Jay T's Big Saturday Workout 12-13-03 First Race of the Season!

Today's Big Saturday Workout was the first race of the season for me,
Jay Tegeder. The event was the famed Hoigaard's/Breadmsith Relays at
the timeless Theodore Wirth Winter Recreation Area/summer time golf
course. Good old Wirth holds a special meaning for me. It was the
place I first skied 31 years ago. It was also the area in North
Minneapolis where I grew up. I used to slide on the big hills there as
a kid. They even had a wooden ski jump back in those days. Also, Wirth
was the place where I learned to play golf. Today was only the second
time I've raced there. The first time was my very first ski race 21
years ago. I used Trak Waxless Competition racing skis and got my but
kicked by Doc (Bill) Andberg. With about 100 meters to go in the 5
kilometer race, old Doc Andberg (age 71 at the time) passed me. Doc is
92 now and doesn't ski much anymore. Anyway, today's relay was a 4 x 3
kilometer loop. Teams could either be 2, 3 or 4 person. My Team was
Comenkollen 1. I skied the lead-off 3K leg, then Mike Brumbaugh skied
the 2nd leg with Jay Wenner skiing the 3rd and 4th legs. I had a good
start and got behind Dave Dow, Al Hanson and Craig Ruud. Some faster
guys were ahead of them but you know what? Things never change. I've
been behind Dow and Hanson my whole career! About halfway through the
loop, I heard a guy gaining on me. It was Jim Farrell. Yeah, that Jim
Farrell of the RSN Flame Wars. We had a virtual love fest before the
start of the race and agreed that we both have too much passion about
our opinions. Jim is coming on strong in racing though. His technique
is getting better and he's closing the gap on me. I couldn't keep up
with Ruud up the only difficult climb (I could drop a couple of pounds
I suppose) but noticed him struggling on the flats. I chased him down
and got around him with less than a kilometer to go. I think he stayed
ahead of Farrell but not by much. Yes, I coughed up a lung but had a
blast on my relay leg. I handed off to Brumbaugh and Mike, who's about
the same speed as me, gained a couple of spots on some skiers. Mike
handed off to Wenner and even though he said he didn't feel very
smooth, his technique looked really smooth to me. Jay skied the last
two laps and got us to 7th place. There were a couple of college teams
ahead of us and some other fast teams with guys as fast as Wenner on
each leg. Tom Bengel skied on the Comenkollen 2 Team with his son Lee
and Michael Gotsche. Others racing included Sara and Fred Kueffer Jr,
Steve Sonnesyn, Jey Carlson, Gene Kay, Corey Brinkema, Kim Ruud, Katie
Campbell, Barb Grogan, Regina Palis, Jaime Schricker and Pat Lorentz.
Others were there but not racing and included Gary Maher, Odd Osland,
Eric Dott, Steve Eberly and Tim Truedeau. After our race, a bunch of
high school teams had their own relay race. Lastly, the total time
skiing for me today was 2 hours.

Jay Tegeder
"Stick around this sport long enough and you'll beat everyone at least
once!" JT

Jay Tegeder wrote:

"We had a virtual love fest before the
start of the race and agreed that we both have too much passion about
our opinions. "

Yeah, I've admitted it here before, I find you to be a really likeable
guy in person. It was great to greet you and the other skiers for this
inaugural race after some very trying times. And I thank you for your
encouraging words. It's fun to ski with you all. I have learned so
much from so many who give back to the sport, not the least of whom is
Jay Tegeder. Nordic skiers make such a supportive community.


Jim Farrell

Hey, great report. I've know Jay awhile but never knew he grew up in
Minneapolis.

bill