This weekend marks the first USCSA race of the year at Jericho, VT.
Friday: 15km individual start classic for the men
10km individual start classic for the women
Saturday: 10km mass start skate for both genders
Weather Forecast:
Friday- high of 9, low of -1
Saturday- high of 14, low of 9
Not to bad considering the weather we have been having lately.
Let's go get 'er done!
--Matt
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
The post post TT post (sorry for the lame name)
I have decided to overrule Chris' decision of the last post to not post the results, so I will add them at the bottom here for your perusal.
But first... This Saturday marked the most recent installment of the annual Clarkson Team Time Trial to decide who gets first dibs on the team uniforms and the seed order for next weekend, and it was a fierce day of competition.
We woke up to -15 degree weather in the morning, with a few inches of fresh snow on the ground and the prospect of not knowing what the conditions would be like at Higley for the day. The game plan was to do a ~7km classic race take a short 45 min break and then get into a ~7km skate race and call it a day. However the groomers did not seem to get the memo and left us to alter the plans a little bit.
The classic race got off as planned with nice tracks and blue hardwax conditions. The course was in good enough shape and the occasional tourist was the only real battle of the day, and trying to avoid losing your stride/falling into the snow on the side of the trail while they seemed oblivious to the fact that a race was going on.
However, by saying that the tracks were nice, it also meant that the skate lanes were non-existent, so we were forced to result to plan B. Go back to campus and ski on the ROTC trails, a 1.5 mile loop littered with people, dogs, footprints, the occasional rock and ice patch, and a hill not quite wide enough to skate up efficiently. It was destined to be an eventful race. While we sadly had no casualties or wounds to account for, everyone was a trooper for the day, braving the cold conditions and adverse schedule.
Up next we head to Jericho, VT for the Army invitational this weekend for a 15km classic on Saturday and a 10km skate mass start on Sunday.
Sorry for the lack of pictures and creativity, but my camera is in a sad state and keeps telling me to see the user's guide for error # E45. If anyone knows what that is please let me know. In the mean time here is a video of Gregor Schlierenzauer setting the hill record on Kulm's ski flying hill this past weekend.
Results:
But first... This Saturday marked the most recent installment of the annual Clarkson Team Time Trial to decide who gets first dibs on the team uniforms and the seed order for next weekend, and it was a fierce day of competition.
We woke up to -15 degree weather in the morning, with a few inches of fresh snow on the ground and the prospect of not knowing what the conditions would be like at Higley for the day. The game plan was to do a ~7km classic race take a short 45 min break and then get into a ~7km skate race and call it a day. However the groomers did not seem to get the memo and left us to alter the plans a little bit.
The classic race got off as planned with nice tracks and blue hardwax conditions. The course was in good enough shape and the occasional tourist was the only real battle of the day, and trying to avoid losing your stride/falling into the snow on the side of the trail while they seemed oblivious to the fact that a race was going on.
However, by saying that the tracks were nice, it also meant that the skate lanes were non-existent, so we were forced to result to plan B. Go back to campus and ski on the ROTC trails, a 1.5 mile loop littered with people, dogs, footprints, the occasional rock and ice patch, and a hill not quite wide enough to skate up efficiently. It was destined to be an eventful race. While we sadly had no casualties or wounds to account for, everyone was a trooper for the day, braving the cold conditions and adverse schedule.
Up next we head to Jericho, VT for the Army invitational this weekend for a 15km classic on Saturday and a 10km skate mass start on Sunday.
Sorry for the lack of pictures and creativity, but my camera is in a sad state and keeps telling me to see the user's guide for error # E45. If anyone knows what that is please let me know. In the mean time here is a video of Gregor Schlierenzauer setting the hill record on Kulm's ski flying hill this past weekend.
