2012 National Championships with Canada's Nordic Knights

My second Nationals in Québec City and Mont Sainte Anne since 2007 proved to be another successful racing campaign. Although I have matured a lot as a racer and as a person in the last 5 years, the race venue remained fresh in my memory.

Last time that Nationals was in Québec/MSA, I skied to a career highlight silver medal in the inaugural club team sprint competition with Mike Argue. Alas, Mike Argue has since retired from an illustrious ski career so I found myself without a partner from the Yellowknife Ski Club. Missing out on the casual and boisterous atmosphere of the team sprint was maybe a good thing in the end as it allowed me to be primed and rested for the 4 upcoming races.

The tuesday was a 10 km individual start classic race on stiff klister skis. I lacked energy on the few climbs on course but had great skis. In a strong field of Canadian, American, French and Norwegian skiers, placing 32nd was a good start to the week.

A solid start to the week in the 10 km classic. Photo cred: Bernard Pigeon

The 10 km classic was but a warm-up for the next day's 15 km skate individual which ended up being a very notable race for various reasons. First of all, the previous day's +8 C temperature broke my previous record for warmest ski race ever. With the mercury reaching +20 C in the stadium for our afternoon start in the 15 km skate, besides this absolutely shattering my previous record, I knew it meant body temperature management would be crucial to having a good race. With that in mind, I focused on hydration throughout the morning, skied a short warm-up so as not to overheat, clothed myself in only shorts and a bib, and pre-cooled before the start by stuffing my shorts' pockets with snow and also rubbing snow through my hair. I even decided to take feeds on the day, but not in the conventional sense of the word "feeds". I had my girlfriend on course with bottles of ice water with which I would douse myself each 5 km lap.

My race strategy worked to a tee. Where others suffered in the unruly heat, I had glorious cool water constantly dribbling down my legs and a refreshing splash of ice water once per lap (I stupidly dropped one, however). I was able to ski controlled for the first 10 km and was able to turn it on in the final 5 km. Seeing where I was compared to others on course, I knew I was maybe in contention for a good result. It was a little frustrating never getting a split, though. I finished the day 19th, as 14th Canadian and by far the best Nationals distance result of my career so far. It was one of those few days where I had a smile on my face crossing the line instead of a grimace of pain. Everything came together nicely. Even now I keep wondering whether I should have pushed harder in the early stages when everything felt so comfortable. I was skiing with the eventual 9th place finisher very comfortably while he was on his 2nd lap and I was on my first, but I was prudent with my pacing out of fear of the furnace-like reflected heat of the climbs. I could feel the potential to go much faster, but at times it felt like I was holding back. In the heat, maybe that was a good thing. I can tell you one thing that's for sure, +20 C feels like +35 C when you are on a white surface with no air flow such as it is on many of the hills as you churn through the sugar snow. When you are a stocky endomorph fine-tuned to the cold and raised in the arctic such as myself, that becomes a daunting thought. Regardless, the race was great and very encouraging in that it proved I am within striking distance of the upper echelons of distance skiing in Canada. With age comes endurance.

Skiing through sweltering heat in the 15 km skate at Mont Ste. Anne. Photo cred: Bernard Pigeon. 

Speaking of upper echelons, the pinnacle of skiing in Canada, and in the world for that matter, in the form of Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey, were in attendance at this Nationals. After an incredibly successful World Cup season culminating with running rampant winning medals left and right in the World Cup final, our Nordic Knights (CBC's Scott Russell's name for our skiers has been made fun of a little, but I still think it's sorta cool) returned home to Canadian soil after what can only be assumed was a legendary after-party in Sweden, followed by a full day of tiring travel, and yet amazingly they still threw down in the 15 km that day, particularly Alex Harvey who won by a wide margin on his home course beating yours truly by an astronomical 4:43 with his winning time of 40:54. I can see myself getting much better in this sport in the coming years but getting another 4 minutes faster in a race where everything already went extremely well seems like quite the lofty objective. He is the best in the world, though...

Alex Harvey and I racing as Juniors at MSA Nationals in 2007. We skied neck and neck through the heats that day. Unfortunately I faded in the final to finish 5th. He of course won. photo cred: Angus Cockney

The next race was the skate sprint, previously scheduled to be held at the Plains of Abraham in Québec City but later moved to the higher location of MSA after the Plains greened up to more of a soccer pitch feel than a ski race feel. I heard they even hauled in a hundred truckloads of snow to the Plains in a last ditch effort to "see what it would do in +20", as sponsor funding for next December's Québec World Cup races were contingent on a successful test event hell or high water notwithstanding. The new venue meant a shorter 1.4 km course compared to the proposed 1.7 km, and the extensive salting and fertilizing the night prior meant a rock hard and icy chemically altered track even at +12 C at 9:00 in the morning.

