Oopsie, I guess that's the sounds of the blogging ball officially being dropped. But I'm here to pick it back up again! Since my last post, two months have passed and much action has occurred! Upon returning from Turkey, the travel and racing caught up to me and said "Stop! You have to sit in your condo for 4 days with the occasional walk to recover from this cold!" Ok, so I listened and got my body back to normal as best I could before leaving for Canadian National Championships in Mont Ste. Anne, Quebec.

Team Sprint - Marlis Kromm and I teamed up like old times to represent Foothills Nordic and claim the bronze medal in the final! Amazing that we were able to classic ski on the snow that was literally disappearing beneath my feet that day on the Plains of Abraham in Old Quebec.

Team Nakkertok takes gold, CNSC silver and Foothills bronze

5km Classic - I skied this race with too much fear running through my veins instead of just letting my body do what I've trained it to. I was disappointed with the way my body responded and how I adjusted mentally to the race today, but at least my skis were amazing! Positives noted and I kept on keepin' on.

10km Skate - +24 and a 'snow temp' of 2C. You can get the slushy picture I'm trying to paint here. Today was a great race for me, finishing 14th Overall and 3rd U23. The AWCA wax techs did a great job today, my skis felt amazing even so the snow was so water logged.

Sprint - The slushy snow conditions that I was expecting had completely changed thanks to the race organizers' efforts to preserve the snow. Fertilizer was injected into the snow overnight to allow it to freeze and make for the exact opposite conditions earlier in the week, hard packed snow and ice. My qualifier was my best effort, but not my best result and unfortunately it didn't improve for me in my 1/4 final. I had high hopes for today, gunning for the A final, but was cut short in my 1/4 final because I didn't play my tactics cards well enough. The finishing straight was as fast as ever and taking a wider turn around the last corner cost me an extra foot of distance that made the difference between my advancing, and watching from the sidelines. It was hard to watch the races continue on without me in the action, but I learned some valuable sprint tactic lessons today even though it was a tough pill to swallow.

30km Classic - It has been a long time since I've raced a distance I wasn't familiar with. Having never raced a 30km before I was excited to see just how I would fare. I knew that right off the bat, there was going to be a heck of lot of jostling for position to get into a decent spot before the trails narrowed. I was happy with my positioning and got into a solid rhythm with my teammates Annika Hicks and Marlis Kromm; trading off the lead and working off each others strengths around the 5km course. even though the Coke I received at the feed stations had never tasted better, by the end of the 6th 5km loop I was ready for the race to be done. I finished the day 14th overall and 5th U23. My first 30km under my belt and a decent completion to the 2011-12 racing season.

After Nationals was done, my racing season came to a close as well. I think I say it every year but 'it's over already?' There is plenty more racing to come from me, and the 2011/12 season has only added to the experiences which will equip future Heidi. Overall, I finished the season ranked 6th Open Woman on the Canadian Points List for Sprint racing which, 1st Under 23 Woman. I also finished the season ranked 2nd Overall in the Teck NorAm Sprint series. With my first NorAm win under my belt and many successful moments in sprint racing, I am excited to gear my butt up and improve my distance as well as work on technical factors to make me a stronger ski racer. I am sending a virtual hug and sincere 'thank you' to all my supporters, friends, teammates, coaches and family who have provided me with financial, moral and literal 'I'm-physically-holding-you-up-right-now' support.

April is a month of keeping active in your own way and getting a mental and physical break from the training and racing regime.

I visited Oregon via the Rav 4 with Joey.