Alex Gordon--State Champion Spotlight

1) What were your preparations leading up to the state meet?

In the two weeks leading up to the state meet, my focus shifted a lot towards the non-skiing side of life. I was very cognizant of my hydration, and nutrition as well as working hard to not get sick. My training load decreased a lot as I shifted to shorter skis and shorter intervals. All in all, I was trying to be as rested and fast as possible by the time the state meet came around.
2) How did you deal with the pressure and emotions that come along with competing in a state meet?

Being part of Yarmouth's team this year there were a lot of expectations, and with those expectations comes pressure. However, those expectations weren't just from outside the team, as a team we had set some pretty lofty goals for ourselves and collectively were feeling the pressure from that. For me personally, the few minutes leading up to the race are always the most nerve racking and uncomfortable, but I went into the races knowing that I had the potential to win both. All it came down to was race execution. With that in mind I just came into the race knowing that all I had to do was race smart and hard, and if I executed that well, whatever the result was, I would have done the best I could have.
3) What was going through your mind at the start?

At the start I was completely focused on the race ahead. I was visualizing the entire race in my head, picturing the points where I would push and recover.
4)  What do you contribute your success to?

I would say that I contribute my success to my consistency. Consistency in the little things especially. While it is true that I was completely focused on things like hydration, nutrition and sleep in the two weeks prior to states, in reality, those factors were at the forefront of my mind for the last 6 months. By doing these small things right, it gave me the ability to get the most out of the training I was doing. I doubt that I had the most training hours out of anyone, but I feel like the quality of training that I was doing was of super high level and extremely impactful due to my non-skiing preparation.
5)  What are your goals/plans for next year?

Next year I'll be attending Montana State University (I won’t be on their ski team), but I may race for their club team. Other than that I don’t really have any structured goals. I hope to keep skiing and training as well as testing myself in races of many kinds (road running, mountain running, skiing, etc).
6) What surprised you the most about this season?

What surprised me most about this season was the extent to which our top 4 boys improved. Last year, our current top four boys were very strong and talented skiers, but given the training that we had done together throughout the summer and fall, all of us improved dramatically, especially the two sophomore boys, Jackie and Eli Chalmers.
7) What moment/event will you remember the most from the season?

The moment I remember the most from this season was this past weekend at EHSC during the skate sprint on Sunday. Daire, Alden, and I all had exceptional races and we all ended up placing in the top 10, which was the only race that any Mainers made the top 10. To have done so well as team Maine alongside two of the skiers that I had been competing against all season was an incredible feeling, and one I will remember for a long time.

8) What do you like most about Nordic Skiing?

Building off of that feeling, I would say the thing I like most about skiing is the community that surrounds it. Given that Nordic is an individual sport, there is minimal controversy or true rivalry between people or schools. I would say that due to the lack of rivalry, the high school teams and skiers are able to grow close and be very friendly. This characteristic is only accentuated by the EHSC and U16 teams where the top racers from the state get to ski together as a single, unified team. I have made some very good friends and had some incredible experiences at the U16 and EHSC events, and have stayed connected with them throughout the past few years.

9) Anything else that you would like to add?

Lastly, I would like to thank my coaches, Jackson and Ellie, for an incredible season with Yarmouth. They were truly the best coaches to have. Both determined, and focused, but also fun and understanding. They were willing to accommodate all sorts of situations in order to make life easier for skiers on the team. Their expertise in technique and waxing did not go unnoticed, and the relationships that the team and I made with them really contributed to the success of our season.