Getting Back Up

Cresting the hill during the Bozeman 10k Mass Start. Photo Anya Bean

After a few really nice distance skis in West Yellowstone, we moved up to Bozeman for the second weekend of SuperTour races. I was looking forward to these races a lot, mostly because I felt a little unfulfilled after the Yellowstone weekend, and also because classic sprinting is one of my favorite race formats, and last year we didn't get to do the sprint in Bozeman when cold temperatures forced the organizers to cancel. 

My pre-race workouts all felt good, my energy started to bounce back, and I was ready to go! The sprint course in Bozeman had a few good climbs and one somewhat steep downhill that curved sharply to the right at the bottom. In good  conditions, it's completely fine, but during the pre-race workout, it was covered in ankle deep slush. A little challenging, but I knew the grooming would be better the next day. Then, when we showed up for warm-up on the sprint day, it more resembled a sheet of ice. I talked myself through it, did a few laps of the course for warm-up, then hit the line for my qualifier. Things were going well, I felt great on the uphills and in double pole, and then I headed down the hill full of confidence, only to catch an edge and find myself skidding backwards, looking up towards the top of the hill where I had just come from. Well, crap. I didn't have much time to think about it, so I quickly turned my skis the right direction, untangled my poles, and skied as fast as humanly possible for the rest of the short qualifier. My surge of adrenaline helped me get going again, but I was really nervous about making the heats. Then, results were posted, and I was 26th! Okay, maybe not my most spectacular qualifier, but at least I would live to fight (later) that day!

We only had about an hour and a half between the qualifier and the heats, but the whole time my stomach was flip-flopping and I was filled with nervous energy about the thought of facing that downhill again. It was completely silly, but I was actually dreading the heats. With a little over 40 minutes to go until the quarterfinal, I told myself it was time to put my big girl pants on, and I went to warm up on some of the other Bohart Trails. When the gun went off in my quarterfinal, I completely forgot about the downhill and focused only on the other girls in front of me and around me, and gradually I moved up in my heat. After the uphill I was in 2nd place, I stayed on my feet around the corner, and then used a slingshot move to propel myself into 1st. After double poling like mad, I crossed the line first with the second fastest time from any of the quarterfinals. From there on out, it was game-time, and although I didn't make the A-final from my semi, I was so happy that I managed to conquer my fears and turn my day around from an embarrassing (and slightly painful) fall into a really fun and successful 8th place result. Plus, the other GRP girls had a great day too, and CPatts was 3rd, and Kaitlynn Miller was 7th after a ripping fast 5th best qualifier!

The trails may have been even icier for the 10k mass start the following day, but armed with new confidence and positive race vibes, I decided that I was just going to take whatever the course threw at me. Starting from bib #24, I had some work to do. I missed out on the leaders when they broke away, but I skied a solid race, came through the stadium after 5k in 5th, finished in 7th, and most importantly, stayed on my feet the entire time! I knew that those days of nor-pining (riding the ski lifts with nordic skis) with Rosie Brennan back in the Park City Nordic Ski Club days would come in handy some day. Speaking of Rosie, she has been absolutely dominating the SuperTour races and her win in the 10k was her third in a row! She has overcome a really tough year to post some inspiring results, and I'm so proud of her for persevering. Watch out world!

I also want to thank our awesome wax techs for the weekend: Nick Brown, Bryan Cook, and Brayton Osgood. Not only did they give us incredibly fast skis with great kick, but somehow the grip also survived the skidding, snowplowing, and general abuse of the Bohart downhills. Ski magic, I tell you.

Thanks for reading! Here are a few pictures from Bohart, mostly courtesy of my photography whiz friend Anya Bean, thanks Anya! Check out some more of her photos from the distance day on Fasterskier.

A happy team in green!

Mass start mayhem and fun. Photo Anya Bean

Braving the downhills, especially this one where I fell the previous day! It actually wasn't bad during the mass start, but some of the others slightly resembled a luge track. Photo Anya Bean

Enjoying the post-race sun with friends. This western girl needed her Vitamin D! Photo Anya Bean.

The GRP women had a great weekend, all placing in the top 10 both days! It was awesome to race with these speedy ladies.

We finally got a team photo! GRP Ski with the Bridger's in the background. Good thing the boys have been practicing their soro squats..

I'm now in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, prepping for IBU Cup Trials in biathlon. Biathlon and learning to shoot in general has been a fun adventure for me this year. While I haven't been shooting long enough to have any real expectations for these races, I'm really excited to try out my first real on-snow biathlon races, and I'm sure it will be a lot of fun. Stay tuned for updates!