Race! Then Rest, Recover, plan.

This past Monday I got back from my final trip of the 2014-15 racing season….a five week stint on the road that included racing in Canmore for IBU Cups 7 and 8, two weeks in Truckee, California for US Biathlon Nationals, and finally a week in Sun Valley, Idaho for cross country Super Tour Finals. I'm happy to be back home, sleeping in my own bed, cuddling my two favorite kitties and enjoying some overdue time with Seth.

Some of my races went well, others went not so well but I came home with a tanned face and some gorgeous pictures so it can't have been all that bad! Now it's planning season…figure out where to go from here. There will be big changes though I'm not sure what they'll look like yet due to some serious changes for MWSC. When I'm ready to share, I'll post again about those. For now, here are some of my favorite photos from the past weeks….enjoy and stay tuned.

Lake Tahoe….on the border between California and Nevada. Was the perfect place to thaw after a long, cold winter in northern Maine. 

I'm ready to go back. 

Clear water and blue skies lend the lake to looking like this most of the time. It's gorgeous. 

I took pictures till my phone died and I was sure that I had two shots of every rock. Just kidding, but I do have a whole slew of photos collected on my computer after four trips to the lake in the two weeks we spent in Truckee. 

So pretty. 

Old cars live longer where there's no salt on the roads…and apparently Thule boxes grow horns too.

Lake Tahoe again…the water level is super low. It's pretty sad. The sand-looking area between these trees and the waterline should all be underwater. 

We got to explore some abandoned train tunnels up on Donner Pass. They're all covered in graffiti and wet inside but pretty fun to explore. 

Urban art in a not to urban area? 

We also went to the Donner Party Museum and learned about their unsuccessful migration west back in the 18040s during a winter of 20+ feet of snow. 

At the museum store they had painted rocks for sale….for $30! Why haven't I been selling rocks? 

Very dirty but still snow-covered trails for US Nationals at Auburn Ski Club. 

Prone shooting on day 1: sprint race. Photo credit: Jakob Ellingson

I finished third with four misses (pretty bad for me) and having raced on my training skis which were terribly slow. I learned and decided to actually sacrifice some good skis for the second race. 

 Photo credit: Jakob Ellingson

Recovery activities between races at US Nationals. After a few weeks on the road my body wasn't psyched about racing in Truckee….here I'm in the ice bath with my right foot and the hot tub with my left. Contrast bathing in hopes of feeling better for race #2 the next day. 

Saying goodbye to my beautiful S2 race skis…they got sacrificed to the dirty snow that we raced on in Truckee. How they managed to pull off races on snow-covered trails is beyond me. 

The day after our last race in Truckee it snowed down in town….this little bit of fresh white stuff would have so helped during the previous two weeks of big races (they hosted Junior Nationals for cross country the week prior to Biathlon Nationals). Mother Nature just wasn't feeling like cooperating! 

After biathlon Nationals I made my way up to Sun Valley, ID with Patrick Johnson, a biathlete on the Far West team, based out of Truckee. This picture pretty much sums up the whole drive from Truckee to Idaho…all 10 hours of it. 

In Sun Valley I was sick for the first few days and unfortunately wasn't well enough to compete in the team relay two days after we arrived. Two days later was a 30k and my final chance to race for this season so I choked down more vitamin C than I care to think about, slept and saved my energy. 

Completing the "parade lap" immediately after the mass start. Photo credit: FlyingPointRoad

It worked and though I wasn't sure I would race even an hour before the start due to severe congestion, I put on my bib, paced myself carefully through the first lap and then started picking off competitors. It was 6 laps on a 5k course and I think I managed to pass people on all but the very last lap. By that time the race was so strung out that I was just able to see the next competitor in front of me and had no one in sight behind. I know…don't look back, but when you're out there for two hours (the skiing was super slushy and slow due to 60 degree temps and full sun) you get bored and start looking around. I finished 18th….better than my 54th start position, and 12th for Americans. Pretty happy with that for an ending to a long season despite being sick! 

Looking north-west from the back side of the pass that Galena Lodge (the venue for the Super Tour races) sits on. We took our rental for some exploration before heading home. 

I stayed out west for a few days after the races, explored a bit, nursed my cold (though it's still hanging on) and then made my way back east to find home still buried in snow and still cold. 

Though not as cold as I left it back in February. It's snowing lightly even as I write this. On April 2nd. 

#whereisspring

Stay tuned for my decisions on next season. 

