Crazy Québec Nationals and Season Wrap Up

Warning this post is quite long so if you’re planning on reading the entire thing please make yourself comfortable.

Last week was a week of record breaking heat for most of eastern Canada. Within days winter was turned into summer with spring being decidedly skipped over. This was also the week when nationals were held in Quebec. This made for an interesting set of races.

 On March 15^th we traveled from Canmore to my home province Quebec for the 2012 National Ski Championships. This came with the realization that I have now been skiing long enough to be revisiting locations for Nationals. Since this was my second time going to Quebec City for Nationals having been there five years ago as a juvenile.

The week started off with a team sprint. I teamed up with fellow Nakkertok skier and longtime friend Steffan Lloyd. The team sprint as it turns out would be a great day but it wasn’t without its mishaps. The plains or Abraham in downtown Quebec were in a state of meltdown. With temperatures reaching 15 degrees they had trucked in snow (some of which appeared to have come from a snow bank behind a Tim Hortons) to make a course. In the semifinal I felt flat on the first leg (having not warmed up very well due to the lack of a warm up course) on top of that my skis were running rather slow. Once I had finished my first leg I handed my skis to the coach’s to see if they could do something to make them faster. It didn’t take much, as it turns out a piece of chewing gum had gotten stuck in my grip zone causing the ski to drag. Gum removed the rest of the semifinal round went much better. Steffan was skiing really well and I was feeling better on each leg. Things were looking good, however when I was leading going down the last hill into the finish strait, I lost my balance on a slower section of snow and went down. I got up as quickly as I could and realized that although two teams had passed me I was well clear of the fourth guaranteeing our team a spot in the final. Needless to say it had been an eventful semifinal.

In the final thanks to a fast pace being put down by the Whitehorse team the race was soon strung out with three teams (Foothills, Whitehorse and us) making the front of the race. Steffan was skiing great and I was feeling awesome however my bad luck was about to continue. On the second leg my basket came off my pole and in the soft slushy conditions I was quickly distanced from the front two. From then on, there was no way back to the front.  With the relentless pace being set by the front two all we could do was try to hold on to third, which we did. I was pretty cool to stand on the podium at nationals in a year were I definitely wasn’t expecting to, yet at the same time is was extremely frustrating to lose the front of the race on bad luck*.

Steffan (bib 534)skiing with the leaders early on in the relay.
Photo Credit: Charles Brassard

Me navigating a downhill just before the basket indecent.
Photo Credit: Charles Brassard

Two days later it was time for the 10km classic. This was a race I was really looking forward to. Things didn't totally work out however. Somehow I felt flat and skied to a disappointing 33^rd place.

The next day was the 15km skate. Having had a disappointing race the day before and with the field getting stronger with the addition of skiers having come back from competing on the world cup I wasn’t sure what to expect in the 15km skate (usually not my best race). With the temperature on the course surpassing 20 degrees it was looking like a slushy nightmare out there. Overall however things went rather well. I tried ski smooth and efficiently (soft slushy snow can be a bit like quick sand the harder you try the slower you go). Over all it was quite a decent race. I crossed the line in 32^nd place in a tough field.

Twenty plus degrees for the 15km skate required some rather drastic wardrobe options.
Photo Credit: Bernard Pigeon

Next was the sprint day. I don’t have much to say about the sprint day. My body felt terrible and I made a bad choice of skis resulting in possibly my worst sprint day ever. I don’t know what place I came in but needless to say I was a long way from qualifying.

Next Up was the last and longest race of the season, my first 50km. With the crazy warm temperatures finally subsiding the course (which had been changed from a 10 to a 5km loop due to flooding) was for once fast and icy. I had a good start and early on found myself in a good group of skiers. As the laps went by I went through many high and low points. A 50k is such a long race that you have time to go through all sorts of different mindsets and feelings. You can go from feeling good and skiing comfortably on one lap to feeling like all the energy is taken out of you on the next. This is something I experienced in the last 10km of the race. At 8km to go I felt good and thought I could respond to any sort of acceleration, yet at 6km to go all of a sudden I felt like all the energy had been drained from me. Needless to say when the pace quickened with 5k to go I was unable to follow and faced a long (ok not that long) last lap of racing. In the end I crossed the line 21^st having lost over a minute to 15^th place (the best finisher of those in my group) in the last 5k. All in all it was a good race and a good learning experience.

