Erin Moening

Contrary to my last post promising to put my state post up as soon as possible, I waited a little bit because I didn't really know what to make of my state races.  We got there the day before state because there were some of our teammates in the relay races. It was pretty chilly, and windy,  but sunny so it was tolerable. Besides cheering for our teammates, we skied the courses and then relaxed. We went back to our hotel and had a pretty laid back evening. Because of the cold, the races got pushed back, and we went out two at a time. Anna French and I started together! I let her lead the first kilometers but my skis were so fast that I got super good glide on the downhills and got ahead!  The group following me I raced pretty hard,  but with no one around me, I don't know how I would have done if I had been with someone. I wish I had placed higher, but my classic race made up for it. The past 2 years I had placed higher than expected for skate and then always gotten ...

Lots of racing this weekend, in fact, I had 4 races in 3 days. And I had my best race on the last day! Kind of funny, huh?! Best Overall JNQ results yet!!! Conference was a blast, and the temperatures definitely prepared me for this weekend. On Friday it was around 30-40 and Saturday was even higher than that! My teammates raced well, and we ended up winning the Championship!!!  It was our first year in our new conference and it was so much fun being able to start out with that! Our Photoshoot Conference Champions! Pep-talking The Team!! I raced well, and was happy how I did. Elm Creek is such a fast course, quick tempo (which is my favorite!) works really well on the course. I swear this was the only time I wasn't smiling! Saturday.... was a whole different ball game. I love mass starts. And I love classic skiing. The funny thing is, I have a hard time with both of them. My classic skiing has defiantly improved, especially with all the hard work I...

Winter Break has been super busy. We spent a lot of time skiing at Hyland Bloomington. Right after Christmas we went up to the Birkie trail and they got a lot of fresh snow. When we woke up there were 5 fresh inches on the ground, approximately 4.5 more inches we had at home. It was Ben, my dad and I and we ended up doing some old fashion skiing, trekking through the woods, making our own path. It was a nice change of pace, and we even got into the local newspaper! Front Page of the Hayward newspaper! After we came home, we suffered a cold break and kept up our skiing. Then the last weekend, I had one of my biggest races of the season...... Senior Nationals! It was pretty cold, and the sprint race got delayed, so I couldn't race in it, but I had a good skate 10k that was a lot of fun despite the cold, wind and blowing snow! In the wind, snow, and cold The course was an unique one. There was a  flat that lead into a downhill run right at the start. This was the only flat ...

We really got lucky with the snow early this year. We got to ski on the first day of practice for the first time ever in my high school career.  Now we are hitting December, we have no snow in the sky,  and it is warming up. Want to see Saint Paul's forecast for the weekend? This week I finally got to do my first high school race of the season, and I had so much fun. We went to Wirth, which only has a 1k loop, but we did a relay race, and I did it with my old friend, Mimi. Here is a picture of us from 4 years ago, when I was a 7th grader and she was a freshman. Me and Mimi! Not much going on besides this weekend, if the snow doesn't melt, my dad and I are competing in a race up at Elm Creek...... watch out for the Moening Mafia! Oh and next weekend is Maplelag! Some awesome team bounding on the way! Now lets just hope that they get snow! Not much snow for Maplelag..... ;( Cousin Party! Sarah and I Libby and I make the most out of the snow melting, tough ...

Entering December the ski season has been going on for almost a month now, and we really lucked out with the snow we got on the first week. It wasn't much, and is less now, but we've gotten to ski almost everyday. One bummer is we haven't really gotten to race yet. Well today my teammates get to… but I'm at home sick, so I'm hoping for a fast recovery so I can get back on the snow! My Cousin, Sarah and I Before I got sick, training had been going really well. I was skiing 6-7 days a week and doing about 6 strength workouts a week! While both of Highland's boys and girls teams need some work (and some endurance training! :) ) I'm thankful that I have some competitive teammates that have been pushing me this season. 

You know what my favorite time of year is? Guess..... The ski season!! And this post goes out in tribute of that, today the first day of the ski season, first day with awesome beautiful snow (Minnesota in November... let me just say ;) ) and the start of some exciting, thrilling times to come!! One of the first races last year! Just a quick recap, my State race didn't go as planned and I am bummed about that. It was an amazing experience and I was able to meet up with some friends that I haven't seen in a while. Shout-out to my awesome cousin Sarah (8th grader, BTW) and my just-as-awesome teammate Micah. They both had awesome races, even though they weren't feeling the best and I think that's really when you know someone is a good athlete. Its not always about how fast you go. Anyone could have talent, but the extraordinary people are the ones who whip that talent into shape and can just keep on going when times get tough. (Get ready for the pictures......) Super...

Sections was last Wednesday, and it's been so busy that I hadn't gotten a chance to update until now! Sections was awesome and we got the chance to recognize our senior girls who've been with us for 4 to 6 years. The girl's team bought them flowers and gave them cards, it was so awesome to see them run their last high school cross country races, and we are really going to miss them next year!! Highland CC Girls' Section Varsity Team The girl's varsity race was first, so I got to cheer all of my teammates on after our race. I had a lot of energy and so I was pretty loud. The boys definitely heard me, but I may have bonked a little for the girls...... One awesome Cross Country and Skiing tradition we have here at Highland is Secret Sisters. At the beginning of the season we pull names and then give gifts to our 'sister' before every race. My sister has been awesome all season, but really did it when at sections she gave me........... PICKLES!! Exp...