US Nationals Simulation Week: Day 1

We’ve been back from Italy for a week now, and we’re settling into a routine that will carry us all the way through to November’s trip to West Yellowstone. This is arguably our most focused block of the year academically and athletically: we have an opportunity to make big gains in both arenas.

It’s a good time to think about where we’re going: part of moving forward is reflecting on where we’ve been. What’s worked well and where do we need to be better?

Many of our skiers have made serious goals for the races at US Nationals. In order to prepare, we’re skiing a simulated Nationals week, with three time trial efforts: a 10km skate, a skate sprint day, and a classic distance race. For the first day of this week we drove up over the gap to go meet up with Cam MacKugler and his Frost Mountain Nordic team for a 10km skate TT. I had a vision of Cam bending a Swix Star at the Bolton Eastern High School Sprint when I was in 9th grade (2005). I won’t tell you how long it took me to dredge up this photo, but the display of raw power is worth it.