Erin Moening

Sorry for the lack of update, the past 24 hours have been chaotic and the next 24 hours will be even more. Yesterday we had our 5k mass start classic race. It was very hot, and it was again didn't turn out how I expected. I was seeded 5th so I was in the first row of the mass start, but I had an extremely bad start and I had to fight all the way up the narrow course. At girl skied over the front of my skis, and then I got cut off by a lot of people. I didn't want to go out hard, but I should've been much more aggressive. I ended up being in 35th place at the bottom of the hill and then tried to take the outside of the hills to not stand in line. I'm proud of how I moved up, and it made me think that if I had the chance I would've been pretty competitive. I guess that mass starts for you. I finished 11th which wasn't exactly where I wanted to be, but it made me even more deturmined to do well in the relay, which was today. 5k Mass Start Today, in t...

I  believe you can always find something good in a disappointing race.  Today was a very challenging race, and several factors played into this. As much as I do not like to admit this to myself, the Auburn Ski Club is just below 8 thousand feet, and compared to the Twin Cities's 700 feet, it's been a bit of a challenge getting into top notch form. Not impossible, but a challenge. The weather has also played a part. Monday's long hot day really drained me and I believe that played a part in the toughness of today. Also today's weather made a difficult race day. After raining most of the night, and after suffering the hot sun all week, the trail was pretty worn down, and after the U16 boys went through it was pretty slushy. The Midwest wax techs were up to the venue before 5:00 trying to work with the dirty slushy snow we have, and the Midwest athletes owe them so much for the hard work they have put in all week making sure we have the fastest skis out on the cours...

Today was a huge rest day, our coaches let us sleep in and then gave us a bunch of time before we went skiing. It was nice and light, but I was still feeling a bit sick from yesterday so I cut it a bit short. We all dressed up for our ski and here are some photos from that! U16 girls 2nd year U16 girls Pretty much today was just a major rest day, and we are all pumped for tomorrow! Also here are some pictures and videos from yesterday's race! U16 races at 1 :40 U16 A Final Finish

*Sorry for the delay in update, it was a very busy afternoon and evening  Normally, I wouldn't consider myself a sprinter. But I've seen myself improve a lot in sprinting over the past year, so while normally I don't look forward to sprint races, I was excited that the 2015 Jr. Nationals were starting out with the sprints. Every year, the technique changes, so while last year was classic sprints (I placed 26th) this year was skate. U16 Girls prepping!  Sprint races always start out with a qualifying round. Each athlete goes out one at a time, 15 seconds apart. The top 30 fastest times qualify for the heats, and last year I barely qualified before getting knocked out of the quarter finals. Today's sprint was much harder, and for me, very painful. Truckee is pretty high up, around 8,000 feet, as during training skis, I've mostly been able to ignore the altitude difference. But today, when I went out hard in the beginning of the sprint qualifier, I quickly went i...

This morning after a beautiful morning run, we previewed the sprint course! I tested skis, tried out the downhill turns and made sure I drank a lot of water! Sun Rising Over Donner Lake The course is very short. We skied a bit later than yesterday, and it was a little warmer, but the track upheld well, despite the amount of people on it. The course was still very icy, but the race directors had put a bit of fresh snow on top of the glazed tracks. This easily was pushed away and off to the side, but added a bit of traction on some of the hills. The stadium is the same as the distance races and you go down the first big hill, but instead of turning left, you turn right. Then you do a 'S' turn which today, in training almost all the skiers snowplowed and because the U16 girls go very last tomorrow, I'm curious what kind of condition it will be in. Me and my roommate Olivia walking along the beach! After the sketchy downhill, there is a sharp left turn that turns away...