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READY FOR EUROPE 鈥� Whitehorse cross country skier Dahria Beatty competed in the Nordiq Thunder races in Canmore, Alta. on Nov. 13 and 14. She said the races were good preparation for the three race weekends in Europe in December.
The summer of training is over for Whitehorse cross country skier and member of the Canadian national team Dahria Beatty.
The summer of training is over for Whitehorse cross country skier and member of the Canadian national team Dahria Beatty. On Nov. 13 and 14 she competed in the Nordiq Thunder races in Canmore, Alta.
The first race, Beatty said, was a sprint race done in a king鈥檚 court format with mixed heats.
鈥淚t gets everyone racing,鈥� said Beatty. 鈥淣o one gets eliminated from the race. It鈥檚 a full sprint day.鈥�
The following day was an eight-kilometre distance race. Beatty won the race completing it in 18 minutes, 43 seconds.
She also won the sprint. Fellow Whitehorse cross-country skier, Emily Nishikawa came in fourth in the distance race with a final time of 19 minutes, 33 seconds.
The national team will soon be travelling to Europe and will have a busy December of three straight racing weekends starting in Slovenia. They will then head to Davos, Switzerland before going back to Slovenia.
鈥淭hese are high-level races,鈥� said Beatty.
Beatty said getting race weekends in like Nordiq Thunder is good preparation for when the world cup races begin again.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the first true race,鈥� said Beatty. 鈥淵ou put on a bib, you do a full race warmup and you get into the swing of race mode.
鈥淭his was nice to have before the high-pressure races. It gets you into the race process and helps work out the kinks.鈥�
Beatty said the race is also helpful to remind oneself about all the things that surround a race.
鈥淚n some sense, it becomes second nature but it鈥檚 little things like remembering dry gloves,鈥� said Beatty. 鈥淚t reminds yourself of those things, picking up leg chips, that come easy by the end of the season.鈥�
In her offseason training, Beatty told the Star the focus is always bringing up the fitness level and working on smaller details.
鈥淎ll these things technical or baseline numbers they are all small percentages,鈥� said Beatty in October. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the difference between five spots in the results. The base has been built now it鈥檚 about the smaller details.鈥�
At Nordiq Thunder, Beatty said she was happy with her race mentality.
鈥淢y brain was where I wanted it,鈥� said Beatty. I had good focus on execution. My body was lagging behind but that鈥檚 what I was expecting.鈥�
On the second day of the event, she said she was feeling better.
鈥淚n the last sprint my overall fitness was good,鈥� said Beatty. 鈥淚n some terrain sections I didn鈥檛 max my strengths and carry that through the course.鈥�
After a race, Beatty said she along with her coaches will do a reflection on what can be improved.
鈥淭he cool thing about cross-country is you can always find something to do better,鈥� said Beatty. 鈥淭here are always technical and tactical things to be improved.
鈥淭he degree for error is so much smaller and it鈥檚 constant evolution. The details may seem minor but it all changes seconds.鈥�
Another reason Beatty wanted to get in some races before heading out is that competitive races can鈥檛 be replicated in training.
鈥淩ace day is always harder,鈥� said Beatty. 鈥淎 training session doesn鈥檛 feel the same. There is no external pressure. In training you win some you lose some.鈥�
With the European races looming, Beatty said she is getting excited to go out and compete.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a lot of fun,鈥� she said.
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