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#1
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Keski 25k Classic. View from the back.
I am not a racer. The Keskinada is my annual ritual. As Parham told me
once, you need a few things in life to anchor yourself. Perhaps the Keskinada is one of my anchors. My preparation this year consisted of skiing a long way on my over-waxed skis to determine the wax pocket, and scouting every corner of the trail in the two weekends before Keskinada. As a result, I have shortened my wax pocket by 2 to 3 inches! I was happy to find that I can stay in the tracks practically everywhere except in two places where I need to run uphill, herringbone style. Nowhere do I need to brake - I should be able to step turn every corner. It was perfect (blue extra) temperature. The start was delayed for 5 minutes. I had nothing to do so I scrubbed on another layer of blue extra. I was a bit worried because the day before, the temperature had risen up to 0 deg. But the wax appeared to be right at the start area. The siren went off and the mass of skiers went forward. Nothing unusual happened. No broken skis. No broken poles. And the wax felt right. Skiing up the short uphill chute was still O.K., even though I had to use more arms than usual. Then it snowed suddenly and heavily - I couldn't see more than 10m away. Oh, oh! A few weeks ago ice formed on my goggles and I had to take them off even though I could hardly see without my prescription goggles. As suddenly as the snow came, it disappeared. The track took a left turn up into the woods, trail #5 behind Pink Lake. This is where I have determined that I have just enough energy to first ski up in the track, then continue to run up in herringbone when it got steeper, and finally got back to the track near the top. Oh well. Forget about the planning. There was a long queue at the bottom of the hill. When it came to my turn, all I could do was to follow the train, slowly herringbone uphill. Mind you. I wasn't complaining. My legs were already turning soft. I love trail #5 behind Pink Lake. It is relatively narrow, just managed to accommodate two tracks. It is in the woods, sheltered from the wind. It's undulating. You really feel good skiing this part of the trail. You have to work hard at times but you feel you are really moving. However, this time, I had to worked really, really hard to stay in the tracks, and even had to herringbone when I thought I didn't have to. Oh no. The guy in front of me snowploughed - and that wasn't the steep part of the trail. I hate to snowplough. Other than wasting energy, it can take the wax right off my skis. I finally braked when my ski tips were practically under his body. The steep part came just before Pink Lake. A few years ago I fell there and caused a pile up. But I was prepared this time. I know that I can go all out and step turn around the corner. No such luck. There was a long queue again. I caught up with the skier in front snowploughing. This time I took the risky move to ski by the side of the trail and passed him. I was waiting with anxiety to see whether the wax was O.K. getting back on the Parkway near Pink Lake. There were multiple previous occasions that I got no grip at all coming down from the shielded #5 onto the sunny Parkway. Well. The wax wasn't perfect this time but was still O.K. Lucky me. I was more of a spectator than a skier for about 10 minutes. You see. This is where I, a wave D participant, can see the leaders coming back. I was trying to catch a glimpse of Becky Scott. No such luck! The black diamond part of #15 is the steepest part of the course. This time I had no excuse. The traffic was light by then and I could go as fast as I want. Alas, all I could do was herringbone slowly up. Finally, my scouting of the trail paid off. Trail #7 From McKenzie Estate back to the Parkway was undulating but mostly downhill. If you don't brake at all and carry your momentum, it is a real pleasure skiing there. I caught two skiers snowploughing. Both times I shouted "by your left" and managed to ski by without falling. Skiing down from Pink Lake on the Parkway, I usually crouched down quietly in the tracks, and let momentum carry me as far as possible, because there are typically no other skiers closed by. Well, this time was different. I had to step left off the track, only to find that it was much slower. Luckily there was just enough momentum to pass the skier. And I caught up with yet another skier continuing downhill. This time, avoiding the slow part to the left of the left tracks, I took the risky move trying to step into the right tracks. Lucky me, this is the first time I tried changing tracks going down Pink Lake and I managed to do so without falling. I always found doing classic on the Parkway tough, very tough. You can see a long, long way and it feels as if you're not moving at all. I was playing with my heart-monitor toy earlier in the season and found that I could be pushing harder on the flat part of the Parkway. I guess the toughness is more mental than physical. Back on to #5 near Asticou. I know this part of the trail better than my own backyard because Asticou is my usual starting point for skiing. There is this 25m incline right near the parking lot. I usual just ski up without thinking. Oh well. What a difference! I had to step off the tracks to go up this time. There is a longer and steeper hill about a km from the short incline. I had determined previously that I could stay on the track all the way. No such luck! I stepped off and hopped up, albeit very slowly. Well, I shouldn't complain. The skier who passed me on a beautiful diagonal stride earlier was back slipping badly, and I passed him, may be her, back. It was flat and then a slight downhill towards the finishing line. I was plotting to sneak up on the skier in front, double-pole hard, and let the moment carry me downhill to the finish line. I was embarrassed when she encouraged me to "Go for it!" when I passed her. I finished. A PB. Um. May be I don't know what the right wax feels like. I had my best time 2 years ago and then this year. Both years I felt like my wax was too slippery and and not enough kick. May be the experts who participated in the Keskinada classic can tell me their waxing experience. It was a great day overall. I even caught a glimpse of Becky Scott finishing her 5k classic. .... Mike |
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#2
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Keski 25k Classic. View from the back.
