Canmore to Craftsbury

The season is officially over so I've had some time to piece together a blog post. The second half of Ski Tour Canada took place out in Canmore, Alberta. It was my first time traveling to western Canada and I was blown away by the amazing scenery. There were so many mountains!

Looking towards the stadium from the ski depot in Canmore

The mountains were beautiful even when it was cloudy

The altitude on top of four races and considerable travel time left me feeling pretty exhausted. The classic sprint went well, but I really struggled during the 15k skiathlon. There were a few moments when I got incredibly light-headed during the classic portion, but fortunately felt much better skating which gave me confidence going into the 10k individual skate race.

Skiing the classic section of the skiathlon 
(photo: Angus Cockney)

Waiting for the train to pass on my way to get a muffin in
 town. Canmore has lots of good muffins and I 
consumed at least one per day.

Jennie and me in some of our NNF gear. I'm very grateful to 
the National Nordic Foundation for helping support me
financially during the Tour. 
(photo: @jbender)

The 10k skate race went quite well for me and it was the first full 5k loop I've raced on since Nationals in Houghton! We've had so little snow this year that short hamster wheel courses have become the norm... I was caught by Hannah Falk of Sweden 5k into the race (she started 30 seconds behind me), but was able to ski with her for most of my second lap which was a lot of fun. The final race of the Tour was a 10k classic pursuit.  Only the top-10 women were in the pursuit start while the remaining skiers were in a wave 6:30 back from the leader, Heidi Weng. The time deficit, combined with the fact that we were skiing on a 3.3k loop, left me pretty worried about getting lapped and therefore eliminated from the race. Thus, I started pretty hard and pretended I was doing a 6.6k race, which was the distance I had to cover without getting lapped by the leader. This strategy led to some highs and lows during the race. I was happy with my speedy start and ability to move up through the pack. However, I blew up pretty hard on my second lap and actually walked up one of the hills... I was following a Canadian skier who was also walking up the side of the trail and I kept telling myself I could walk as fast as her if I just kept putting one foot in front of the other... Fortunately, I was able to recover a bit by my third lap and finish strong. Going into the Tour I really wasn't confident I would make it to the end so I was incredibly happy, and relieved, to cross the finish line and complete the final stage. 

The final race of the Tour - a 10k 
classic pursuit 
(photo: Angus Cockney)

Lots and lots of spectators lining the course! 
Although I didn't recognize as many faces in the crowd as I 
had back east, the cheering was just as enthusiastic and I
heard people chanting my name as I skied by.

We stayed up at the venue after our last race to cheer on 
the guys. Here's Tad Elliot lapping through the stadium 
during the men's 15k pursuit

Sergey Ustiugov heading into the finish

Following the conclusion of the Tour, I headed back home to Craftsbury for SuperTour Finals.

Some interesting weather back in Craftsbury

The stadium prior to the addition of lots of manmade snow

The groomers, as well as some of my teammates, did an impressive job farming snow and we were able to race on a hilly and challenging 3.5k loop composed entirely of manmade snow. The weather cooperated, freezing overnight, and the many hard-working volunteers made the whole event run incredibly smoothly. It was really fun to end my season racing at home with friends and family lining the course!

Prior to the races, we hosted a Fast and Female event. There 

were over 80 girls in attendance and it was awesome to have 

so many women from other elite teams help 

out as ambassadors! 

(photo: Reese Brown)

Jennie Bender and I headed up the obstacle course station. 
Here's one participant doing the limbo
 in an awesome pink suit!
(photo: Caitlin Patterson)

It was great to see so many Craftsbury junior and 
BKL skiers at the event! 
(photo: Caitlin Patterson)

SuperTour finals is always a fun, but very competitive, week of racing. With the U.S. ski team in contention, it is the highest level of domestic competition we see all year. The week kicked off with a 10k individual skate race in which I felt much better than anticipated. The following day was the classic sprint and all six GRP women made the heats! Liz, Caitlin, and I went on to the semifinals, and Ida made it all the way to the final where she placed second!

Racing my semifinal with Ida and Caitlin.
I ended the day in 8th overall.
(photo: John Lazenby)

After a day off, racing continued with the mixed relay. With all the GRP men at Biathlon Nationals, the GRP women formed relay teams with other clubs. Caitlin and Ida (along with Vail skiers Tad and Noah) placed second overall and Hallie and Liz (along with two Colorado University skiers) placed fourth! I had a ton of fun skiing on a Bowdoin relay team with my sister and two of her teammates.

