soft spot at the bottom of a gradual downhill and when their skis stopped dead they would catapult forward and face plant. I can laugh at this now because I'm sure I was one of them back in the day...
Emily Nishikawa and I were partners and it felt great to be racing in the black and white Yukon suit again! We finished the day in 4th spot.
After a day of relaxing we had our first individual race which was the 5km classic. This race was kind of funny for me; the whole time I felt like I was going hard and fast, but the results showed otherwise. I was a little confusing! I think everyone felt a little sloppy out there though just because of the conditions.
Rounding one of the last corners (Photo Credit: Bernard Pigeon)
After another rest day we were all ready for the sprints. After qualifying 2nd it was time to start the heats, the two-rows-of-three-lanes heats. Too much snow had melted to have a normal six lane start so they made it two rows, the second row about 4m behind the first row. A bit unfair (or a lot unfair, really)...but we had to make due with what we had. All the heats went smoothly until the A-final. It seems I had bad luck this season with broken poles in A-finals because it happened again here. Going up the very first hill someone stepped on my basket and plucked it right off my pole and because the snow was so soft the bare shaft was plunging right down into the snow. Half way through I was able to grab a pole from a coach but I wasn't able to get it on my hand. I was still in the pack though, and wanted to stay there, so I just gripped it tight and kept going. Coming into the finish there were three of us fighting for 2nd and 3rd place. Unfortunately I got pushed to the outside finishing lane which hadn't been skied in all day it seemed and I was sinking almost ankle deep trying to fight to the line. Well, here's how it went:
I NEED TO LUNG!!
See, in my head at that point I really thought I was almost a foot and a half behind them. So I didn't think lunging would have helped. Wrong. Looking at these pictures makes me really frustrated because I'm sure I would have medaled had a just done a big lunge. One more thing on my list to improve for next season.
Last but not least was the 20km classic. This was my first race (other than a loppet) longer than 10km! Being last year Junior Women it shouldn't have been that way, but it was. And it was fun! It was four laps of the same 5km loop we used for every other race and it started off pretty easy and by the end of the second loop the group started to break apart. For some reason there seemed to be a few times during the race where I knew I should be pushing harder and that I had the energy to do so, but my body was tired from the long week and I guess I just didn't have the strength. That was something I had to overcome mentally and just make sure I skied as smoothly as possible to not waste any of the strength I had left. The last lap and a bit I skied on my own, I was in 4th place and was trying to chase down 3rd but couldn't quite make up the time.
This week was a great way to finish off the season and I am ready to relax during the month of April and have fun at home!