Nice report. Congrats on your PB, Mike!
"Mike Hui" wrote: I am not a racer. The Keskinada is my annual ritual. As Parham told me once, you need a few things in life to anchor yourself. Perhaps the Keskinada is one of my anchors. My preparation this year consisted of skiing a long way on my over-waxed skis to determine the wax pocket, and scouting every corner of the trail in the two weekends before Keskinada. As a result, I have shortened my wax pocket by 2 to 3 inches! I was happy to find that I can stay in the tracks practically everywhere except in two places where I need to run uphill, herringbone style. Nowhere do I need to brake - I should be able to step turn every corner. It was perfect (blue extra) temperature. The start was delayed for 5 minutes. I had nothing to do so I scrubbed on another layer of blue extra. I was a bit worried because the day before, the temperature had risen up to 0 deg. But the wax appeared to be right at the start area. The siren went off and the mass of skiers went forward. Nothing unusual happened. No broken skis. No broken poles. And the wax felt right. Skiing up the short uphill chute was still O.K., even though I had to use more arms than usual. Then it snowed suddenly and heavily - I couldn't see more than 10m away. Oh, oh! A few weeks ago ice formed on my goggles and I had to take them off even though I could hardly see without my prescription goggles. As suddenly as the snow came, it disappeared. The track took a left turn up into the woods, trail #5 behind Pink Lake. This is where I have determined that I have just enough energy to first ski up in the track, then continue to run up in herringbone when it got steeper, and finally got back to the track near the top. Oh well. Forget about the planning. There was a long queue at the bottom of the hill. When it came to my turn, all I could do was to follow the train, slowly herringbone uphill. Mind you. I wasn't complaining. My legs were already turning soft. I love trail #5 behind Pink Lake. It is relatively narrow, just managed to accommodate two tracks. It is in the woods, sheltered from the wind. It's undulating. You really feel good skiing this part of the trail. You have to work hard at times but you feel you are really moving. However, this time, I had to worked really, really hard to stay in the tracks, and even had to herringbone when I thought I didn't have to. Oh no. The guy in front of me snowploughed - and that wasn't the steep part of the trail. I hate to snowplough. Other than wasting energy, it can take the wax right off my skis. I finally braked when my ski tips were practically under his body. The steep part came just before Pink Lake. A few years ago I fell there and caused a pile up. But I was prepared this time. I know that I can go all out and step turn around the corner. No such luck. There was a long queue again. I caught up with the skier in front snowploughing. This time I took the risky move to ski by the side of the trail and passed him. I was waiting with anxiety to see whether the wax was O.K. getting back on the Parkway near Pink Lake. There were multiple previous occasions that I got no grip at all coming down from the shielded #5 onto the sunny Parkway. Well. The wax wasn't perfect this time but was still O.K. Lucky me. I was more of a spectator than a skier for about 10 minutes. You see. This is where I, a wave D participant, can see the leaders coming back. I was trying to catch a glimpse of Becky Scott. No such luck! The black diamond part of #15 is the steepest part of the course. This time I had no excuse. The traffic was light by then and I could go as fast as I want. Alas, all I could do was herringbone slowly up. Finally, my scouting of the trail paid off. Trail #7 From McKenzie Estate back to the Parkway was undulating but mostly downhill. If you don't brake at all and carry your momentum, it is a real pleasure skiing there. I caught two skiers snowploughing. Both times I shouted "by your left" and managed