August 7, 2011
I cant help it at this time of year now to think about last years endeavor at the Trans-Alpine run. I am asked quite frequently if i am planning on going back this year or if I have other grand races of equal magnitude coming up. I want to go back. This year though, I will leave it to Patrick and Harlow.
Harlow Robinson and Patrick Conway will be Alaskas new tough guys at the TAR this year and I will watch and read with great anticipation on the sidelines here at home. They are keeping up a blog to describe their approach and race so as to provide insight as to the mental and physical strain they will be put through. I enjoy rereading the stage summaries that Brandon wrote last year and comparing it to Pat and Harlow's pre race posts, they seem to be in the same mindset we were at this time. Although i will venture to say that between Brandon and I, Harlow and Patrick are well informed about what to expect. I still laugh a bit at how ignorant i was beforehand.
What i like best about reading these pre-race post from Patrick and Harlow is the sense of understanding between the two. This isn't the type of race that you can do with just anyone. In this race, you are only as good as your teammate. You have to function as one, and to do that you must trust each other. Harlow apparently gave Patrick the option of choosing another teammate when Harlow's knee went off the deep end, but Patrick was seemingly unwilling to do the race with anyone else. This to me is the sign of a team that will prosper in this race.
I grew up with Brandon and spent a lot of miles getting to know him. He has been one of my greatest friends, but i was surprised at the end of the TAR how much more i learned about him. I am not talking about the simple things like how he likes his hamburger layered, Im talking about the will power within. The TAR is one of the most grueling and tough races i will ever do. I learned a lot about myself too.
By the tail end of the race, I found myself pulling adrenaline and guts out of somewhere within that i didnt know existed. My mind would shut off and pure determination would take over. It was as if the world around me disappeared and all that was left was the thin band of packed down gravel in front of me. Its a surreal feeling to be at, but i think that it the the feeling that the best athletes in the world learn to embrace. Perhaps Ive only skimmed the outside of that realm, but it was having my teammate there that I was able to find that determination. Your teammate in a race like this the most important choice you can make in my opinion. Unless you are able to work as one unit, the race is unlikely to go in your favor. I have a feeling that Patrick and Harlow will experience something similar to Brandon and I, an awakening within.
We had a classic time trial a little over a week ago now that happened to go better than expected. I have been staying very consistant with my training here in town, but cant help but feel like I should be up on the glacier putting in the 25-30 hours of on snow time and having the in depth technique work. I occasionally feel like my fitness is not as fine tuned as the others. I think this is only natural. So when it came time to time trial, I was unsure as to how it would go. Apparently I had missed out on the conversation the day before when the mens team had decided to take the pace out hot and push the double pole section (the race consisting of a 8k rolling double pole section followed by a 3k uphill climb). The first part of the double pole section was pancake flat and I fell in line and was relaxed. That feeling was very short lived as the paced ramped up and I found myself at my breaking point trying to hang on. With about half a kilometer to go before the climb, the pace seemed to ease just enough for me to catch my breathe. Lars and I had done some killer intervals up this hill about a month earlier and I was really psyched after words. I thought about this as we started into the climb. My legs felt strong enough and i decided to set a solid L4 pace up the hill. I went to the front and Mark immediately latched on. Just past the 1k mark on the hill, the Marks pole plants behind me seem to fade. I kept the tempo high and by the 2k mark, I glanced back and saw nobody there. The pace i set was a little faster than i should have gone as the last kilometer saw me unravel. I dialed back just enough to keep my form together, but im not sure there was any part of me that wasn't loaded with lactic acid. I crossed the finish line and immediately fell into my poles gasping for air. Mark came charging in about 25 seconds behind me and soon after him Erik Bjornsen, one of our new juniors to the team. My goal was to be sub 29 minutes on the course and i felt the effort was worthy of that at the vary least, but my concept of time when working out has never been fantastic. Marks first word to me were surprising. "I think that a new record dude". Last year, Mark set a blistering pace on the time trial to win in 28:13. Unknown to me, but apparently to others, Lars Flora skied to a sub 28 minute a few years back. My first inclination was that he was talking about my personal best, which was 28:33. I would have been stoked with that. Marks next words were even more surprising; "That was like 27:30 or something". I couldn't wrap my head around that. The effort was a huge personal best. I just went hard. Shut off my brain and attempted a pace i wasn't comfortable with. FUN
You can read it at http://teamchugach.blogspot.com/.
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