The Noquemanon

Sorry I haven't gotten around to writing about the Noque yet but I didn't have internet access in Marquette and I've been tired since I got home.

Anyway, there was snow in Marquette . . . although not as much as usual. Here is a picture of the Nordic Bay Lodge where Dave and I stayed. There's snow but not the 8 foot + piles of snow you expect from that far up in the UP.

However, any snow seems exciting when you're from the snowless hell that is southern Wisconsin so I wasn't complaining.

The funny thing about the Noque is that if you do the 26k race you start very late in the day - 12:40pm for the 2nd wave of the freestyle 26k. I'm not a morning person so that suits me pretty well but I had to keep checking my watch to make sure I really didn't need to leave as almost everyone at the lodge was doing the longer race and so the parking lot was empty by the time I headed out to catch the bus to the start.

Anyway 12:4opm finally roles around and I'm standing in the pack of skiers waiting for the start and I have to admit that I was a little stressed. I remembered how much I do not enjoy the start of ski races. Sure bike races are bad but at least there aren't sharp pointy things flying around. You are supposed to double pole a certain distance in the start but that doesn't make the poles that much less hazardous. Not to mention that I'm starting in the wave of skiers that are less experienced so we're all just barely in control as it is.

The Noque starts with a downhill section which is quite unfortunate. Imagine it if you will . . . . a bunch of inexperienced skiers on a narrow trail all trying to go downhill. I'll admit it, I was scared. The downhills were all scraped into these narrow luge runs from all the people snowplowing down them in the starts earlier in the day. You basically pointed yourself down the hill and tried to ride your skis down the channel that existed. If your skis wandered off that path then it would be certain disaster.

At one point I was headed down one of the slightly wider downhills that had two luge runs and the guy in the path next to me went down hard. From just behind me I heard this huge THUMP. That did not inspire my confidence at all.

Early in the race before we spread out I was actually getting exhausted from going down the scary downhills. At about 10k into the race I swore that if I just made it to the finish I would never do another ski race again. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what had made me sign up for this event. Pure insanity I thought.

The uphills were another matter altogether. In the beginning of the race the trails are only wide enough for one bad skier to ski up at a time. However, many people at my ability level don't actually know how to ski up or are not that good yet so it turns into more of a ski walk. I seemed to have really fast wax compared to some people to so I kept running up almost on top of them. (Helx . . . yes, you can buy speed).

Finally the race spread out and you were able to ski without worrying so much about the people all around you. I finally stopped hating skiing and started thinking about my 2 hour goal. I took a peak at my watch and actually had the mental faculties to calculate that I was still on pace to make that. I realized that in some sections I was actually faster than the people around me. On one very slightly downhill section I was actually gliding along feeling fast. It was awesome.

On one long uphill section Peter Berbee who was ski patrolling caught up to me. Peter used to be very involved with Madison cyclocross promotion. He asked me if I didn't think this was a whole lot easier than cyclocross. I told him "no way, cross is much easier." He should have asked me that on a nice fast, flat section!

At one point we crested up to a nice overlook to Lake Michigan. I was by myself so I slowed down a little and took it all in and was thinking that skiing sure was cool. Another check of the watch showed I was still on track for my 2 hour goal.

After the last aid station you plunge down to a road and it is a tricky little descent. I saw two guys from the long race who had both gone down and were picking themselves out of the snow banks at the side of the trail. Then you have to pay attention as the trail takes a sharp turn back into the woods. One person actually skied right by the turn and I had to yell out at them to come back.

Before too long you get to a stretch with some lakes you ski across. Luckily it hasn't been quite as warm in the UP so they were still frozen solid. One of the descents down to a lake has a sign before it that says "extreme caution downhill." Several downhills say "caution" but "extreme caution" sounded pretty ominous. As I skied up to the start of the downhill I could see about 6 guys with their skis off walking and two people standing at the top of the downhill contemplating what to do.

One thing I learned from years of mountain biking is that hesitation will kill you. I knew that if I didn't just go right away that I would be totally psyched out. So I went for it . . . I started down the hill and I was using my most wicked snowplowing technique and trying to ride the one ski on the edge of the snow that was created by everyone else who had snowplowed down the hill. This was by far the trickiest of the descents as it was steep and there was a turn you had to negotiate. About mid-hill I wobbled a bit but kept it upright and then suddenly you're around the turn and you can just tuck and ride some speed out onto the lake. Scary, sure but it is a very cool feeling to ski down something that a bunch of guys are walking.

After that you're starting to see markers saying 8k, 7k and you know you're going to make it. However, I was starting to feel tired and by 5k I was really tired. The last few kilometers are through town which is pretty cool. Unfortunately the last 1k is more like 1 mile.