This year has been an odd year. There has been a noticeable improvement in my distance skiing, but my sprinting speed, especially in qualifying, has remained largely unchanged from the past few years. I am 8-10 lbs lighter than I was at my peak 5 years ago, so perhaps less muscle mass is to blame for the lack of power. On a day that I hoped to rediscover some qualifying prowess I ended up barely qualifying for the heats, being 27th. For my heats I was at a distinct disadvantage from the start. On the course that day there were two ugly parts to the loop. One being the rock-strewn section bordering the venue's access road, and the other being that due to the week's tropical heat, there was no longer adequate snow-cover in the stadium to start 6 skiers abreast as is proper FIS regulation for sprint racing. Instead we had a 3 lane start grid, 2 skiers deep. Being #27, I had the worst start position in the 2nd row and was effectively relegated to last, nullifying any attempt at jockeying for position with a good start as is the norm when everyone starts side by side. The pace was hectic from the start and with the boiling mass of frantic skiers in front of me, I was at a loss to find the punch to get around guys. I hung in 6th the whole way around until the last 3 meters of the course where I managed to claim 5th with a good spurt in the high speed finish stretch.

Free skating like mad on the finishing straight. I placed 5th in the heat of 6 skiers to claim 25th on the day.

The skate sprint at this year's Nationals had to have been the best quality field ever at a Canadian Championships sprint. In the A-final of 6 we had 4 World Cup skiers, 3 of whom have won multiple WC medals and 2 of whom are World Champions, in addition to a young Norwegian 4-time World Juniors medallist and another top Canadian sprinter who has had great World Cup results in the past. A stiff final and very impressive to watch those guys duke it out.

With my main focus of the championships, the sprint, being over, I felt a weight removed from my shoulders. I approached the 50 km classic race stress free, enjoying every bit of Québec life in the old town with some of Kajsa's extended family, and enjoying the pizzeria-turned-rental-home that was our phenomenal accommodation for the 2 weeks that we were up at MSA.

Off the gun in the 50 km I had a sinking feeling. No grip. I had been told to "trust" the skis as conditions were changing quickly and wax testers were waiting until the last minute to make a wax choice, meaning no time to test my skis to determine whether I needed more grip or not.

In the end, the race went fairly well. As well as skiing 50 km can go with extremely minimal grip in no man's land the entire time. Early on I was sure I would pull out by the halfway mark as I was apprehensive about my arms lasting through 50 km of hard double poling. Lo and behold, my arms were up to the challenge and performed most admirably right to the end, even being able to increase the pace a little on the last lap. Although I was disappointed with my naiveté in not testing my skis at all before the start, I was happy with my pacing for the day and with the fact that I endured. Some days you just take what you can get.

Flopping up a hill in the early stages of the 50 km.

My top-two best National Champs have been in Mont Ste. Anne. It's something about the race courses, or the unique culture of french Canada that brings out the best in me. I can't wait until the next time I am in Québec City. Who knows, if early season racing goes well next year maybe I will be back for the December World Cup.

Salut.
Thomsen

Tune-up in Whistler and arrival at the hallowed training grounds of Alex Harvey

Over the past four weeks in Whistler I have had the opportunity to get back to some of the training basics. I logged a few 2+ hour skis for the first time this winter, got out backcountry skiing for some long, easy training, and I won $250 at the Sigge's P'ayakentsut race for just over a minute of high intensity hill climbing. 

The clouds parted for an unforgettable day of ski touring up above the Whistler Olympic Park. Thigh deep pow and face shots were the order of the day.

Skiing it in in the 30 km at the 2012 Sigge's P'ayak. I skied the first 15 km easy, put on a burst up the 400 meter climb to secure the $250 prime then picked up the pace a little for the last 10 km. A worthy $46 race entry fee investment. 

My buddy, Joern Rohde of Whistler, has been shooting Kajsa and I out skiing a few times over the past month. This is one of my favourites, out on the new Twilight Meadows loop at the Whistler Olympic Park.

I am now out in Québec again, this time just outside of Québec City at Mont Ste. Anne for the 2012 National Championships. This trip is bringing back fond memories of the last time Nationals were out here in 2007, when I was in my last year of high school. I had a career highlight that year, teaming up with venerable Mike Argue of Yellowknife to win silver in the open men's team sprint. 

