Raising The Level Of Cross-Country Skiing In America
MN Governor's Cup--View from the (WAY) back of the pack
I did my first race of the season last year (my first since 2006) last weekend, the Governor's Cup 25k Freestyle race at Camp Ripley MN.
The course consists of a combination of riverflats, rolling hills, and quite a bit of heavy-duty climbing, utilizing every piece of elevation along the trail to its limits. The layout is an "out and back" from the Rec Center, to the biathlon range , and then back to the rec center. The Biathlon range, the middle 8K, contains the majority of the hard climbs (it's only one hill , you just climb it about 6 times over 8K), with the rest of the trail containing either rolling hills, or flats.
Conditions at race start were about 22 degrees, overcast, with a humid breeze out of the west. Camp Ripley hasn't had significant snow in January, so the base was mostly old transformed snow on a very firm base. I set my skis up with Fastwax LF Teal, but could have gotten away with warmer wax as the temps did not drop as significantly as predicted the night before. I opted for a harder wax, I wasn't wrong, but then I wasn't totally correct either. Conditions varied from the expected hardpack base to include: old powder in the woods, and marathon sugar in some parts of the biathlon range. The skis were fast enough, it wasn't the wax that held me back, it was gravity. Dragging my 215 pound butt up some of those hills is a lot of work.
The pack took off at a brisk pace, and things stayed pretty tight through the river flats leading to the first set of hills. There was some moderate congestion on the uphill parts of the rollers, and I had to brake hard a couple of times to keep from running over the skier in front of me. By the time we swung west (KM 6) towards the biathlon range, there was enough spacing that everyone could ski their own race without too much interference. After the first feed stop, we entered the biathlon area—lots of climbing, but there were some fun downhills to allow for a little recovery. The trail was wide, well marked, and well groomed, but the hills took their toll. The course was a lot more physical than it was technical. It was a relief to cross the road out of the biathlon range, and start the return leg. I was able to maintain a nice brisk pace and make up some time, through the rollers to the river flats, and then open it up for the final 3k dash to the finish. The sun came out for the last 6k or so making for a nice trip back to the Rec Center.
Objectively,
I got my butt kicked up between my ears, (16 of 19 in my age group, 2 hours 16 seconds), but overall I felt good about my performance. Considering I am coming back after having taken a year off, I think I did pretty well.
The course consists of a combination of riverflats, rolling hills, and quite a bit of heavy-duty climbing, utilizing every piece of elevation along the trail to its limits. The layout is an "out and back" from the Rec Center, to the biathlon range , and then back to the rec center. The Biathlon range, the middle 8K, contains the majority of the hard climbs (it's only one hill , you just climb it about 6 times over 8K), with the rest of the trail containing either rolling hills, or flats.
Conditions at race start were about 22 degrees, overcast, with a humid breeze out of the west. Camp Ripley hasn't had significant snow in January, so the base was mostly old transformed snow on a very firm base. I set my skis up with Fastwax LF Teal, but could have gotten away with warmer wax as the temps did not drop as significantly as predicted the night before. I opted for a harder wax, I wasn't wrong, but then I wasn't totally correct either. Conditions varied from the expected hardpack base to include: old powder in the woods, and marathon sugar in some parts of the biathlon range. The skis were fast enough, it wasn't the wax that held me back, it was gravity. Dragging my 215 pound butt up some of those hills is a lot of work.
The pack took off at a brisk pace, and things stayed pretty tight through the river flats leading to the first set of hills. There was some moderate congestion on the uphill parts of the rollers, and I had to brake hard a couple of times to keep from running over the skier in front of me. By the time we swung west (KM 6) towards the biathlon range, there was enough spacing that everyone could ski their own race without too much interference. After the first feed stop, we entered the biathlon area—lots of climbing, but there were some fun downhills to allow for a little recovery. The trail was wide, well marked, and well groomed, but the hills took their toll. The course was a lot more physical than it was technical. It was a relief to cross the road out of the biathlon range, and start the return leg. I was able to maintain a nice brisk pace and make up some time, through the rollers to the river flats, and then open it up for the final 3k dash to the finish. The sun came out for the last 6k or so making for a nice trip back to the Rec Center.
Objectively,
I got my butt kicked up between my ears, (16 of 19 in my age group, 2 hours 16 seconds), but overall I felt good about my performance. Considering I am coming back after having taken a year off, I think I did pretty well.
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