Condition were overall very good, with lots of snow and an air temperature of around -5 C at start. I went with fairly conservative waxing using Swix VR30, which worked maybe a touch too well for grip at lower elevations, but was handy up at Elk Pass.
I had two problems crop up during the race: lack of glide and my left hip started acting up again 9 km into the race. So, I had to back off quite a bit to make the finish, but did managed to drag myself around all 42 km in 4:33. This meant I finished 24 out of 25 in my age group (we can all be good at something, and no one finishes at the back of the pack better than me!). But, I now have a baseline time to work off of for next year. (Note to self: glide wax...)
Stephen Pickett and former STer Clarke Ellis were also out doing the 15 km event. How was the race, guys?
2 comments:
It was a good race; Clarke and I did the 15km 'tour' category. It was my first foray into XC racing and I had no idea what to expect.
As knowledgeable Cyclocross racers, we started at the front of the 'pack'. I think in hindsight that might have been a little stupid because we went WAY too hard off the start. My HR jumped from resting to 90% instantly... and there it stayed for the ENTIRE race. It took us about 1:40 to complete the 15k, getting us 20th and 28th of the 50-odd racers. Clarke bonked about 5k in (and SUFFERED for the rest of it) (he hasn't skied at all in 2013...), giving me a chance to take a slight lead.
I learned that a 90lb 12-year-old girl can pass me because of my lack of glide wax (you're supposed to wax every week?! I last waxed in December...). I also learned that you don't need to be at the race 2.5 hours before you start.
But, it was pretty fun and I look forward to next time!
Oh man, it sounds like glide wax is the theme for us cyclists. I do clean and lube my chain before every bike race, but for XC skiing, I thought glide wax was a once or twice a season type thing...but I guess it is actually analgous to chain maintenance.
As Steve said, we had no idea what we are doing. But at least we now somewhat know what we're doing!
Oh, and that 90lb girl passing me on a downhill twice was definitely a big wake up call. (she took a break for a while, I think that was just so she could pass me again...)
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