Busy Day.

Someone has either found my Birkie race report funny or interesting--and forwarded it on to lots of people. 20 views is a busy day here, and well--this is as of noon.


Looks like a link was emailed to a group across the Midwest. I did see a new pageview from Sweden too.... not sure if that's related though. Last week someone in India was reading about the Vasaloppet here.

Say hi while you're here, and feel free to snoop around!

Birkebeiner '08 Race Report

I should preface by saying that neither Birkebeiners nor Jager shots cure chest colds. I'm going to bed after I finish this, and I'm not going to work tomorrow.

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As I left the city on Friday, I was sneezing. By the time I made it to Telemark, I was hacking phlegm in every color of ROY G BIV.

This would be my first Birkebeiner and I was determined to race, mostly because I skipped the Vasaloppet, I've improved much this year, and I've been really excited to finally ski on this course. I figured if it got worse, I'd just quit.

I settled in with some new friends at the condo, waxed my skis to Fastwax's recommendation, ate some pasta, and got to bed early.The weather station said that the weather would be 28 high for race day. In the morning, it was 2F, and I was torn about what to wear. Figuring I'd warm up, I wore my base layer & jersey/ thin tights and Craft windstopper underoo's and was very comfortable after the race started.

As I lined up in wave 4 (full 51km, skate), I promised myself that I would stick to my strategy for the day: Take the first third easy, start to push 18-34km, and go for bust after that. I would also get ahead of my calorie consumption by taking a gel at least every 40 minutes.

My legs felt pretty flat as we started up the first of the bumps along the power lines and was beginning to wonder if not skiing since last weekend was such a good idea, but they warmed up soon enough.

Cough, cough. Hack, hack.

About 7 km in, I fell on a very small downhill. My foot caught a rut, I crossed ski's and superman'ed to the ground, ski's helicoptered above me. I got up quickly & kept going. Shocked Very embarrassing--my balance has improved exponentially this year, and I'm glad only a few witnessed it.

When the big hills arrived, I was ready, having done plenty of single poling during training. Sometimes it felt even faster than my V1. The view approaching Firetower was incredible. Going up it wasn't too bad--there were worse ones later on. These huge hills have super long lines of people going up them. It's very difficult to get ahead of people in these instances.

Shortly after passing 00, I reached for another gel. I was out! I'd only had 4 to that point, but I'd brought more than that. I must have dropped some on the course while reaching into my jersey pocket. I still had some concentrated gatorade in my hip holster, and that was able to hold me over until I hit the next aid station that had gels. I had a Clifshot Plain at the next stop. I hate the flavored kind with intense fervor, but this was the worst thing I've ever tasted. To make things worse, it was cold and extra viscous. I needed three "energy drinks" to wash it down.

My second (and last, thankfully) fall was at the second snowmobiler hangout. A steep downhill curving to the right, I avoided the two traffic-jammed inside berms in favor of the smoothe outside next to the classic track. Unfortunately, someone else with the same idea fell in front of me, and to avoid her, I stepped over between the classical tracks, lost my balance, and just before regaining it, caught my tips in the powder 6" from the jeering audience. Instead of plowing into them, I kneeled down, rolled onto my back, skis over the top of me, and back onto them in one fluid motion--a talent carried over from my steep & deep downhill experiences at Whistler & Alta.

The next section of the Birkie is much more forgiving: lots of rolling hills, flat stuff, easy uphills, fluid corners, etc. I started to push a little harder, V2ing as much as possible, carrying as much momentum up hills as possible. I started to drop packs of (mostly wave 3) skiiers. This was my favorite part of the course, and I still felt fairly fresh.

Cough, hack, cough.

Things started to get difficult a little before the last aid station--I could feel the wear on my body in my core. I finished my gatorade, grabbed some drink and immediately took off on to one of the most difficult hills of the day. Sad, because it wasn't very steep at all--one of the few times I was passed. Once I made it to the top, the terrain again opened up, and I resumed V2. I V1'ed what I guessed was the last hill with the knowledge that I had less than 5km, and soon enough I was on the lake. I was trying to hold a V2, but the snow was already out and starting to bake the snow....and my god the line of skiiers was long. I decided to shift down to an open field skate at the hardest pace I could hold, planning for a sprint through Hayward. This was probably the most painful section of the race for me. Even little 6" bumps on the groom felt like hills. I passed more & more skiiers, threaded the needle through a few in some ankle deep powder connecting the lake to the streets of Hayward, and started my last V2 assault.

As I took a full speed right turn onto main street, someone yelled my name. I took a hypoxic look back and nearly fell, balancing with my left ski at hip height for a good 15 meters before I caught myself. I passed ~5 people on main street and finished.

My chip-taking friends from the condo laughed at the huge icicle hanging from my temple down to my jawline as a photographer took my portrait.

In the end, the race was easier than I'd been led to believe. It was tough, but I was expecting worse. The trail was WONDERFUL--beautiful nature and well developed "flow." I was dropping lung fragments on the trail about every 30 seconds, but I still had a fun time.

It got a little tough towards the end, but it was probably the most fun ski race I've ever done. I now know why everyone does it. I'm hooked, I'm going back next year, and I want blood.


