I’m writing from a nice and sunny living room this morning in Minneapolis. My body is ruined from a big weekend of racing at the Mora Vasaloppet - sore head to toe and sick. I was a liiittle bit sick going into the races, and now I am a lot sick. Good reminder not to race when you’re sick, but I really wanted to, so here we are.
I'll catch you up on my racing - how I did, how I feel about it, and a takeaway.
US Nationals - Early January
How I did: There were 4 races (sprint days have 2 results). I was 50th, 9th/11th, 7th, and 14th/28th. All over the board.
How I feel about it: Mixed. I was sick (excuse alert) before nationals, so I’m not being too hard on myself. I had one of my best races ever somehow, and some of my worst races ever. Nationals is a really important week, so unfortunately it took me out of contention for the rest of the World Cup season. I won’t get into the nitty-gritty of the selection process, but the reality is that skiing fast gets you places, and skiing kind-of-fast puts you at the mercy of politics. The key is to ski fast, and remove doubt 🙂
Takeaway: It is such a privilege to race, even if it’s not a “good one.” I only had sprint starts in Period 1 World Cup, and I just about went crazy sitting on the sidelines for the heats and distance events. It was so fun to come home and race a bunch, even if they weren’t all glamorous. I love racing.
Bozeman SuperTour - Late January
How I did: 27th, 11th/7th, and 19th (or 13th, 5th/2nd, and 5th for Americans!)
How I feel about it: Mixed. Distance felt hard, but then sprinting felt great. These races had a deep field of strong collegiate skiers from Sweden, Norway, France, Canada, and Germany. I have a lot of respect for many of these competitors. I know I can ski faster, but this time other people did.
Takeaway: A bad day doesn’t dictate tomorrow. Also a good life motto. I’ve had many good races right after bad races. I don’t define myself by my bad days.
Boulder Mountain Tour - Early February
How I did: 4th in marathon. 1st in the Team Sprint!
How I feel about it: Good. The three ahead of me in the BMT were extremely strong skiers, and the people behind me were too. I fought hard the whole way and exhausted myself big time. The Team Sprint was a blast - took place downtown and was short and fast.
Takeaway: Big community events are the life of cross-country skiing. If you ever find yourself losing joy for the sport, or needing a boost in general, the simple remedy is to sign up for a ski marathon and watch the camaraderie, joy, history, culture, and light-heartedness lift you right up. Thousands of people of all ages, enthusiastically skiing through the woods, and celebrating the accomplishment with friends. That’s as good as it gets.
Mora Vasaloppet 48K - this past weekend Feb 8-9th
How I did: 1st in classic, 2nd in skate
How I feel about it: Great. These were the first “well executed” marathons I’ve done. I fueled correctly, dressed correctly, and I’m proud to have finished my heaviest race weekend ever - 96k or so.
Takeaway: Another testament to the joy of a community race. I met quite a few people during the race which is a fun bonus of these long events. The Ks went by fast knowing I wasn’t alone out there. My parents gave me fuel during the race and cheered me on.
Next up: American Birkebeiner - Feb 22nd!!
Thanks for checking in.
-Renae