I feel rested and well trained after 4 weeks off of the race circuit. Bring on the races! And bring on the board shorts and sunscreen as it is rumoured that it will hit +20 degrees on some race days.

Parlez-vous Français?

I recently joined a small but hardy group of RMR skiers on a 2 week trip out East for the two NorAm stops at Nakkertok (Quebec side of Ottawa river), and at Mt. Orford (1 hr drive east of Montreal).

The trip was notable for its fantastic weather and for giving me the opportunity to practice my extremely neglected french skills. I really enjoyed skiing at both sites, but Mt. Orford stood out as a true gem especially with it being my first time to the area. Orford boasts 50 km of diverse trails that wind along lakes and swamps and through the bright hardwood forests of the region.

Cruising along lakeside at Orford

Andy Shields of my past team, NDC Thunder Bay, striding it out on the big 10 km race loop

Easterns 30 km at Nakkertok

I had a lot of fun racing out East. The course profiles suited me a little more than other places in Canada (not so much climbing), and it was nice that it was a lower elevation than other sites like Canmore. I especially enjoyed the 30 km pursuit start classic race at Nakkertok, a race in which I was able to find a good rhythm for long sections despite skiing solo for a lot of the race. At Orford I was stoked to race a single lap distance race - a rarity in NorAm action. It was a nice change to focus solely on different sections of a long loop, rather than focusing on the pacing of each individual lap. The second day at Orford was another memorable day as racers focused more on wind brief layering strategy than pacing strategy. Fresh snow and -26 windchill for a 20 km skate mass start added an element of difficulty that played into my strengths garnered from being born and raised in Yellowknife, NT, Canada's city with the coldest spring, coldest winter, coldest year-round, driest winter, most extreme wind chill, longest snow cover season, most cold days (-20 or less), most deep snow cover days (10 cm or more), most high wind chill days (-30 or less), most hot and cold days, sunniest spring and sunniest summer. Although I am highly adapted to those conditions, I found myself lacking motivation in the early stages of the race. Perhaps that was a good thing, as I had a lot left on the last lap to catch and pass a half dozen skiers.

I was encouraged by how well I was able to recover from 3 back to back days of racing at Eastern Canadian Champs at Nakkertok, especially with a 30 km race capping off the weekend. This year so far has been a struggle in recovering from races, something I went into in depth in my last blog post. Although I wasn't satisfied by my racing fitness on this trip, it was nice to see that my ability to recover is coming around post-mono.

A big shout-out to Luke and the RMR for a great trip out East.

I am now back in Whistler for a long period of much needed training. There is a lot of work to be done to get to the level that I want to be at. To kick start my training period, I recently woke up at 4:30 am and skied up Whistler mountain. Although this didn't improve much other than my granny-skating, it was an unbelievably beautiful ski. To watch the brightening colours transition into a sunrise over the Spearhead range was a truly magical and breathtaking experience.

Looking down the musical bumps, watching the sunrise over the Spearhead range in Whistler, BC.

Fresh tracks

T

Easily yankered in NorAm weekends

Having pursued a full year commitment to skiing for many years in a row now, I've now achieved a body awareness where I can pinpoint a single event that proves to be more of a setback than anticipated. A single misstep by training too hard when I should be resting, or racing when I am tired, has the potential to put me in a slump. Coming into this racing season while at the same time recovering from mono, I knew I would have to be cautious. My coach and mentor, Andrew (who is also a MD), has been particularly helpful in my return to health and has helped me in recognizing the mysterious effects of the mono virus on athletes.

I felt fantastic in some of the early racing this year, showing that I could return to fitness quickly after mono. Recovering from a race was a completely different story. I could digest one weekly hard effort, but racing twice in Rossland (1.6 km skate sprint and 15 km skate mass start) was a bit too much of a beating and would qualify as one of those aforementioned missteps. I was lethargic for 2 weeks. Luckily I had a month-long break before hitting the start line again with home course advantage at the Whistler Olympic Park NorAm.

Skate sprint at Westerns.

Training leading up to the NorAm proceeded swimmingly. I got to ski loops with Olympic and World Champion, Adam Van Koeverden (fit dude), and I felt strong. The adjective "swimmingly" is particularly accurate because from the time I returned to Whistler on December 28th until January 10th I didn't see the sun once. Whistler greened up beneath the constant deluge and WOP even had trail closures due to flooding.

