2010 and beyond...
Mar 31st, 2010 By: Shayla Swanson
2010 and Beyond…
I have been a horrible blog updater and I’m sorry about that.
Not qualifying for the Olympic team really turned out to be a deflating experience for me. I really lost motivation for training and was having a hard time feeling excited to race. It became pretty obvious to me that I was ready to move on and do some other things. The Olympic goal carried me a long way and kept me very focused, but when it wasn’t possible to achieve it anymore, my mind-set really changed. After participating in some local races (Legends of the Wulf in Anaconda and The Rendezvous in West Yellowstone) I realized that fun races are enough for me. While watching the best skiers at the Olympics, I was full of admiration and respect, but I know that I’m just not feeling the drive to compete at that level anymore. So, with closure in mind I decided I should probably attend Canadian Nationals in Whitehorse, Yukon. I have only missed 2 National Championships since 1994….yeesh! That’s a long time!!
I continued to ski throughout January and February, but at a drastically reduced volume and intensity. I thought it would negatively impact my performance, but instead it seemed to be just what I needed – it was a great week. Looking back I think I was a little over-done with training before Christmas. I just didn’t have the extra energy I needed to perform at my best – an unfortunate realization to have after the fact.
The first race of the week was a team sprint between different ski clubs. Rhonda and I have always been a part of the same ski club and were partnered up for the race. I would say that we were the strong favorites, and we came out victorious. Both Rhonda and I will be moving on after this season and it was special for both of us to cap things off with a victory.
I thought that might be the full extent my podium finishes. The next race was a 5km classic and it went pretty well. I finished 4th, only a few seconds from the podium.
The next event was a 10km skate. As the race went on I realized that I had the extra energy that was missing in the beginning of the season. I was able to push really hard on the up hills and recover in enough time to do it again! I finished 2nd behind Brooke Gosling.
The next event was a skate sprint race. It was a fun course with lots of corners. Chandra skied a tactical race in the final and was controlling the pace from the front so that she could put on one of her signature ‘super-sprints’ in the last part of the race. I don’t really do tactics, so it’s a little confusing to me. In my mind, you just go as hard as you can start to finish…but I guess that doesn’t always win the race ;). Anyway, I ended up 3rd in a photo finish with Madeleine Williams who just edged me out for 2nd place.
The final race was the 30km classic. Honestly, I was really having trouble getting psyched up for the races. I found myself in a bit of a robot state – no excitement, or nervousness – just going through the motions. I wasn’t expecting the 30km day to go as well as it did and am not sure that I had any kind of strategy. For the first little while there was a group of 5-6 of us skiing together and I was thinking, “Ok, top 5 would be great.” As we skied I realized that I was feeling great, and that my skis were perfect. Somewhere in the 3rd lap Madeleine Williams fell off the pack and it was Chandra, Brittany and I. At the end of the third lap (of four) Chandra took off double poling toward the stadium. It was an impressive sprint and she left Brittany and I in her dust, but unfortunately she had lost count of her laps and thought that she was headed for the finish line. I think that she burned herself a little after that and she fell of our pace soon after. Brittany and I kept the pace high through the whole last lap and I managed to pull ahead of her in the last stretch toward the finish line. I was very, very pleased with how it turned out!!
As I said, I just wish I had felt as good as I did last week, during our Olympic trials! It was an awesome feeling to cross the line in first place in my ‘last’ high level event. To go out as National Champ really is icing on the cake. It has been an incredible journey and I’ve loved every bit of it – even the hard times. I’m excited to do some other things, but would like to say thank you to everyone for your support and encouragement.
Sincerely,
Shayla on Skis.
|