to ski by without falling. Skiing down from Pink Lake on the Parkway, I usually crouched down quietly in the tracks, and let momentum carry me as far as possible, because there are typically no other skiers closed by. Well, this time was different. I had to step left off the track, only to find that it was much slower. Luckily there was just enough momentum to pass the skier. And I caught up with yet another skier continuing downhill. This time, avoiding the slow part to the left of the left tracks, I took the risky move trying to step into the right tracks. Lucky me, this is the first time I tried changing tracks going down Pink Lake and I managed to do so without falling. I always found doing classic on the Parkway tough, very tough. You can see a long, long way and it feels as if you're not moving at all. I was playing with my heart-monitor toy earlier in the season and found that I could be pushing harder on the flat part of the Parkway. I guess the toughness is more mental than physical. Back on to #5 near Asticou. I know this part of the trail better than my own backyard because Asticou is my usual starting point for skiing. There is this 25m incline right near the parking lot. I usual just ski up without thinking. Oh well. What a difference! I had to step off the tracks to go up this time. There is a longer and steeper hill about a km from the short incline. I had determined previously that I could stay on the track all the way. No such luck! I stepped off and hopped up, albeit very slowly. Well, I shouldn't complain. The skier who passed me on a beautiful diagonal stride earlier was back slipping badly, and I passed him, may be her, back. It was flat and then a slight downhill towards the finishing line. I was plotting to sneak up on the skier in front, double-pole hard, and let the moment carry me downhill to the finish line. I was embarrassed when she encouraged me to "Go for it!" when I passed her. I finished. A PB. Um. May be I don't know what the right wax feels like. I had my best time 2 years ago and then this year. Both years I felt like my wax was too slippery and and not enough kick. May be the experts who participated in the Keskinada classic can tell me their waxing experience. It was a great day overall. I even caught a glimpse of Becky Scott finishing her 5k classic. ... Mike |
#3
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Keski 25k Classic. View from the back.
In article e.rogers.com,
Mike Hui wrote: I am not a racer. The Keskinada is my annual ritual. As Parham told me once, you need a few things in life to anchor yourself. Perhaps the Keskinada is one of my anchors. So, I'm out of skiing this year with some broken bones and a concussion... Just back from a supper with Ken Roberts and John Tomlinson..talking about the keski.... Last week Parham's great CSM report, and now your beautiful report, Mike. Gee, you guys are making me feel depressed for missing everything.. but thanks anyway. -- -- "It's a sad day for american capitalism when a man can't fly a midget on a kite over Central Park." J. Moran |
#4
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Keski 25k Classic. View from the back.
In article e.rogers.com,
Mike Hui wrote: I finished. A PB. Doubly impressive. The classic was VERY slow this year, with the fastest ones taking something like 30 minutes longer than normal. -- -- "It's a sad day for american capitalism when a man can't fly a midget on a kite over Central Park." J. Moran |
#5
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Keski 25k Classic. View from the back.
In article ,
Pete Hickey wrote: Just back from a supper with Ken Roberts and John Tomlinson.. And I forgot to mention that, in spite of the cold, John did quite well, and most parts of Ken did well also. -- -- "It's a sad day for american capitalism when a man can't fly a midget on a kite over Central Park." J. Moran |
#6
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Keski 25k Classic. View from the back.
