Powderkeg Blow Up
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 at 11:34PM
PHOTO: Jay Beyer
The 2009 edition of the Wasatch Powderkeg is now in the books. It went down last Saturday under blue bird skies and heinous skiing conditions. The race, which almost didn't happen due to major sponsorship shake ups, was very well attended in its new incarnation. The course was slightly different but held on mostly familiar terrain as previous additions.
This was one of the races I thought I was keying on as it seems to have a special place in my heart. Not sure why, really, as I have only started it twice and finished it once. The first attempt (2007) ended in despair 10 minutes up the frozen double black diamond mogul field when I cracked, losing my psyche in frustration, pissed off at how stupid sending us up that obstacle was. I simply ripped my skins and headed down. It was one of the most humiliating experiences in my athletic career. I don't favor quitting anything but that was just ridiculous.
The next year (2008) I vowed to redeem myself and prepared by skinning up the bump runs at Snow King. Of course, once at Alta, the bumps were not included and the conditions were perfect. Lots of soft snow and blue skies. I ended up 7th but qualify that finish a bit as no one from Colorado showed up. Still, I felt like I was figuring the sport out and had a good time.
This year has proven to be significantly different in terms of both preparation and performance. I came into the season committed to performing better by focusing on endurance training and letting go of the gym-dominated, weight-intensive preparation of seasons past. I spent the second half of last summer racing and training on a road bike and dropped 10 lbs of lean body mass. The result was better uphill performance and more confidence going to the start line. I still can't get around the 20 years I have on several of my competitors but I feel like I have optimized my preparation.
Well, that is until the Powderkeg. You see, most endurance athletes are pathologically driven to train by fear of losing fitness. I certainly wanted to target the P-keg but was also looking beyond to the following weekend when Jackson hosts the National Ski Mountaineering Championships. That is my home race and I have hopes of a good showing there. Consequently, I did a bit too much volume in the week leading up to the P-keg and let my ego get the better of me during Thursday night's weekly hill climb event up Snow King. I should have gone easy but ran scared the whole way up and then spent the evening coughing up green shit. Seeing as how one of my "key races" was 30 hours later, I wasn't going to get any awards for prudent preparation for the event. Hitting the taper? Not so much.
So, I went to the line on Saturday hoping I had recovered but knowing that I might be in for it. The field was not deep with only a couple of heavy hitters there in the form of perenial favorite Chris Kroger and new-on-the-scene bad ass, Ben Parsons. I kinda figured the rest of us were racing for third.
The gun went off and we quickly shuffled into single file. Ben blasted off at a crazy pace dropping all of us for the time being. After a couple of minutes Kroger showed up at the front and Scott Coldiron was right there. I slotted into fourth with the three of us in lock step heading for the steep part of the first climb. Ben continued to rage up ahead. Scott has not been training for the full season and I thought he might blow at some point. My goal was to stay close. I was happy to be near Chris and I thought that perhaps my recovery was adequate. I lost touch by 15 seconds or so by the end of the first climb and came up to the transition with Scott just getting packed up to go. Chris had made his move earlier and had set off for Ben.
I transitioned well and got close to Scott as we dropped into the Gunsight Couloir. We were skiing it at about the same pace. The snow was good up high where little sun shines but further down things turned desperate with refrozen tracks. As I came over the final rise before dropping down onto the groomer that took us to the skins-on transition, Scott was suddenly just in front. It seems he crashed like I did and lost some ground. As he got out onto the groomer, he stood tall, coasting to the tranny. It seemed like an opportunity to me so I tucked hard and came right up on him at the transition. There was a sharp right off the groomer and onto the cat track that would take us up. I had scoped it out during warm up and knew I wanted speed going into it to carry me uphill as far as possible. My plan worked perfectly as I screamed by Scott, cornering hard and gaining 10 or 15 meters on him uphill. I had a very good transition and reclaimed my place ahead of him. I was psyched. This was going to be a good battle!
We skinned for 10 minutes or so and closed to the bottom of the booter. I was feeling pretty sluggish and Scott closed the gap and we came into the boot pack even. I got my skis on my back first (another good transition) and started up in front. Ben and Chris were long gone. I topped out just ahead of Scott and I got my skis on quickly. I started to head out when my ski fell off. To add insult to injury, the binder on the other ski had somehow turned to downhill mode and I stepped down, locking my heel in the process. So much for that lead!
The problem with boot packing is that the little holes in the toe that engage the Dynafit toe piece get filled with ice. Even when it looks like you are all hooked up and locked for touring, the interface can be compromised and out you come. So, I fumbled for what seemed like minutes and finally got going. I had lost only about 15 seconds. By now, Ben and Chris were well ahead having their own heated battle for the win.
My legs were now officially shit! I was empty. No juice! Nada! Scott was not really moving away but I was not going in for the kill either. The skiing was horrific with more refrozen death. I would see Scott at the transitions and then we would follow at the same distance. It went on like this 'til the end. At one point I turned around looking to see if I was being chased down but saw no one....thank God! This allowed me to resign myself for fourth and ski the final descent with care, trying not to blow something in my knees. Meanwhile, Ben had managed to move ahead of Chris and take the win by about a minute.
Lesson learned. Let's face it, I'm 47 now and recovery takes time. What was I thinking doing all those miles and intensity leading up to the event? Stupid. I finished off the weekend with a couple of nice road bike rides in the sun down in SLC. I vowed to actually rest this week. I don't want to feel that way again.
It's now Wednesday. I have been off my skis for 4 days. I rode for 3 hours on Sunday, took Monday off, rode my single speed for an hour and half yesterday and today with little pressure. Tomorrow I will ski and do a couple of "openers", harder intervals but short duration. I will do the same on Friday. I'm eating plenty and trying to get some good sleep. So far, this week looks entirely different from last week. Let's just hope my legs feel entirely better come Saturday morning. I'll let you know. - Brian
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Reader Comments (1)
Great report Brian, I love to get some insight to what other people feel during a race, especially if I was competing with them. I am amazed with how similar I felt during the race, I was particularly blown during the climb up Patsy Marley where I also had gear problems (skin failure). I really look forward to seeing you at the Village this weekend!