The whole Bowdoin crew, minus Spencer who was napping.  
It was great to see everyone and catch up! 
(photo: Deb Miller)

For the final race, the women really lucked out as we got to start first while the tracks were still fairly hard and fast... The snow did soften up considerably throughout the 30k (9-lap) race, especially when the sun came out, but our skis worked incredibly well the whole time thanks to Nick, Pepa, Jake, and Anna. Classic distance racing is definitely my favorite so the 30k was a lot of fun for me. I skied with the chase pack until part-way through my seventh lap when I lost contact due to a small tumble and finished the race on my own. I was quite happy to place 5th and overall is was a fantastic final race of the season for the GRP with Ida placing second and Caitlin third! 

Starting the 30k 
(photo: Reese Brown)

Lots of green suits in the chase pack! 
(photo: Deb Miller)

Skiing with Ida and Caitlin was a lot of fun 
(photo: Deb Miller)

Apparently we still had some energy left at the finish! 
(photo: Deb Miller)

Here's a great video that Everett Sapp put together from the race (I'm bib 207).

Cheering for the guys with some Bowdoin friends 
(photo: Deb Miller)

The GRP crew 
(photo: Deb Miller)

It's been a fun season with results and experiences I didn't think possible at the start of the year. I'm very grateful to my fun and supportive teammates as well as to Pepa and Nick for their dedication to the team and for all their hard work on our behalf. Also, a huge thanks to Ollie Burruss, Anna Schulz, Ruth McGovern, and Jake Barton for helping test and wax this winter! 

Now it's time for some rest, recovery, and off-season adventuring! Thanks for following!

First Half of Ski Tour Canada

The Tour has been an amazingly exciting and exhausting whirlwind, and an incredible learning opportunity. I've never raced a World Cup before, or even an international race for that matter (unless you count North American Midget Championships), so the whole experience has been new to me. It's been comforting to have Pepa, Nick, and my teammate Ida here to help guide me through. Sadly, my teammate Caitlin caught an untimely cold and couldn't start the Tour... I certainly miss having her here and I know it's been difficult for her to sit out these races.

The Tour kicked off in Gatineau, Quebec with a skate sprint on an 800m loop in a small city park. Testing skis and warming up on the course felt like skiing on a crowded multi-lane highway and was a bit overwhelming. Heading into the race I realized that I was actually more worried about all the logistics and making my start than I was about actually racing. Luckily everything went smoothly on race morning and I made my start with plenty of time to spare. The race itself was a bit of a blur, but fun all the same. The course was lined with enthusiastic, cheering spectators which was awesome! Congrats to Jessie and Simi who both finished the day in 3rd!

Ida and me at the Ski Tour Canada opening ceremony
in Gatineau
(photo: John Lazenby)

Starting my first World Cup!!
(photo: Deb Miller)

The Mama came to watch all four races in eastern Canada!

And Miss Maeve came to watch the first two stages before
jetting back to Norway

Following the conclusion of the sprint in Gatineau, all the athletes hopped buses to Montreal for the next day's classic distance race. The race took place in Mount Royal near the Old City. The course was quite narrow with some sketchy corners and some pretty steep walls which made the mass start quite exciting. Fortunately I avoided the major pile-ups, but did manage to take myself out on one of the corners when I caught an edge and my jelly legs gave out. However, I felt great racing, my skis were superb, and I was really happy to finish 39th.

The classic mass start 10k in Montreal
(photo: Deb Miller)

Skiing with Ida who made an impressive
come-back after braking a ski early
in the race
 (photo: Reese Brown)

photo: Deb Miller

While the busy Tour schedule doesn't leave
much time for sight-seeing, the view
from my hotel room in Montreal
was quite nice.

As was the view of Parliament from my room in Quebec City

Shortly after finishing the race in Montreal, it was back on a bus and the traveling circus rolled on to Quebec City. We had one day off in Quebec before another skate sprint followed by a 10k pursuit start skate. The races took place on the Plains of Abraham with the Parliament building, city walls, and Saint Lawrence River providing a scenic backdrop. 

The Quebec City stadium

Testing skis with GRP tech Nick, who has been an invaluable
support throughout the Tour
(photo: Reese Brown)

Racing along the city wall during the skate sprint qualifier in
Quebec. I finished 58th which was an improvement on my
61st place finish in the Gatineau sprint.
(photo: TokoUS)

Tuck-skating during the 10k skate pursuit in Quebec
(photo: Flying Point Road)

I was amazed by how many people I knew at all the eastern stage races. Many college and club teams came up to watch and it was incredibly inspiring to have so many current and former teammates, friends, and family members on the sidelines cheering. Thanks to everyone who made the trek up to Canada! Also, a huge thanks to Concept 2 and the National Nordic Foundation for making it financially possible for me to compete in the Tour. 

The little sister came to watch the Quebec races along with
most of the Bowdoin team. They were a
fantastic cheering squad!

It was super fun to have some of my GRP teammates at the
races! I must mention that they are the ones solely
responsible for the "Kaitlynn Miller, Athlete" Facebook
page. So if you saw a post and thought to yourself, "hmm,
this doesn't seem quite like Kaitlynn...", you were right.
They get all the credit.