Time: 3:26
13xx/3100 Freestyle skiiers according to the paper.
11x/180 age group.


Garmin:
Avg pace: 6:45/mile
Max Speed: 26.8mph
Avg HR: 158
Max HR: 172
Calories Burnt: 4491



Recovery:
1 Granola bar
1 Chocolate Brownie Clif Bar
3 Leine's Dopplebocks
2 Shots of Jager (Double kudos to Troy)
Bruschetta


The season is over. I'm staying home tomorrow, but will probably see my allergist tomorrow--I'm flying to SLC on Thursday for 4 days of downhilling.

Last Major Pre-Birkie Workout

Any endurance athlete knows that it's the work that your put in over weeks that gives you your race day stamina, but I did have one last big workout planned for Saturday to give myself some confidence for the Birkebeiner.

I drove out to Baker Park on the west edge of town and took to the trails. Baker has some of the largest hills in the west metro, a large trail system, and some nice scenery. A race had been held earlier in the morning, so the trails were pretty well used, but I didn't care too much--it will probably be like that come raceday.

I did lap after lap on a combination of loops --island, hill, timber, & prairie trails, stopping only for HEED from the camelpak, and once to take a layer of clothing off. At 2 hours in, I had one powerbar gel, which was an incredible energy boost(I'm planning on taking one every 40 minutes during the race).

It was 2:55 as I finished my umpteenth loop, I and decided on one more loop to break the 3 hour mark. I decided to go out to the island trail & back, which entails going downhill for a long time, and then back up the longest hill at the park. My arms were on fire from the start, and mid hill, I switched to single poling, but went back to V1 as soon as the grade leveled a bit. I got to the top with nothing left in the tank. Even my 70oz camelpak was empty.

Distance: 27.99 miles
Calories Burnt: 4271 (an entire pound of body fat is 3500 calories)
Average Speed: 6:39/mile
Average heartrate: 152



Now, I'll put in just a couple very short, ultra-high intensity (probably Tabata) workouts before a few days of preparation & taper.

The Birkie is on Saturday.

Vasaloppet Race Report

I can't find my lobster gloves. I could use my downhill gloves, but I just went down to my car and tried them, but they barely fit without glove liners. So -- it would be impossible to use them with glove liners and hand warmers. And they're full fingered.

I just got a text from the guy I was going to carpool with. He bailed out.

I just did too.

I'm going to stay in and drink coffee & baileys for an even more baililicious morning.

Vasaloppet '08

I'm skiing the Mora Vasaloppet tomorrow. Although the Birkie is my primary focus this season, I really wanted to ski it this year--last year it was held on a lake due to warm weather & lack of snow.

It will be held on the Vasa trails tomorrow at 10am.



I was originally scheduled to ski 58km, but they've shortened it to 35km due to weather.

I will be wearing:
+Gore windstopper fullface balaclava with downhill skiing goggles.
+double layer lobster gloves with hand warmers.
+A base layer, mid layer jersey, and a windstopper fleece.
+my nike running pants over craft tights, over my craft windstopper crotch undies.
+wigwam wool socks.

If I get too cold, I'm stopping at a rest station and quitting. The snow will be terribly slow, and this is only a training ski.

It's sunny out, but I'm not skiing today

When it's this cold, the snow feels like you're skiing on styrofoam(I was out last year when it was this cold) I also probably couldn't handle staying out too long because my camelbak would freeze so quickly.

I would consider going this afternoon when it warms up a bit, but the parents are in town, so that's out of the question.

It's coming together on the Skis

I'm finally getting the hang of this Cross Country skiing. And I'm having a really great time.

On Tuesday night, I went to Ride & Glide, hesitantly, because we had a thaw and a chill and it was extremely icy. And hell to ski on. But Coach Kurt had us practice V2ing uphill. Apparently "because it was fast snow."

V2 is the most challenging ski stroke, and is used consistently only by the hotshots--and few of them will go up a hill doing that. It requires fantastic balance, and is less efficient *but faster* than the V2 alternate/open field skate; most people's normal flat terrain "dance." The ice was hell on the balance, but I was surprise how quickly my body adjusted, and I was able to ski up the hill! WTF?

Thursday night, I escaped out to Elm Creek and put in a few laps. The northern lights trail was vacant, and I enjoyed the cool air and the hills. The snow was softer/closer to normal (and forgiving), and all of a sudden, I felt very comfortable taking a few stokes of V2. So I began to skip open field skate altogether. Some deer crossed the trail on my last loop, completely unconcerned with my prescence.

Friday night, I put in 45 minutes at French park, and had a fantastic time. The snow was falling, leaving cool halos around all the lights. The snow in the air made the sky light enough that I could ski on the unlit trails--a fantastic feeling. The new snow was slow on the wax I have on my skis, but I didn't care. What a great feeling.

Today, I went back to Elm Creek-it was saturated with high school teams, but I ran into Coach Hank, who told me the long outer trail was open, so I took his advice. It was vacant. I took 3 laps. I was intending on a lower intensity endurance ski, but I couldn't help myself on the hills. The V2 felt great on the flats.

