Finding Myself on Skis

This past weekend I competed at the Eastern Canadian Championships hosted by the Nakkertok Ski Club and I started to find myself on skis.  I didn’t crush any of the races, but I did ski consistently well, something that has eluded me so far this season.  I managed to podium in every race finishing 3rd twice and 2nd once. 

The key to finding myself was allowing my body to rest and listening to what my body was telling me as I gradually increased my training load back to more normal hours.  I have pushed my limits in training all season and after the Trials races it was time to step back and give my body a chance to reset.  Everything actually went very smoothly in this process until I caught a head cold only a few days before Eastern Champs.  I got past the worst of it before the races and although the cold lingered through the races, my more rested body was better able to deal with it and still perform well.

With three podium finishes to add to my NorAm points I am now sitting in 2nd place in the NorAm series, qualifying me for a CCC European Tour where I will be racing several Scandinavian Cup events and finishing the trip with the Lahti World Cup.  I’m really excited to have this opportunity; it will help me grow as an athlete.  My goal is to not just ski well in Europe, but to crush a few of the races while I’m there.

Following Graham Nishikawa in the 20km classic with teammate Chris Hamilton in bib #4.
Photo Credit: Bernard Pigeon
Narrowly beating out teammate Chris Hamilton in a photo finish lunge for 2nd place.  We really had a great battle in the last few kms!
20km Classic Mass Start Podium (my best finish of the season to date in 2nd place)
Photo Credit: Rob Smith

Comments

Your proud family said…
Way to ski Michael! Good luck in Europe. We are rooting for you.