Early on in the 50k
Photo credit: Bernard Pigeon

Now, just like that, the season is done. When I got back home (Chelsea home) from nationals there was no snow to speak of. Spring (and a bit of summer) had definitely arrived. Now I am kicking myself for not having sent my road bike home before nationals since watching the Tour of Flanders has put me in the mood to ride my bike (it won’t get better when Paris Roubaix is on next weekend). Looks like I’ll have to wait until I’m back in Canmore for that. Speaking of which I will be back there next year, training with the Alberta World Cup Academy for my second year and continuing to chase some crazy dream.

Thanks very much to my sponsors Classic Wood Mouldings, Dr Beverley Mckeown Dentistry and Salomon for your support. Honestly (and I mean this) it would not be possible without you. Thanks also to V2, Gatineau Nordic Sport, Fresh Air Experience,  the Nationals Winter sports Association, Ski de Fond Quebec, Nakkertok Ski Club and of course the Alberta World Cup Academy. Having such an incredible group of supporters is what makes everything possible. It’s been quite a season full of ups and downs with hopefully many more to come. I know I’ll be back next year.

Thanks for reading, that’s all for now.

Patrick    

* I know that referencing bad luck is not generally a good idea since pretty much everything is in your control. However my basket falling off was not the result of it having been poorly glued on but rather a broken piece that holds the basket on. This in my opinion does fall into the category of s*** happens.

Ups and Downs

I’m not going to lie I have had some trouble motivating myself to write this update. I'll keep it short and to the point. Ever since I moved to Canmore last May, I have pretty much only had good things to write about. Training and more recently racing had always been going well. I had good days and bad days but overall everything was going in a positive direction.

After trials in Whistler however, things started to change. A week after Whistler during the Western Canadians in Canmore my results were slightly below where they had been in at trials. Two weeks later at the Eastern Canadian championships my results were again slightly below were they had been out west. At the final stop of the Nor Am cuircut in Mont Orford Quebec the trend did not improve and I was again below where I had been only a week earlier. 


To be honest the final race in Orford (a 20km skate race in cold windy conditions) I was simply happy to get to the finish line. I was hurting both mentally and physically and I needed a break. This is a trend every skier is familiar with. The reality is I started the year off well, pulling off some really good races even before the first Nor Am in SilverSstar. Now I was paying the price. It can be difficult to keep motivated during this type of period, but the truth is every athlete experiences it, you can’t (especially at a young age) always be at your best.

Racing the 30km classic during the Eastern Canadian championships at Nakkertok (my home club). A fun race but not quite the results I was hoping for. 
Photo Credit: Jo-Ann Holden Musicianonskis.ca

Luckily after the last stop of the Nor Am circuit in Orford there was a long break until Nationals (the next and final set of races of the season). After Orford I spent a little over a week back home before heading back to Canmore and getting back into the normal training routine. Since then everything has been going relatively well. Yesterday I competed in the Lake Louise Loppet this was my first race in three weeks and although my 7^th place overall was nothing special it was a step in the right direction. I am regaining some confidence in my fitness and I am looking forward to Nationals in Mont Saint Anne.

The start of the Lake Louise Loppet., Old school Bibs, narrow trails, temperature around zero and a mix of  former and current athletes made for an interesting day.

Photo Credit: Angus Cockney

On another note my sister Emilie competed in her first ever World Junior ski championships In Turkey last month. She raced very well with a personal best of 41^st in the skiathlon and did a very good job holding of the USA on the last leg of the relay. Not bad for a 16 year old with many years ahead of her.

That’s all for now

Patrick

Trials

The last couple of weeks have been a busy mix of racing and traveling. With two sets of Nor Am races two weekends in a row and a 10 hour drive in between the two venues there hasn’t been much time to sit down and reflect. It’s been a while so I’ll take it from the start.

