The race wasn't exactly a world cup but my teammate, Andrew Johnson, and I lined up and threw down for 10km at Soldier Hollow, the 2002 Olympic venue. The race series is called the Wasatch Citizen Series. It's always fun to come back and do a WCS race because its where I learned to race. My first ski race of all time was a WCS race. The local crowds are great and its always fun to ski with the people who I grew up idolizing.
The race itself was a lot of fun. I love mass start races of any kind and this was no different. From the start, AJ and I put the hammer down and were out on our own in a big hurry. We battled it out, though he led for the majority of the race. I skied behind him and like a rookie, skied all over the back of his skis. It was the first time I've classic skied with anyone this year and my timing and spacing were a bit off, but that's what early races are for. Towards the end of the race I started to think about how to try beat him. I figured he was looking for a late move so I decided to try to go a little before he would expect it. I dropped the hammer and got a little separation but it didn't last for too long before he was back on my heels. He nabbed me around the last corner and beat me to the line. It was a blast.
After the race we hung around for awards and talked it up with the local ski community. I spent some time talking with some of the young guns from the area about their plans and how things are going. I would love to see some more kids come out of this area and make it to the top.
After the awards I drove home and grabbed a couple hours of rest before getting on my bike in the garage for a 2x25 min interval workout at a tempo pace. Right now I am doing double duty as a cyclist and ski racer. And while the two sports are very different, the basic principles of training are similar. And the tools needed for success are exactly the same: namely, an extreme level of fitness.
I know that I need to get in two intensity sessions (intervals, races, etc) on skis and two on my bike per week in order to continue to improve in both sports. I also know that four days of intervals is too many. So I'm doing back-to-back interval days- that is two interval sessions in one day for two different sports. That way I have good periodization within weeks, hard days and easy days, as well as within 4 week blocks. Its not exactly a text book training plan but I'm not sure one even exists for a dual-sport athlete. I'm making it up as I go and that's exciting.
I will be around Park City for the holidays, training a ton in preparation for next month's races. The season hits hard come mid-January.
Below are some pictures from yesterday's race, taken by Ian Harvey of Toko. I am #331.
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