IN THE ARENA WITH BRIAN: US Nationals and Recovery

So, I just went to update my blog and realized that this post from two weeks ago was saved as a draft, anyways better late than never....

The 2016 US National Championships proved to be my best cumulative showing at US Nationals so far. Although I still have yet to meet my goal of winning a National Championship I had a strong week.

2nd Place in the 30 km Freestyle Mass Start

My focus race going in to Nationals was the 30 km Freestyle. I really enjoy the tactics of mass start racing, plus distance skate races are my favorite and strongest event. I had a strong race and finished second, not quite as fast as my friend Tad Elliot who won. Tad has been on the top of the podium multiple times, but has struggled with illness the last few years. I am happy to see him back to his normal self and finding success again.

A huge thank you to Caldwell Sport for the fantastic ski service all week at US Nationals. My skis were fantastic in every race and it was great to have such a strong support team. Thanks you Amy, Austin and Erik. My training has been really strong this year thanks to my sponsors, training partners and coaches and it is nice to have things come together at a championship race. My races results qualified me for the Canadian World Cup Tour in March which is a major focus of my season. It is nice to be racing and feeling strong, especially after struggling at US Nationals last year. Last years struggles and disappointing results helped me enjoy the successes this year that much more.

My other results from the National Championships included a 5th (4th American) in the 15 km Classic, 7th (4th American) in the Freestyle Sprint and a finish in the high 30s for the classic sprint. I have struggled making the heats in the classic races and will need to put some more focus on classic skiing relaxed at high speed.

After a fun and hard week at US Nationals my body was ready for some recovery time. My body confirmed this with a head cold for a few days.

Meeting up with the Loppet Foundation's Fast Kids group for an evening Practice

Caitlin decided to come back home to recharge after the Tour de Ski and it is great to be together again. One of the fun ways we helped recharge ourselves was joining up with Fast Kids which is the team of 8-13 year old kids of our Club, Loppet Nordic Racing.

single digits and darkness did phase these kids

It is really fun to see the joy in the smiles of kids skiing. I sometimes find that I can get caught up in results and my own training and it is refreshing to just share in the joy of skiing. Plus it is really cool to hear the kids talking themselves about going to the Olympics someday.