It was nice meeting Pete Hickey in person -- thanks to Ken Roberts for
bringing us together.. The Keskinada went pretty well for me. I did the 50K skate, which was either 42.5 or 46.5K -- there is conflicting info on the race website, and the signage during the race itself was rather confusing. It's a fun race -- lots of nice people, good atmoshere and a beautiful venue -- Gatineau Park. The course was in a really good condition too. The new section (Burma) was fun to ski, though a bit narrow for a big race. I was in the 3rd wave of 5, which was about right, and tried to ski consistenly firmly, but be a bit conservative on the early hills. And with good technique. I was able to do that most of the time, so it was a good race for me. The only bad part was that I totally cracked on the last climb with 3K to go -- Mont Bleu -- and just crawled up it -- actually walking some of it. I lost a couple minutes there. About six people passed me there,which was annoying. I think I have a problem with muscular endurance, because I was OK going on shallow climbs just before and could ski the little flat section afterwards OK. Maybe I needed a bit more sugar. My bottle froze -- again. I forgot to put it in upside down and didn't notice that until about KM10. The weather was cold -- it wasn't more than -16C during the race, and perhaps was -19 or -20 at the start (which was delayed). But it was sunny, with little wind, so that wasn't a problem compared to 2003. Just that my lips hurt a little on the long downhills and I had to keep my hands in front of my mouth at times because of that. Two people I know got frostbite on their ears. The snow was really slow due to the low temps and it being new snow. I had OK or good glide compared to other middle of the pack people -- I didn't see anyone outgliding me in the tracks at least. Fast Wax White over FW Teal/Green over Map Black. But even so, the snow affected my technique. In fast snow I could V2 (I mean 1-skate, we were in Canada,right?) a lot more of the shallow parkway cliimbs on the way back, whereas this year it had to be "offset" for me. Ken Roberts also did the 50 and commented that the course seemed really hilly in comparison to when he did it in classic technique two years ago. I think the snow explains that. What else? I saw Beckie Scott but missed seeing her skiing. She is really tan and really smiley and really fit looking. A winning combination. And I finally know my way around inside the CEGEP which is comforting. Jim Farrell's explanation of how to grab fees in races in the thread "Eating while Racing" works great. I may seem obvious, but I had no clue about this until trying it on Sunday. I'm looking forward to next year already. JT |
#7
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Keski 25k Classic. View from the back.
Yes all my parts made it thru the Keskinada Loppet 50K Free course on a
pretty and very cold day Sunday. Pete Hickey wrote . . . most parts of Ken did well also. But I discovered afterward that my earlobes had "gained weight" -- swelling from frostbite -- very visible at dinner. Even a giant blister on my right earlobe, like a second-degree burn. They were "dripping" the next day or two, but now they seem on the path to recovery. The first half of the race was fun, the second half painful. Dinner on downtown Ottawa with Pete and John and Sharon and Qinghua was fun again. And the next day was perhaps even fun with a backcountry interconnect tour in northern Gatineau Park. All those scary weather reports had my over-dressed before the race, so I frantically took off clothing at the last second. Which led to me starting with the following wave -- which turned out to be a great idea. But also left me wearing a cap that kept riding up higher on my head. I had lots of fun out skiing in the sunshine with the others, letting people pass me on the first couple of long hills, but passing a few just after we came over the top. Seemed much hillier skating than I remembered from the Classic course two years ago. Got to a gentle climb, started to have a little too much fun using my V2 / 1-skate to pass someone. Then I heard the word "Penguin" -- whoops, I immediately slowed down even before I could see the steep hill. Fortunately the skiers in front of helping out by holding me back, so I survived the main Penguin climb. The sharp turn, and I remembered there was more, and glad I had saved my strength. Then before the top I pulled left and passed some people -- what was I thinking? I was thinking that Keskinada was an easy course, and that I had just about finished all the tough climbs. Some more pleasant rolling stuff. Then _another_ steep climb. Whose idea was this? People were behind me, so at first I tried to "prove" I could keep up my speed, but then I paused to rest for a bit (but the damage was already done). Up to some more rolling cruising that would have been fun if my legs were not burning. At last Fortune Parkway -- easy cruising now, right? Except that in the cold snow my skis weren't gliding well, even in the classic striding tracks, so it was work, and pain. And John passed me and sounded like he was doing OK, better than OK. It was so unfair. Then we merged with the 25K course. This was supposed to be fun for me, passing all these other skiers. But I was hurting -- and the 25K skaters who were slow enough for me to catch them now looked like they were thrashed (fried?) -- I felt sorry for them. (For all I know they were happy inside, but the 25K Classic striders I passed two years ago _looked_ happier, so I felt better passing the 25K-ers when I did the Classic race). I felt like I could barely more up the final Mont Bleu hill, but I came into the stadium with a strong V2 skate that might have fooled the spectators into thinking I still had lots of energy remaining. (maybe I did?) Next day to my surprise I was able to do another longer day of fun skiing in Gatineau Park. Sharon and I went up north to a different section, Lac Phillippe. Thanks to Pete's careful route advice, I was able to make a backcountry connection to the main network of groomed trails used in the race. I skied the from parking area P19 to the McKinstry cabin and the #1 trail that joins to Fortune Parkway (with the help of several skiers who broke trail on previous days of the weekend). Interesting pretty tour that had everything from fast skating on perfectly groomed roads (using my classic skis), to crossing backcountry lakes, to steep side-stepping climbs, and some improvisational backcountry downhills. And I did it with the strategy I should have used on race day: Just keep a fun pace most of the way, then the last 20 minutes go fast to get back to my agreed rendezvous time at the car with Sharon back from her tour. Next trip to Ottawa, I'll allow more time to try for a wild north Gatineau loop, like Meech - Herridge - Lac Phillippe - McKinstry - Meech. Ken |
#8
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Keski 25k Classic. View from the back.