A week before my skate sprint target race, I sprained my ankle in training and was sidelined for a few days R.I.C.E.-ing for all I was worth. I came to in time to tolerate lacing up my skate boots, but was apprehensive with the driving blizzard that befell WOP the morning of the sprint day. After a few days of brilliant sun and hard/fast conditions, the sprint course that was already of seemingly near-marathon proportions was turned into soggy porridge and thus extra challenging. The equivalent of a rubberized running track becoming muskeg. Being a more power-oriented skier, I tried the best I could to ski light and smooth overtop of the mush, but instead was bogged down. I couldn't deal with the increased load on the legs and finished the day dismally.

The following day was the 15 km classic individual start. With a cloudless sky and cool temps overnight, the deep powder was transformed into beautiful classic tracks. I was optimistic for the day, but in the end, it was another underperformance. Not that it wasn't hard fought... I felt smooth and well-paced the first lap, but the previous day's punishing course caught up with me after 5 km.

A few days of rest later, it was off to Canmore yet again for Western Canadian Championships. Having had an awesome mini-tour performance at Westerns last year (and being aggregate U-23 champion!), I was stoked for the multi-race format. Yet again, my body wasn't performing to the level that I urged it. I had a decent 10 km individual classic on a wicked hard course, and felt not bad on the sprint day, but after two weekends in a row of sluggish racing, I nixed the final 15 km skate pursuit (the race I was most looking forward to! grrr) with hopes of regrouping for a trip out east in February for Eastern Champs in Ottawa and a NorAm weekend at Mt. Orford, QC.

10 km classic action in Canmore.

Something has been off the last few weeks. I am now back in Whistler to fix it. I have a pretty good idea of what is wrong. My focus is now on racing at lower altitude in the East.

Weird luck at Rossland NorAm, and Christmas at Osprey

The last stop on the racing circuit before Christmas was the Rossland NorAm, which consisted of two skate races, a 1.6 km sprint on the Saturday and a 15 km mass start on the Sunday. An interesting note from the weekend is that I received better CPL points on the distance day than on the sprint day. Also of note, in the overall CPL ranking list for the year ending December 20th, 2011, my overall distance points were the closest they have ever been to my sprint points. Where the gap has historically been close to a full 10 points, I have managed to improve my distance racing to the point where the difference is a little over 2 points (I broke 90 distance CPL for the first time in my life and also dropped below 93 sprint CPL). I guess my distance focus over the last few years is starting to pay off and is turning me into a better overall skier.

Placing-wise I was better in the sprint than in the distance, but sensations were much better in the 15 km skate.

Luck, however, also played a big part in both of my races.

On the Saturday, I knew from the start that I would be hard pressed to compete with the top guys on the day. I was simply outclassed. I could see the opportunities in my quarter final, but had no extra gear to capitalize on them. Luckily, I made up a spot as the 2nd fastest skier in my quarter went down mid-way through the course. I also made another pass near the end to claim 3rd, a result that I had to be happy with on the day considering how I was skiing.

The race completely levelled me, and it was all I could do to keep my eyes open till 8:30 that night.

I'm in the left of the shot. Jess (#1) was unstoppable on the day, skiing away with a clear victory.

Morning of the 15 km mass start: Ooohh boy, this is gonna be ugly... I guess I will give it a shot in warm-up and see if things improve... (during the recovery from mono a 2 x 3.5 minute race day has similar draining effects to racing a 50 km.) Warming up, however, things turned right around. I started to have a good feeling on my skis. The full hour of warming up had transformed me and I was ready to give it a crack. Luck, however, had other plans for me. With 5 minutes to go before the start, I found out that there had been a mix-up and my race skis hadn't been waxed and were sitting in the garage at home. After testing a 220-lb recreational skier's skis and a junior's race skis, I had the good fortune of testing a pair of CVTC's wax testing skis. They proved to be the quickest over my make-shift 10 meter ski testing area, so off I sprinted to be the last skier in the start grid, getting my skis and poles on with only 30 seconds to spare before the start gun.

The adrenaline from the ski-scare did me wonders off the gun, as I was able to settle into position quickly and conserve energy away from the mayhem of the jostling masses in pursuit. To my astonishment, the CVTC test skis I had hastily grabbed proved to be among the top skis on the day, better than anyone I skied with, anyway. I skied through the first 3.7 km lap in 10th place, right with the leaders. Even though I skied a pretty comfortably fast first lap, the pace was unsustainable. Attaining that next level of fitness doesn't seem far off, and I am excited to see where I am at in a few years' time.

The rest of the race was a matter of catching rides behind skiers when I could, drafting and conserving on the downhills and skiing controlled on the uphills. Having just a little more energy to attack on the final lap would have made it the perfect race for me. A fixable detail.

