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http://laurengoes.wordpress.com/
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But Wait (There’s More)
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Thanks!
After an awesome year of training and travel with RMR, I’ve recently made the decision to stop skiing competitively at this level. It was amazing to live the ‘full time athlete life’ for the year, and I feel like I’ve learned so much from the experience. To be honest, if someone told me a year ago that I could race in Europe, train all year, make top tens in NORAMS and feel this fit, I would have laughed long and hard. Now that the year is over, it feels very surreal. I’m happy 🙂
I’m also excited for what’s coming up. I’m aiming for work outside this summer, and after that I’d love to get into a Park’s job and see more of Canada. I’ll never be “done” with skiing or racing. Although it’s super clichéd, it’s true that I’m ready for skiing to take a different place in my life, and to do and see different things.
There’s many people I need to thank for this year and for the years before:
– My friends, who put up with my 10pm bedtimes and ran and skied with me all through school, who let me complain and commiserated about training, school, and general life.
– The Coaches (all of them, from high school to Augustana until now), who somehow helped me to contort my noodle self into a functional and powerful technique in skate and classic (something that still boggles ma mind!), and taught me about sport and life in a hundred different ways.
– My new friends and sponsors in Canmore, and the community here that made me feel really welcome.
– My family and close friends, who supported and cared about me even when I appeared feckless or confused, who cheered at all my races (even when I was in the penalty loop), and encouraged me to be strong and have fun from the first race until now.
Thank you! I owe you all so much 🙂
If ski racing is a bus, I’m pulling that little rope thing and getting off at a stop, lugging my giant ski bag and backpack out the door, with a big smile on my face. It’s been a sweet ride.
Year Recap: RMR
Something you’ve probably got from a year of blogging: RMR is a super team! The coaching is great, the training locations are great, and my fellow teammates made training and living in Canmore absolutely fantastic.
Some training, racing, life memories with RMR that will stick with me for a looonggg time.
- The big blue open bowl of Sunshine, and skiing in May, on snow. In May. Realizing how far my technique had to go before Coach JJ would stop raising his eyebrows and going, “Hmmmmmm.”
- Backpacking the beautiful West Coast Trail with the team, playing Frisbee with ocean trash, laughing over campfires and mud pits, and how good that Coke tasted afterwards.
- Hiking higher than I have ever hiked before to climb Mt. Temple. This hike also included a nap break, which was funny.
- The chaos of the Boat Race at the Haig. Followed by winning the Boat Race at the Haig. It made me realize how crazy and competitive these people were, and how great it was. The Haig camps in general, from singing and dancing competitions, to num nums, to crevases, to losing GN, to sprint starts in the sun. I think the Haig might actually be summer ski heaven, but with the disturbing presence of store-burn toilets.
- SSS and pulling people up hills. “You want me to do what?!”
- Park City camp! Feeling like a boss while rollerskiing in front of the team van. Time trialing at SoHo, eating too many tacos, lactate tests, and eating giant donuts mid ski.
- Racing and freezing our bums off at the early B.C. NORAMS. woW. Then racing at Olympic trials. OLYMPIC TRIALS?! What is this life?
- The RMR Not-So-Germany Tour. Flat out great. Plus Newfoundland and Nationals.
- Shark Fest home races. So many v-boards and radios and clipboards, and so much fun.
- Everyone pictured (and not pictured) here. Thanks for a great year!
“At its worst, ski racing is cerebral and introverted. You think. You think about the time you’re losing to your competitors, your pain, and your miserable, sorry-ass little, hurting self. That doesn’t mean the best ski racing is totally mindless. Throughout the early part of the race you monitor your intensity, are respectful of the distance, gauge how you will go fastest for the duration… Even this becomes automatic and is conditioned into you by years of training and racing. Then, at some point in the race you are able to let go of even that and just GO. Ski racing, at its best is not really a brains kind of operation; it’s more a vicious JOY.”
Pete Vordenburg
From Momentum: Chasing the Olympic Dream, 2002
Skiing with this Goofball
Why is my nose all bloody?
Finally at 500 Hours
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Made it!
“Make some money in the spring, take up pole dancing, and then you’ll be good to pay for the rest of the season.”
Coach JJ on self-funding for the season.
Sharkfest!
Sharkfest is RMR’s home race weekend, usually held at Mount Shark, which is located here.
However, the race was moved to the Canmore Nordic Centre for the weekend. It’s too bad, because Mt. Shark is beautiful, but perhaps more convenient and easier on the body. The elevation at Shark is exhausting to say the least.
The amount of time, energy, planning, and v-boards that goes into hosting a race is absolutely staggering. As I watched and helped some of the key volunteers in our club work from the early morning through to the night, I found myself wanting to give them something to help out. Like liquor, for example, or something to freeze time. Instead I moved v boards around to mark various courses and tried not to lose the radio they gave me. This weekend definitely gave me a new perspective on what it means to host a race, and a new appreciation for all that goes into it. THANK YOU!!!
Setting out v-boards for the course in the rising sun.
Matchy
Good turnout
Say “Saskatchewan!”
On Sunday I did the skate race. The start order was based on the results from the previous day. Because I didn’t race on Saturday, my points were effectively at zero, so I started in the back of the wave start. After a week mostly off, jet lag, and a whole season of racing behind me, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The course was also quite brutal, with a lot of hills and fresh snow. Thank gosh RMR nailed the glide wax again! My plan was to ski at a hard zone 3 pace for as long as I could, and then ramp it up from there if I felt ok. It worked and I felt pretty good. MZ and I finished the race in a sprint finish, which was kind of hilarious and appropriate, and also very tiring.
Afterwards everyone was being really nice and congratulating me, which I assumed was just really kind. It was only at the awards ceremony when they told me to put a team coat on that I realized I’d actually made it to the podium in third place for the day. Cool!
A cool picture from HH. Thanks! It looks like I skied out of the cuffs of my boots somehow.
GN displays some awesome downhill swagger.
Thanks to HH for the photos above. If you’re reading this, yes!, I am about to pay my team fees. 🙂
Week of Sloth: Apres Nationals
A and I arrived home at an ungodly hour after a terrifying cab ride with the sleepiest and most snow-averse driver in all of Calgary. After a day of sprinting through airports, the adrenaline rush of thinking about our impending doom for an hour, and a couple months of traveling and racing, I was pretty pooped. The out-like-a-light sleep that I had that night kind of set the tone for the week. I ate several boxes of kd and many grilled cheese sandwiches. I didn’t train for 4 days in a row, which hasn’t happened since I was sick in the summer. It was a definite break, and very appreciated.
“Wanna see how many pullups you can do?”
These two.
YUM YUM YUM YUM
RMR spent the week prepping for Sharkfest, the club’s awesomely named local race. Hosting a race takes an incredible amount of work, which I will detail in an upcoming post. Here’s a picture from the volunteer party.
The dream team.
Link
Look! Someone took video of me during the long distance classic race!
Lauren Goes Skiing 