You can see the Dome that you finish at off in the distance but you can't seem to get any closer. With 3k to go my competitive drive kicked in a little. I was skiing behind a woman and I thought she might be the same age as me so when she made room for a guy to go by her I snuck by as well. However, I could hear someone right on me and I feared that my passing her had given her just enough motivation to pick it up a notch.

I tried to keep pace but with 1.5k to go I realized that I just didn't have the legs. I got passed but it wasn't her. It was a different woman that I had been going back and forth with all day. I decided I would just have to let her go but I could tell she was older than me so I decided not to care. As I mentioned the last 1k goes on forever and because of the warm temps this year the snow in this section was less than ideal. It was a thin layer of snow over wood chips which makes for slow going. My legs were dead and I just wanted it all to end. I felt like I might never make it to the finish line. I mixed in some double poling in the worst sections with my V1 to try and make it.

After what seemed like a lifetime I finally could see the finish banners. They looked so good to my ailing legs and arms. I tried to make a semi-decent finish and look somewhat skilled. I avoided falling at least (unlike at the Kortie 2 years ago when I fell right before the finish).

I looked at the clock and was elated to see that I finished in 2:04. I couldn't believe that I'd done it. Two years ago I did the Kortie in 2:42 and the Great Bear Chase in 2:18 so this was a good day for me. I was dead tired though and it felt really good to just sit down.

After chilling for a bit, snacking and then finally changing I checked the results to confirm my finish time. I was correct in the 2:04 but unbelievably enough I had pulled off 2nd in my age group. I knew that might be possible as very few women 35-39 do any ski races beyond the Birkie/Kortie so I was psyched. The best part was that someone was listed in 3rd place as well so I actually beat someone . . . and I finished only 35 seconds out of 1st place.

This is the totally cool bell that I won for my 2nd place. That should come in handy at cross races next year.

So what's next? I think I'll skip the Badger State Games races to work on my technique and fitness and maybe head to Minocqua. Then the Prebirkie and then the Kortie and after that the Great Bear Chase. After all that I guess I will start thinking about riding my bike.

Snow, snow, snow. If only we could get some snow.

Oh yeah, and I guess the race went pretty well given that I watched from the sidelines on crutches last year. I'm actually pretty psyched that I am skiing better than 2 years ago even with the time away from the sport last year. Sure I have a long ways to go but I'm working on it.

Waxing

Finally the long awaited Toko wax recommendation is online for the Noque. It's not that I wouldn't know that I should put on the Dibloc LF Moly and the HF Red but I like to actually have the recommendation to read. I know they will tell me to use the very spendy Helx and since I own it I like to consider whether the event is worthy of the expense. For sure the Noque is worthy of it for Dave but I'm not sure for myself yet. I like to read what structure the skis will need on race day. I like to know that the snow will be "new windblown snow to slightly transformed." I think I could enjoy becoming a wax tech for my next career. Maybe an internship in Norway! I look forward to spending my evening waxing, brushing and scraping while jamming out to hard rocking music. Yes, I will be in the basement waxing my skis and Dave's skis all the while I will see my cross bike as of yet still disassembled from the trip back from Providence.

Speaking of Toko wax . . . did you see the front of the WCA webpage and their Guess the Rider competition? I took the photo so I do know who that is but I'll give you a tip in case you don't . . . he's a really fast cross racer but doesn't do the A race normally. I actually didn't know he was a wax tech until the Capitol Square Sprints. My friend Erik who is also a Toko wax tech was introducing me to his co-waxers and the guy in the photo said that he knew me from cross. I had to do a double take as I didn't recognize him off the bike, out of the jersey and decked out in the Toko garb. It's funny how you need a bike or a jersey to recognize people you meet at the races. Put them in a different context and it can totally throw you off.

Night Out

Pasqual's Half-Price Margarita night . . . . a truly good thing. I'm not a wine connoisseur and I only like "girly" beers but a margarita made with a high quality tequila is quite another matter.

The culmination of a season . . .

Here are 5 of the top 6 finishers in the Wisconsin Cyclocross Series for the A Women. And as you can see I am one of those gals along with 3 National Champions (way to go Wisconsin gals!).

I came by my 4th place in the series the hard way - dogged determination. I wasn't the fastest woman but I never gave up and in the end that made the difference.

In 2004 I set a couple of goals for myself - move up and start racing the A races and get at least one UCI point. As you know that never happened as I tore my ACL before the season started. For 2005 I decided to stick with those goals as I still wanted to accomplish those items and figured that I shouldn't let a thing like knee surgery make me give up on those goals.

