Skinnyski Race Team Weekend Recap
By Bruce Adelsman
January 6, 2003
There was a bit of a break since the last report, but the
team has continued to be very active. Last year the team hosted
a short-notice race called the Ridgenator up at Giants Ridge.
The event was run as a duathlon (classical then skate) and
was a lot of fun. In fact, the Nelson's readily offered to
organize the event again this season. In addition, Ben Popp
and Per Nelson wanted to help restore some of the Twin Cities
race calendar and jumped in to organize a new event, the Pre-Loppet
for New Year's Day. The event was originally scheduled to
run at Theodore Wirth and use the initial 5K of the City of
Lakes Loppet course, but a final week meltdown ruined the
course. So they took the show on the road and pulled off a
great event on perfect conditions at Troll Hollow. The Ridgenator
went off two days later, under some cold temps but with another
strong turnout.
Along the way, much of the team has managed to squeeze in
some actual racing. Ben Popp, Margie and Per Nelson all competed
in the highly competitive Winter Solstice (with Ben shrugging
off a head cold) back on December 20th. Per Nelson raced in
the December 31st Classic Hiihto at Troll Hollow (and 24 hours
later was working the registration for the Pre-Loppet). Maria
Stewart competed in the inaugural New Year's Day Pre-Loppet,
then just a few days later learned about the hills of the
Blue Hills Ascent. John Munger got in his first race of the
season, competing in Blue Hills Ascent again this season.
And the entire Nelson division competed in their own Ridgenator
event, along with Ben Popp.
Whew! Thanks to the team for working so well together to
host two events in three days and still finding time to race
as well!
Race Team Results
Dec 20 Winter Solstice 15K Duathlon
Margie Nelson 9th female 0:25:52
Ben Popp 8th male 0:21:12
Per Nelson 20th male 0:23:30
Dec 31 Classic Hiihto 10K Classic
Per Nelson 3rd in class 0:21:36
Jan 1 Pre-Loppet 10K Freestyle
Maria Stewart 5th female 0:21:49
Jan 3 Ridgenator 15K Duathlon
Josie Nelson 2nd female 0:53:06
Margie Nelson 3rd female 0:57:06
Grant Nelson 1st male 0:45:16
Ben Popp 2nd male 0:46:27
Dave Nelson 3rd male 0:46:42
Per Nelson 6th male 0:51:00
Jan 4 Blue Hills Ascent
Maria Stewart 3rd female 0:40:40
John Munger 5th male 0:34:49
Team Member Reports
Weekend Report from Grant Nelson
Everything seemed to be going perfect for the 2nd annual
Ridgenator double pursuit race at Giant's Ridge. The flags
were up, the course was in great shape and the weather was
mild.. However, when I read the weather forecast for saturday
morning, I was shocked. Up to 38 mph wind was predicted,
possible snow up to 3" with a race start temp of 6F
and a wind chill of -20F. I guess I wasn't all that shocked,
because after all Minnesota weather is anything but predictable.
I was sure glad I packed my balaclava. As we lamented over
the poor forecast we started to wonder if anyone would actually
show. Only three people had actually preregistered, but
even they didn't have any reason to actually show up.
If the temps were a little lower we could have just
canceled it and we figured no one would have even been too
dissapointed. As my brother Dave and I waxed our skis on
the deck at our cabin, it felt really weird to be using
our favorite cold weather wax, Fast Wax extreme white, on
such a mild evening. It was 31F and it actually started
to rain during our waxing. We liked the sizzling sound the
wet base made when it hit the iron, but it did make us wonder
how accurate the weather forecast actually was. At midnight,
I woke up to the sound of a fierce wind outside our cabin
and then I knew the Ridgenator would be a chilly one.
The temperature was below zero when we awoke with a
strong wind. We all had a hardy bowl of oatmeal and headed
to the ridge. I certainly wasn't expecting many skiers to
show up. To my surprise we had a great turnout. We even
had a number of hardy high school skiers from Park Center
(in the Twin Cities) ski the full race.
After a significant amount of time panic kick waxing,
I felt I had something that should work good. The small
amount of rain Friday night put a light glaze over everything
which made for some very fast conditions despite the cold
temps. Kick waxing was a little tricky because the snow
was extremely abrasive. I ended up ironing some Swix binder
and then corked some Toko blue and turquoise over the top.
(The only reason I didn't use the Toko green binder is because
I left it at home and I figured the Swix is just as good)
I didn't even test them out for fear of ripping off the
wax. John Filander helped with the race countdown and we
were off.
Grant striding out
(Photo: Julie Reddan) |
I tend to start fairly hard, especially on classic races,
so I led the train up the first hill and into the woods.
As I entered the woods, I was breathing hard, my muscles
were fatigued, and my cheeks and nose were really cold.
