This past weekend was another tough one for the MOD Squad. We took part in two NorAm Cup races in Silver Star, B.C. where the competition rivals that of a National Championships. For the Canadians it determined Olympic team alternates, for the Americans it was another chance to earn those crucial points which would help pick our own 2010 Team. Sadie, Erik and I all went in hoping that we could turn around the pattern of disappointing races (with the notable exception of Sadie’s sprint result in Bozeman) and post a result to hang our hats on. For Saturday’s 15K skate race it was not to be; the continued fatigue resulting from our bout of overtraining earlier this fall prevented strong performances from any of us. Sadie posted a 22nd place finish and Erik and I were 64th and 59th, respectively.br /br /After Saturday’s race I clenched my jaw and looked towards Sunday. A skate sprint, it was my best event. Despite the fatigue, despite the poor performances that were already stacking up in the season, I was steadfast in my belief that I can throw down some speed. We had excellent speed and intensity training this year, and are confident that those abilities have remained intact. However, knowing that I probably didn’t have the stamina to be strong through all the heats, I set my sights on posting the strongest performance I could in the qualifying time trial. I started strong and tried to save my turbo for the final straightaway in the stadium. Despite this strategy, I certainly didn’t have “snap” across that finishing stretch; rather, I flung myself across the line in a somewhat haphazard frenzy. But soon after I finished I was told by several coaches and spectators that my time was well in range of the top guys. When the results list came out, I was 8th overall, 5th American. In a similar fashion, Sadie drove herself to a solid 16th and Erik was 32nd overall and 1st junior.br /br /My quarterfinal was more indicative of my current state. I again approached it with the damn-the-torpedoes mentality that if I had only one ounce of strength left, I was gonna leave it all on the trail. But 200m into the race I got tangled with two other skiers and went down, watching the five others ski away. There was no way I could regain the pack and hope to move on; they had put probably 10-15sec on me at that point. I jumped up and focused on a strategy of fighting my way back to at least finish in close proximity. I gained back maybe 8-10sec of what I lost in the fall by the finish, and was completely spent.br /br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Mg2hQbkHkNs/SykdeModNcI/AAAAAAAAATc/BeyDRjHXFEk/s1600-h/Skiing+Nov-Dec+063.jpg”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Mg2hQbkHkNs/SykdeModNcI/AAAAAAAAATc/BeyDRjHXFEk/s320/Skiing+Nov-Dec+063.jpg” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415892431513925058″ border=”0″ //abr /These early season races have taught us a hard lesson which we have all taken to heart, but from my perspective it’s been essential experience for us all. Aside from discovering where we need to show prudence in our training, these races have shown our strengths. Fighting through fatigue and flatness we have all posted significant results in the sprints, displaying our innate speed and power which needs only to be fostered with more rest to show its true potential. I’m confident we’ll be ready for Nationals in two weeks and will earn redemption for these early struggles. The fight continues.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2910103639238326543-5382797940323599937?l=methowolympicdevelopment.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div
