US Nationals Recap with David Norris and Jessica Yeaton

Early January was US Nationals. This year in Soldier Hollow, Utah. Several of our athletes went and it was an awesome week with some great performances as well as some that could have been better. It is never easy to dial everything to make the best race happen on the day you wish to.

However, coaches and support staff are of course proud of what happened out there and we are super excited to provide a little summary from some of our athletes.

David Norris had some great races and got 7th overall in the 10km classic January 2nd , 3rd American as his best!! Awesome.

We asked what David thought and his takeaways from the race week.

David:

This was a tough Nationals week, but still a very positive experience overall. Even at this point in my racing career I still made a lot of mistakes this week, of which I'm happy to share a few. First off, I went out far too hard in the 10km classic given my current fitness- and I paid for it during the final lap. The last few seasons I had begun to think I dialed in my pacing, but it turns out I am still learning. In the skate race I made the mistake of testing on a track that didn't resemble the race course conditions, and I didn't pick the right skis for the day. I don't want to make excuses, and I am happy with my race efforts overall. However, I can't help thinking critically about things- such as my preparation/ race day decisions in addition to all the things that went well. From here I'll try to learn- not only for my sake/ performance, but also to share with my athletes and teammates. 

 Jessica Yeaton and Lindsay Williams, our two strong women ambassadors also had some great days and we are excited to follow along for what they can continue to do this season!

Lindsay has given us insight into her thoughts on this season so far (Check out her blog here: Early Season Race Recaps Lindsay Williams ) and we are proud and impressed of what she has been able to do!

Jessica had some great reflections and thoughts after the week in Utah and we will be continuing to cheer her on as she gets ready for her next races very soon – including the world cup in Minneapolis and of course, THE BIRKIE!

Jessica:

It feels good to get the first race of the season out of the way- I feel like there is always a lot of learning that comes out of it. Similar to David, I struggled with ski selection that made for a tough race, but it was a great opportunity to push hard and get some racing in. I was definitely hoping for more out of this race, but I had a similar first race last year before having some really good races later on in the season. It serves as a good reminder to not get discouraged by results early on and to keep working towards goals later in the season!

We appreciate these experienced athletes sharing their thoughts and stories and more to come! The season has barely begun and some of the best parts are left.

Good luck on your training and hope to see you out there!