Erin Moening

I've been competitively racing for almost 5 years, and I like to think I've had a little experience at the Junior level. I've qualified for 5 Junior National Championships where I've skied to an All American place 7 times, been competitive at the Minnesota State championships 5 times, and raced at Senior Nationals twice. I felt very prepared for coming into college skiing, and although I wasn't at my best fitness or strength, I've trained at high levels before, so I felt like I could do it again. When I was looking at colleges, I knew I wanted to find a ski program that was right for me. Although a lot of collegiate ski programs look similar on the outside, I found out that it was the small details that really defined the programs.  My decision was influenced by how competitive the team was, how close they were to snow, how much money the school cost, if the school had programs I was interested in, team dynamics, and how I liked the feel of the school. Whi

Writing down my goals has always been a big part of how I tackle the challenges I've faced throughout the year. If I'm having a bad day (or a bad week!) I can take a step back and evaluate my progress, see where I came from, and where I want to go. These big goals always would remotivate me, and reinspire me.  Late Summer in Marquette was gorgeous  This year, I decided in the spring not to make any goals for this year. I decided that since I didn't have any idea how fast I would recover from my shoulder surgery, and there would be so many changes in my life, that it would be hard to calculate a goal.  Beautiful OD run mid-fall So what has been motivating me these past few months? The beautiful town of Marquette, Michigan, and the highly competitive Northern Michigan Universtiy ski team.  NMU Girl's Nordic Ski Team I knew this summer, that I was going to get my butt kicked when I moved up here in late August. Although it's a small team, the

Pushing to Improve I had a lot of free time this spring. Instead of running track, I was sitting on the sidelines, cheering for my teammates and friends, watching what should have been my last season of high school athletics. To keep my mind off the track, I instead thought about what I was gonna have to do to reach the level of strength and endurance I had before my surgery and shoulder injury.  Many athletes do this every spring- reflecting back at their season and asking themselves, what went well, and what could have been better? Standing on the sidelines suck- but it's slightly better when you're cheering your younger sister on to a school record When I was younger, I was very small, and strength wasn't a strong suit for me. I often was crushed in races that required a lot of double poling, so one summer, I made double poling, and the power that comes with it a priority. When the next season came around, I felt finally felt confident about that part of the r

I never have thought that ski training was going to be easy. One of the many thrills of the sport are the numerous times you are given to push yourself mentally and physically. I have always said that one of the reasons that I love skiing is because of those chances you get. It's a sport like no other, where you are working your arms, legs, core, you have to focus on your technique, and there are only small moments of rest. Training can bring you to amazing places: as seen in this foggy lake I found on an early morning hike There are obvious times when it's easier to push yourself, and those times are what can create an amazing race or workout. Factors that help are being super focused, being well rested, and being in good shape. You also need to have a positive mental attitude, for when everything isn't going perfectly. It's hard to get everything to go to plan, and if you can surge and go over bumps that are in the way, you can create those good workouts and race

Last October, I was faced with a hard decision. I just had a traumatic shoulder dislocation, which tore my labrum, a tissue that keeps the shoulder ball in the socket. Because it was my 10th dislocation/subluxation in less than a year, my doctor told me I needed surgery to repair the labrum. Although it was a risky move, I decided to push the surgery to after the ski season. The rules were pretty simple: I was going to physical therapy 2-3 days a week, and if I had any type of dislocation or subluxation, I would need to have surgery right away. I was so excited that I was allowed to ski and race. Getting to a high level of competition though was another story. I have been dealing with shoulder instability since November 2015, but my latest incident was the worst I wasn't really allowed to rollerski for the majority of October, and when I did no-pole, it was pretty uncomfortable. I could run a little (with discomfort), and the majority of my training was either leg work in t