Now of course I wish I could have done better this last season but I did meet both of my 2004 goals. I raced 15 races as an A racer and I got 12 UCI points. I might have gotten my butt kicked by lots of other women this season but I went out and raced, raced, raced. Plus I had a whole lot of fun and in the end that is why I have to put 2005 down as a succesful season.

Not sure I can top all that in 2006 but I sure will try!

What a weekend!

This last weekend was a crazed whirl of activity.

Friday:
I had the day off from work as I planned to head north and get in some skiing. However, before leaving we had to finish getting the CX videos ready to play at the banquet. We weren't sure what technology would be available so we got it ready to play both from the laptop and from the video camera. That seems like such a simple task but actually takes a bit of time. We also had to finish packing, buy groceries, and wax the skis. Waxing is tricky as you never really know the temps but I did a mix of Swix 7 and 8. Swix doesn't recommend mixing but I was feeling crazy so I did it anyway. (I think I'm going to switch over completely to Toko wax though as I know so many Toko wax reps and I should support them). We had 3 pair of skis to wax - my skate, Dave's skate and Dave's classic so it did take a bit of time.

We did finally get on the road and we left town before the storm hit so we had easy driving. We got to Winter Park in time to do some night skiing as the base loop is lit. We did a little over 10k before heading to the cabin we rented for good friends, good food, good wine and good times.

Saturday:
Saturday was all about the skiing. In the morning I headed out with a posse of friends (Dave, Dirk, Sam, Pam, Troy and Cricket). It's been a long time since I've skied with that many people but I was able to mostly keep up which is a change of pace for me.

In the afternoon I splurged and took a private one-hour ski lesson with Dan at Winter Park who is a great instructor. The funny part was having so many people who know me ski by and tell Dan what I needed to work on during the lesson. However, with an hour we were able to cover most topics. I did have a huge break through! I have never been able to V1 on the left side as I'm very right side dominant but Dan found a way to break it all down for me and get me going. I'm also very close to having a V2 but I'm still not able to put it together for longer than like 30 seconds. Soon though!

I also worked a lot on keeping my upper body quiet and facing forward down the trail. I have a bit of a tendency especially on hills to let my body follow my poles. That is a bad habit I need to squelch immediately. I also worked on keeping my hips forward and not doing the typical biker move and letting my butt sink back. The lesson was money well spent as I think I took a nice leap forward in my ski technique.

Sunday:
We didn't have a lot of time to ski but we got out for just over an hour. I skied my old fave trails - Silver Strider, Nepco's Cruiser, Sleigh Ride - and worked on the stuff I learned on Saturday. The left side V1 doesn't feel totally natural yet but I made myself ski most of the time I was out using the left side and was able to do the small hills that way. I still have a tendency to switch over to the right but I'm getting there.

By 1pm we were on the road home which was cutting it close to get to Delafield by 5pm. However, we made it by 5:10pm which was very respectable. A really nice crowd was in attendance this year which was awesome! I was really tired so I didn't circulate as much as I should have so I hope no one thought I was stuck up. I was just exhausted and once I sat down I had a hard time motivating to get up.

The MadCross videos were well received though. I felt bad that I didn't have as much footage as in the past but I lost some of the tapes. I looked everywhere but couldn't find them. The B Men and B Women really got the shaft as I only had like 2 minutes of footage total. I really liked my video from Nationals though. It really showed the course and gave everyone a feel for what Patti, Katie and Sam had to contend with to win their respective National Championships. Those girls (women) totally rock! Actually I think everyone who does the WCA series really rocks as we have an awesome series and it was cool to relive the season.

It made me excited for next season! Although being so wrapped up in ski racing makes cross racing seem somewhat unreal but I guess everyone but me is out riding their bikes. I'm off to Marquette, MI to do the Noquemanon ski race this Saturday. I haven't done this one before but the profile is sweet as it loses more elevation than it gains. I was there last year on crutches cheering on the local skiers and everyone seemed to love the race so I thought I should do it. Plus you get a really sweet hat for doing the race which is reason enough for me!

Help Wanted???

Okay, so I normally stay away from any work related posts as I believe that blogging about your job is a recipe for disaster. However, I think it is fair to post that I'm looking for a new job. I am horrible at job networking so I decided the next best thing is to just announce to the world that I'm looking on my blog.

For those of you who don't know I currently manage the University's alternative transportation program. Prior to that I was the University's Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator. I've also worked as the Outreach/Promotions Coordinator at REI. I've been an organizer at a labor union and the crisis line manager for a domestic abuse program. I also have extensive event promotion experience.

