We have done 4 races at nationals and one more the big 50km skate. I was home for a week after having a successful OPA trip. I chilled out for a while and then it was back into training mode getting ready for the Canadian championships. Starting the week off with a team sprint my partner Phil widmer and myself where ready to defend our title from last year. Unfortunately we both had bodies that where disagreeing with us. We fought hard but ended a disappointing 4th.
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The next day came fast with some rain coming down and warm weather rollin in. I had to get ready for one of my hardest events the 10km skate. I started well and felt really good compared to the day before. I ended the day in a surprise 3rd place only 5 seconds of first wow!!!! I was pumped and felt I skied really well. We then had a day off to let the body recover. Next on the list was one of my favourite races where around the corner 15km Classic. Duntroon holds a pretty good classic course my goal was set a hard pace right off the start. At the end of the day everything fell into place and I won by 50 seconds. I was very pumped and excited it was a good win.
The body was pretty tired and I was happy to have a day off. My specialty was next the classic sprint, I picked the course a part to figure out where I could gain time and ski it smooth. In the prologue I skied pretty much as planned. The last hill was a little crazy but I was still able to keep the speed up. I won the prologue by just over 2 seconds which was a good start to the day. In the heats I felt strong and confident moving through quite easily. In the A final it was going to be hard but I felt strong and ready to take the win. Going into the last corner with some good speed from the downhill I was 2nd about 5 meters behind crooks. Widmer right on my heals ( literally) I took the turn and the next thing I know I am down and 3rd and 4th pass me and now I am sitting in fourth. Oh no what just happened, I got up quickly and started the close my 15 meter gap on the last hill on 2nd and 3rd. In the end I lost the lunge to Widmer who was 3rd. So I had a dissatisfying 4th place finish. It is something us sprinters have to deal with sometimes the ice or what ever it might be take’s us down, just part of sprint racing. So I am not to happy with the end result today but after having won the prologue and being in the mix for the win not that bad of a day. Right now I am leading the Canadian championships for the overall win. We have a day off tomorrow and I will enjoy a sleep in and see what the 50km skate has planned for us Sunday. Wish me luck!
