The first
half of the season was full of racing from NorAm cups to World Cups to the
World Under 23 championships it felt like I was constantly racing and travelling Once Eastern’s were done however I was back in Canmore and facing a
slightly less busy second half of the season. Next after the Eastern Canadian
Championships was the Western Canadian Championships in Grande Prairie Alberta.
I had never been to Grand Prairie and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.
The race trails were surprisingly difficult given that they were in a place
named Grande Prairie and as an easterner my first thought when I hear the word
prairie is of a flat landscaped where you can see the curvature of the earth.
As it turns out however Grande Prairie does have hills and they make good use
of them on their race courses. The weekend was set up as another minitour just
like at Eastern’s but with the techniques changed. We started off with a skate
sprint I had a relatively good day on the narrow fast course and managed to
make it into the final to finish the day in fifth, my best ever NorAm skate
sprint result. The next day however I woke up with a sore throat. I decided to
race anyway but unfortunately I had very little energy and finished a distant
15th. After this race my coach’s and I decided it would be better to
skip the last race and get ready for the rest of the season rather than risk
getting more sick.
Nationals
This year
nationals were being held at Whistler Olyimpic Park one of my favorite race
venues. With Nationals being held very late this year, we had a lot of time
between races in the second half of the season. Luckily we filled this with
some Alberta Cup racing.
Nationals
for me got off to a decent start. I teamed up with Steffan Lloyd for the second
year in a row in the team sprint. Last year in classic we placed third, this
year however it didn't go quite as well for us. We got off to a bit of a rough
start in our semifinal and just made it in to the final. The final went much
better for us and we managed sixth. Not quite a podium but a good result
nonetheless.
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| The Team Sprint is the one race a year I get to wear my Nakkertok suit! Photo: Kevin Jones |
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| Team sprint final Photo: kevin Jones |
The very
next day was the 10km skate. After a bad night’s sleep I woke up feeling very
tired. I felt I had very little energy in my warm up and just hoped I would
feel better during my race. My first lap was not good and I managed only to
have the 73rd fastest time at the half way mark. On my second lap however
I got a good ride from Knut Johnsgaard and started to feel much better. I
posted the 13th fastest second lap placing me in 27th
overall in a very competitive field. This wasn’t by any means an amazing result
yet it was still perhaps my best individual skate race this year and
considering how I felt in the morning I had to be satisfied.
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| Rounding the last corner in the 10km skate Photo: Kevin Jones |
After one days rest it was time for the 15km classic. This proved to be the warmest day of racing at Nationals.
Since it didn't feel that warm in the morning I had neglected to bring a
t-shirt to the race venue, I realized a couple of minutes before the start that
my race suit was going to be much too warm and decided to do something I wouldn't normally do and race with just my bib. I realized a couple of minutes
in that this was the right decision since even with my limited clothing it was still
a hot day. I started hard, trying not to make the same mistake as in the 10km and
posted the 17th fastest time on the first lap. On the second lap I
dug deep and managed to move up to 12th as the 10th Canadian.
This was probably my best distance race since before Christmas so I was very
happy to be racing that well so late in the season since that is something I
have struggled with the last couple of years.
Next up was
the classic sprint, my favorite event. I started the day off with a bad
qualifier managing only 21st. I told myself that it didn't matter
since I had had very good days before after bad qualifiers. This day, however,
turned out to be different. I had absolutely not energy in my quarterfinal and
had trouble keeping up on the long climbs (usually my favorite part) I got dropped
on the second big climb but managed to catch up a bit on the downhill and flat
coming into the stadium. I managed only fourth in my quarterfinal, not good
enough to move on. This was a huge disappointment and was the first time since
becoming a senior that I have not made the final in a NorAm classic sprint.
Clearly something was wrong. I was just tired, I had managed a few decent races
from simply being determined and ignoring the constant bad nights of sleep and
lack of energy but now it had caught up to me in a big way.
After
talking to my coach’s we decided to cut the upcoming 50km in order the rest and
get ready for a couple of races I was planning on doing at Super Tour finals in
Truckee California the next week.
With that
my Nationals were over and a few days later I found myself heading to
California for the first time in my life.
California
Truckee
California is situated in the Sierra Nevada mountains near Lake Tahoe and is
known for getting meters of snow every winter. Unfortunately this winter was
not a normal winter and after some of the driest weather they have ever
experienced the organizers had to scramble to pull off the event. Many of the
races were moved to a higher venue which at 2200 meters above sea level was 600
meters higher than I had ever raced before and is nearly as high as the Haig
glacier.
I went to
Truckee planning on racing two races. This being the end of the season and
knowing that I was getting tired I thought it would be better to focus on
having two good races rather than planning to do all four only to get tired and
not do well in the races I wanted to.
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| California at it's best Photo: Sam Tarling http://www.samtarlingnordic.com/ |
My first
race was a 15km classic mass start. I had had possibly my best race of the year
in this same event in Silver Star in December so I was looking forward to
racing it again. The race started fast and I was immediately left chasing on
the winding technical course. On the first lap I moved up a few places on the
one big steep hill but soon found that I was losing positions on the rest of
the course. No matter how hard I worked there was no getting around the fact
that my skis were running very slow. Each time up the courses biggest climb I
would gain a few spots only to lose them again on the rest of the course. I
finished the day a disappointing 30th far from what I had been
hoping for.
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| Hot weather and thin air many of the best skiers simply walked up this hill Photo: Mark Nadell http://www.macbethgraphics.com/ |
The next
race was going to be my last of the season so I was very much looking forward
to it especially since it was a classic sprint. Unfortunately the night before
I had a high fever and barely got any sleep. I got up the morning stuffed up
and definitely sick. Since it was the last race of my season however I decided
to give it a try anyway. I gave it my best shot, but unfortunately I just didn't have the energy I was exhausted and simply couldn't push and for the first time
in my life I didn't qualify for a domestic level classic sprint. This was a
disappointment for sure but given how I felt I couldn't be too surprised.
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| Classic sprint, no energy and no speed it was time to end the season |
It’s always
hard to end a season on a bad note, but I have to stay positive the truth is
I have had a very successful season with many good races. This season I got my
first NorAm podium and then followed it up with two more, I started my first
World Cups and traveled to Europe to race at the World Under 23 Championships.
Sure I didn't finish off the season with particularly good races, but hopefully
in time that will only make me more motivated for next year, but for now I’m
just going to rest.
I would
like to thank Classic Wood Mouldings and Dr. Beverley Mckeown dentistry for
their support this year. Without them I would not be able to chase my athletic
dreams. I would also like to thank Salomon
for their equipment support as
well as the Alberta World Cup Academy for making me work hard every day. Lastly
I would like to thank my Dad. It’s not easy to be successful in the sporting
world however having the support of those closest to you can make all the
difference.
Patrick
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| Our race entries included free lift tickets and rental gear at Sugar Bowl Photo: Russell Kennedy |