I've seen lots of great jobs that I would be well qualified for in places like Colorado, Idaho, California and Washington. For awhile I was leaning towards moving away but I have to admit that I would prefer to stay in Madison. I have lots of friends here and I enjoy my involvement in the bike and ski scene. I do actually like the idea of going somewhere new and totally recreating myself and my life but in the end I just love the Madison lifestyle. Besides if I left where would I find someone to take over MadCross.org????

If you know of any job openings at cool places let me know. I would hate to leave government work as I've finally worked my way up to 4 weeks of vacation but if the job was cool enough I'd be willing to get by on less (that would suck though but I could do it).

Now those of you who know me well are probably wondering if I'm really serious this time about getting a new job. The answer is YES! This time I am actually going to find some time to do this. I know that I usually get distracted by racing, training, blogging, website updates, photo editing and video making. However, the time has finally come to depart my current workplace and do something else with my life. I know that I've had lots of crazy schemes such as go back to school, start a shoe store, win the lottery (okay, so what if I don't even buy tickets), and probably a zillion other ideas. However, before I get wrapped up in the bike season again I need to devote some time to the job hunt and get this issue taken care of so it isn't always hanging over my head.

Feel free to post suggestions on what you think I should do next for a job.

Weekend Recap

This weekend was the Capitol Square Sprints here in Madison. I took photos on Saturday and on Sunday of the racing action. Between shooting, processing and uploading the photos that took up almost all my time. I think I have a few of the 300 or so that I actually think are pretty good and that I will be putting in my photo portfolio that I'm hoping to find time to compile. My old photo portoflio is from my undergrad days and is all black and white prints and so is looking a bit "old school."

I did find time to sneak away to the Bike Swap for a little bit. I didn't buy anything but I did do lots of socializing. I always look at the Swap as spending $5 to make socializing with bike friends easy and convenient. As you would imagine I spent most of my time at the swap talking about cross - this season, next season and whether Heidi would upgrade me to a Cat 1 or 2 or whatever will be necessary to race UCI races next season.

And in the best news of the week . . . tomorrow is a day off from work to recover from the crazy weekend schedule, hit the sale at A Stone's Throw, work on the end of the season cross video, go to Pasquals and just try to chill. My illness is still lingering on so no training yet. I'm going to wait until I'm entirely out of shape before I start training again.

One more thing I'm involved with . . .

And before I forget . . . . if any of you are involved with bike clubs or events there is a foundation that gives grants to bike groups in Wisconsin. I am mentioning this as the deadline to apply for grants is coming up on February 4 so you would need to get your application together very soon. The foundation is called the Dane County Bicycle Assocation and the application information is online. The event or group does not have to be from Dane County to get a grant contrary to what you might think from the name of the foundation. If you have questions you can let me know as I am on the Board.

So much to do and so little time . . .

I've decided that I need more time in my life. And here is my diatribe about why . . .

I've been frantically trying to finish up all the Wisconsin Cross videos and I'm not done yet. I did get Cam-Rock done last night. It's not my finest work but I would rate the music a 7-8 on the "angry" scale so that should make it fun for everyone. I still have to encode it before I can get it on the website but it should be there tonight maybe. I also finished a 10-minute CX Nationals video which I think is pretty cool actually. I don't plan to put that one online but instead will show it at the WCA CX Banquet on January 22. I will also make it available with my 2005 DVD (which I promise will be on the market very soon).

That means I still have to do a season compilation video, Yellowstone Lake, Washington Park and Estabrook. Given that I've decided to stop exercising so I can actually get fully rid of my illness that is lingering on I should be able to get that all done by next weekend.

Of course I am also planning to take photos and video at the Capitol Square Sprints on Saturday and Sunday so I'll have lots of editing to do from those as well. I also am determined to find time to get to the Brazen Dropout Swap on Saturday afternoon between ski races. And, of course, I wouldn't miss the annual sale at A Stone's Throw but that I'll save for Monday when hopefully most things are sold out and I won't be tempted to spend money that I don't have.

I also need to find some time to decide where I will be going next weekend to ski since all of our snow has melted. I'm thinking I'll just go back to Minocqua as it is not such a long drive and I need to go somewhere that I can ski on Sunday morning and still make it back to Delafield by 5pm. I guess I also should be making some arrangements for the weekend after that which is the Noquemanon ski race. However, I'm just taking it one weekend at a time at this point.

Beyond that it's that time of the year when bike clubs need to get organized for the next season so I have an upcoming Mad FORCs steering committee meeting. I feel like I didn't really do a good job with my responsibilities for the FORCs last year. I really want to do better this year and I've got some ideas that hopefully will get us off to a rockin' start. I also need to email everyone who is on the Capitol Velo Club steering committee and get an organizational meeting going as well. Last year we kind of reorganized in CVC and I think we had a lot of great momentum which I hope to carry into '06. I was psyched when so many of my teammates came out to race cross. That was cool!