Immediately after the 15 km skate, it was off to the Heyes' cabin at Osprey Lake for 10 days of winter holiday festivities.

Successful Christmas tree hunt with our guide, Rob.

Classy Christmas eve dinner with 19th century silver ware at Nat Brown's cabin.

Lovin' Nat's 7.2 km trail system that was groomed especially for us. 

The evident cougar activity in the area had me on high alert when skiing solo (sunglasses on the back of your head, anyone?).

The trail system has incredible history, with numerous National teams having trained in the area as well as Olympic champions such as Thomas Wassberg (who is said to have been hyperactive, constantly moving and on the go for 12 hours a day, whether it be training or cutting wood and digging ditches for hours on end).

Nat's ranch consists of numerous cabins and structures on a large and narrow parcel of land abutted by a creek on one side and a towering ridge on the other. Adam van Koeverden asked me today why I don't base my training out of here (my initial thought is the cougar infestation).

Another of Princeton's hidden gem's: China Ridge ski trails. Located only 10 minutes from downtown Princeton, the trails are perched 500 meters above the town on rolling, varied terrain with sweeping vistas.

Controlling the variables

All pics from Jesse Winter (www.jessewinterphotography.com)

After a disappointing sprint qualifier in Canmore last Saturday at Alberta Cup #1, where I placed 12th, I regrouped and had a career best 10th place (3rd Canadian senior) qualifier at the Sovereign Lake NorAm sprint the following Saturday (Dec. 10th - results).

Transitioning from chicken-run to double pole in Saturday's classic prelim.

No doubt, going from a 12th place finish in a lower-key western Canadian race in a race that I normally excel at, to placing 10th at the premier North American race circuit, in an event I normally struggle at, in less than a week, is no small feat.

In AB Cup, where a number of variables negatively affected my performance, I made sure to control these same variables for the next weekend.

Leading up to the first NorAm, I made sure I had proper preparation by:

- rising early all week to be prepared for the early race day wake up call (and being asleep at 9:00 the night before)
- spending an extra few days at altitude in Silver Star to acclimatize to the elevation (Thanks to the Sellars)
- going back to basics by writing out a detailed race plan (complete with a new breathing strategy that helped a lot)
- completing key training sessions and feel-good sessions on course

Having everything come together on race day, it is nice to see it produce a good result. However, being 8 seconds out of the top spot in Canada, there is a lot of work to be done. World Cup qualifying rounds are pretty much never 8 seconds for top-30.

Heats didn't go quite as well as the qualifier. I think more aggression is needed next time. 

I am now in Rossland, BC, for the second stop on the NorAm circuit, and a skate-ski-only weekend, with a sprint and 15 km mass start. Having a few weeks of break from racing after this weekend, I am even planning on racing both Saturday and Sunday.

Enough blogging, it's time to dust off the old skate equipment and dial in Saturday's course.

Season Opener: Alberta Cup 1/2

Just got the season underway on the weekend. After a week of suffering the effects of altitude in Canmore for the first time in a long time, I managed to pull off a decent result on the weekend. In hindsight, I am glad I spent a full week in Canmore in preparation for the weekend, cause boy, was I sucking wind up there.

The first day of the skate sprint/classic distance race weekend, I slogged through a pretty dismal qualifier, posting the 12th fastest time in the exact event/location that I have placed 2nd (2006 as a Junior against Seniors) and 4th (last year) in qualifying. With a 6 hour break before heat action got underway, I had time to regroup and refocus. I bounced back for a great afternoon of racing, managing to benefit from the lucky loser rule in the first ever timed heats in Canada. Made it to the final! After not much rest after the semi, toeing the line for the final I was still a little gassed, and tried in vain to hang on to the stiff pace led out by two of Canada's Olympians, Brent McMurtry and Phil Widmer. I skied in for a 6th, and a successful first day of heat skiing for the year.

A-final action. I am trailing on the far left of the shot. (Photo cred: Angus Cockney) 

I won't go into much detail about Sunday's race. When you start warming up for a race at 8:20 am and finish cooling down for a race at 4:30 pm the day before, you're bound to have some lingering fatigue. Sunday's 9 km race was a good fit for me, but 3 km in it was evident it wasn't going to be my best performance.

Photo cred: Angus Cockney

I am now in Silver Star, where my coach, Andrew, and his wife, Ginny, have generously offered me their condo for a few days of preparation leading into this weekends NorAm sprint race. With races taking longer than normal to recover from, post-mono, I have opted out of the distance event this weekend to ensure good energy for the following weekend of NorAms in Rossland.

I am excited to try my hand in this weekend's tough field.