Erin Moening

It has been so so busy with an estimation of 8 races in this 2 week frame. Definitely not as busy as the Tour de Ski, but pretty close. I can name them off for you, brief summary, and give you a lot right now. I'm on a pretty consistent streak right now and all I need to do is work through conference, sections, some JNQs mixed in and then state. One of my two major races this season. But that's for another time. Race time!!!!!! Race #1 and 2: Loppet Invite  This was the weekend after sr nats, so many of the big guns weren't racing. It was based off of the conference and section format, and it was the first time I races at Theodore Wirth this year. It was fun and I got to ski a skate race and a classic race. I love Wirth and it helped me prep for JNQs and sections. The team showing off the new tent Race #3: Classic '5k' Anyone who races at Elm Creek knows that you treat that 5k like a sprint. With only 2 big uphills and mostly flat, EC goes by so ...

In Europe, a ski event called the Tour de Ski is held annually. It was modeled after the Tour de France cycling event, and it has 6 to 9 stages, or ski races. This year has been historical for the US, with 2 American women, Sophie Caldwell and Jessie Diggins winning stages in a competition field that is normally dominated by the Scandinavians (or mainly the Norwegians). One of the challenging aspects of the Tour is the number of races condensed into a small amount of time. This year, the athletes are racing in 8 races in 10 days, in 4 different venues across 3 different countries. Senior Nationals I apologize for not getting a blog up earlier, as promised, but after my dad left Houghton, on Monday, I moved in the EU guys that were up there, and I didn't have anymore wifi. Racing in Michigan For me, I did a little Tour de Ski myself, racing in 5 races in 6 days in 2 venues in 2 states! I competed in the classic distance race, skate sprint, and skate mass start in Hough...

Reporting from up in da yoop! This week I am lucky enough to get to compete at the US National Championships (aka Sr Nationals) in the Upper Peninsula! This is a big week for me because depending on how I do, I have some opportunities to qualify for other races and trips! A quick run down starting from yesterday:  We (my dad, Molly, and I) arrived in Houghton yesterday afternoon, and after settling in, we headed to the race venue, the amazing Houghton ski trails. Today we went out to the trails again for an easy ski and then ate lunch before Molly and my dad went out to Swedes Town for some more skiing. For me, it's just an easy afternoon, with a run mixed in with extra homework. Tomorrow is the first race, a 10k classic . The men race at 10:00 and the women at 1:00, so I'll have time to jog a little in the morning to sooth some pre-race nerves.  Right away again on Monday is the skate sprint races . These will be pretty exciting for me because I'll be competing again...