One thing I won't be doing in 2006 is being the race director for the Badger State Games mountain bike race. I found someone to take over for me and I think it will be good for the event. After about 10 years I was in a rut and really didn't have the energy to build it back up to a big event. Frankly I was happy just putting on a little event so I'm handing the reins over to someone else who can bring some new excitement to the event.

I'm undecided on whether I will once again take on coordinating the weekly corner guard duties for the Practice Crits. Doing the Crits doesn't really fit into my training plan that well given that I'm still just doing base miles that time of year. I like to do it to show that CVC is an involved team that is willing to do its part. After two years though I'm not sure I'm still up to the task of harassing riders to volunteer each week. I think I might just prefer to go for a ride. We'll see. I'm not really good at saying no so I can easily see myself doing this again.

I also need to decide if I want to do the big cross clinic again next year. It was really cool and I had a good time. If I want to make inexpensive again though I need to start figuring out financing/sponsorship now so I can commit one way or another and get on the Cycle-Smart calendar. That is if they're not all booked up already. Adam is a busy guy!

I think that I will buy one of those PowerBall tickets and then I will surely win a million dollars so I can quit my job and free up 8+ hours a day. Wouldn't that be sweet!

Okay, I hope that didn't sound whiney or pathetic. I really love all the stuff I do. I've just been feeling super behind on everything lately and wishing I was more on top of things so I could do more and do it better. Being sick hasn't helped as I have things I need to get done but all I really want to do is take a nap. Then I feel bad as I have been slacking on the training while apparently if you believe everyone else's blog they have been training like racing begins tomorrow. Then I start to question whether I really have what it takes to race the elite cross races . . . and then I wonder if with the new cross categories if I'll even be able to get a chance given that I don't have a good case for an upgrade.

Shortly after I stress about all those things I usually come up with some new cool idea for a bike event of some sort that I decide I just need to organize! Good thing there's nothing to do in the winter . . . oh wait, Dave is the Race Director for the Madnorski races . . . we are clearly insane!

Illness, Illness go away

So I don't have much to report as my illness that struck me at CX Nationals is back. It went about 98% away but 24T seems to have brought it back. Huge bummer! Anway, since I have nothing of interest to say I thought I'd post a few of the photos I took from 24T that I like.



Photo of the start/finish area on Saturday night.













Skiers headed down the trail.



















Costumes were quite prevalent at the event. Dresses, sequin skirts, superhero costumes and more!












Feel free to check out all my 24 Hour of Telemark photos.

Translating the things you hear . . .

So this weekend at the 24 Hours of Telemark I heard too many times to keep track of something such as "lookin' good" and "you're doing great" as guys passed me on the trail. This was always said in a friendly and cheerful manner. However, I was never sure exactly what those statements meant.

After some consideration here's the possible translations that I have come up:
1 - Hey there sexy ski chick want to meet up later at Baby King Haakon's Bar and Grill
2 - Damn, that chick is out skiing me I better pick up the pace
3 - Holy crap, what made that chick sign up for this event she clearly has no idea how to ski

After a couple of days have gone by I'm leaning towards #2 but I can't rule out #1 or #3. And at the event I really thought it was #3 . . . or after I put the glow in the dark "diva" sticker on my race bib for sure #1.

24 Hour Ski Race

24 Hours of Telemark Race Report

Team: Sisterhood of the Ski presented by Horny Toad, Mountain Hardwear and A Stone's Throw

The race started Saturday at 10am at Telemark Lodge in Cable, WI (home of the Birkie and the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival). I was racing on a 6-woman team for the full 24 hours. At 10am the team sent off our lead Sister, Val, while the rest of us sat around in camp chairs adorned with our sponsors logos and modeling our sponsors clothing making sure we had just the right vibe of nordic hardiness and cool chick fashionista.

And that wasn't easy as I had to do that for 5 hours before I actually had to go out and prove myself on the ski trail. I also had to endure many hours of people coming up to me to see how it went when I skied when I hadn't even got my skis out of their bag yet. Yes, I skied in 6th position so my morning was made up of waiting, waiting and waiting.

Finally, 3pm rolled around and it was time for me to strap on those ridiculously skinny, slippery boards and actually ski. Lap One I go charging out like a crazy fool with no thought of the hours left to ski. I had steadfastly refused to listen to anyone describe the course to me as I didn't want to sit around for five hours stressing. Thank god for that as this course was hard, hard, hard. Oh sure, there was probably a half kilometer of flat trail but pretty much it was climb, climb, climb followed by crazy steep fast downhill, followed by steep climbing, to steep climb, to wicked downhill to climb, climb, climb and back through the lap area.