After two weeks at home over the Christmas holidays I was back in Canmore to prepare for what are probably the most important races of the year. Though the three races in Whistler were regular Nor Am cups they were also being used as the selection races for Junior and U23 world championships.

 The first race at what is known as “trials” was a 30km skiathlon, a race I was a bit nervous about because I had only done one 30km before in my life (last year at nationals) and it had not gone very well. This time however things were different. I had a decent classic leg and got to the exchange zone in 14^th. I had a very good skate leg (traditionally my weaker technique) and managed to gain one position to finish in 13^th as the 6^th under 23 skier.

Men's pack going up the first hill in the 30km skiathlon
Photo credit: Angus Cockney

Me during the classic leg of the skiathlon
Photo Credit: Angus Cockney

The next race was a skate sprint and although Mother Nature had been kind to us so far, we knew that in Whistler, it was unlikely to last and on sprint day we woke up to 15cm of fresh snow with more coming down throughout the day. Despite the conditions I managed one of my better skate sprint qualifiers setting the 12^th fastest time of the open men (I got beat by a few juniors). In my quarter I got off to a bad start and since the snow was still falling I ended up having to ski wide in the deep powder to make my way through he group. Still, by the end of my heat I managed to move myself up into 2^nd place gaining a spot in the semifinals. I my semifinal I again got off to a bad start (I still need to work on those) and again had to move through the field in the deeper powder on the side. By the end I had moved myself up into 3^rd position which meant I had to wait and see if I had gotten one of two lucky loser spots in the final. In the end it wasn't to be and I was put I the B final were my legs finally started to give way. I held on for 3^rd putting me in 9^th on the day as the 4^th under 23.

My quarter final on sprint day. I'm in 3rd with bib 312.
Photo credit: Angus Cockney

After two good but not outstanding races I needed to find something special the next day in the 15km individual classic if I stood a chance of making U23’s. I tried to start hard knowing that it would be my only chance yet halfway through it was clear that the first couple of races had taken their toll and in the last half of the race I was running on fumes. I ended up 17^th on the day (8^th U23) not a terrible result but far from what I had hoped for and needed.

Running on fumes in the 15km classic
Photo Credit: Angus Cockney 

So I’ll have to wait one more year to test myself against the best under 23 skiers in the world. Yes I’m disappointing, yet I can honestly say that I did my best. The races in whistler were the hardest ones of my life and there is no one thing that I can point to as being the difference between qualifying and not qualifying. I simply raced as hard as I could and in the end it wasn’t good enough. As they say it’s much easier to live with defeat than to live with regret and I regret nothing. In 12 months I will come back hungrier than ever and hopefully then it will be a different story.

Lastly I would like to congratulate both my sisters Emilie and Katherine who both raced amazingly well in Whistler. Emilie qualified for her first world juniors and Katherine was pretty close. So although I will not be representing Canada this year there will a Stewart-Jones on the trip to Turkey.

I’ll have an update on the western Canadian championships in a few days. That’s all for now though.

Patrick 

Early Season Update

As I sit here writing this I am back in snowless Chelsea for Christmas wondering why I was too stubborn to bring my rollerskis with me. The last few weeks have been a busy mix of traveling and racing. As is usual with ski racing there have been ups and downs. It’s been a while so I’ll take it from the top.

Kootenay cup Golden BC, November 26^th and 27^th

Although it was low key, these were the first real races of the year. The weekend started off with a skate sprint on Saturday. It was a long day with the final ending under the cover of darkness with floodlights illuminating the course. It was a great Day for me. I won the qualifier (unofficially as the organizers never did get proper results from that one), skied conservatively through the heats and skied away in the final. The course suited me perfectly with lots of steep climbs and fast descents.

The next day was a 15km classic individual. Conditions were tricky (zero degrees and snow) I decided to race on a pair of waxless skis just before the race and didn’t have time to get them glide waxed. The result was lots of grip with little glide (most people were in the same boat). This combined with a tired body made for a subpar day. Nevertheless I was happy to get my first distance race of the season out of the way.

