McCall for the win

After what feels like a very short season of training and racing, we are finally getting ready to head to Truckee, California for the 2015 Junior Nationals! The final deciding race was held last weekend in McCall, Idaho. The whole intermountain squad made the long trek to these beautiful trails in the Ponderosa State Park. It was definitely worthwhile, because we were able to ski some fun trails and we experienced some of the most beautiful sunsets that I have ever seen!

The beautiful sunset of day 1, featuring Payette Lake

The first day of racing was classic sprints. In the prelim everyone has stellar races and everyone qualified for the heats. In the quarter finals a good majority of the Wasatch athletes moved on including, Karsten, Henry, Sarah, Olivia, and myself. Everyone else was close by a hair. After those races we moved on to the semifinals. I was in the second semifinal with Olivia. Sadly, I had a bit of bad luck and backtracked a little bit on the uphill by literally falling on my butt. It was all good though because Olivia was able to move on to the A final! I got to represent Wasatch in the B final. Woop Woop! Olivia skied into second place and made everyone very proud while I also made the second position in my final. Sarah, originally a U14 but skiing up to U16, finished 5th in her B final. Karsten and Henry both skied very well and finished 3rd and 4th. Overall, it was a good day for Team Wasatch! 

After a fun first day of racing, we hit the town and decided to check out some of the local thrift stores. Our treasures were quite astounding...

We decided that Jenae needs to model ski goggles

And that Olivia needs to model mens clothing

On Sunday morning they held mass start skate races. Almost everyone skied a shortened version of the races that they usually ski. For the U18/U20 women, the distance was only a 5k where we usually ski 10k. It was very fun though! The course was extremely fast and the race was over before you even knew it. 

Later that day was the naming of the 2015 Intermountain Junior National Team. Everyone was obviously very excited and nervous. Mostly me! A solid season of racing and training there brought an even more solid team for the Intermountain Division to send to Truckee, CA. 

The 2015 Intermountain U18/U20 Girls Team

Let's hope for snow (in Truckee mostly)! Bye bye for now.

Snowy SoHo? I don't think so...

So we say goodbye to another great weekend of racing and hello to a whole new one! Weekend after weekend we go from race to race. But don't worry, it's not without a huge smile and lots of excitement. 

This past weekend was the second IMD qualifier race at Soldier Hollow, in Midway, Utah. (About 20 minutes from my house!) That made for some pretty comfortable races because we were able to sleep in our own beds and ski on our own courses. But just to ensure that we knew both the sprint and 4k courses, we went out on the Thursday before the races began to get a feel for them one last time. 

On Thursday, the courses were solid, icy, and fast, but when Friday rolled around, we found a whole new beast to conquer. Snow-condition-wise…it was slush! Complete slush…because the temperatures hadn't reached freezing the night before. Plus, it was extremely foggy and that made the visibility extremely low. It was like getting used to the course all over again. We had to work extra hard to ski fast and well in those conditions because finding balance was questionable and with every step forward, you would sink back into the snow a little ways. VERY frustrating. We made due though, we put our game faces on and conquered the slush!

Soldier Hollow the day before the slush...

Friday's race was a sprint, so it took the whole entire day to get through all of the races. Which meant letting 700+ skiers race the course... After my qualifier race, which actually went pretty well, I had to wait for about 2 hours before I was be able to compete in the heats. It was a worthwhile wait though, because it meant that I was able to go out and race again! So after a fun few hours in the Soldier Hollow Lodge, I made my way back down to the stadium to race again! With a sprint, the longer you warm up, the more ready you will be for your race, so I warmed up for a good hour. It payed off too! In my quarterfinal, I sat in 2nd place around the course up until the last turn into the finishing stretch. At that point I was boxed in and pushed back to 4th place. That would not have allowed me to move onto the semifinals so I had to do something about it! And I did! Because the girls on either side of me were V2ing very close, I mustered up all of my strength and double poled out of the cluster. That was able to secure me a 1st place finish in the quarterfinal, which meant that I would move on to the semis! It was also the talk of the afternoon! 

Just before I double poled to the front in the quarterfinal. Photo thanks to Skyler Mullings.

In my next race, I was up against my own teammate, Olivia, and four other girls. I wasn't in the top three at the end of that race so I didn't move on to the A final, but I did still get to race the B final. After a short 10 minutes of rest in between the semis and the B final, I was racing again! Not paying attention tot the technique involved, this was probably my best race. When I made it up the first hill, I looked back and nobody was behind me. So I kept going and when I made it to the top of the second hill, still, no one behind me. At that point all I could focus on was keeping my balance and holding my position. Once I was up the final hill for the last time all I had was the straight away into the finish. And before I knew it, I was crossing the finish line with a feeling of relief washing over me. 

Finishing 4th in the semifinals. Photo thanks to Skyler Mullings.

My final sprint of the day.

