This was arguably my best race season to date which is good news, especially considering the lack of snow we
had to train on in the Midwest. Although we did not receive much snowfall this winter, my goal from the
beginning of the training season was to find as much snow time as possible. This meant some travel and
lots of skiing on the manmade stuff.
My training season started in May, although we had such great snow last year that I skied all of March and
half of April in the Twin Cities. May involved a USST camp in Bend, OR followed by a multi-sport race in
Washington where I completed the XC leg of the Ski-to-Sea race. Other notable camps included a trip to the
Haig glacier in August and a USST dryland camp in Park City in October.
My race season started in West Yellowstone as Gear West kindly allowed me to miss our busiest sales week of
the year. I brought my entire family and we had a blast. Solid training, family time and a great race result
(6th place) after a big week of training.
Coming back to the Midwest was slightly disappointing because we had neither real snow nor manmade
options readily available. I was back on my roller skis and it was early December. Since it had not snowed,
things were slowing down at the shop compared to last year. I took the opportunity to try a new tapering
plan per the recommendation of my new coach, Jacob Beste. Gear West was on-board 100% and allowed
me to reduce my work schedule to accommodate the training and needed recovery. Once at Nationals,
I felt more prepared than ever before… only to get a nasty cold 2 days before the opening distance race.
Fortunately for me, the organizers moved the race back a day to allow more time to produce more manmade
snow. I was able to get enough vitamin C, zinc and sleep in my body to allow me to race the 15km skate.
Even with the cold, I was able to take 2nd place!
After Nationals I came home and it took over a week to get the sickness out of my lungs. Going into my next set of races, Tour de Twin Cities, I had no idea what to expect. Pleasantly, I raced extremely well and placed 1st
overall in the tour. It was so much fun racing at home in front of my family and friends.
Now, I had a tough choice. It was nearly February and the Twin Cities still did not have snow. I made a last
minute decision to head out to Sun Valley, ID to race the Boulder Mountain Tour on Saturday and try to make it
to Minneapolis City of Lakes Loppet on Sunday… if the race happened. It was a crazy weekend but I made it to both races, and managed to win both despite the airlines best efforts to keep me from getting back to Minneapolis in a timely manner. I landed at MSP 2hrs before the start of the City of Lakes Loppet, thankfully they decided to do a reverse wave order start.
After the double header, I had no races until the Birkie. My story can be found here but the short version
is that is I had a ton of fun and placed 2nd!
After the Birkie I was presented with an opportunity to race the Engadin Ski Mararthon in Switzerland. It would
be my first time racing in Europe and I wasf feeling well so I jumped at the opportunity. It was a very fun trip,
and a great way to wrap up a very successful ski season.
Now I am taking a little time off from structured training to enjoy family and let my body have a physical and
mental break. I will still try to rollerski a few times a week to keep in touch with my ski muscles. This May
I am again racing Ski-to-Sea for Boss Construction. I’m not sure if it marks the end of a season or the beginning
of the next one!
Thank you to all my family, friends and sponsors on a great year!
- Matt
Gear West, The Fix Studio, Team Strong Heart, Team Birkie, Fischer, Swix, Casco, Swenor
had to train on in the Midwest. Although we did not receive much snowfall this winter, my goal from the
beginning of the training season was to find as much snow time as possible. This meant some travel and
lots of skiing on the manmade stuff.
My training season started in May, although we had such great snow last year that I skied all of March and
half of April in the Twin Cities. May involved a USST camp in Bend, OR followed by a multi-sport race in
Washington where I completed the XC leg of the Ski-to-Sea race. Other notable camps included a trip to the
Haig glacier in August and a USST dryland camp in Park City in October.
My race season started in West Yellowstone as Gear West kindly allowed me to miss our busiest sales week of
the year. I brought my entire family and we had a blast. Solid training, family time and a great race result
(6th place) after a big week of training.
Coming back to the Midwest was slightly disappointing because we had neither real snow nor manmade
options readily available. I was back on my roller skis and it was early December. Since it had not snowed,
things were slowing down at the shop compared to last year. I took the opportunity to try a new tapering
plan per the recommendation of my new coach, Jacob Beste. Gear West was on-board 100% and allowed
me to reduce my work schedule to accommodate the training and needed recovery. Once at Nationals,
I felt more prepared than ever before… only to get a nasty cold 2 days before the opening distance race.
Fortunately for me, the organizers moved the race back a day to allow more time to produce more manmade
snow. I was able to get enough vitamin C, zinc and sleep in my body to allow me to race the 15km skate.
Even with the cold, I was able to take 2nd place!
After Nationals I came home and it took over a week to get the sickness out of my lungs. Going into my next set of races, Tour de Twin Cities, I had no idea what to expect. Pleasantly, I raced extremely well and placed 1st
overall in the tour. It was so much fun racing at home in front of my family and friends.
Now, I had a tough choice. It was nearly February and the Twin Cities still did not have snow. I made a last
minute decision to head out to Sun Valley, ID to race the Boulder Mountain Tour on Saturday and try to make it
to Minneapolis City of Lakes Loppet on Sunday… if the race happened. It was a crazy weekend but I made it to both races, and managed to win both despite the airlines best efforts to keep me from getting back to Minneapolis in a timely manner. I landed at MSP 2hrs before the start of the City of Lakes Loppet, thankfully they decided to do a reverse wave order start.
After the double header, I had no races until the Birkie. My story can be found here but the short version
is that is I had a ton of fun and placed 2nd!
After the Birkie I was presented with an opportunity to race the Engadin Ski Mararthon in Switzerland. It would
be my first time racing in Europe and I wasf feeling well so I jumped at the opportunity. It was a very fun trip,
and a great way to wrap up a very successful ski season.
Now I am taking a little time off from structured training to enjoy family and let my body have a physical and
mental break. I will still try to rollerski a few times a week to keep in touch with my ski muscles. This May
I am again racing Ski-to-Sea for Boss Construction. I’m not sure if it marks the end of a season or the beginning
of the next one!
Thank you to all my family, friends and sponsors on a great year!
- Matt
Gear West, The Fix Studio, Team Strong Heart, Team Birkie, Fischer, Swix, Casco, Swenor
RSS Feed
