For better or worse, I registered for the Tour of Anchorage yesterday. The 23-year-old ski marathon features four races in both classic and freestyle forms. Being a novice, I chose the 25k freestyle race for my competitive debut. What's most appealing about the race - and the upcoming training - is that the route passes in front of our house, in fact I can ski a portion of it to and from work. While this winter started dry, we've had about 20" of snow fall in town this week and the trails - once groomed - should be quite enjoyable for skating. I've recently noticed that this is the first winter in recent memory I have not been out on telemark skis before Christmas. It seems that skate skiing has sated my desire for speed on skis. Indeed, when everything comes together, skating on a well-groomed trail often feels like speeding downhill. In the meantime, I'll be looking for training tips (Patrick?), a spandex suit, and "more cowbell."
1 comment:
My training tip - ski a lot!!!! And also ski when it is not groomed so that you can work on your balance and technique. On perfectly groomed ski trails anything works - but when it is bad only good technique flies. But I know you can deal with long endurance events. .. ..like kayaking to sheratin. Patrick
Post a Comment