I'm not at all sure what they'll be, but I hope they'll make me happy. 

On the road again….

Wow….I didn't realize how long it had been since my last update. Oops.

Here's the (very) short of the long: I got my act together and head in the game, raced two NorAms (Jericho and Lake Placid), won all three races that happened (one was canceled due to cold temperatures combined with chilly winds), and was named to the US Team competing at IBU Cups 7 & 8 in Canmore, Alberta. I'm in Alberta now and have already done 3 of the 5 scheduled races here.

I had a bit of a hard time leaving Maine when we have had such great skiing there of late. 

Someone wanted to come along…sorry Luna. I think you might like airplanes less than I do. 

Feet up during my layover at Dulles before heading to Dallas. Kind of a round about route for getting to Calgary! 

Luckily we had a clear day for traveling and got lots of nice views from the planes. 

MWSC teammate Kelsey Dickinson and I came out almost a week before the races started to acclimate and thaw our frozen bodies in the warm weather they've been having. The first few days we had here were awesome…full sun and hardly any wind.

Just a little warmer here in Canmore than in Maine….

We did a lot of crocheting while watching the US XC team killing it in Falun. I made a German-colored hat for our wax tech Matthias. He loves it. 

More crocheting. 

The scenery here leaves little to be desired. This shot was from an afternoon jog along the Bow River. 

Kelsey basking in the sun and scenery. She's a big fan of the mountains here. 

Our host for the first week, Melanie, got to compete in the first three races with us and was super gracious in welcoming us into her home for a few days. She even shared a delicious dinner with us….she's an awesome cook despite some severe diet restrictions. 

Sun in the nordic stadium at Canmore Nordic Center. 

Training during the week before the races got started. More sun….probably my first days training in just a ski suit since our trials back in December. 

Another view of the Bow River, this time from above. 

The railroad trestle that I'm in love with…this time I managed to take a photo from a different angle. 

Perfect classic tracks on the touring trails…too bad I only have skate equipment with me! 

The sun feels so good! 

Another great thing about Canada…everything comes in Maple flavor. Even the yogurt. 

They don't mess around with skating up here…the Zamboni even takes care of the local ponds. 

Some more shots from the venue. 

During our first official training day my teammate Casey had a really bad crash and ended up in the hospital in Calgary. While his injuries were bad, he's making strong steps in his recovery and might be able to go home in the next few days. He suffered a broken scapula, multiple broken ribs (more broken than not on this left side), and a punctured lung. We got to go visit him on our first rest day. He seemed pretty drugged-up then still but has gotten a lot better since. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he keeps recovering as quickly as he has this week. It's hard to see a friend in so much pain and not be able to do much more than make him smile and feed him cookies. 

Official training on the range. 

Ready for opening ceremonies with our Canadian friends and our flag bearer, Thor. 

Posing for a picture with the RCMP and native dancers after the opening ceremonies. 

Photo credit: Pam Doyle

The first weekend (IBU Cup 7) was two sprint races. For the first race I didn't feel awesome on my skis and didn't really do anything amazing on the range. I missed four, finishing just out of the top 30 and wanting more. The second day I felt much better on my skis but still missed 3 shots, leaving me just outside the top 20 in 22nd. A good step up but I've been shooting much better so I still wasn't satisfied. 

My leg numbers from the first race that coincidentally became my finish place in the second race. 

Early starter in the first race. Photo credit: Janice Dickinson

Felt much better skiing in the second race. Photo credit: Janice Dickinson

Coaches Betsy, Matthias, and Jean making fast skis for us! 

A pano of the stadium and range on a sunny training morning. 

Yesterday was an individual, the first race of IBU Cup 8. I felt really good on my skis but really did terribly on the range. In the individual the course is longer (15k for women and 20k for men) and you don't have to ski penalty loops, instead incurring 1 minutes of additional time added to your total ski time for each missed shot. I missed seven shots which put me much further back in the results than my ski time would have. I skied the 20th fastest course time but ended up 29th. Again, leaving myself much less than satisfied. 

Tomorrow we have another sprint race before the final event of the 2015 IBU Cup season on Saturday, a mixed relay. I'm hoping I get named to the relay team for the US but for right now my goal is to shoot better tomorrow…I'm looking for 80% or better on the range. 

Check back soon for another update. This weekend will be busy with two races and a travel day on Sunday. I'm heading to California for US Nationals with teammates Maddie and Kelsey. I will try to update sooner this time though, I promise!