Last weekend was the Bates Carnival! The weather really never ceases to surprise. I feel like Rumford consistently throws some crazy conditions at us. There was a big freezing rain/sleet/snow storm Thursday afternoon through Friday night, which made driving tough and Friday's mass start a little wild. However, the race organizers did a great job grooming the course, and Dana and Jordan (who has been helping out a ton this year!) got us up to Maine safe and sound. I was happy to get there in time to ski the course, as it was slightly new – very similar to one we skied a few years ago, but thankfully slightly less hilly!
Thank you to River Valley Graphics for some great photos!!!
Waking up to sleet on a classic day is always a bit unsettling. Especially for a 15/20k day! For those who don't know, snow is the most variable right around freezing, so it is very hard to wax. However, by the time we got to the venue, the coaches had already been hard at work testing skis for quite a while. It was a down to the wire kind of day, but I was really proud of how calm and collected everyone remained. Sometimes you just need to trust the process. I had the best skis of anyone I was around and was happy to be able to work my way up to my best classic finish ever. Robyn also got into the top 50 for the first time, which was great to see! On the whole, though, most people didn't have their best day. The tracks were soft and washed out, some people's wax was a bit slippy, and it was just generally the kind of day that was hit or miss for teams across the board.
This was only exacerbated in the men's race. Man, it was a tough one to watch, and only harder to ski I'm sure! I was proud of everyone for hanging tough, but there really isn't a way to describe it other than miserable. The tracks on the uphills were gone, and the freezing rain started up again (it had stopped during the women's race) to pelt them in the face. Our boys worked together, though, and while Tim and Brian didn't have their best day, Kai was happy to be close behind them in 56th. It was an awesome turn around from being sick with the stomach bug last week up at Canadian World Junior Trials.
We woke up to clear skies and fresh snow for our 5k/10k Eastern Cup/EISA skate! The sleet turned to beautiful powder over night, the sun came out, and things really took a turn for the better. Jackie was the star of the day, matching a career best 6th place, less than 4 seconds off the podium!! I can only imagine how tough it is to be that close to the podium for the second time; however, we were all still so proud of her. Kate and I both also had great days to get us another 4th place team finish! We've really made it, because these are starting to feel regular. But let's not forget... a 4th place finish in our league is incredible. I couldn't be prouder of this whole team and how each person comes in bringing something special.
Results, Results, and more Results
The men had more of a mixed day, but everyone was proud to see Kai step up and lead the team with his first top 45 result! I'm sure there are many more to come. I know he had fun catching the ride of his life behind some UVM guys. And the girls had fun cheering for everyone! It was so nice to soak up the sun – the sparkle tan (read: burn) after the weekend was real.
Now, we're excited to head into tomorrow's races at Lake Placid! The Williams Carnival was moved, so we get to save ourselves the drive and race on our home turf! Plus, we've finally caught up on the blog. Thanks for hanging with us!
No comments:
Post a Comment