What have I been up to and how is my racing going?
Well its been pretty steady since I traveled to West Yellowstone in late November. The following weekend I did a little racing and hard intensity in Canmore during the Alberta Cups. That was followed by a weekend of racing in Vernon, BC. One of which was the Olympic Trials. Happy to say, I was racing faster then the previous year. I came 5th Canadian in the Olympic Trials skate race, which was only 4 spots away from qualifying for the Olympics!
Next up we were back in Canmore for the remainder of the selection races for Olympics. I skied well and even managed to complete a grueling 30km classic race on one of the hardest courses I have ever skied on.
It was a short break for Christmas holidays. Then a week later I jumped on a plane headed to Quebec for the World U23 Trials.
The first race went well. I placed 2nd U23 and 6th overall. The next day was followed by the sprint race (not my strong point) where I came 6th U23 and 13th overall. The last race of the weekend was the 10km classic. Unfortunately I didn’t perform amazing that day. I was 5th U 23 and had trouble trying to make my body go fast.
Afterward I was exhausted both physically and mentally. It was a long month and a half of being focused and pushing myself as hard as I could. At that point it was up to the selection committee to decide who was selected for what.
Calculating it out, I knew that I was 3rd ranked U 23 distance skier in Canada; 4th or 5th ranked combined sprint and distance. I was up there, but not quite good enough… The committee once again decided NOT to send a full team of women to the U23 World Championships. A team of six men qualified to represent Canada, but only three women (not including myself) were selected, leaving an unfilled spot for the second year in a row.
It’s frustrating when you work so hard for something only to be told by someone else that you aren’t good enough or are not where you need to be. But do I believe them? No. I can’t. I will never get better that way, and Canada as a nation would never improve if all athletes believed in that sort of thing. Just bite the bullet, move forward and work on becoming a faster skier is all I can focus on.
“Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal;
it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it.” – Eliza Tabor.
On January 31st I will be heading to Europe for a couple weeks to compete in some competitive continental cup races, where there will be lots of strong skiers from all over Europe. I intend to give it my all and use the experience to push myself to the next level.
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