So my season is over. The 30km race at nationals was not a pleasant way to end it. I was exhausted, on antibiotics for a sinus infection, and my wax/skis were not right for the conditions. I had way too much grip for my first 7.5km lap. The snow was stuck inches thick on the bottom of my skis until Eric de Nys put down a piece of wood for me to ski over that basically took all the built up snow and wax off my skis. That was really nice, but I was already exhausted by then so I just wandered the rest of my race and finished off a tough season with a tough race.
Now I am in the midst of trying to make decisions for next year. Where to go? What to do? The Cross Country Canada annual general meeting is this weekend so hopefully some big decisions will be made there that help me decide what I am going to do next year.
I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all my sponsors and supporters. Thank you to my equipment sponsors Madshus, One Way, and Alpina. A special thanks to my financial sponsors Kanata Cross Country Ski Club, Pakenham Civitan Club, and the Pakenham Royal Bank. Thanks for helping me chase my Olympic dreams.
~Kate
Monday, April 7, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Nationals So Far...
Hey Hey!
So we have raced 3 races here at nationals in Callaghan Valley at the 2010 Olympic venue. I raced the team sprint, a 5km classic, and a 10km skate. The two last races sucked. There really isn't any other word for it. We raced on hairries (waxless skis) for the classic race because the conditions here are so crazy. It keeps snowing, raining, getting cloudy, clearing up, and that is just in one hour. I have never skied on hairries before so it was a bit tricky for me. I need some practice. The skate race didn't go so great either. I felt okay, but it was snowing really hard and my balance was way off. Something else to work on.
But the team sprint was money! I raced it with my Kanata Racers team mate, Danielle McVicar who raced up in the open category so that we could have a team. We did great and had a good time. We won our semi final heat and headed into the finals. We gave it our all in the finals later that day and ended up 6th overall. We pushed really hard and had some great lap times. It was pretty cool getting to race the Americans Kikkan Randall (who won a sprint world cup this year) and Laura Valas (who won U23 Championships last year). It was also fun getting to catch up with Danielle and spend the day with my old team mates. I have really missed them this year. Overall it was a great day and I know that Heinz would have been proud of how well we skied.
2 more races to go: a sprint and my first 30km ever! Should be sweet!
So we have raced 3 races here at nationals in Callaghan Valley at the 2010 Olympic venue. I raced the team sprint, a 5km classic, and a 10km skate. The two last races sucked. There really isn't any other word for it. We raced on hairries (waxless skis) for the classic race because the conditions here are so crazy. It keeps snowing, raining, getting cloudy, clearing up, and that is just in one hour. I have never skied on hairries before so it was a bit tricky for me. I need some practice. The skate race didn't go so great either. I felt okay, but it was snowing really hard and my balance was way off. Something else to work on.
But the team sprint was money! I raced it with my Kanata Racers team mate, Danielle McVicar who raced up in the open category so that we could have a team. We did great and had a good time. We won our semi final heat and headed into the finals. We gave it our all in the finals later that day and ended up 6th overall. We pushed really hard and had some great lap times. It was pretty cool getting to race the Americans Kikkan Randall (who won a sprint world cup this year) and Laura Valas (who won U23 Championships last year). It was also fun getting to catch up with Danielle and spend the day with my old team mates. I have really missed them this year. Overall it was a great day and I know that Heinz would have been proud of how well we skied.
2 more races to go: a sprint and my first 30km ever! Should be sweet!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Italia and Some History
So I raced my second race here at U23s yesterday. I placed a pretty solid 35th. It very warm 10km classic race. When the womens race ended it was a balmy 24 degrees in the sun. Boiling. I do not think that I have ever been so hot in a ski race before. A big thanks to our amazing wax techs who pulled off some of the best skis I have raced on all year. There were a few girls slipping out there in the sun, but the Canadians were not among them.
Today I decided to take a break from skiing. I already know the race course for tomorrows 15km skate race and my body could use a break from the high altitude at the race site. So a few of my team mate and I decided to go for a run and check out a few of the WW1 bunkers that are barily visible on our drive up to the race site. What a crazy experience.''
The bunkers are huge cement hills covered in dirt and grass. They just look like little hills in the fields but as you get close there are gun holes and little doors that are partially filled in with bricks and dirt. We ran around them and checked out the scene, thinking back to when these buildings were swarming with soldiers.
Of course we decided to go inside and check it out a little more. The five of us stayed very close in the dark confines of the bunker. We thought that it would be just a large open room but with one step inside we realized that it was a maze of tunnels that lead upwards and deep into the ground. With one flashlight, we all stayed within an arms length of one another and ventured in. It was increadibly creepy. It was a lot warmer in the bunker than outside and really quiet. There were ladders that lead down to other floors and stairs that lead up. We found one dead cat that was all dried up and 2D, but no sign of any other animals. The dead cat that I almost stepped on in the dark was enough for me. We negotiated our way back out of the underground maze and headed for fresh air and sunlight.
It was really cool to get to check out such a foreign part of history but I am really glad that I do not have to live down there.
Hopefully tomorrow will be just as exciting!
Today I decided to take a break from skiing. I already know the race course for tomorrows 15km skate race and my body could use a break from the high altitude at the race site. So a few of my team mate and I decided to go for a run and check out a few of the WW1 bunkers that are barily visible on our drive up to the race site. What a crazy experience.''
The bunkers are huge cement hills covered in dirt and grass. They just look like little hills in the fields but as you get close there are gun holes and little doors that are partially filled in with bricks and dirt. We ran around them and checked out the scene, thinking back to when these buildings were swarming with soldiers.
Of course we decided to go inside and check it out a little more. The five of us stayed very close in the dark confines of the bunker. We thought that it would be just a large open room but with one step inside we realized that it was a maze of tunnels that lead upwards and deep into the ground. With one flashlight, we all stayed within an arms length of one another and ventured in. It was increadibly creepy. It was a lot warmer in the bunker than outside and really quiet. There were ladders that lead down to other floors and stairs that lead up. We found one dead cat that was all dried up and 2D, but no sign of any other animals. The dead cat that I almost stepped on in the dark was enough for me. We negotiated our way back out of the underground maze and headed for fresh air and sunlight.
It was really cool to get to check out such a foreign part of history but I am really glad that I do not have to live down there.
Hopefully tomorrow will be just as exciting!
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