Ever since the very first workout of the season last May, my
eyes have been set on U23 World Championships in Soldier Hollow, Utah. I sat
down with my coach, as I do every season, and we put together the ideal plan,
Plan A. The plan was pretty simple. Part 1 would consist of the summer and fall
training, arguably the most important months of the year for cross-country
skiers. The main focus would be on training at altitude to be as prepared as
possible when it was time to race at 1800m in Utah. Part 2 would consist of the
ski season leading up to the championships. Together, we decided it would be
best for me to race the Noram circuit in December rather than race on the World
Cup circuit. This would allow me to build into the season, gain confidence (something
I was lacking last season) and hopefully race at my fastest come February. After Worlds we had no plans, I would go with
the flow. Plan B was buried somewhere in the back on my mind, but I would not
allow myself to think about it.
How did Plan A work out I the
end?
The summer training went almost perfectly. With only a few
minor setbacks I came out of the training season feeling fitter than ever! Then,
as planned, I built into the racing season and earned myself a spot on the U23
World Champs team. Seems alright doesn’t it?
Then came time for the real test:
U23 World Champs.
If I had to describe my races at
U23’s in one word it would be “okay”.
OK1 (əʊˈkeɪ/)
(adjective): Satisfactory but
not especially good.
Although now that I read the actual definition I realize
that it is somewhat flawed. “Good but not especially satisfactory” would be a
better description. Overall I am quite happy with my
races. I pushed hard, I had a lot of fun and I learned a couple of things along
the way. But am I satisfied? No. Like any high level athlete, I am constantly
on the search of that “perfect feeling”. The feeling where you are racing your
heart out and your legs, your arms and your lungs are hurting but you feel amazing
all at the same time. The feeling where everything comes together. For all 3
races in Soldier Hollow, I can think of many positive points and these small accomplishments
are what make them good races but I was missing that "perfect feeling". I left U23 World Champs with a pit in my
stomach, a growing hunger that got me fired up for the rest of the season.
This was a dream come true.
To add a little bit of suspense, a blog post about Senior World Champs will be posted later this week.
As always, thank you for reading!
Katherine
To add a little bit of suspense, a blog post about Senior World Champs will be posted later this week.
As always, thank you for reading!
Katherine
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