I decided to see how fast I could head up one of the hills. All of a sudden, my V1 transformed into a Jump V1 (see the pass), something I've been told about, but never observed. It felt fast. Coming back down hills, I could suddenly hold the inside track on tight turns at the bottoms of a few of them--using something between a marathon skate corner/jump.

I was out for 1:48:49, averaged 9.2 mph, 16.66 miles, and burnt just shy of 2600 calories.

I can't wait to go ski again tomorrow morning. I have downhill league in the evening.

I'm gonna kick ass at the Birkie.

I'm sore

So I've been XC skiing 3 times in the last 4 days. This is the first time since last winter--probably in the late February timeframe.

XC skiing is unlike any other sport. It requires tons of coordination, balance, and strength...at the same time as being as cardiovascularly demanding as trail running.

Right now, I'm trying to retrain all those little balance muscles that I haven't been using all summer, as well as other muscles that just don't get as much use. I did start dryland in early November, but it hasn't done much for me.

I've been trying to get 1 hour workouts in right now, but it's sooo difficult. Your muscles just get so sore. I have been resorting to poling in the Classic track when my legs are sore, and free-skating sans poles when my arms are spent.

Anyways, I'll probably be spending 5-6 nights/week at skiing at Clifton French Park in Plymouth until the Birkie. French has some decent trails for hillwork, and the Birkie, which I haven't completed, is 52km of hilly pain.

See you there?

Noquemanon

If I hadn't told you, I competed in the Noquemanon last weekend. I drove up to Houghton, MI and stayed with my uncle Bruce before driving to Marquette, MI for the race. I stayed another night with Bruce on the way back.

I was pretty excited for the Noquemanon, and this year's 45km course was to be my first race of any distance since taking up XC skiing last November.

I started in the last wave of the skate group-the last group on the course. I started towards the back of the pack, figuring I could avoid any early battles in the front of the pack. The Noquemanon is known for it's amount of downhill, (over 3000 feet of descent) and there was a pileup of about 5 skiiers on the first downhill. Seeing a crash became fairly common occurrence on downhills for the remainder of the race.

We crossed a frozen over lake, and encountered our first big hill. There was a line to start the climb, so I took a water break while waiting. I was a bit surprised to see single-poling so early in the race, but it was pretty steep. You can't train for hills like these in Minnesota. The longest climb ended up being around a 400' gain in elevation--I think that qualifies as a small mountain.

The climbs continued, and I was able to pass a fair amount of people at the pace I had selected. The first half of the race contained many challenging climbs--especially those that get steeper everytime you look up.

I was very surprised at how technical the descents became. Lots of people were falling, and I managed to get caught in a rut and fall on a long one myself. As it turns out, Jen was right behind me, and when she flew past me at high speed, she hit one of my poles, cleaving it in half. I had a very difficult time on the next climb, as single poling was the only option given the traffic. Fortunately, the next 6 kilometers to the next rest stop didn't include any steep climbs, and I quickly learned to V1 and Open field skate with one short pole, and did plenty of no-pole skating. I was quite surprised that I was still outpacing most despite my new handicap, and I figured that although most people were better skiiers than I am, I was more fit. This thought was encouraging. I got a new pole at the next aid station, and although it had a crappy wriststrap it did the job much better than half a pole.

Let me stop to say that the snow to this point on the flats & climbs was fantastic. We were at about 10F, and I was gliding along very well. As I approched the higher altitude midpoint, the snow began to fall. It became difficult to see well with my sunglasses fogging.

I felt quite satisfied with the pace I'd held as I passed the starting gate of the half marathon distance skiiers, and was quite pleased with my race to that point. I felt well prepared for the heralded "mostly downhill" second half.

The second half of the race had much more incline than I was led to believe. I learned that although the couse had been shortened, there were many new hills added in the reroute to the new finish line. I'm curious how much elevation had been added to the normal 2200' of climbing on the standard 51k. (for comparison, the IDS center downtown is just under 800' tall) The course was getting much busier with the fresh half-distance racers, and the downhills were snowplowed down to the underlying ice and becoming treacherous. Many marathoners were falling down on the technical descents, and I spotted several racers taking off their skis and walking down.

A few long climbs into the second half, I was beginning to feel the cumulative effect of the race. At all the aid stations, I'd been taking down reasonable amounts of HEED, but in all the excitement I hadn't stop to eat any of my gels or energy bars that I'd brought along. I took down some water, but after one more hill, I was completely bonked. I took down a gel, but it was too late. A hard lesson learned.

I had about 12K left, and my glycogen levels were flatlined as I passed yet another "Caution: Big Hill Ahead" sign. I started to get passed by familiar racers from my wave, and was again reminded that I'd not been fueling myself properly. A long false flat had me decomposed down to a weary V1. I don't remember much after that until I saw the 2km mark, and heard noise. I began to feel adrenaline slowly course into my body, and my pace on a long slow incline began to crescendo. My speed built as I saw the finish line, and I finished the race in sprint V2 fashion.

I finished in 3 hours, 49 minutes; placing me 14 of 16 in my age group.

I'm doing the 58km Vasaloppet next weekend.