Worlds

I got the word after the race today that I am heading to World Champs! They aren't for a month so I am off to Stowe, VT to train for the next few weeks before I head over. Annie and Hazel are heading back there later this week so it will be good to see them for a while. 

My first sprint relay was a blast. I was able to hang in with the leaders for 2.5 of 3 laps when they made a big acceleration that I didn't have left in me. It was a sweet chance to see how fast they really go and have three laps to race with those guys. I feel like I have learned a lot both yesterday and today about tactics and the level that the regular World Cup'ers ski at. I've been at that level before and every time I am I learn quite a lot. Now there's another chance next month. 

So now a couple days off to travel back to VT. Then hit the training hard for a bit and see if I can't put together a good peak. 

22nd

22nd in a World Cup isn't too bad and I did get my first World Cup points. With the smaller field and a few guys in front that I normally beat it was a little frustrating. I started off a little more conservatively than I normally do and all was going well until midway thru the classic leg. The guy who I had marked since he is a typical slow starter and top 5 at the end was right in front of me. Then going thru the second feed station one of the Canadiens stepped in front of me trying to get a feed, missed it, and slowed up to get another right before the pack up front started to move and I missed my shot. The rest of the classic leg I picked off a few more people and came thru the exchange in 16th with 4 or 5 others. I had a pretty quick exchange and was feeling really good skating so I tried to drop the guys I was with catch up to the next group 10-15 seconds up and that proved a little costly and started cramping around 20k and ran out of gas.  

I was hoping for a little better race out there but I was still the 2nd American and I think I made World Champs after that but I won't find out until tomorrow night. Then I make some plane reservations and fly somewhere on Monday. It is a little bit of a tough call since I could stay in the US and make a decent amount of money on the SuperTour or go to Worlds and miss all the money races. But I am a racer and the fast guys are at Worlds and that is where I want to be. Tomorrow is the team sprint and I will be racing that one. I've never done a World Cup team sprint before so it should be fun. 

Race day -1

The first World Cup of the season is tomorrow. Today's sprint was a bit of a bummer for Team USA and APU with all but Newell getting knocked out in the quarter finals and Andy falling in the semi's. But all signs are positive for tomorrow. My pre-race intervals felt really good and I have picked up a couple new skis from Atomic that feel amazing out there. This is definitely the most confident I have ever been about both my equipment and my fitness going into a World Cup. Last night we got our super hero red ski team uni's. All that's left to do is go. 

Sunny days

Another beautiful day in Whistler. Everyone was expecting the pretty nasty weather that is standard below the clouds here and are "challenging" waxing conditions. All the national teams and ski companies brought over the hairies skis with new base materials to try out and it has been nothing but sunshine and blue skies that are supposed to last thru the weekend. A few countries have people who will be staying for the next month to se what this place really has to offer. Our van driver today said that until this week they haven't had a sunny day in two months!

Today the sprinters were getting ready for the classic race tomorrow and it sounds like most everyone will double pole it. It's a longer course, 1.6 k to be exact, with two pretty long hills but none that steep. Should be interesting to see how people hold up. 

Warmth!

Skiing today at WOP (Whistler Olympic Park) was 45 degrees warmer than skiing in AK last week! The snow was pretty good relatively firm fast wet snow with the standard 10 minutes of wet snow to make it really slow skiing for a while. 

The travel down was smooth. Lars and I got in a few hours before the rest and got to have some sushi in the Vancouver airport to kill the time. They have some good food in that airport. The one bummer is Anders woke up this morning with a sore throat... 

Nationals done

Todays sprint was cancelled which means they will try to hold them tomorrow instead of the distance classic race. The organizers delayed a few times but it wasn't even close to -4 F out there. Tonight the World Junior and U23 World Champ teams are named and we haven't had a sprint race in the country yet. Bummer for the sprinters. 

This morning was another run on the treadmill at the Alaska Club and distance ski as the sun set at 3:30 pm. I think I am starting to get used to the ridiculous cold, it was -16 F and I felt fine as long as I kept moving. The skiing has been amazing other than the cold. Hard fast tracks and blue skies and big bright moon the other 18 hours of the day.

The sprint has been rescheduled for tomorrow, but it won't be a championship qualifier race. Either way my championships are done. It's a bit of a letdown after finally getting a chance to race at home, but fortunately my season continues at the World Cup in Whistler next weekend. I knew coming into the season that it was going to be the first race that really counts toward qualifying for Worlds and it is also the first race towards Olympic qualifying.

The next few day it's time to get a few hard workouts in and jump in the UAA Invitational on Saturday for the mass start classic race with all the western college skiers before heading to Canada on Monday. It should be a good field and a good chance to get a mass start in before the World Cups. 

Cancelled

After 3 postponements, todays race was finally cancelled. At the low point on the course it was -27 C at 1 pm (that's -16 F)!  Lucky for me I only live a couple miles from the park and didn't have to hang out there all day. Instead I watched the new classic Superbad. 

Tomorrow should be the classic sprint, then the distance classic race Thursday. The forecast looks promising starting Thursday. It could be as high as 15 F!

Almost pretty good

Today went okay. I started a little conservative with my first split in 7th, then 6th, 5th, 4th by the end of the 1st lap and building. Winning was not in the cards with Kris skiing really well and me feeling good but not quite as sharp as I would have hoped. With a 2k to go I was only a few seconds behind Leif who ended the day in 2nd when coming off a downhill into the stadium my ski hit a patch of ice and before I knew it I was on the ground. I got back up pretty quick but my momentum was gone and so was the podium... 

Tomorrow has been changed from the sprint race to the distance classic race that has been lengthened from 10k to 15k. Classic has been better for me this year. Until tomorrow. 

Getting ready?

Tomorrow Nationals are scheduled to start for me. With it being so cold out that my normal pre-race week prep has needed to be adjusted and the rumor that the distance races might be moved to later in the week if today's sprint doesn't go off as scheduled it feels a little different. Still, the body feels good and I am really ready to get racing again.

The last time I remember feeling this uncertainty was Fairbanks in 2005 for the first races of the Olympic season. It had been way too cold the day before the 20k pursuit and I went to bed not thinking there was a race the next day. We ended up racing even though the temp at Birch Hill never got over -6 F but it was a pretty good day and the start to a really good season. Looking forward to the same.

Hopefully they won't force today's race since the sprinters could really screw up their lungs with such short hard efforts in the extreme cold. 

Nationals are coming

As most of you have heard or experience first hand here in Anchorage this week, it is cold. That aside the skiing has been sweet! Classic tracks were finally put in around the classic course and everything is in really good shape for the races. 

It has been fun to see everyone from Outside up here. They seem to be dealing with the dark and unusually cold temps pretty well and are pretty fired up to be here. The moose have been keeping them entertained out there as well.

The forecast looks cold for the races but it should be above zero on the days I go. I will only be doing the two distance races next week. It was a tough call to sit out the team sprint. Anders and I are both skiing well, but this year I am trying to race a little less and focus on preparing to perform well when I do race. That part sounds a little obvious but if you race all the races you can, the chances of skiing well in late February are pretty slim. 

Baby Hazel is doing really well and is letting Mama Annie sleep most of the night. She's starting to smile as well which is cool to see.