I started cross-country skiing on classic skis when I was 9 years old. I was quite slow and I didn’t know how to use them, so I had a lot to learn. I got better every time I skied that year, but it was a really slow start. The following year I was introduced to skate skis. I knew the concept - it was like ice skating while wearing a long pair of skis - but it was still really challenging. They were much heavier and more difficult to maneuver. Once I became comfortable with skate skis I learned that you could glide and get more speed with the same amount of energy. Over the past 4 years skate skiing has become an integral part of my life. I feel exhausted but content with myself because I made myself tired doing something I really enjoy.  

Skate skiing has taught me about how to stay calm and focused, and conserve what I have. If you spend all your money but then you see something expensive that you really want to buy, you can’t buy it. It’s the same thing with energy. If you use up all your energy at the beginning of the race, then you will have no energy for the end of the race. I have taught myself to stay calm and focused in a race because if I freak out at the beginning of a race then I will go a lot faster than I want to.

In order to do control my energy and not burn myself out I practiced finding a pace that I could keep up for the whole race. I asked myself, what is a pace I could keep up for 5 miles without slowing down? Once I figured out that pace I allowed myself to go a bit faster at the start. One-two-one-two. If people passed me I needed to let them go so I could stay within myself. During a race I always go back to my pace, though if I find that I get close enough to someone I can speed up to pass them, but I need to be careful not to burn myself out.