The view from our Aspen Host's House!
As for the skiing in Aspen, cross-country that is, the Aspen Valley Ski Club has done a fantastic job organizing the races. On Thursday, we competed on fun trails at Aspen High School. The women raced a 5k individual start classic while the men raced a 10k individual classic. We arrived at the venue in the morning with temperatures in the single digits, supposedly uncommon for this area. As I warmed up for the race, I reviwed in my mind how I wanted to ski the course...where I would push hard, where I would back off a little and where I needed to mentally stay tough! Racing at 8,000 feet is a little different than skiing at 6,000 feet and a whole lot different than skiing at sea level! Even in a short 5k race, you need to be careful not to start too hard. This is a common mistake and I have learned my lesson several times. I skied into the race with a quick pace but a pace that I knew I could hold onto. I started 30 seconds behind the girl in front of me and my goal was to keep her in sight the whole way. After 2k, I had already gained some time and distance on her and I focused on skiiing relaxed and smooth, with good technique to keep my gain. As I came into the final 500 meters of the finish, I was told that I was one second out of the lead. I knew I had to give it everything! Once I finished, I could hardly see or stand up straight. The lack of oxygen in air definitely made me feel light-headed. After catching my breath, I waited to hear the results as a few girls behind me were racing to the finish. I finished 2nd! I was pleased with my result but I was more pleased that I was able to control my pace and focus on skiing well. Ultimately, I think that is the key to good ski racing.
A podium finish
With one race down, I had another race to focus and prepare for. This time it was a 25k mass-start skate race. I had only heard rumors of how hard the race course was and how it was the toughest race many of my competors have ever raced. People told me that the course started on a golf course and then worked into a 3k climb up an alpine area. Whoa! That right there was enough to terrify me, not to mention that it gains 1,000 feet, as if 8,000 feet isn't bad enough. Without time to preview the entire course, I kept telling myself that it is probably best to race without knowing the profile of the course...that way I wouldn't know where to expect up-hills, where the tops of the climbs were and how far I had to go. As the saying goes, "ignorance is bliss." Well I can't say that the racing experience was blissful but I think I had prepared myself for something even harder than what the course ended up being. People like to exaggerate and the 3k up-hill that I was told about, was probably more like half a kilometer. Don't get me wrong, that was a tough race, but the horror stories I heard, mentally prepared me for a hardest race of my life.
The pack of leading girls broke up after 5k when the climbing began. I focused on staying with the girl in front of me. We stuck together all the way to the top of the climb. I took advantage of the long down-hill to replenish my body with energy in the form of a gue, but in the mean-time I lost a few seconds to the girl I was following. With 5k left in the race, I tried to catch back up to her but was unable to gain the time I lost on the down-hill. I finished 6th overall, satisfied, but already anticipating the race for next year. Now I know what to expect and I think that I can improve upon the performance I had today.
I am headed back to Sun Valley tomorrow. I will spend a week and half training there and then head to the American Birkebeiner in Hayward, Wisconsin. This race is the largest race in North America, with over 7,000 racers. I will keep you posted on how things go!
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