Hi BSF community!

It’s Nina writing to you from Craftsbury, Vermont. Our team just wrapped up racing at Super Tour Finals this week. A few of us will still do some fun end-of-season races, but these were the last big races for most of the team.

The week included a classic sprint, a 4x5k mixed-team relay, and we finished off with a 40k skate mass start. We had some really impressive end-of-season results, with Emma Albrecht and Erin Bianco finishing as the first and second American skiers in the classic sprint. Erin also had the fastest qualifier of the day. Since not all race formats are included at U.S. Nationals, both the sprint and the 40k at the SuperTour Finals count as national championships, making those results even more important.

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The 40k was eight laps of a 5k loop, so lots of hills, lots of times. The Birkie was the first race over 20k I had done, and this was my second, but it was definitely more mentally challenging to ski the same lap eight times. I was glad the women raced first because it was colder and faster in the morning, and then we got to celebrate and watch the men’s race afterward. Overall, it was a pretty perfect week to finish out the season… plenty of snow, but also sunny, early-spring weather. I also really enjoyed staying at Craftsbury and eating meals with friends from other teams, as well as some of my college teammates.

I’ve been reflecting a bit on my first season racing on a pro team post-college. The lifestyle is definitely different, with more focus and higher expectations. Originally, I had only planned to ski for one year after college, but I’ve decided to continue and see if I can keep improving next year. This season was a bit frustrating at times and didn’t fully match what I had hoped for. I trained more than I ever have before and really tried to structure my lifestyle around skiing, doing all the little things right to be my fastest. I definitely felt fitter than in previous seasons, especially in longer distance races and workouts. But I didn’t always have the top-end race gear or “snap” throughout the season.

Not getting the results I hoped for forced me to shift my perspective a bit and remember all the non-racing parts of the sport that I love. It’s pretty special to wake up every morning, go outside to train with friends, and have such a wide variety of cross-training options. I think about sports like track or swimming, where there’s less variation, and it makes me appreciate how unique our sport is. In the summer and fall, we train in different places doing different things every day, and in the winter, we race both skate and classic, across distances from 1.5k to 50k. No two courses or venues are the same, which means we get to test different strengths at every race.

In the past few years during college, I didn’t train much in the spring because that term was usually busy academically, and it was also my chance to have a more typical college lifestyle and spend more time socially. I still exercised, but it was more recreational than structured. This year, I’m excited to take a different approach.

In a couple of weeks, I’ll be heading back to Bozeman after visiting friends and family, and I’m looking forward to getting back into training with some longer bike rides and hikes. It will be nice to spend more time outdoors, building volume without worrying about rollerskiing or more specific training just yet. I’m hoping that by maintaining more of my fitness through the spring, I can build a stronger base going into summer training and feel sharper while still handling a higher training load. I’m also excited for the college training group to join the pro team this summer. It’s always fun to have a bigger group to train with and to find that balance between focused training and a good, social atmosphere.

Thanks to everyone who supported the team this season! Lots of love and gratitude for this community. 

Until next time,

Nina

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