I was only 1km into the race but I was already questioning
weather I had started too hard. Fellow skinnyskier, Ben
Popp, was right on me heels.
Even though I really wanted to let up, I decided to
work on trying to relax while still pushing a good pace
up the Cedar. About half way up the 3km climb, Ben eased
up and I started skiing on my own. With the help of good
kick and glide, I made my way through the upper Gold section
and then down the blazing fast descent into the stadium
for the transition. I had my skate skis waiting for me,
and I quickly switched skis, but used the same classic boots
and poles. As I left the stadium to ski the Silver, I saw
Ben and Dave finishing the classic leg and I felt that deja
vu feeling. Last year, I was in the same position. I had
a lead going into the skate, but I let it go. I ended up
barely holding onto 3rd place. Even though I was in the
lead, I was actually expecting Ben to blow by me the same
place I was passed last year by Brian May. I was mainly
hoping to hold off my brother, Dave, who has a history of
catching me in the second half of races.
As with the classic leg, my skis were running fast and
I didn't feel that lactic acid feeling I often feel in skate
races. Rather than pounding up the triple threat, I tried
to relax. It wasn't until I was well over half way done
with the skate leg that I realized that I might actually
be able to win. I was still feeling good and there wasn't
anyone in sight. With 1km to go, I jump skated up "coaches
hill" in the lead, like I've always dreamed of doing.
As I skied through the golf course, the strong northwest
wind made skating almost feel effortless all the way to
the finish line. As I crossed the finish line, I felt that
good satisfied tired feeling. JoAnne Hanowski powered an
impressive skate leg to win the women's race.
Dave, Grant and Ben at the finish of the Ridgenator
(Photo: Julie Reddan) |
As the racers came in, I noticed lots of smiles and
everyone seemed to have had a good time. As with any good
race, there was great social opportunities with old friends
and I met a number of new ones. Josie and the rest of the
skinnyski team had an impressive spread of prizes (mainly
delicious baked goods) laid out for the awards ceremony.
Proceeds from the race will be donated to the MYSL (Minnesota
Youth Ski League) in Virginia.
Thanks to all who made the 2nd annual Ridgenator a great
success!
Weekend Report from Maria Stewart
Unlike many of Skinnyski.com teammates, I headed east
this weekend to the Blue Hills Ascent, near Bruce, Wisconsin.
This was not only my second race of the season, but also
my second race in four days. I really didn't know what to
expect. The Blue Hills Ascent was held at the beautiful
Blue Hills ski trails. As I was approaching the race site,
the ground barely had enough snow to cover it. I couldn't
imagine that I was going to race somewhere near by. Then
as I turned on to the icy Fire Lane Rd, snow appeared in
the woods and my faith was restored.
The race organizers at Blue Hills did a fantastic job
of turning a glacier into something skiable. The uphills
and a few downhills were too icy to edge, but the majority
of the course had a nice layer of corn snow on top of the
ice sheet. I started the race in wave five with ten or so
other competitors. Dave Christopherson of St. Paul set out
to catch wave four and I tried to follow, but I lost him
after a few k. I never really thought much about the "Ascent"
part of the name Blue Hills Ascent. The first 5k or so showed
me otherwise, lots of long climbs. V2 was my technique of
the day. The hills were icy so I tried to edge as little
as possible to keep from slipping. I used a lot more upper
body strength when I was skating than usual.
I slowly worked my way through skiers from earlier waves.
Despite the cold temperature, my skis felt fast on the icy
course. About half way through the race I approached the
first of two big downhills with corners at the bottom. Signs
stating "Caution, Steep Hill, Sharp Curve" warned
me as I started my decent. I made it through without a problem.
Several k's later I approached a similar hill. A volunteer
cautioned me that the second corner was worse than the first.
I was feeling overly confident and took the second corner
with too much speed. I couldn't snowplow down the hill and
turn the corner at the same time, so I had slide down on
my backside. Luckily, I got back on my feet quickly and
finished that last few kilometers strong.
Because of the wave start, I didn't know how my other
competitors finished until the results were posted. Of the
thirteen women finishers, Kim Rudd of Golden Valley led
the women's race by thirty seconds. Sarah Morse, skiing
for Rossignol, finished second, and I rounded out the top
three. The men's race boasted 106 finishers with Matt Liebsch
of Maple Grove barely edging out Dale Niggeman of Wisconsin
Rapids, WI for the win. Scott Chapin of Hayward, WI was
third, only three seconds behind the top finishers. John
Munger, a fellow Skinnyskier, skied well with a fifth place
finish.
The Blue Hills Ascent was a great way to spend my Sunday,
and I want to give a special thanks to all the volunteers
and the groomers who made the race possible. I'll be back
next year!
Maria racing at the Pre-Loppet on January
1st |
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