A Snow and ski forum. SkiBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » SkiBanter forum » Skiing Newsgroups » Nordic Skiing
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

National Masters 30k



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old January 31st 05, 07:37 PM
Nevalainen, Eric
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default National Masters 30k

View from the rear......

First of all, hats off to the National Masters organizing committee.
You guys did an amazing job, on short notice, you moved the venue, and
groomed/prepped a good course, and hosted a great race. Cheers!

I had the feeling from the time I woke up, that I missed the wax. The
overnight temps in St. Cloud did not get as cold as predicted the
evening before. The feeling got worse when I arrived on site, and heard
the hiss of torches from people klistering their skis. Temps were
already in the upper 20's and would be at or near freezing by the time
the race was done. Panic waxing several layers of Swix violet seemed to
be the thing to do, kick was good, but glide was a little funny until
things smoothed out (10k or so).

The course was an interesting mix of terrain. The trail center is on
the site of the old farm that supported the St. Cloud prison (prison
cells in the barn....freaky), with a mix of low rolling hills, fields,
orchards, gullies, and ravines. The race course used two of the 5k
trails, the "Orchard", and "Hilltop", done back-to-back to make one 10k
loop. "Orchard" was ideal for speed. The long winding trails, with
gentle ups and downs lent itself nicely to lots of easy KDP. "Hilltop"
on the other hand, was very similar to some parts of the trail system at
Battle Creek park (the original venue) with quite a bit of elevation
change, some fun downhills, and some good climbs.

Racers were started by waves according to their age in 10 minute
intervals beginning at 10 a.m. The mens 25-40 groups were collapsed
into one start wave. The Women's 20k started at 11, following the same
format.

My goals going in were simple (did I mention this was my first time
doing this??): 1. finish in under 3 hours. 2. stay out of the way so
no-one gets hurt.

I did both successfully. I crossed the line in 2:45:11 (dead last, but
under my own power), and avoided getting run over by the leaders as I
was getting lapped. My wax finally worked itself in at around 10k, and
my glide improved to the point where I could KDP pretty well on the
flats, with my second lap being significantly faster than my first.
Temps were on the warm side, as was the humidity, it was comfortable to
be outside, and by 20k there were quite a few discarded hats on the side
of the trail. The big issue with me anyways, was dehydration. With the
humidity as high as it was, there was very little evaporation, I was
sopping wet by the 15k mark, and getting chilled by 20. I had 2 bottles
of accllerade with me, and I sucked down fluids at every stop (both Heed
and water were provided at each 5k feed station), but by the 26k mark, I
could feel the onset of some leg cramping, I couldn't get enough water
in me.

It was a good day, I finished the race, I hit my time goal, and I had a
good time doing it. It was fun to watch the leaders go by, and it was a
complete blast to participate in. What a neat introduction to the world
of citizen racing.

Results he
http://www.xcskiworld.com/events/NM/NM_results.htm

Pictures he
http://www.skinnyski.com/racing/results/current/

Vasaloppet in 2 weeks....can't wait.

Eric





Ads
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
US National Masters Contingency Plans [email protected] Nordic Skiing 2 January 5th 05 02:57 PM
National Masters Trail Run Nevalainen, Eric Nordic Skiing 0 November 15th 04 03:05 PM
Publicity help for US National Masters John O'Connell Nordic Skiing 1 November 12th 04 03:04 AM
2005 National Masters Championships Twin Cities John O'Connell Nordic Skiing 5 September 17th 04 06:58 PM
National Masters 2005 Greg Fangel Nordic Skiing 0 November 7th 03 03:51 AM


All times are GMT. The time now is 05:41 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 SkiBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.