I can’t believe it's already the end of November which means...Thanksgiving!! And then less than a month until Christmas, and a little more than a month until 2021! Crazy right?! In other news, I was able to time my return to Alaska perfectly! I missed the worst of the shoulder season, and was able to come back to some decent skiing right away! For the past number of years, Thanksgiving has usually marked the first time in the season for me to get on snow, which is why this was such a treat! Being able to ski on snow since the end of October has meant that I’ve been able to jumpstart the actual ski season. I’ve been able to log many miles in anticipation for the upcoming race season. Besides skiing a lot, I’ve been busy with my academic schedule, which is soon coming to semester’s end. Only 3 weeks left!!
This past weekend was supposed to have been the official kick off for the 2020-21 season with official FIS races up in Fairbanks, however, they were cancelled along with races on Dec. 4-5th. Luckily we’ve been able to make some plans that seem like they're here to stay, which include racing the first 3 weekends in December. Directly after the last races, I plan on heading back home to CO for Christmas for a couple weeks. From there, I’m not sure what to expect, as the COVID dilemma keeps us guessing. Uncertainty seems to be the theme of this past year. Expect the unexpected!
Tips and Tricks for Thanksgiving Training Success
As I said before, Thanksgiving usually marks the first time of the year to train on snow, and this is true for most other Americans as well. Given the fact that it's the first time in over 6 months that you're able to truly glide on a ski, ambitions are high, and the overall excitement level is through the roof. At least that's how it's been for me. With that said, it can be really easy to do too much during that first phase of on-snow training. Whether you end up logging entirely too many hours for your respective level, or go too hard all the time, or a combination of the two, you can end up digging yourself a major hole. I can personally attest to doing just that. While yes we do spend the entire year getting ready to ski on snow via various forms of ski imitation, there is nothing quite like the real thing, meaning, an additional stress for your body. For a lot of people, “Thanksgiving Camp” means traveling to places like West Yellowstone, or Silver Star, both of which are at altitude which adds other aspects to take into consideration especially if you’re coming from lower elevations. In my experience, it's better to take things a bit easier than you think to let the body adapt to the new stimulus. The whole point of getting in lots of skiing is to start building ski specific efficiency so that you’re ready to rock when the race season kicks off, not to bury yourself before you even get the chance to toe the start line. Another very important variable to take into consideration is your skis. A lot of times athletes will get a fresh new pair or two during the late fall/ early winter, and all of this early season skiing is a perfect time to get to know your skis. (If the conditions allow, that is.) Test them versus your old skis, test out kick zones, and in general take advantage of the varied conditions that you will likely be skiing in so that you really know how your skis run.
BIG THANK YOU!
As it is now Thanksgiving, it seems only fitting to take this opportunity to thank friends, family, sponsors, one and all, for your generous support! There may be uncertainty surrounding this race season, but if one thing is for certain...COVID can’t cancel a dream!
Happy Thanksgiving!
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