Some Good, Some Bad

The Western Canadian Ski Championships were held here in Canmore from Feb 19-22nd. Within the time frame of less then a week, Brooke Gosling and I decided to do a bit of a fundraiser for our trip to Scandinavia by hosting a silent auction at the Western’s banquet. It went surprisingly well. Thanks to everyone who donated, we were very pleased with our results! Canmore and Banff are extremely supportive of their athletes, and we really appreciate all the help we can get.

As for racing, Thursday was the classic sprints; my least favorite event. I have to say my double polling is coming along…slowly…but its coming. I managed to win the B-final putting me in 7th place. Baby steps.

Saturday was the 10km classic. When I say some good, some bad, this was BAD! We completed 4 x 2.5km laps. After the first lap and a half my body just seemed to shut down, and I skied the rest of the race in what seemed like an easy zone1 pace. Oh well, I guess every race you do can’t always be good.

Sunday on the other hand was a little different. It was the 15km skate. I was worried that I might be coming down with a bit of a cold. I was exhausted for my warm up and couldn’t seem to get excited about my race. Lining up for the start, I felt like I was about to fall asleep. I decided I would go out and just do the best I could do.

The gun went off and I just skied. I focused on every stride making sure I was powerful and strong. I got myself in second position in the first lap and held it throughout the entire race. I even managed to gain some time on first place on the final lap and crossed the line just 8sec back. Some good, some bad, and that turned out to be good!

2nd place finish on Sundays 15km skate