Nice report Ken. Looks like you didn't freeze off anything too serious and
mainly had fun at a good pace. On your tour, did you go over the edge of Lusk lake and climb up to #1, and turn left for McKinstry? If so, you've done one of the nicest "back country" routes in the Gats (sometimes known as the "Northwest Passage".). Why not join us for the real Big Tour the weekend before the Keski? Parham. "Ken Roberts" wrote in message ... Yes all my parts made it thru the Keskinada Loppet 50K Free course on a pretty and very cold day Sunday. Pete Hickey wrote . . . most parts of Ken did well also. But I discovered afterward that my earlobes had "gained weight" -- swelling from frostbite -- very visible at dinner. Even a giant blister on my right earlobe, like a second-degree burn. They were "dripping" the next day or two, but now they seem on the path to recovery. The first half of the race was fun, the second half painful. Dinner on downtown Ottawa with Pete and John and Sharon and Qinghua was fun again. And the next day was perhaps even fun with a backcountry interconnect tour in northern Gatineau Park. All those scary weather reports had my over-dressed before the race, so I frantically took off clothing at the last second. Which led to me starting with the following wave -- which turned out to be a great idea. But also left me wearing a cap that kept riding up higher on my head. I had lots of fun out skiing in the sunshine with the others, letting people pass me on the first couple of long hills, but passing a few just after we came over the top. Seemed much hillier skating than I remembered from the Classic course two years ago. Got to a gentle climb, started to have a little too much fun using my V2 / 1-skate to pass someone. Then I heard the word "Penguin" -- whoops, I immediately slowed down even before I could see the steep hill. Fortunately the skiers in front of helping out by holding me back, so I survived the main Penguin climb. The sharp turn, and I remembered there was more, and glad I had saved my strength. Then before the top I pulled left and passed some people -- what was I thinking? I was thinking that Keskinada was an easy course, and that I had just about finished all the tough climbs. Some more pleasant rolling stuff. Then _another_ steep climb. Whose idea was this? People were behind me, so at first I tried to "prove" I could keep up my speed, but then I paused to rest for a bit (but the damage was already done). Up to some more rolling cruising that would have been fun if my legs were not burning. At last Fortune Parkway -- easy cruising now, right? Except that in the cold snow my skis weren't gliding well, even in the classic striding tracks, so it was work, and pain. And John passed me and sounded like he was doing OK, better than OK. It was so unfair. Then we merged with the 25K course. This was supposed to be fun for me, passing all these other skiers. But I was hurting -- and the 25K skaters who were slow enough for me to catch them now looked like they were thrashed (fried?) -- I felt sorry for them. (For all I know they were happy inside, but the 25K Classic striders I passed two years ago _looked_ happier, so I felt better passing the 25K-ers when I did the Classic race). I felt like I could barely more up the final Mont Bleu hill, but I came into the stadium with a strong V2 skate that might have fooled the spectators into thinking I still had lots of energy remaining. (maybe I did?) Next day to my surprise I was able to do another longer day of fun skiing in Gatineau Park. Sharon and I went up north to a different section, Lac Phillippe. Thanks to Pete's careful route advice, I was able to make a backcountry connection to the main network of groomed trails used in the race. I skied the from parking area P19 to the McKinstry cabin and the #1 trail that joins to Fortune Parkway (with the help of several skiers who broke trail on previous days of the weekend). Interesting pretty tour that had everything from fast skating on perfectly groomed roads (using my classic skis), to crossing backcountry lakes, to steep side-stepping climbs, and some improvisational backcountry downhills. And I did it with the strategy I should have used on race day: Just keep a fun pace most of the way, then the last 20 minutes go fast to get back to my agreed rendezvous time at the car with Sharon back from her tour. Next trip to Ottawa, I'll allow more time to try for a wild north Gatineau loop, like Meech - Herridge - Lac Phillippe - McKinstry - Meech. Ken |
#9
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Keski 25k Classic. View from the back.
