Well, I had high hopes for the race this past weekend up in Whitefish, Montana. Made the drive with Dina, my wife, on Friday night. Freakin' cold Saturday morning. I could tell right away during the warm-up that I was fatigued. I don't know if it was a little less sleep or a little more training that week but I knew I was going to suffer a bit more.
The gun went off... Le Mans start, (fucking hate those!) and I actually got off the line in third. First was Brandon who eventually won the race, and second was a guy in Fritchi's, which is cheating, of course. Ben, Brandon's partner from Targhee and general bad-ass-lungs-with-legs kinda guy, struggled with the start. He's one of those genuflecting tele skiers when is not kicking our asses at rally races. He doesn't quite get Dynafit bindings yet. Anyway, he came cruising by me shortly enough and had the nerve to start talking to Brandon when he slotted in behind him. Bastard! Of course, I could not really hear what he was saying over my own ragged breathing.
Anyway, they slowly pulled away. Although I cannot say I felt horrible, I was definitely going slower and topped out on the first climb about a minute and a half back. Ben climbed the 2,100 feet in just over 29 minutes. The transition was a bit of a struggle with the heinous cold and wind but I got through in okay. You can check that out here:
The first downhill was a fast cat track to the real business, a steep, gnarly, refrozen bump and crud run that threatened to rip my skis from my feet. I stayed upright because a fall would have cheese-grated the suit right off my skinny ass! I was careful but felt strong and hit the run top to bottom without hesitating.
After getting the skins on, the next climb went back up similarly steep and mogulled terrain. The two leaders stomped the way so I just followed and kept them in sight above me. The next skins-on transition was at the same mountain top location as the first. Dina was there shooting some video again, looking like she was freezing her ass off. The temps for the stationary were brutally cold and we were all heavily rimed at the top.
The descent headed in the opposite direction and descended steep but slightly softer and more treed terrain. The run was shorter and I ended up down slope from the transition. I put my skins on and headed up to where the guy manning the spot was and it turns out that he was there to direct racers into the trees toward the booter.
It was more softish moguls before putting the skis on my back for the boot section. This was cool, going straight up a nice, firm couloir. The guys put it in the day before and only got about the front third of their boot in for the steps. I imagined that some of my non-climbing competitors might find the exposure a bit engaging. A slip would have sent you down on your hip for a ways. Ouch!
Anyway, it was back to the top for the third transition in the same spot and then down yet another aspect. It was sketchy, frozen bumps through glades to a never ending traverse around the mountain. It was pretty chill and I was able to drink my fill here. This ended with a short skin of about 500 feet to the top and then down to the finish. I missed a turn here some place finding me out on a wide open run when I knew I was supposed to be in some trees somewhere to my left. Fearing I would lose it all right there I slowed and looked uphill catching a glimpse of some course markers to my left. I cut hard and wormed my way horizontally through some tight dog hair trees and found the descent. It seemed a bit contrived right there but I did not lose much time and cruised in for third.
I was bummed not to be closer to the front but I was never really pushed from behind either. I may have given up a minute or two not knowing where I was going and following the two guys who set the course. I also had to laugh afterwards when Ben told me he was 28 years old, just like Brandon. Hell, the 20 years I have on them MUST cost me something, right? Just add that one to the list of excuses...er....reasons for sucking wind.
So, what are the other possibilities for underperformance? Well, let's see. I did not rest much for the event, which I did for Targhee. I did two weight workouts last week in addition to some good training days. I'm sure that my sleep must be more plentiful leading up to a race in order to come in rested and also to recover from each training bout leading up to it. I'll work on that. The other possibility is that my form was high and Ben's, for instance, was a little lacking two weeks ago. A few good training efforts since may have brought him right up and right by me!
In any case, I'm hopeful that the form will be better for the next regular event. I'll have to wait for that, of course, since the next race is the 24 Hours of Sunlight. That is a different beast all together. - Brian