So the last few weeks has been chalk full of good racing. After the races in Steamboat, CO, which were ok but not quit what i was hoping for, we headed to Minneapolis, MN for a 5 day mini tour. Instead of cumulative time over the 5 days of racing, points were distributed for individual places and cumulative points were used. The prize purse was enticing to all as the winner of the cumulative could pull in $3000. The races paid out 6 deep though, so even if one ended up 4th it gave a nice $400. In the grand sceme of things, that not much money compared to overall costs, but its better than a swift kick in the pants.
I definitely didnt go blazing out of the gates on the first day. The few days previous my body had been feeling on the verge of sickness and I was not sure if i was going to be sick for the races or not. I lacked snap, but i still pulled together an 11th place. I was disappointed for sure because i feel that i should be racing much faster or placing better to convince myself its worth still doing this "professionally", but I wasnt that far out time wise in the end. The points that were awarded seemed to say i was well off the pace and is probably what made me feel like my chances of finishing in the top 6 were slim. I was overdramatic....
The second day went very well as I found a nice groove early in the race and was getting splits that i was leading, then in 4th, then leading again, then 2nd..... and yes... the race ended up pretty tight. I finished fifth in a very tight race between 5 guys.... someone has to take 5th i guess.
Third day.... night sprint..... might as well have taken a nap. I thought i was moving well, but was 5 seconds out. I should probably lift some weights to get huge and fast for these things again. finished 12th :(
Fourth day... 10k classic mass start.... our wax tech shows up with no kick wax..... FIRED!!!!
After Mark, Lars and myself sacrificed our warmup to test kick (which came from our training wax we had in our water belts), we all suffered through the race with less than optimal skis. The race was still tight though. I finished 10th and about 36 seconds back from first.
The final day was a pursuit start 20k skate based off the previous days time. I started 36 seconds after the leader left the gate. I went out hard and caught the lead pack after 7k. Two skiers had made a breakaway just after i caught up, so still being in the groove I took off after them ... by myself. I was in no-mans-land for about 10k as i slowly reeled the front two in. One of the two front skiers had skied away and i finally caught 2nd place with 4k to go. With a strong last lap and one feeble attempt at a sprint over the last hill, I broke away and was able to capture second place for the pursuit! The kicker here is the pursuit finish had no bearing on the points awarded. It was the elapsed time for each individual skier that the points were awarded to. I had had an amazing race to say the least, but i wasnt sure how far in front Matt Liebsh (the front skier) was. I had to be within 36 seconds of him to beat him in the overall and people said that the time would be close. In the end..... I won... by 3 seconds. I first big victory in a while. I was extra psyched too because first place gave 5 extra points.... which catapulted me from 11th in the overall to 4th! I won a little money and can pay rent another month.
It was great to head home afterward and finally ski on trails that had more snow than a groomer knew what to do with. Home is always more relaxing.... until you work 18 hours the first two days home... boo ya!!
I will finish this post with the update on the first of four UAA invitational races here in Anchorage. 5k classic for men.... a distance i have not races in many years..... perhaps high school? It was a great course with lots of bigs hills and striding. Not being sure how to pace it, i went the slightly conservative route thinking that being able to ski the whole course well without completely flooding with lactic acid would prove better than the alternative. I went out at a 10k race pace and tried to go for broke over the last 2k of the race. I skied strong through all the climbs and was definitely toasted at the top of the last climb. It was everything I could do to maintain composure over the last 800m to the finish. To my surprise.... i won. I beat David Norris by 2 seconds. David is a young gun from Alaska, now skiing for MSU that has been skiing extremely well this season. He will be a major competitor in the years ahead, but i was glad to be in front this time. I hope this whole being in front at the end of races thing sticks a little longer...... say a couple of years?
