Done College Skiing

The end of my college skiing career came and went all too quickly. I'm often asked, "How was your season?" or, "How did you do?" I find it sort of a tough question to answer. I had some great races, some really difficult ones, and some kickin' adventures. Overall my performance this year was about what I expected, and maybe just short of what I dreamed it could be. I didn't win any races.  I didn't qualify for nationals. I wasn't the MVP. But, I just might've had the most fun, and could maybe have reaped the most satisfaction.
In my very last college race, for the very first time, I got DFL (Dead  -*@#&-  Last). Yep, everyone beat me. Ouch. Ironically, the race was still ultimately satisfying. I raced as hard as I could, I didn't give up despite my position, and fought hard until the bitter end. Really, that's all you can ever do, the rest is up to your competition. I had a bit of an asthmatic episode during the race, and coupled with the altitude, I wasn't capable of moving very quickly. I didn't let it go to my head though, and stayed tough for all 20k. That is satisfying, and could even be called successful.

The Tour of Anchorage was another fun time. It's tough to Race 50k after a season wherein 20k is long, but I always love skiing together with all of the Anchorage regulars (irregulars?). I felt strong for the first 45k, but lost my battle to glycogen depletion. It felt strange to be so close to the finish, but unable to ski well. Next time I'll pack a few GU's.

So that's it for this college ski racer. I know I'll always ski, and I'll probably still race here and there, but mostly it's on to new adventures and other fun games.

Photos by: UAA ski team