So I skied out on lap one like a crazy person (you know, the kind that signs up for a 24 hour race) and am immediately hating life. The thing about skiing is the faster your try to go, the slower you actually go. So I'm flailing around and I seem to have forgotten what the poles are supposed to be for and I can't seem to glide and the snow on the hills is all deep and powdery and I'm trying to sprint up hills that you can only barely see the top of and not getting anywhere. Then I'm holding on for dear life on downhills that make me want to cry and finally after what seems like hours I'm back to the start/finish.

At this point I see the clock and realize that I have not completed my hour of skiing as only 26 minutes and 40 seconds have gone by. So I head back out to what seems like certain death . . . but this time I rein my enthusiasm in a little bit and remind myself to relax a little and try to ski (not charge) up the hills. Luckily Lap 2 goes a little better and I end my first round of skiing on a slightly more positive note.

And so the day and night goes really. Get done skiing, cheer on teammate who is heading out for the next round, go inside to warm up and change clothes, put boots and gloves on heater, stretch, stretch and stretch some more, take ibuprofin, put smelly stuff on knee to keep it limber, eat, eat, drink, drink and then try to rest.

My second stint of skiing was at about 10:45pm. All of the 3, 6 and 12 hour skiers were done and it seemed like almost no one was out on the trail. Your headlamp shown bright on the white snow and it was peaceful. With less people out on the trail it was easier to relax and ski. I got almost to the top of the longest hill before I even realized what hill it was and I almost was enjoying it. Yet at the same time it was this round of skiing when the little steep hills were frustrating me to no end and the dowhills were scaring me to death. I swore to myself that I would give up skiing and give up 24 hour racing. I would never do the 24 hour mountain bike race again, I would not sign up for any more ski races. That was it. I was insane to do these things. I thought I might not be able to do my four rounds of skiing that I might not be a good enough skier. I wasn't in a "good place" at this point. I needed yoga, meditation, a good hard shake, something but all I got was the realization that I would have to "buck up" and ski more.

My third time skiing was at 4:45am. Hardly anyone was lingering about in the start/finish area, the trails were quiet. It was just you and your skis gliding along. I was having fun again and even thought I might do 3 laps instead of two. There was no rush as I knew my teammate might not be out and ready in an hour. I took my time skiing. To conquer the downhills I perfected my newest skate ski technique which my teammates have entitled the "PT" for the Plow Tuck. It involves snowplowing like a madwoman until a certain point in the downhill where suddenly and quite unexpectedly you get into an aero tuck and try to get as much speed as possible. It also works to confuse the other skiers who clearly think you are insane. I was feeling better about life and skiing. I decided that I should sign up and do the Noquemanon ski race in a few weeks.

My fourth time skiing was about 9am when most people are done, showered, and just hanging out without a worry in the world. I used my last ski round to chat with people--the volunteers at the aid station, the solo 24 hour woman, and any other random people who would talk to me. It was my best ski as I had stopped worrying so much about my technique and just skied along. There was no rush as we were almost done and didn't need to fit in more laps. Somehow it was enough to make me completely forget the moments of absolute hatred I had for the course.

And then all that was left was the Podium appearance in our matching blue Mountain Hardwear vests and coordinating Horny Toad fleece sweaters. Damn we looked good! Oh yeah, and the five hour drive home on 3 hours of sleep. Thank god for caffeine, angry metal music, and interesting conversation as we all made it home in one piece.

And that is 24 Hour ski racing - the awesome teammates, the love of skiing, the hatred of skiing, the exhaustion, the repetitive pattern of ski, stretch, drink eat, rest and then get up eat, drink, get dressed, ski. It's both the most fun you can have and the worst time you can have all wrapped up into a quick 24 hours.

All I can really say is I'm really, really glad that it wasn't frigid cold and that the trails were not icey . . . oh yeah, and that I'm glad that I did it.

The Mind is a Funny Thing

It's funny how the mind works. And it is funny that no two people's minds work the same. Well, maybe not funny exactly but maybe more like it is is interesting and worthy of contemplation.

Sometimes I am amazed by the workings of my mind . . . is that possible to think about your own thinking?

