Annika's Season Highlights (and lowlights)

bonus points if you can name the racer I got to ski with at Engadin - on the left of the cover photo!  

The racing season is coming to an end, and it’s the time to reflect on what went well and what didn’t during the race season. I will have a full recap of the year with more thoughts a bit later, but for now, I wanted to fire out a few highs and lows that I feel defined my racing season this year. These are in no particular order. 

Season Highs

Another year doing what I love.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, skiing and travelling as a ‘job’ is an incredible privilege. I feel so lucky to spend my time being outside, pushing my body, and of course, travelling to new places across the US and Europe to ski race. I never feel more alive and more happy than when I am outside and I never want to take it for granted. Even though I have been racing for a long time, each season, I get to experience something new and unexpected, which reminds me that there is always something new to see and learn. 

BMT Weekend. 

I probably sound like a broken record by now, but BMT weekend continues to be my favorite race weekend of the year. Despite some nerves, this year was no different. I love getting to race in the community that made me love ski racing to begin with. Despite the “W” still being elusive, I keep coming back for more. This race embodies the importance of people and it has a charm that    

Spectating the Paralympics

Part of my marathon travels gave me the opportunity to detour to Italy and spend a week watching the Paralympics. This was a special and personal experience for me, and I feel so lucky to have been just a small part of it. I grew up skiing at SVSEF with Jake Adicoff and Peter Wolter (Peter and I also skied at Middlebury together), and it was an incredibly special experience to watch them compete together to win two gold medals [the other two golds were won with Reid Goble]. The Team USA contingent was by far the biggest and the loudest cheering squad in the stands and it was humbling to watch not only Jake, but every athlete compete at such a high level in tough spring conditions. It was refreshing to feel contextually proud of what the flag can and should represent, and see the athletes embody a grit and determination few of us can fully imagine.    

Season Lows

I’ll preface this by saying that the ‘lows’ are only lows in comparison to the highs. In reality, there was nothing actually bad about my season, which is a pretty cool position to be in at the end of the winter. 

Injury Management

The biggest hurdle this year for me was managing my back injury. Last May, I finally found that the source of my chronic hip and back pain was a bulging disc in my L4/L5. With a lot of rest, rehab, and cross-training, I was able to get back to a place where I could train and race at a high level. Despite feeling good going into the race season, I was still not able to classic ski without pain and besides one local 10k, have not entered a classic race at all this year. That meant I had to take the Vasaloppet (I’m looking for some redemption from last year!), the Birken, and many other Ski Classics off my list. While it was a no brainer, double poling 90k doesn’t mix with a disc injury, it was sad to only have skate races on my schedule. Furthermore, it was difficult to maintain a consistent rehab schedule while traveling, and instead of being ahead of the injury, I was regressing then building back to maintenance. This is definitely something I will have to find a better solution for in the race seasons to come. 

Fitness Shortfalls

Another ‘low’ was feeling like I didn’t maintain my top end fitness quite as much as I wanted. By ‘top end fitness’, I mean the fitness required for shorter races (5-20k) and sprint efforts. This factor was entirely in my control; I simply prioritized lower intensity training over higher intensity intervals and sprint training. This was most evident for me in the American Birkebeiner, when I lost contact with the lead group because I couldn’t cover a surge at 45k, but then maintained the same gap behind more or less until the finish. The lesson here is pretty simple: if you want to race fast, you have to train fast and there are trade offs that come with prioritizing ‘fun’ training over periodized, structured training. I wouldn't change my overall approach, but would add more structure around my priority races. 

Final touches before the start of the American Birkebeiner. 

FOMO

Comparison is the thief of joy, and there is nothing social media does better than make you feel like you should be somewhere else doing something else other than what you are currently doing. Every year, I feel some twinge of nostalgia for SuperTour racing. I miss the feeling of everything coming together in a competitive field, and getting to share that feeling with close friends and teammates. Particularly during US Nationals, Olympics, or Spring Series, I feel a particular sense of yearning for the ‘good ole days’ and the challenge of striving towards big concrete goals. However, I know that for me, looking back at the racing is tinted with rose colored lenses and there are many things I don’t miss at all. The thing about fomo is it helps me reflect on why part of me really wants to be there, and 9/10 it’s the people that I want to be around, rather than any specific place. There really is no feeling quite like hugging and laughing with a teammate at the end of the spring series 40k. BUT it’s also pretty sweet to choose to go backcountry skiing on a perfect ‘corn’ day without worrying about training. 

I hope you all take the time to reflect on your season’s “highs and lows” and come away feeling grateful for the time we get to spend gliding on snow, which this season felt more precarious than ever. I have one more race to complete this season (the Fossatvn 50k Classic in Iceland!) before taking a much needed break and soaking in the spring sunshine!