Again sorry to have missed you, Ken, and John and Sharon over the weekend.
I must say that after Pete's ominous sounding phrase, I feared that maybe you had forgotten your windbriefs, and that thawing experience was an agony which women cannot (and would not want to) share. It happened to me 42 years ago after an outdoor hockey game, and the memory is still vivid. Congratulations to all three of you on your races. As a paid-up member of RSN, my duty is to report on the 50 classic, as possibly no one else here did that one. (For those who find this kind of report tedious, there's nothing else below.) We got to Ottawa Thursday noon, so I did about 17K up around the Burma trail partly to GPS it (see an earlier report on that stuff), and also to remind myself just how bad that new second climb is. It seemed a lot worse then after climbing up from Camp Fortune than it did in the race. Late Friday afternoon I also did a 10K skate down near the CEGEP before picking up the race kit. Probably a bit too much for a 50 Sat., but it seems stupid to go all that way and not ski much. Had an enjoyable meeting with Pete Hickey, who I had only met briefly last year as he passed me in the skate 50K. We had perfect classic weather for the classic races. There was a brief snow blizzard for 10 or 15 minutes early in the race, with unhelpful wind, but I was in behind a very good skier doing just the speed I wanted. That was the beginning of a day that seemed to go very well for me, probably thwe second best 50 classic for me ever. I managed to avoid any senile moments in the hours before the race. I did alternate some short light layers of VF50 with my VF40, after testing a bit at 7:30, and my wax was just fine all day. Even Mont Bleu at the end (named after sacre bleu?) was fine for grip, just out of the track very briefly. Halfway between the first two feeds, I started to feel guilty and he was slowing down, so I pulled out and said it was time for me to break the wind, but the fellow referred to above didn't follow. After Penguin (on #1) I had another piece of good luck, catching a top female skier who knew how to carry her momentum into the uphills, so that was another 3 or 4 km of help. Everything seemed to be going very well the whole time, so, except for a period near the end on the parkway when I realized how slow my time would be, I really enjoyed it all. It just didn't seem that slow to me, following the track that the big boys had made, often out of the set track up high on the parkway sections. My only time waster had been fiddling with that GPS a couple of times, and a really silly fall on the level when I stepped out of the track into the 5cm of fresh snow and forgot there was a second set track under there which no one had used. So it seemed surprising at the time that I'd be well over 4 hours, but seeing all the big boys 30 minutes slower than usual later cheered me up. At just over 4:15, I was, in my age category, 5th, 3rd canuck, but only 75 seconds out of 3rd place. I can think of lots of ways I should have got that 75 seconds back, but I'm sure the guy in 3rd can think of lots of places where he could have saved time. Having the timing chips allows some amusing analysis (for former non-propeller-heads!) : e.g. he took 5 minutes out of me going up the hill in the first 25km or so, but I got almost 4 back over the second half. By looking at percentages of total time and comparing to known good skiers, it appears that he went out too fast and I went out too slow, by a couple of minutes over 2.5 hours in each case. I hope we're in the same wave next year. So it was a very enjoyable race for me, and I think core strength work and plenty of classic rollerskiing on Jay T.'s former rskis did a lot of good. Recovery seemed pretty fast for a 62 year old, so I'll likely do the 50 skate at Hardwood in 2 1/2 weeks, with shorter skate races the next two weekends. It's a relief that my shoulder has done so well, after messing it up a bit last year doing both 50's at Keskinada in the cold. I did skate around Sunday cheering you guys towards the end, but I hadn't memorized any bib numbers. Would have been the last 5K or so, me in a purple Waterloo Region Nordic vest, in case Ken or John remember. I wouldn't after 45 km on a cold day like that! Best, Peter |
#10
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Keski 25k Classic. View from the back.
