2007 US National Championships
Houghton, MI
5km Individual Classic

So, the new year begins! Over the last three weeks I spent some quality time at home in Alaska, getting in a solid block of training and also enjoying the holidays. The time flew by, and all too soon it was time to leave for the long haul! The next few months will be on the road, traveling from race venue to race venue, all over the globe. ItÕs exciting to embark on a big adventure, but also a little sad to leave my favorite place in the world, especially since the skiing conditions were the best I have ever seen in Anchorage.

On December 29th I headed off with my with APU team to Houghton, MI for the 2007 US National Championships. We flew into Minneapolis and then had quite a drive up to the Upper Peninsula, arriving at our destination at 4am Michigan time. Luckily for us, coming from Alaska, it only felt like midnight and we slept in until noon the next day! The races didnÕt start until the 3rd so we had time to settle in and check out the new venue. My teammates (and company) did a fun job of celebrating my 24th birthday on New YearÕs Eve and we rang in the new year with a ÒWahoo!Ó

Unfortunately the skiing conditions here in Michigan arenÕt quite as sweet as what I left at home. The courses on the Michigan Tech campus normally get a ton of snow from Òlake effect,Ó (Lake Superior!) but this year hardly any snow has fallen and rain and warm temperatures have made conditions challenging. However, there is an amazing group of dedicated and hard-working volunteers that have made the trails not only skiable but actually quite nice. With the trails ready to go, today it was time to get down to the action!

Race start today was just after 11am. My teammates and I arrived at the venue around 9:30am with the music blasting. The coaches were busy testing kick wax upon our arrival so I relaxed in the van for a little while before jogging a little bit to loosen up. Coach Holly gave me a pair of warm-up skis while race skis were being prepared and I set off around the course to check the conditions. I gradually picked up the pace as I skied, my body felt good. With 25 minutes to go until race start I finally got on my race skis to test the kick. They were a little slick so I ran back to the wax trailer to get another layer. No coaches were there so I hurriedly changed into my race suit and was a little anxious about getting to the start on time when I found Coach Erik. He quickly applied a little extra wax in the start pen and I was ready to go.

I started bib #175, near the end of the womenÕs field. Racers were out on the course in 15 second intervals and I burst out of the start immediately chasing after the racers ahead. The first kilometer was pretty flat and I double-poled most of it with a quick and powerful tempo. There were a couple short sections where I switched to double-pole with kick but struggled to get a good push off my skis...back to double-pole. During the second kilometer, the course descended down to the low point through a series of s-turns. I took a tight line, hanging on by the skin of my teeth on a couple of turns as the trail was still icy in spots. I passed one racer near the bottom and then spotted a couple more girls within range as I rounded the last turn and headed back up. I settled into a quick stride, long glide on the gradual, short and quick on the steeper terrain.

I came up behind my US Ski Team teammate Liz Stephens and followed her quick rhythm for a few hundred meters. As we neared the second half of the long climb up to the 3km mark I quickened my pace and surged ahead. I got a split that I was in the lead by five seconds. The good news spurred me on and I pushed hard up the next gradual section.

By the time I made it to the top of the climbing section, my legs and arms were screaming. I tried to tuck into the next downhill but my legs wouldnÕt drop into my usual low position. The course descended for a bit, and coming around a few more s-turns I felt a little off balance. There was a very short rest going into the final kilometer. I readied to go for it in the last climb. The course took a sharp turn to the left and ascended back up toward the finish. I caught another racer near the bottom of the hill and switched tracks to make a smooth pass. The terrain was gradual uphill and I was trying to stretch out my stride. The track was icy however, and I had a hard time maintaining momentum. I tried quickening my kick, pushing my skis forcefully down in the snow. I was putting a lot of effort into each movement but I could tell I was loosing my power. Erik was on the side of the trail yelling to go for every second.

Going into the last 400m, I was fighting my bodyÕs natural instinct to slow down pushing myself to hold a quick tempo. I made it around a short horse-shoe loop and then aimed for last rise to the finish. Coming into the final stretch, Frode was yelling encouragement. I used a frenzied mix of techniques to try to get to the finish line as fast as I could and then, at last, slid my foot across the line. Totally exhausted, I hung on my poles for a minute or so before making my way out of the finish pen. For only skiing five kilometers, I felt worked!

As I made my way back to the van I glanced at the scoreboard to see that I had lost time over the last 1.5km and finished in second place. Another US Ski Team teammate of mine, NMU skier Lindsey Weier won the race, 8.4seconds ahead. I had just squeaked in there, with CXC skier Laura Valaas just 1 second behind me in third place! Just goes to show you, every second does count!

After the race I skied a cool-down loop and it took me the entire 15 minutes and some more to feel normal again. Then I changed into dry clothes and cruised over to the awards area for the flower ceremony. Lindsey was looking very happy and I was glad to see the excitement! We took our places on the podium, smiled for a bunch of pictures, and shared congratulations. My Dad traveled out here to Houghton to cheer me on and it was great to have him there today. I got to do a quick little interview for the family video camera after the race.

Even though I didnÕt win today, I feel very satisfied with my race. I skied an aggressive race from the start line and although I died a little bit near the end, I gave it everything I had. There were some good lessons learned today. Tomorrow I will get another chance to race hard with the 10km skate individual start.

Off to bed now. Stay tuned!

Cheers,
Kikkan :)