The sprints on Friday were a testament to how strong and driven everyone on this team truly is. Even though we had tough conditions, crazy wax, and stiff competition, everyone pulled through and raced their hearts out. The results showed just how incredible everyone skied: Karsten with a 1st in the sprint and an 18th in the 15k after double poling the whole entire race. Henry with a 3rd in the sprint and a 3rd in the 15k after also double poling the whole thing. Olivia finished 1st in the sprint and 8th in the 10k. Lindsey with a 48th in the sprint and a 44th in the U18's. Jenae finished 12th in the sprint and 10th in the 5k. Savanna with an 11th in the sprint and a 34th in the 5k. Sarah with an impressive 27th place in the sprint after racing up into U16 and a 31st in the 5k. Grace with a fantastic 52nd in the sprint and finally, ME, with a 7th in the sprint and a 41st in the 10k. 

Olivia and I after some great sprints!

As these races have come and go, I am sad to say that the SuperQualifier is officially over. But now we have more races to prepare for as Junior Nationals is just around the corner. And it's going to be great! None of this greatness would have been possible without the perseverance of my incredible coach, Bill, and his handy "waxmen," my dad and Kory. Aside from the guys who got us movin on that snow, the people who I should really thank are those who cheered. Not just for me, but for everyone! Thank you for motivating and for yelling loudly. To all of the coaches, parents, spectators, and professional cheerers who spent their weekends out at Soldier Hollow, THANK YOU! Your cowbells were much appreciated.

Sarah's first time experiencing the sprint heats!

Now on to the Boulder Mountain Tour next weekend! Wish me luck!

The Snow Gods gave them snow!

And so it begins!

An intro picture to the blogpost ahead

The race season has officially started! This last weekend my team, as well as Team Soldier Hollow,  drove up to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for the IMD season opener races. We all piled into Soho's van and drove the 5 hours that it took to get to Jackson. Along the way we maneuvered through a cattle drive, spotted dear, elk, a bald eagle, and watched as mountain goats made their way across the road. It was a pretty eventful car ride! Plus, we go to know our fellow Utah team, Soldier Hollow, a little bit better. 

One of our very fluffy friends that we made on our way to Jackson

Along with the drive up to Jackson on Thursday, we went directly up to the ski venue to test out the race course for the following day. It was like heaven up at Trail Creek Ranch because all you could see for miles and miles was fluffy, white snow! Whereas in Park City, all you could see was the occasional ice patch here and there. 

A beautiful shot of the Trail Creek Ranch.

While we were up there skiing the course on Thursday, we also did a few speeds and starts, just to get used to the intensity. They were all going pretty well, until I finished the last one for the day. I had just given it all I had when I turned around and started skin back. I sort of threw my hands up in excitement because we were finished for the day, but when I dropped them back down at my side, the top of my grip slammed into my leg and the bottom of the pole caught the snow. Before I knew it my pole had shattered. People who had seen it happened told me that the pole snap sounded like a firecracker going off. In frustration, I threw the remaining part of my pole down in the snow and skied off a little bit of my frustration. And when I went back to collect the pieces, there were five to be exact. Most of the time you hear about poles snapping into two or maybe even three pieces, but no. Mine had broken into FIVE. 

Here are three of the five pieces. The last two were having the grip and tip taken off.

After the fact it was actually really funny because most everyone on my team told me about poles that they had broken in the past, in an effort to try and make me feel better. It worked, because for the rest of the weekend they decided that my nickname would be "The Firecracker".

The next day marked the first "official" race of the Intermountain season. I had already been apart of four races prior to the Jackson Hole races. Anyway, the season started off with a 5 kilometer classic, individual start. The course was perfect for people with a strong double pole, so most of the Wasatch Nordic Ski Academy excelled! 

Sarah leading by quite a bit in the U14 Classic 3km.

Jenae demonstrating beautifully how to breath during a race.

Everyone had amazing races that day! Finishing with quite a few podiums and lots of smiles. Karsten won the U18/U20 field, Olivia won the U20 field and placed 2nd overall, Sarah won the U14 field, Aidan won the U14 field, and I placed 3rd in the U18 field and 5th overall. 

Coach Bill testing wax before the classic races.

The next day was made up of freestyle races (or skate). The day before had been slightly shorter for the U18s and older, but the skate races were 7.5 kilometers. The typical distance that we will ski this season will be 10 kilometers, but for these fun races, they decided to have us race a 5km and a 7.5km. 

Olivia leading Leah and Bjork in the skate race.

The skate races were all started as mass starts. Everyone was set up in what we call a "chevron". Meaning that the 1st place person starts in the center lane closest to the front. 2nd and 3rd both start in the lanes to the side of the 1st place person and slightly back. The 4th and 5th place people started a little further back and again, to the side of the 2nd and 3rd places. From there, the other places were placed behind the front row. 

A view of the chevron from the front. (Olivia is 2nd from the left, and I am on the far right).

The skate races finished very well. Olivia, Sarah, Aidan, and Karsten all killed it in their races. Karsten placing 4th, having come back from a broken pole right at the start. Olivia placing 3rd overall and 1st U20, Sarah winning again, and Aidan coming in 3rd. Congratulations to all!

Karsten showing us that this really is a tough sport.

Double poling at the start of the skate 7.5km.

We weren't in Jackson for long though, after all of the races finished up and after all of the awards were handed out, the Soldier Hollow van filled with SoHo and Wasatch kids headed out.