Cool. After all these years, I've never known until now where Northwest
Passage was. Pretty impressive tour, Ken - especially after skating the 50K on Sunday. You people are crazier than I thought! Tim on 17/2/04 08:50, Eddy Rapid wrote: Nice report Ken. Looks like you didn't freeze off anything too serious and mainly had fun at a good pace. On your tour, did you go over the edge of Lusk lake and climb up to #1, and turn left for McKinstry? If so, you've done one of the nicest "back country" routes in the Gats (sometimes known as the "Northwest Passage".). Why not join us for the real Big Tour the weekend before the Keski? Parham. "Ken Roberts" wrote in message ... Yes all my parts made it thru the Keskinada Loppet 50K Free course on a pretty and very cold day Sunday. Pete Hickey wrote . . . most parts of Ken did well also. But I discovered afterward that my earlobes had "gained weight" -- swelling from frostbite -- very visible at dinner. Even a giant blister on my right earlobe, like a second-degree burn. They were "dripping" the next day or two, but now they seem on the path to recovery. The first half of the race was fun, the second half painful. Dinner on downtown Ottawa with Pete and John and Sharon and Qinghua was fun again. And the next day was perhaps even fun with a backcountry interconnect tour in northern Gatineau Park. All those scary weather reports had my over-dressed before the race, so I frantically took off clothing at the last second. Which led to me starting with the following wave -- which turned out to be a great idea. But also left me wearing a cap that kept riding up higher on my head. I had lots of fun out skiing in the sunshine with the others, letting people pass me on the first couple of long hills, but passing a few just after we came over the top. Seemed much hillier skating than I remembered from the Classic course two years ago. Got to a gentle climb, started to have a little too much fun using my V2 / 1-skate to pass someone. Then I heard the word "Penguin" -- whoops, I immediately slowed down even before I could see the steep hill. Fortunately the skiers in front of helping out by holding me back, so I survived the main Penguin climb. The sharp turn, and I remembered there was more, and glad I had saved my strength. Then before the top I pulled left and passed some people -- what was I thinking? I was thinking that Keskinada was an easy course, and that I had just about finished all the tough climbs. Some more pleasant rolling stuff. Then _another_ steep climb. Whose idea was this? People were behind me, so at first I tried to "prove" I could keep up my speed, but then I paused to rest for a bit (but the damage was already done). Up to some more rolling cruising that would have been fun if my legs were not burning. At last Fortune Parkway -- easy cruising now, right? Except that in the cold snow my skis weren't gliding well, even in the classic striding tracks, so it was work, and pain. And John passed me and sounded like he was doing OK, better than OK. It was so unfair. Then we merged with the 25K course. This was supposed to be fun for me, passing all these other skiers. But I was hurting -- and the 25K skaters who were slow enough for me to catch them now looked like they were thrashed (fried?) -- I felt sorry for them. (For all I know they were happy inside, but the 25K Classic striders I passed two years ago _looked_ happier, so I felt better passing the 25K-ers when I did the Classic race). I felt like I could barely more up the final Mont Bleu hill, but I came into the stadium with a strong V2 skate that might have fooled the spectators into thinking I still had lots of energy remaining. (maybe I did?) Next day to my surprise I was able to do another longer day of fun skiing in Gatineau Park. Sharon and I went up north to a different section, Lac Phillippe. Thanks to Pete's careful route advice, I was able to make a backcountry connection to the main network of groomed trails used in the race. I skied the from parking area P19 to the McKinstry cabin and the #1 trail that joins to Fortune Parkway (with the help of several skiers who broke trail on previous days of the weekend). Interesting pretty tour that had everything from fast skating on perfectly groomed roads (using my classic skis), to crossing backcountry lakes, to steep side-stepping climbs, and some improvisational backcountry downhills. And I did it with the strategy I should have used on race day: Just keep a fun pace most of the way, then the last 20 minutes go fast to get back to my agreed rendezvous time at the car with Sharon back from her tour. Next trip to Ottawa, I'll allow more time to try for a wild north Gatineau loop, like Meech - Herridge - Lac Phillippe - McKinstry - Meech. Ken |
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