I had my first Ontario University circuit races this weekend in North Bay. Saturday was a 15km (3x5) individual start skate race at North Bay Nordic, Sunday was a 9km (3x3)individual start classic at Nipissing University. I'm normally not a huge fan of the North Bay courses, as this is my 4th year in a row racing there, and I haven't exactly had the races I've wanted in the past.
I also haven't had the start to the season i've wanted. My races in Thunder Bay and at World Junior Trials in Valcartier didn't go as well as I'd hoped, and I didn't have the form I was looking for.
It was warm during the pre-ski, and extremely soft on the steep uphills, and almost a skating rink on the flats, downhills and more gradual climbs. The North Bay red loop starts with over a kilometre of gradual climbing, and this was the first year I felt that I could one skate the entire thing without blowing my arms out and having nothing for the next laps. I finally felt that this was a course I could do some damage on.
It was warm and overcast the morning of the race. I'd talked to Dean the night before, and we agreed that a more relaxed start was the way to go. So my first lap, instead of full out attacking the course, i started slowly and controlled, focusing on my technique and staying calm and relaxed. I tried to go to the side of the trail at one point, where it looked firmer, but my ski sunk into the snow and i tripped, which was annoying. The slow start combined with the fall did mean i was 30 seconds down after one lap, which drove Dean a little nuts when I passed him at the top of the course where he was doing splits, so he went a little frantic when I passed him, so I upped the pace a bit and recorded the 6th fastest lap time. The downhill was really good, I flew through the corners, and even got a bit of air time at one point. I had a bit more urgency the next time around, but the course had gotten much softer, so I was over 45 seconds slower, despite putting in a lot more effort. Nonetheless, I got the 2nd fastest lap time, and started clawing my way back, moving ahead of Konie, my teammate, and a few others, then moving up to 3rd. I had a good final lap, but I didn't think I'd done enough to land on the podium, and thought that a top six would be the best I could come up with. However, I crossed the line, and was informed by Peggy Winter that I was in first.
It was nerve wracking watching live results coming in, watching skiers I know to be quick cross the line. I eventually fell to third, but in my first ever OU race, as the the only first year on the podium, and finally having a good race under my belt this season