We were excited to be standing on the podium!

West Yellowstone, thank you for the fun memories!

Last weekend my team and I drove from Salt Lake City, Utah to West Yellowstone, Montana for the ski festival help up there. Conditions while we were there were a little bit crazy, but nonetheless, it was quite fun! We were lucky enough to stay for the whole week and we skied the entire time! Our week started off with a 2 hour classic ski. Even though we had been on snow the week prior, we still had to get used to our "snow legs". 

The first day out, the snow we enjoyed an easy distance classic ski on some pretty soft snow. It was actually a really tough workout, because you would go to plant your poles and they would sink into the snow a few more inches. In the afternoon we came back out to the ski trails with our skate equipment. I was a little bit squirrelly to start off, but once I got the hang of it, there was no stopping me!

My favorite training session of the week was probably the skate sprints that we did on Monday. I LOVE sprinting, so this drill was by far my favorite. It was also good for us to prepare for the Super Tour skate sprints that Friday. (Another bonus for me!) 

Throughout the course of the week we focused primarily on skating, because the two races at the end of the week were skate races. This meant a whole lot of technique work and lots of speeds and starts. One of the most important, detrimental parts of a sprint is the start. If you have a quick start, then you are able to carry more speed through the course right from the beginning. But if you have a slow start, it's harder to get yourself moving. 

Me starting my skate sprint

Skiing wasn't the only thing we did while we were there. It's always good to support those who support you, so a few of us sat at the NNF booth at the ski expo one night for a few hours to show our support.

We were proud to show our support for Atomic because of everything that they have done for our team. 

Plus, what's a good ski week without a solid strength session?!

Here is the little gym we worked out in. I'm pretty sure the maximum capacity was 10, but there were 30 of us! Opps!

Sierra, Olivia, and I after we conquered Telly Hill

And to finish of the fun week in West, my team participated in the first two Super Tour races. The first being the skate sprints and the second being the 10k or 15k distance skate. Everyone had exceptional results, given that we were all racing against some of the best collegiate skiers in the country. 

Olivia and I both qualified for the Junior Heats "A final" in the skate sprints. We were the 3rd and 4th juniors after the top 30. The A final junior heat was won by Kristen Helland-Hansen, a skier from Sun Valley, with me coming in 2nd and Olivia finishing close behind in 4th. Pretty awesome! Karsten was 18th overall in his preliminary sprint race as well as the 1st junior overall in the qualifier. In the skate distance, Henry was the 2nd fastest junior overall. Sarah and Savanna both finished 5th in their 5k races with outstanding times! For a team of 12, these results were pretty impressive!

~Photo credits to Skyler Mullings~

Olivia and I representing Wasatch Nordic in the junior heat, A final!

The last stretch into the finish

The week in West Yellowstone was by far the best it's ever been. Being able to share the experience with a new team was even better. 

Thank you to all of the people that made this trip possible! I want to give a huge thanks to both of my parents for supporting me and for allowing me to chance to love what I do! Another huge thanks to my awesome coach, Bill. In the little time that I have spent with him and his outstanding team I have learned more than I ever thought I would ever need to know. My technique has grown along with my endurance and my strength, all thanks to him. THANK YOU BILL! Also, there is no way I would be this determined to ski without the support of my teammates! Each and every one of them has shown me that this isn't something the average person can do. It takes a special someone to love cross-country skiing. So I guess you could say, they're all pretty special.

Thank you, Dad! (And to my mom for taking the wonderful picture as well as for cheering louder than anyone else)

It was tough to say goodbye, but we did it with one last hurrah!

Until next time, West Yellowstone!

Snow is on its way!

It's been a while, but I'm finally updating my blog again! Recently, life has been extremely crazy! From training daily at least once, finishing up school at the Winter Sports School, and finding time to hang out with my friends, there is never a dull moment!

We were finally able to ski on some snow on Monday, November 3rd! We toddled around for about an hour and a half that morning. Sadly, it melted away that afternoon, but I can't complain! The first snow is always exciting!

Olivia and I were so excited to be on snow!

The last two weeks of training have been focused around INTENSITY! My coach insists on calling it "funtensity" to motivate us. We've been doing lots of intervals. From bounding to running to skiing. One of the best things about being on the Wasatch Nordic Ski Academy, is that there is so much positive energy surrounding you. We have such a good mix of people from ages 12-20. There are always laughs to be had, but when it comes to working hard, everyone works together motivates each other.

My favorite workout that we've done this was skate speeds. They were quick bursts of energy, focusing on being quick. We started with doing some V2 pickups into no pole skate and finishing with a super quick V2 uphill. After that we turned around and skated as hard as possible downhill. To finish that workout, we did about 10 uphill V1 repeats. The focus of this one was to stay  low to the ground, move our hand up as quickly as possible, while moving forward and not outward. This was a top speed workout, my favorite!

As the fall has slowly started to come to an end, we have all been getting ready for our first races of the year in West Yellowstone, Montana. As soon as school is over, we head off the the ski festival! And from there, we will head to many places across the country for more races!

Some very tired skiers after a long ski up Big Mountain