Looking over Quebec City toward the Saint Lawrence River

Following the pursuit we jumped on yet another bus bound for Montreal and the following morning we boarded a plane for Calgary as the whole second half of the Tour takes place in Canmore. We already have two races under our belt out here and only have two more to go! The fatigue is definitely starting to set in, but I'm still excited to be racing. With each race I finish I have more confidence in myself and I'm very grateful to have this amazing opportunity to compete against the fastest women in the world. I'll write another update soon, which will feature many mountainous photographs of beautiful western Canada! 

Thanks for reading!

Mid-Winter Update

It's been really nice to spend some time back east, although it would be a bit nicer if there were more snow... The skiing was actually pretty great in Craftsbury when we first returned from Nationals in mid-January and we were able to ski the Grand Tour! Unfortunately the snow has deteriorated since although the manmade loop is still in solid shape.

A sunny morning in Craftsbury

Perfect corduroy on the manmade loop!

Heading out to do some shoveling on the
marathon course

We found a mouse in the trail!
(photo: Caitlin)

The Monday before the Lake Placid SuperTour, Caitlin and I decided to take a road trip to Montreal. We wanted to preview the World Cup course at Mount Royal Park and we needed to pick up Susan from the airport. We had quite a fun and adventurous day. You can check out a more verbose and picture-heavy post about our day in Montreal here.

In addition to previewing the World Cup 
course, we also explored some of the 
snowshoe trails at Mount Royal

Skiing over to the edge to get a view of the city. We think the 
course either goes along or near this overlook.
(photo: Caitlin)

A panorama of the city

Obligatory selfie with the view

Capturing our "Montreal Moment"

We heard there was a self-guided bird feeder tour at the 
Mount Royal park so we were on the hunt for feeders. The 
one feeder we located was feeding more squirrels than birds, 
but we did see some Black-capped chickadees 
and White-breasted nuthatches
(photo: Caitlin)

I finally took out my watercolors after almost a year-long 
hiatus and painted the Montreal Town Hall. My former 
french teacher informed me that in 1967 the then President of 
France (General Charles de Gaulle) gave a famous speech
from the balcony encouraging Quebec separation 
from Canada.

The clock tower at the Old Port

Looking up a cobbled side street towards the
Notre-Dame Basilica

A few days after we returned from Montreal we were back on the road headed for Lake Placid and a weekend of SuperTour and Eastern Cup racing. The races were held at the jumps where there was almost three feet of manmade snow on their 2.5k loop!

Waiting for the Charlotte-Essex ferry on our way to 
Lake Placid

The first day was a skate sprint and the second a 10k classic individual start. The sprint qualifier went well and I qualified for the heats in 7th. All six GRP women made the heat as well as two of our junior women! After leading into the final downhill during my quarterfinal I got passed and ended up in third. Unfortunately my time was not fast enough to get me a lucky loser spot. However, Heather, Liz, and Caitlin all advanced to the semis and Caitlin went on to place second (she actually won the qualifier in the morning)!

Hanging with Liz before the sprint heats

(photo: Alex/Caitlin)

The classic race went better for me and I ended up finishing second behind Caitlin. Chelsea Holmes of APU finished third so it was the exact same podium as Nationals!

Tucking down flagpole hill in the 10k classic
(photo: Deb Miller)

And climbing flagpole hill
(photo: Deb Miller)

Thanks to Nick, Ollie, Ruth, and Anna for the fantastic skis!
(photo: Alex/Caitlin)

Alex the photographer who took 6,600 pictures 
in two days

The Mama came to watch!!
(photo: Alex/Caitlin)

The 10k classic podium
(photo: Alex/Caitlin)

Almost all the GRP women in one place!
Just missing Ida, Hannah, Suz, and Clare.

The following weekend was the SuperTour/Eastern Cup/UVM Carnival at Craftsbury, which was originally supposed to be held at Trapps. Unfortunately I contracted a cold on Friday and decided it would be best not race... I had lots of fun cheering and taking pictures though and I got to catch up with many friends, former teammates, and coaches. It was a great weekend of racing for Craftsbury with Liz placing second in the classic race (on her birthday!) and many of the juniors qualifying for Junior Nationals. Also, it was inspiring to see Hallie race so well following two knee surgeries! 

Emily, Heather, and I quarantined in 
Tamarack for the weekend with our tissues. 
We decided it's better to be sick with friends.

Cheering on the Bowdoin skiers

Liz cruising to second place

Craftsbury juniors, Callie and Phoebe, at
the start of the U16 girls race

That's all for now. I'll be training in Craftsbury for the next few weeks until we head up to the World Cups in Canada! Here's hoping for some more snow! Thanks for reading.