Alberta Cup Canmore, December 3^rd

Because of the heavy race schedule I only did the sprint race at the Alberta cup. I was looking forward to testing my skate sprinting against a staked field including many national team members.  After a mediocre qualifier I won my quarterfinal and finished 3^rd in my semi gaining a lucky looser spot in the Final. In the final I was definitely out classed by the big guns of Canadian sprinting and finished 5^th. Overall I was happy with my day and felt ready for Nor Ams in Sovereign Lakes the next weekend.

Nor Am cup Sovereign lakes BC, December 10^th and 11^th

The Nor Am cups in Sovereign Lakes have always been an enigma for me. Although I have always had good sprints there they have always been accompanied by some of my worst Distance races. I have always struggled with the altitude and the demanding world cup courses. This year I was hoping that living at altitude in Canmore and having much more time on snow would be the solution to my Sovereign Lakes enigma.

 The week end started out with a classic sprint (my best event). I had a subpar qualifier where I struggled to find grip on the long demanding softish course. I ended up with bib 17 going into the heats. In my quarter things went much better. I stayed in 4^th place until the last climb where I attacked on the outside of the course and moving myself into 1^st and holding it to the line. In my semifinal, I Again, stayed at the back of the field until the final climb were I moved up into 3^rd earning  a spot In the A final in my first Nor am Cup as a senior racer. In the final I gave it my all trying not to be intimidated by the much more experienced skiers I was up against. In the end the best I could manage was 4^th. To finish 4^th in my first Nor Am cup as a senior racer was a pretty special experience.

Rounding a corner during the heats
Photo Credit: Dan Roycroft

On my way to a 4th place finish in my first Nor Am cup as a Senior
Photo Credit: Dan Roycroft

The next day was a 15 km classic Individual. Individual classic races were once my best event, yet the last couple of years I have had trouble with them. This year I really wanted to turn this around. I started relatively slow and tried to go faster as the race went on. I felt good and not nearly as tired as I thought I would be following such a hard day of sprinting. I ended up 15^th on the day 8^th Canadian. Although I was happy with the result I was even more happy that I had finally broken the Sovereign lakes enigma and had two good races back to back one sprint and one distance.

Nor Am Cup Rossland BC, 17^th and 18^th of December

After the all classic weekend in sovereign Lakes it was time dust off the skate skis for an all skate weekend in Rossland. Classic is generally my stronger technique but this year I have been  feeling really good on my skate skis and after possibly the best weekend of racing I have ever had In sovereign Lakes I was feeling confident going into Rossland. Unfortunately things did not go the way I wanted them to. On Saturday, I felt flat in the qualifier for the sprint. I hoped I would feel more energetic in my quarter final but it didn’t work out that way. I was never really involved in the fight for positions and crossed the line 5^th making me 23^rd on the day… Not the result I was looking for.

My quarter final in Rossland I'm number 23
Photo Credit: David Greer

The next day was the first mass start of the season, a 15 km skate on a demanding 3.75km loop. With Bib 36 I had a lot of traffic in front of me. At the start I stayed calm and tried to look for opportunities to pass people. I quickly realized that although I was feeling pretty good, I did not have very fast skis. This was not a case of bad wax (our team in general had fast skis), but a question of bad ski selection. Most of the race I could see the group in front of me that I wanted to be in, however every time I would get a bit closer to them on an uphill section of the course I would find myself a bit further behind after a downhill section. On the last lap I tied up a bit and crossed the line in 25^th, happy with my effort but a little disappointed with the result.  

All in all, however it has been a very good start to my season. 

Cool Shot taken during the 15km skate in Rossland
Photo Credit: Angus Cockney

The thing about racing is that not every day is going to be a great day, you have to learn from the good and the bad. Now I am enjoying a few well needed days off before I get back to training for the next part of the season.

Anything can happen in sprint racing Unfortunately two AWCA skiers were involved in this quarterfinal mishap
Photo Credit: David Greer

Fortunately no one was hurt
Photo Credit: David Greer

That’s all for now...