Anyway, the reason I bring all this esoteric crap into my otherwise unphilosophic blog is because of the 24 hour ski race that I just did. Contrary to what you might think or have been lead to believe I really haven't skied all that much in my life. Oh sure, I did some shuffling around on classic skis for many years but I never took a lesson or really learned the art of striding. Then it seemed that everyone was getting into skate skiing so I got a really cheap pair of skate skis. However, I didn't take a lesson and just proceeded to only ski (and I use the term ski very lightly) around the baseball diamond at Elver Park which is one of the flattest places you could ever hope to ski although I always complained about the "climbing."

Two years ago I bought new, super nice skate skis on January 1 and took a lesson. Soon thereafter I signed up for the Kortie so I could put my new skis and knowledge to some use. I thought that made perfect sense at the time but quite a few people expressed amazement when I told them I was going to ski the Kortie--not my close friends but acquaintances.

This year my friend Pam wanted to put together a 6 woman team for the 24 Hours of Telemark so she asked a bunch of her friend who ski to see if we wanted to join her. My first reaction was absolutely no way would I do that. I had very valid reasons for that such as that I had never skied more that 26k in one day, my technique was horrible, I didn't even ski last year because of my knee surgery, and I would be racing cyclocross until less than a month before the race. It just seemed too overwhelming to contemplate.

However, when Pam emailed to ask us the second time I knew I would say yes. I had just finished my cross season the day before and so I had nothing big looming on the horizon. The idea suddenly seemed to hold such possibility for excitement in an otherwise drab world. So even though only a few short weeks earlier I had declared that there was "no way" I would do the 24 Hour race I emailed and said "sure count me in."

Some people would say that I only did it for the schwag (which was unbelievable in its quantity and quality) or the free entry (which I really appreciated) but it really is more than that. Part of my mind knows that something is a bad idea (hence the initial "no way") but my mind also has a way of overlooking reality and seeing things in "movie-vision."

What is movie-vision? It's seeing life as being about the pursuit of the endless summer or endless winter or the big wave or some series of moments or activities that are more than the usual existence. It's the ability of part of my brain to really believe that it might be best to quit my job, sell my house and just live life on the road. It's the part of my brain that believes I can only have children if I'm willing to raise them in a commune or a foreign country or some other similar scenario. It's the part of my brain that likes cyclocross. It's the part of my brain that likes kitschy motels and driving on the interstate at 3am. It's the part of my brain that got me into a whole lot of trouble as a teenager. It's the part of my brain that thought a 24 hour ski race was something I needed to experience even when the more realistic side of my brain was trying to point out the flaws in that idea.

The more realistic part of my brain wins out on many if not most things these days -- I get up and go to work everyday as the realistic part of the brain reminds me that I don't want to forgo the comforts and luxuries affoded by a regular paycheck and 4 weeks of paid vacation. I bought a house as it was the "responsible" thing to do. I save for retirement to assuage guilt for living too often "in the moment."

But sometimes the other side of my brain takes over and I agree to do things like 24 hour ski races and life is better for it. More on the actual race along with photos at a later time. I'm too tired from lack of sleep to post about things that might actually interest you such as how the race went, how many laps did I do, did we win, did we look stylish, what color did we paint our toenails, etc. etc.

I must V2 . . .

Now if you are not a nordic skier the title "I must V2" means nothing probably. However, if you are a rabid skier then you are probably thinking "of course you must V2."

For the uninitiated this is a discussion of the various ski techniques in skate skiing. The more techniques you have the more "gears" you have to ski with or ways to adapt to different terrain. At this point I must confess that I only know how to V1 . . . and to make matters even worse I only V1 to the right. I know how shocking that must be for many of you. It is, however, true that two years ago I skied the entire Kortie and the Great Bear Chase using only a right side V1. I'm sure that many of you are now scandalized that I have been allowed in Wave 5 of the Birkie. You can see why I find it shocking myself.

However, last night I started taking the first steps in learning the V2 and I now realize that I just never understood the technique. My attempts two years ago at the V2 bascially involved just poling faster while doing the V1. How silly is that!!! I thought it was a technique that I just wasn't fit enough to do. I just disbelieved anyone who said this was the technique for long, fast sections and kept on doing my V1. However, last night I realized that I was approaching the technique completely wrong.

I now know that I need to focus on balance on each ski and getting good glide. Only when I truly commit to balancing/gliding on each ski will I be able to V2. I also discovered that I should not transfer from one ski to the next until my arms/poles have reached my knee. Well, I can say truthfully that I have not been gliding even close to long enough in my feeble attempts to V2. I have always changed skis way too soon and it is not wonder that I never understood the V2.

