RB and I had a great ten mile hike on a beautiful spring day. The roar you hear in the background is snowmelt in Thomas Creek. This was one of the first warm days of spring and we were lucky enough to be out enjoying it!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Ski Season Coming to a Close
(click any photo to enlarge) Today was the Mammoth Marathon Ski Race at Tamarack Lodge in Mammoth Lakes. This is the traditional 'last race of the season' for the Far West Region. I have never done any racing after the Gold Rush which is the last Sunday in March. This year I had to take the month of February off so I wasn't burnt out on skiing by the time the 42km Marathon came around on the first Sunday in April. After coming back slowly to training in early March, I was starting to ski well by the end of the month. I entered the Silver Rush which is a shorter (30km) version of the Gold Rush (50km). Race day brought fresh snow and a brutal Sierra storm with high winds. Not the best conditions for a skate race. Two feet of snow fell the night before and it was still snowing when we arrived at 7:00am.
At that point I was happy I signed up for the shorter race! I managed to complete the two 15km loops in an amazingly slow time of 2:07! I was 8th Overall and 3rd in my age group. Nothing great but I was happy to finish. After the Silver Rush I continued to ski hard and enjoyed the great spring conditions that the Sierras are known for. I was averaging about 120km per week. Thats not alot for real nordic racers, but for me its a good amount of skiing. So yesterday I drove down to Mammoth and arrived around 12:00 noon. I drove straight to the nordic center and got dressed to go for a quick ski to loosen the legs up. By the time I got out on the trails, it was pretty sloppy. The course was hilly and confusing with all the loops and turns. Since I have never done this race, or skiied on the trails at Tamarack, I got lost easily. After skiing for about an hour and a half I went back down to the parking lot thinking that I had waxed too cold for the warm spring conditions I had encountered. Luckily Roger Chaney was there. Roger is the Rossignol Nordic Rep and the Toko Wax/Clothing Rep. He grabbed the skis I was going to race on the next day and started waxing. Talk about spoiled! I didn't have to do anything. Roger offered to stay and feed me the next day and I was glad to have the company. So I contacted my friends Kurt and Stacy that own the Alpenhof Lodge and booked Roger and I a room. Kurt also made us reservations in their restaurant for dinner. We had a great dinner and some great wine at Petra's, which is the wine bar/restaurant that is attached to the Alpenhof Lodge. We both were out by 10:00pm.
The alarm went off at 5:45am and we went to breakfast so I could digest before my 9:00am start time. I was a little spooked about the course as I had a hard time the day before. Not only with the navigational issues, but also the course's lowest point was 8900 ft. I usually do pretty well at altitude but I really didn't know how I was going to feel. It was cold when I was warming up, and at the 9:00am start it was only 16 degrees. My chilled body warmed up very quickly as the first 3km are uphill. On the first loop of three a group of about 10 of us pulled away from the rest of he field. I managed to stay with this group until the start of the third and final lap. In the feed zone, I got gapped off a little and chased hard to regain the lead group. I reeled them in and tried to relax and recover. I lasted about 1km more before I blew. Slowly the group pulled away from me. I just couldn't do anything about it. I managed to hang on and no one caught me from behind.
I ended up 8th overall and 1st in my age group. I finished the 42km in 2:00! Compare that with my Silver Rush 30km time of 2:07. The conditions were cold and fast in Mammoth, just the way I like 'em. I had very fast skis thanks to Roger. The drive home was uneventful and much shorter than the 4 1/2 hour slog home from Cross races in the Bay Area. I did have to stop in Bridgeport and take the obligatory Sawtooth Range photo.
I'm sad to see ski season go away just when I was starting to ski well. I still have another 3 months to wait for backpacking so it looks like the bike will get some attention. Cheers.
At that point I was happy I signed up for the shorter race! I managed to complete the two 15km loops in an amazingly slow time of 2:07! I was 8th Overall and 3rd in my age group. Nothing great but I was happy to finish. After the Silver Rush I continued to ski hard and enjoyed the great spring conditions that the Sierras are known for. I was averaging about 120km per week. Thats not alot for real nordic racers, but for me its a good amount of skiing. So yesterday I drove down to Mammoth and arrived around 12:00 noon. I drove straight to the nordic center and got dressed to go for a quick ski to loosen the legs up. By the time I got out on the trails, it was pretty sloppy. The course was hilly and confusing with all the loops and turns. Since I have never done this race, or skiied on the trails at Tamarack, I got lost easily. After skiing for about an hour and a half I went back down to the parking lot thinking that I had waxed too cold for the warm spring conditions I had encountered. Luckily Roger Chaney was there. Roger is the Rossignol Nordic Rep and the Toko Wax/Clothing Rep. He grabbed the skis I was going to race on the next day and started waxing. Talk about spoiled! I didn't have to do anything. Roger offered to stay and feed me the next day and I was glad to have the company. So I contacted my friends Kurt and Stacy that own the Alpenhof Lodge and booked Roger and I a room. Kurt also made us reservations in their restaurant for dinner. We had a great dinner and some great wine at Petra's, which is the wine bar/restaurant that is attached to the Alpenhof Lodge. We both were out by 10:00pm.
The alarm went off at 5:45am and we went to breakfast so I could digest before my 9:00am start time. I was a little spooked about the course as I had a hard time the day before. Not only with the navigational issues, but also the course's lowest point was 8900 ft. I usually do pretty well at altitude but I really didn't know how I was going to feel. It was cold when I was warming up, and at the 9:00am start it was only 16 degrees. My chilled body warmed up very quickly as the first 3km are uphill. On the first loop of three a group of about 10 of us pulled away from the rest of he field. I managed to stay with this group until the start of the third and final lap. In the feed zone, I got gapped off a little and chased hard to regain the lead group. I reeled them in and tried to relax and recover. I lasted about 1km more before I blew. Slowly the group pulled away from me. I just couldn't do anything about it. I managed to hang on and no one caught me from behind.
I ended up 8th overall and 1st in my age group. I finished the 42km in 2:00! Compare that with my Silver Rush 30km time of 2:07. The conditions were cold and fast in Mammoth, just the way I like 'em. I had very fast skis thanks to Roger. The drive home was uneventful and much shorter than the 4 1/2 hour slog home from Cross races in the Bay Area. I did have to stop in Bridgeport and take the obligatory Sawtooth Range photo.
I'm sad to see ski season go away just when I was starting to ski well. I still have another 3 months to wait for backpacking so it looks like the bike will get some attention. Cheers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)