Muonio Distance Races

I didn’t achieve the result I was looking for in the first race of the season yesterday, a 10 km classic race in Muonio, Finland. I executed my plan well, so I am not too disappointed. I  finished in 30th place, one minute behind race winner Alexey Poltoranin. I believe I skied well on the climbing sections of the course but struggled on the flats. This course is one of the flattest we will race all season. I have worked hard to improve my flat skiing but still have a lot of work to do. My teammate, Kris Freeman, finished fourth. Here’s the podium:

Above from right to left: Jens Filbrich (Germany, 3rd), Alexey Poltoranin (Kazakhstan, 1st), Lukas Bauer (Czech Republic, 2nd), Kris Freeman (USA, 4th), and Keishin Yoshida (Japan, 6th). (Not pictured: Niklas Colliander, Finland, 5th). Full results here.

Thanks to our wax techs for hard work on our skis!

After the race, Kris enjoyed his electronic devices (computer, ipad, ipod, phone, and insulin monitor for his diabetes):

I am looking forward to the 15km skate race today. I have refocused on what I need to do. The only thing that matters is that I execute well. My coach, Zach Caldwell of Caldwell Sport put together this video of my technique block last week in Putney, Vermont. The video helped me relax, gain confidence, and focus on the things I need to do to go fast.