Face Masks (Chronicles From the Not-So-Glamorous Side of Ski Racing)

Possibly the best race face yet, Rosie Brennan
winning the 20k classic race at U.S. Nats

Any skier can tell you, we work legitimately hours to perfect our race face. The perfectly timed grimace half way between a face that says "I'm loving every second of this" and a face that says "I actually think I'm about to die". We practice it during intervals, we compare faces with our teammates, we study ourselves in the mirror, and I won't be the first to admit scrolling through race photos to find the best faces.  Because when you come around the corner in the middle of a race and see a photographer, you better hope your race face is prime.

So, imagine the HORROR when the day arrives that you can't show off your race face, because it's hidden by a MASK. (Cue instant ski fashion crisis).

There are a few types of "masks" that skiers have to deal with, and there are pros and cons to each.

1. The Buff, aka the Neckband: Most commonly known and used is the "buff", a swatch of fabric that goes around a skier's neck and can be pulled up over the mouth and nose. It's used to warm your face and ears, protect you from the cold, or make you look like a ninja.  Pros: They're common, comfortable, and versatile. Also they come in fun colors and can be a great accessory.  Cons: Sometimes they freeze and get stuck to you, creating a slightly unflattering snow/ice beard. Also not fun if you have a phobia of things around your neck.

My teammate Mary Rose rocking a buff at
U23 Worlds last year!
(If you need any tips, she has great buff style.)

2. The Air Trim: Specifically to protect your lungs against really cold air, this mask has two types of filters and fits over your head with a single strap.  Colored in a fashionable light blue, the Air Trim is designed to cover just your nose and mouth. Pros: They do a great job keeping your lungs warm and preventing the infamous race hack. Cons: They tend to absorb every bit of moisture possible, and then proceed to drip snot and drool everywhere. Pretty nasty.

Julia Kern, a U20 here at Worlds, infamous
for racing fast while wearing the Air Trim.

3. The Pollution Filter, aka the Rhino: New to most of us skiers, we're using this mask a lot in Kazakhstan. It filters the particles in the air to protect your lungs from pollution, and some include moisture release valves. Pros: They save your lungs from pollution. Cons: You look like a rhino, you have to shout if you want somebody to hear you, and you have to choose between your eyes or your lungs because good luck wearing sun glasses and the mask at the same time.

Annie Hart and I demonstrating how to "smile with your eyes" while
wearing pollution masks here in Kazakhstan!

4. The Oxygen Mask: This one is more rare but is seen when training at altitude. Worn with an oxygen canister in a backpack, this pushes more oxygen to you to simulate training and racing at sea level. Pros: It makes you feel like Superman at altitude. Cons: You look like a mosquito and talking is nearly impossible.

My SVSEF teammate Casey Wright training to head to World Champs this year!

So, although definitely frustrating, our recommended solution to dealing with masks is to embrace it and ski fast. Besides, you'll have your race face on underneath anyway.

Kazakhstan, although a little polluted right now, is beautiful! We've been here for two days and we're all working hard on the 12-hour time zone switch. The race venue was moved into the city and sits right up above some neighborhoods, so it truly will be urban racing. The courses are fun, the people are extremely nice, and we are all psyched to be here representing the U.S.

Here is the race schedule (I'll be in the U23 Classic Sprint and 10k Free).

2-Feb Jr World Sprint Classic

3-Feb U23 Sprint Classic

4-Feb JW 5/10km Free

5-Feb U23 10/15km Free
6-Feb JW 5/5km W & 10/10km M Skiathlon 

7-Feb U23 7.5/7.5km W & 15/15km M Skiathlon 

8-Feb Jr World 4X3.3km W & 4X5km M Relay 

More updates soon!

The view of the city from the venue. (The ski jumping stadium is in the lower left).

Out on the race course. The haze you see is the pollution.

Some of the U23 Women's Team

Lean In: U.S. Nationals 2015

As we’re all heading back to our training homelands, pretty physically, mentally, and emotionally drained after a hard and exhilarating week of racing, we get a chance to reflect on the whirlwind of a week we just experienced.

Our classic sprint heat heading into the finish stretch in th blizzard

You’ve probably all heard by now: nationals in Houghton, Michigan this year were no less than completely epic.  The temps averaged in the single digits (or below), the windchill dropped to the negative twenties, and it snowed over 27 inches from January 2 to January 10^th.  And yet through the barely race-legal temps, the gale-force winds, and snow-globe blizzards, the racing and training forged on.

This will be a year people remember. A year people talk about. We’ll ask each other, “Oh yeah, remember Houghton 2015? That was NUTS!” We’ll go skiing and joke about the balmy conditions and ability to just “nail” the wax in comparison to nationals in Houghton (that’s a lie, it’s basically impossible). We’ll nurse our frostbitten fingers, toes, cheeks, and noses, cringing in memory of the biting temperatures of Houghton 2015. And we’ll probably all have nightmares about getting lost in a whiteout blizzard.

KT Tape saved a lot of faces this week.

But we’ll also carry a small sense of pride about what we just accomplished. We fought through a week that demanded more grit, heart, and determination than we probably knew we had, and we’ve got epic photos, stories, results, and frostbite scars to prove it. It’s a rewarding sense of accomplishment: leaving Houghton behind knowing you handled a week that a lot of people would cower from.

