...The culmination of our skate skiing season with the Junior Nordic ski club. An afternoon of races for kids and adults alike. Races range from 1K to 15 K. It's a fun beach-themed shindig with lots of bathing suits, grass skirts, pink flamingos, colorful flower leis, food and warm Gatorade punch. This year it was a balmy 20° on race day but the sun was a-blazing and it felt much warmer. That solar heat, unique to Alaskan winters, on my face, eyes closed and upturned toward the sun, felt incredible.
But, is was more like Ski the BITCH, for me this time around. I wasn't planning on skiing the beach due this weird virus that I seem to have had for the past week and a half. A strange feeling of itchy pressure in my chest but no productive cough. I've also been on a roller coaster of fatigue... feeling quite tired at times and fairly energized others. It's been like a brewing cold that never quite hits- like my body has been battling it and trying to keep it at bay. Up until Sunday morning I was planning on not skiing it with Miles and Willa, or even leaving the house that day, because I just didn't feel like I had the energy for it. But the day was SO gorgeous and beckoning... And after all, this is the ONE ski race I participate in each year. All my time spent helping to coach Junior Nordic, and the personal time I spend training on the hills culminates in this one 7K race for me. So...my ego got the better of me. I threw on my gear at the last minute, had a bowl of oatmeal and decided I was going to go for it. The Facebook invite for Ski the Beach said it started at 12 but they failed to mention that the set up started at 12. The actual race didn't start until two, so we found ourselves with two hours to spare but not wanting to go back home. We decided to head over to the Eagle River Alehouse for a light protein filled lunch. Miles and I split some spicy wings and Willa had her standard grilled cheese and fries.
Back at the ski chalet a little while later we picked out our Hawaiian leis, registered for the race, and hung out with some friends until race time. Miles and I got in line with the 7K racers with Willa behind in the 3K section with her buddies from junior Nordic. The 15 K racers started a couple of minutes before us. When it was our turn, I patted Mile's arm and bid him a good race. I had the usual excitement at the beginning, polling hard in the tracks until they opened up and I could start to get a good skate on, passing the slower people and trying to catch up with the faster. Fresh corduroy tracks laid and crisp wind in my face! YES!
10 minutes later I thought, "What in the HELL was I thinking?!?!". That window of energy on the rollercoaster I had been riding slammed SHUT. I felt devoid of strength, the muscles in my legs suddenly rubbery. But it's not like I was dying or anything so I plugged on. MAN, it was grueling. Really brutal . Looking back I realize that there's a lot of the race that I really don't remember! I guess it's kind of like those marathon or ultramarathon runners who, towards the end of the race, start really zoning out, if not hallucinating. While I certainly wasn't hallucinating, I felt that I had transported to the end of the marathon within only a few minutes of starting that ski race. The second half of the race went a little easier than the first because I was skiing on terrain that I'm very familiar with. I know what's around every bend, and I know if I put a lot of power getting up some of those upcoming grueling hills I'm rewarded with a nice fast downhill glide to restore my breath. While I've really improved with my skate skiing uphill this season, the one thing I've noticed is that while I can ski up the hills quite quickly and even with a little bit of grace, I have to stop at the top because my heart is just pounding, my lungs are in overdrive. Just for a bit, mind you, and then I ride that welcome downhill as far as I can until I reach the next hill. I've also really embraced speed this year both with skate skiing and downhill skiing. When skate skiing on the steeper hills, I used a snowplow a little bit and drag my poles to slow down the descent. This year something just... changed. Nothing forced...just a shift in perception, I guess.My skis are straight, I tuck down, poles close in and out behind me and I'm flying down that hill with no fear.
Back when I was still duck-walking hills there was no need to stop at the top as it really didn't take my breath away so much. But this year it's a different story with the power I'm putting into my form going up hill. DANG, it's workout! It really affected my race in that if I wanted to keep continuously skiing without stopping I had to revert back to duck walking up the hills and, yes, it made me feel like a rookie. There were a few top-of-the-hill pauses where I would look back to see who was behind me. I could often see Miles in the distance and more than a few times I thought I should just stop for a couple of minutes, catch my breath, let him catch up and just finished the race together. But I decided to keep pushing despite how horrible I felt- something I would kind of look down on before I started entering races. Where have you been all my life, Competitive Streak?! Where did you come from? And why did I let you compel me to do something potentially harmful to my body!?! Well, at least I didn't DNF. I came in just under two minutes slower than last years time which had had me bummed out but then again, I was SICK. I was 4th out of 7 women. As I slid through the finish line looking forward to my post race cool-down which usually consists of just walking or slowly skiing a lap, I was immediately halted by some woman who desperately wanted my race bib right NOW. We wrestled together for a minute trying to pry off that kooky, tight fitting, belly shirt from the 80's lookin' thing and once I was liberated Willa burst out of the Chalet to give me a big hug, report on her race, and as fast as she had appeared, she DISappeared. Willa really rocked her 3K, coming in 8th out of 23 kids. She was so proud of herself! We are too!
I immediately went from feeling horrible to miserable. My chest and throat felt like sandpaper and my limbs and core were quite shaky with exhaustion. The warm Gatorade was welcome, indeed. We went home to very lazy burger-and-mac dinner in front of Terminator 2.
Am I glad I did this race? Yeah. As long as it doesn't turn into walking pneumonia or something... 2 days later and my cough is only a little more productive...still tired. Will I race again while feeling sick like this? Jeezus Fuck, NO!
Junior Nordic may be coming to a close but the season's not over yet. There's still a lot of skiing to be done and hopefully we'll get more snow. My goal is to continue working on endurance- trying to ski up those hills without having to stop and gasp at the top. To be able to get through that 7K route without stopping.
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| Miles at the finish |
