Glitter, Bows, and Braids: Rituals on Race Day

In the past couple of years, the U.S. Women's team (and U.S. ski racing in general) has been at the center of an emerging trend, most noticeably seen through the increasing popularity of race rituals that aren't exactly the "norm" in nordic skiing.

The U.S. Ski Team ladies rocking the podium, and some awesome socks. 

What's the trend? Girl-ing out ski racing.  Replacing war paint with glitter, throwing bows in our hair, wearing elaborate race braids and fun socks, and adding pink or purple accents to our race suits and warm ups. And although commonly associated with sports far away from the cold winter trails, these trends can now be seen all the way from the World Cup and Olympics to the newest emerging high school skiers. And not just in the fun costume races. Glitter is for the big races. The important ones.

Recently, I tried to explain to a friend WHY exactly the glitter effect exists. And for some reason I found it more difficult than I expected. So OBVIOUSLY the only solution is to write a blog about it.

Here’s the thing. No, we are not 12.  The bows and braids aren’t driven by the need to “glam” ourselves up for racing. We know that when we’re racing, there is sweat, snot, saliva, and tears. We know we usually look like we’re in huge pain anyway. We realize that our sport isn’t geared towards glamorous.

It’s not about appearances.

It’s about the same reason Fast and Female has gained so much ground so quickly. The same reason the U.S. Women have become a team that competes with the best in the world. And the same reason Nordic skiing is slowly growing in popularity amongst the younger generations.

Team energy.

The Norwegian skiers have this pre-race ritual of skiing a “hot lap” (an interval) the day before a race to warm themselves up. Which is what most skiers do; it’s part of the training plan. Only the difference is that the Norwegians ski the lap as a team, all wearing their race suits. It doesn’t matter if there are people in their way, they will zoom around them and stick together, pushing each other and mentally preparing to race together as a team.

And not only does it prepare them, it sends a message to their opponents.  “We are here. And we are ready.” It’s pretty intimidating, not gonna lie. Granted, other teams have picked up on this and followed suit. But the idea behind it is that the lap puts you in the mindset of a team. Because while Nordic skiing is incredibly individual in that in the end, your race is purely determined by what is under your control, the truth is that a team is what backs you up. You train together, you live together, you travel together, and you race together. So why not use that to your advantage?

The U.S. Women’s team has done exactly that. Only in a slightly different form. A new race day tradition was created: braiding hair, writing "USA" on cheeks in glitter, and handing out ribbons. For the first time in U.S. nordic ski history, "team spirit" became a pre-race ritual. And it quickly spread. 

It reminds a team that although the race is up to each individual, you're all here together, and you're all facing the same opponent and obstacles.  Not only that, but like any race morning ritual, it prepares you for the challenge ahead. Only instead of the nerves associated with force feeding yourself oatmeal and dragging yourself out of bed for a run, overtones of excitement are added to the morning of races. It takes a little bit of the pressure off and reminds you how lucky you are to be here, racing as hard as you can, leaving it all out on the course. It gets you psyched to represent whatever team you're a part of, whether it be a country, a club, or a relay team. 

And not only does it prepare you, it sends a message to your opponents. 

“We are here. We are ready. And we are excited.”

Braids and bows on race day

We sat down as a U23 women's team at the beginning of the week here in Kazakhstan, and our coach Kate Barton (she rocks) had us write down team goals. We were told to have 5 process goals, and 3 outcome goals. And one of the process goals we created was having good team energy. Supporting each other, picking one another up, racing with one another, helping each other out in warm-ups, cheering for each other, and just being plain excited for one another was something that we all agreed would help us ski faster individually. Team energy would be something to work for on race day.

And so we did. The first day of World's we saw Annie Hart qualify for the classic sprint heats and fight her way to the finish. We watched Ben Saxton ski to a 6th place overall (!!!) in some gnarly sprint heats. And we cheered Thomas O'Harra on to a 14th place and Logan Hanneman race hard in the U23 heats. And although some of us didn't qualify, we were so psyched to represent the USA and have the opportunity to race hard and learn from it. 

Next up is the 10k/15k Free race tomorrow!

If you're interested in following the races LIVE, download the FIS Ski app (it's free) and it gives you live updates for the races. You can even select your favorite country (cough.. USA) and all of its skiers will be highlighted in blue, making it easier to spot us as we come through. Send good vibes!

The bottom of the sprint course

Basically the entire sprint course, minus the stadium.

USA girls with our awesome ambassador Altnyai

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..)