(This is the part where I send a major shoutout to all of the race organizers, volunteers, groomers, and Michigan Tech staff.  The weather threw just as many challenges at them as it did us racers, and they handled the week with an unwavering sense of positivity, organization, efficiency, and professionalism.  This week was some of the best race management I have ever experienced as an athlete. Thank you all for your hard work.)

The athletes at Sun Valley are pretty lucky to have Rick Kapala as program director and coach.  If anybody reading this has ever met Rick, they’ll know that he has this amazing talent of crafting passion and drive in people. Before the races, Rick gave us a talk that really stuck with me.

He talked about how yes, the weather in Houghton was crazy. And many of us haven’t experienced anything like this before.  But in all reality, the races in Houghton were emulating the very origins of the sport we spend so much time training and living for.  The true (and sometimes not very glamorous) roots of Nordic Skiing lie in the experience of racing through the quiet, empty woods as fast as you can, battling the snow, the wind, the cold, and your own body and mind. Our sport may take us to some glorious places, but let’s not forget that it originated in the cold woods and windy fields.

And what better place and time to truly mimic the roots of our sport than in a blizzard in the middle of the woods at one of the most competitive domestic races of the year?

Rick told us that there were going to be two types of athletes on the line the next morning.  Some were going to be standing with their toes on the line, leaning into the wind and snow, excited and anticipating whatever the race threw at them. They might not be in contention for the win, but they’ll be thrilled to be there and to race hard. They can’t wait to see what will happen. Other athletes were going to be turned with their backs to the wind, hiding from the weather, letting it distract from their desire to race. They’ll be looking around at others, searching for a sign of empathy and commiseration, a mental way “out” of the situation.

Which athlete do you think will ski better? The athlete that leans in. 

And so, with that in mind, we leaned in to the 10/15k skate, the classic sprints, the 20/30k mass start, and the skate sprints: wind, snow, and cold in all. It was a pretty inspiring thing to be a part of. And I think, regardless of results, everybody that raced at nationals emerged a stronger skier than the one they arrived as. Thank you Rick for the inspiration. 

And we get to do it all again, in 352 days. But who’s counting. ;)

As for me, I finished off the week in qualifying position to race for the U.S. at U23 Worlds in Almaty, Kazakhstan! I feel so thrilled and proud to be able to represent the U.S. alongside of some incredibly talented skiers, and I cannot wait for the next adventure to begin. I leave the 26th of January! But for now, I get a couple of weeks on the home turf to get some rest, sunshine, and skiing in.

Thank you to Toko, Fischer, BeFAST, PlayHard GiveBack, Smith Optics, Finite Ski Tools, the SVSEF crew, and my friends and family for all of the love and support this week.

The U.S U23 Women's team: Joanne Reid, Annie Pokorny, Annie Hart, Deedra Irwin, and me!
(Not pictured: Cambria McDermott)

(In case you were wondering where on the globe Almaty is..)

When In Rome (or the Midwest)

Welcome welcome WELCOME to Houghton, Michigan, home of Michigan Tech, Yoopers on snowmobiles, and the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships for the next week!

In case you were wondering just where we are..... see map below.

Thaaaat's right folks, we are currently as immersed into the snowy, blustery, deeply cold Midwest as we could possibly get without snorkeling across the Great Lakes to Can-ah-duh.

Which, of course, I am just loving.  Since moving out West, I've gotten used to getting some laughs for being a "Midder" (apparently slang for a person hailing from the Midwest), so it's kind of fun to have the rest of the country in my neck of the woods for once. So in the spirit of skiers convening in the Midwest for an entire race series, I thought I would offer a tutorial for those who AREN'T Midders but would like to try to be.

Ready? Here we go!

Do: Learn how to love hot dish and pasties (the kind you eat)
The Midwest is notorious for its home-y cuisine.  And who doesn't love a warm casserole when it's -15F outside and you just got off the lake from ice fishing? (The crock pot is the Midder's best friend.)

Don't: Say goodbye too fast.
If you say goodbye to a Midder and simply turn around and walk out the door, you're probably going to get a look of confusion and bewilderment. The Minnesota Goodbye requires you to walk to the door, say goodbye, chat for a bit while you put your shoes on, hug goodbye again, chat some more while you put your coat on, end up talking for an hour, finally get out the door and down the sidewalk, talk some more while you stand freezing by your car, and finally back down the driveway to the entire family waving until they can't see you.  We really milk goodbyes for all they're worth.  If you say goodbye too fast, we'll probably assume you don't didn't like our hot dish.

Do: Extend those OOOs and AAAAs
"Oooh yaaa I'm goin on the booooat after I eat some baaaagels."

Don't: Take the last piece of food.
Proper etiquette while dining: There's one last piece of bread. Don't take the bread. If you really want some bread, break a piece off and leave some left in the basket. Or at least wait for 20 minutes, announce to the entire table that you're going to take the last piece, and then take it and try to look apologetic.

Do: Slip in the "oh jeez" and "you betcha!"
Study up on Midder lingo. It will make communicating easier, dontcha know.

Don't: Assume everyone lives in Fargo. 
Fargo is a great movie. Also a great tv show. But not everybody in the Midwest is from there, and it's probably not a good idea to ask them if they are when you see them.

Well, I hope these helpful hints make your experience in Hooooughton a great one. Remember, if the waitress calls you "hon", you've officially been accepted.

The racing kicks off on Sunday with the skate 10/15k individual start. The trails are absolutely amazing, the snow is glorious, and it's going to be a good week of skiing! See you out there!