For anyone reading who skis but also can't V2 check out this webpage for a more involved description of what I'm trying to impart. I also watched a video and had Dave offering up some tips (I think he was thrilled to finally see me concede that V2 might be important for me to learn). Anyway, this whole obsession with the V2 came about because I'm thinking of skiing the Noquemanon which has some gradual downhills where the V2 would be quite a useful technique to use if you don't want to die somewhere along the trail. Plus I don't want to be the only Wave 5 Kortie skier who is a "one trick pony" so I'm trying to diversify my pathetic ski skills.

Now if you see me at the 24 Hours of Telemark I imagine that I will just be doing my standard right sided V1 but maybe at some point in the night I will give the V2 a try. At this point I understand it from a theoretical point and I have done some dry land drills but that is it so I can't promise any on-snow skill. If we could get a snow storm around here . . . .

Prepping for 24 Hours of Telemark

So what does a person need to do to get ready for a 24 Hour Ski race? There is the expected stuff like laundry, food shopping, wax skis, and organize carpooling. Then there is the more interesting stuff . . . buy fingernail polish to match Mountain Hardwear vests, buy glow in the dark bracelets for teammates, find your copy of "The Bad Girls Guide to the Road", and buy a journal for people to write down their crazy thoughts in the middle of the night. One thing I really wanted to do for race prep was buy feather boas but the ones at the party store were all too pricey so I bought temporary tattoos with suns and moons instead. I feel like I'm pretty close to being ready to race . . . just charge the camera's batteries, put the ski box on the car and it will be time to PARTY!

Skiing Minocqua

Every year for awhile now I have spent New Year's weekend in Minocqua. This year, however, I hadn't made any plans to do so as we had snow in Madison and I've been on the road for almost every weekend for awhile. It seemed like it would be a wise idea to stay home and save some money.

Alas, the snow in Madison started to melt away so a change of plans was called for and Dave and I were once again off to ski at one of my favorite places - Minocqua's Winter Park. That part of the state received a good dumping of snow so the trails were in excellent condition.

This weekend I realized that indeed I'm not the greatest skier. Ironically though on Monday towards the end of my ski day a woman actually complemented me on how effortless I made skate skiing look. That was the most shocking thing I've heard in a long time as I was really struggling at that point and was about to call it a day. It was nice to hear that as I felt like I looked like a crazy person on skis.

Although when I ski at Winter Park I prefer to ski my old favorites like Silver Strider, Sleigh Ride and Nepco's Cruiser and avoid trails with names like Death Drop, Highway to Hell, Descent into Oblivion (okay, none of those are actual trail names). However, I did do some of the hillier routes as I know that I need to get ready for my upcoming ski events also known as ski races.

Now my knee wasn't too happy about the whole weekend skiing extravaganza. Oh sure it has adopted very nicely to hour long ski session followed by half hour long stretching sessions. I've discovered thought that the knee is not so keen on skiing for a few hours with more climbing and descending than normal. I've also discovered that I am afraid of screwing up my knee on downhills especially tricky ones with tight corners. I really need to work on that as I'll be skiing lots of tricky downhills over the course of this winter. I also need to desperately work on falling on my skis to get good forward momentum and make the optimum use of my ab muscles. I really think if I can get that going better that I can really get faster. If only that were easier to do!!! And if we only could get another snow storm here in Madison so I could have more opportunities for practice. I will be doing a nightly snow dance!

The funniest part of the trip to Minocqua was the hotel we stayed at. I've never actually stayed at a hotel in Minocqua before as Dave and I have always gone with friends and rented a cabin. Since we decided to go at the very last minute I didn't have time to call and see if anyone else wanted to go so I just found us a hotel that had a good price. Ironically enough that ended up being the hotel that always causes me to laugh when we drive by - The Waters of Minocqua. It's a hotel with an indoor waterpark. It's actually not that bad as the rooms are spacious, have a microwave and refrigerator and there is a free buffet breakfast included in the price of the room (and also free entrance to the waterpark if you want to go down the big water slide with a zillion kids).

Anyway, the hotel lobby is full of the craziest northwoods kitsch that you could ever hope to see. My favorite is this display of . . . . well, you can decide for yourself what is going on with these animals but suffice it to say that every time I was in the lobby I couldn't believe my eyes.

It is worth it to stay at this place just to see the lobby -- a marvel of taxidermy around every corner. When we arrived on Sunday evening to check in a bridal party was having photos taken in front of the big fireplace in the lobby which had an approximately 8 foot high marvel of artistic triumph featuring taxidermied fish. I'm sure the family appreciated my slack jawed gawking at the proceedings. It was too much for me though!

Okay, next weekend is the 24 Hours of Telemark. I'm really not ready but the plan is that at the end of the event I will have miraculously become a good skier. Or I will have sworn off skiing for the rest of the season. Only time will tell.