Lessons learned

We just got back to Chez McCahill after the first race of the SLU carnival, a 10k skate. The race ran 3 laps of a 3.3k course, which basically started flat, dropped down a short hill, climbed up a short hill, did about a k of flats, then hit a gnarly off-camber 180 degree downhill corner and then did climb that was maybe 1 minute of V1 before a flat to the finish/lap area. The conditions were pretty gnarly - yesterday Van Ho was basically 2 inches of ice and then an inch of scratchy powder and sticks. The corner mentioned above was boilerplate ice, totally exposed because all the snow was pushed down to the outside. The line basically demanded a powerslide because there was no snow to step turn in, and if you went too wide you got shot out into the woods. Suffice it to say, I was slightly nervous.

Come race day the plan was to start relatively fast, but with some reserves, since the course was basically all flat with very little rest. I made the mistake of doing a strength workout on Tuesday and despite an ice bath and a sauna and a lot of stretching, my legs were still really sore. That kind of sore you get when you start running consistently again in April. I could push, but I lacked any sort of pop, and the soreness just added to the overall fatigue of having to push a fast tempo V2/alternate on the flats for 10k.

I wrecked on the corner the first time, which probably cost me something on the order of 10 seconds - I even lost my headband and glasses, which thankfully survived the next 100 racers (102 entrants today!) unscathed. After the fall Walt Shepard caught me from 30 seconds and I kept him basically in sight for the rest of the race. Because my legs were already sore, I felt like I was going slower than I probably really was, and I was convinced I was not having a good day. I maintained my focus as best I could and pushed it hard around the course, catching some rides from some Bates and Colby guys and taking the gnarly 180 corner conservatively every time (probably too conservatively).

Even though the course didn't really fit my strengths, namely because it had little sustained climbing and not much rest, not to mention the "corner of death," I wasn't too optimistic after I finished. I think I remarked to someone that I'd be pumped to be in the top 60. Turns out I improved on last week by a single place, finishing 41st on a bad day. The spread was tight again - I was about 2 minutes out of first, a minute from the top 15, and 12 seconds from the top 30 (I think - I don't have the results in front of me and I only saw them once). The fitness is there, and as soon as the legs come around again, I'm gonna be looking for something bigger. Right now we're 100% about tomorrow: 20k classic on a 3.3k loop. Piss! Pi-pi-piss! Nah, it's gonna be a good one, a shot at redemption.

I'll let everyone else tell their own stories, mainly because I can't remember the results. Right now Dave and I are gonna sauna, nap, and race wax some boards. Living the good life, you know?

Good luck to those of you who have finals on the horizon, and also good luck to the Anders, whose entire future is on the line when he heads to DC next week. Don't f-ck it up, kid! Just kidding.

-- The General