How exciting, the racing season has begun. About a week and a half ago, myself and the rest of the APU crew left Alaska and flew down to Bozeman. We are here for the first two Super Tour races of the year. The first weekend was in West Yellowstone, so that we where we headed first. Every year there is a festival and tons of people pack themselves into the little tourist town a couple miles from the Montana/Idaho border; it is always a great time, even when there is limited snow like this year. Everyone is excited to get on skis, try out the new gear, and celebrate Thanksgiving. The beginning of the week was super mellow and laid back. We spent a few days acclimatizing, had a nice thanksgiving dinner that I cooked cornbread for. Some people (I guess everybody besides me) felt cornbread was not a high priority so they did not let me use the oven. However, this was not a problem for me, a professional chef sometimes runs into obstacles. So, I cooked the cornbread on the barbecue and it turned out great!
My cornbread
Near the end of the week, tensions started getting higher and people were doing all their quirky things to make sure they were ready to race. I have a couple things I like to do, I won't tell you all of my secrets but one thing I like to do is where compression tights. They make my legs recover faster between workouts and help my muscles feel light and zippy.
Stretching with my 2XU leggings
4th skate distance race, Fasterskier photo
The second race was a skate sprint on Saturday. The race was only a prologue because with the lack of snow the trails were not wide enough to hold head to head heats. I feel that a prologue is a good test of pure speed but usually the results from a prologue are not the same as results after head to head heats. I ended up getting second, which I was SO pumped about. I have always tended to be a better head to head racer so posting the second fastest time in the prologue was exciting. I think it is a good indicator that my speed is back. Last year I made a big jump in training volume and I was not able to get that snappy sprint feeling. I felt it on Saturday!
2nd skate sprint, fasterskier photo
2nd skate sprint, fasterskier photo
Yesterday we drove back here to Bozeman where the second weekend of Super Tours are being held. I am getting really excited and I hope I can have some good race. After this weekend, I will know if I qualify for the World Cups in Canada. What an honor it would be if I could represent the U.S. in the World Cup. I am nervous but I am going to race my ass off because I would love to have that opportunity. Wish me luck!
Driving to Bozeman from West Yellowstone
Engine Room Productions Photo