Results:
| SKIER | CLASSIC | PLACE | SKATE | PLACE | TOTAL | |
| 1 | MATT D | 0:21:36 | 1 | 0:20:03 | 1 | 41:39 |
| 2 | ALEX | 0:21:56 | 2 | 0:21:00 | 2 | 42:56 |
| 3 | ANDY | 0:22:37 | 3 | 0:22:16 | 3 | 44:53 |
| 4 | DERRICK | 0:22:48 | 4 | 0:22:28 | 4 | 45:16 |
| 5 | LAMOTHE | 0:23:43 | 5 | 0:21:50 | 5 | 45:33 |
| 6 | TALBS | 0:24:35 | 6 | 0:24:22 | 7 | 48:57 |
| 7 | JOSH | 0:25:30 | 7 | 0:24:07 | 6 | 49:37 |
| 8 | DAN | 0:25:53 | 8 | 0:24:46 | 9 | 50:39 |
| 9 | MATT G | 0:25:55 | 9 | 0:25:03 | 10 | 50:58 |
| 10 | NED | 0:26:00 | 10 | 0:25:22 | 11 | 51:22 |
| 11 | BRIAN RE | 0:27:22 | 12 | 0:24:40 | 8 | 52:02 |
| 12 | DREW | 0:27:10 | 11 | 0:25:53 | 12 | 53:03 |
| 13 | BOB | 0:28:10 | 14 | 0:26:00 | 13 | 54:10 |
| 14 | NEAL | 0:28:00 | 13 | 0:26:26 | 15 | 54:26 |
| 15 | BRYAN RO | 0:29:23 | 16 | 0:26:02 | 14 | 55:25 |
| 16 | TIM | 0:30:20 | 18 | 0:26:52 | 16 | 57:12 |
| 17 | ERIC | 0:29:13 | 15 | 0:28:30 | 17 | 57:43 |
| 18 | DAVE | 0:35:58 | 19 | 0:31:30 | 18 | 67:28 |
| 1 | CHELS | 0:22:04 | 1 | 0:18:58 | 1 | 41:02 |
| 2 | ANDREA | 0:24:30 | 2 | 0:21:09 | 2 | 45:39 |
| 3 | ALICIA | 0:25:22 | 3 | 0:21:40 | 3 | 47:02 |
| 4 | ALYSSA | 0:28:26 | 5 | 0:23:23 | 4 | 51:49 |
| 5 | KATHLEEN | 32:20:00 | 9 | 0:32:50 | 9 | 52:50 |
| 6 | AUDREY | 0:29:20 | 7 | 0:24:10 | 6 | 53:30 |
| 7 | HOLLY | 0:28:40 | 6 | 0:26:09 | 7 | 54:49 |
| 8 | SUZIE | 0:32:50 | 10 | 0:23:55 | 5 | 56:45 |
| 9 | KALLIE | 0:30:25 | 8 | 0:28:22 | 8 | 58:47 |
| EMILY | 0:28:25 | 4 | TBA | |||
| BRUCE | 0:29:53 | 17 | DNS |
A post TT post!
The results are in. For fear of giving up VITAL STRATEGIC INFORMATION I will not reveal the exact times the racers came in. I will say that the results are promising and that we will once again be a force to be reckoned with. If we don't get 1st this year, just remember, ALL of us are coming back next year... again...
In other news, the first race is next weekend. It's about time we had a good ol' VT race. In the meantime, we will be doing the usual. You know, training.
Don't forget the maple syrup!
-Blue Whale
P.S. I thought I was going to put something of value into this post. Maybe next time...
In other news, the first race is next weekend. It's about time we had a good ol' VT race. In the meantime, we will be doing the usual. You know, training.
Don't forget the maple syrup!
-Blue Whale
P.S. I thought I was going to put something of value into this post. Maybe next time...
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
The death of the blue whale...
Will never happen. I will make sure that it stays alive.
In other news, it is Wednesday, the 7th day of January 2009 and tomorrow marks the start of classes here at Clarkson University. This is much too early if you ask me, but what can you do. Word on the street is that Higley Flow is not the best skiing and not groomed very well, but atleast there is plenty of snow on the ground with the 6+ inches we received today and at last look snow was still falling.
This weekend are the notoriously fierce Clarkson nordic team time trials to decide the preliminary travel team for the year, and there may be a guest appearance by the infamous Justin "JT$" Tetlow at some point as well.
Tomorrow morning marks my first adventure to Higley of the new year.
Take care and rest up for the busy racing weekends to come.
Winter is Here!
Matt
In other news, it is Wednesday, the 7th day of January 2009 and tomorrow marks the start of classes here at Clarkson University. This is much too early if you ask me, but what can you do. Word on the street is that Higley Flow is not the best skiing and not groomed very well, but atleast there is plenty of snow on the ground with the 6+ inches we received today and at last look snow was still falling.
This weekend are the notoriously fierce Clarkson nordic team time trials to decide the preliminary travel team for the year, and there may be a guest appearance by the infamous Justin "JT$" Tetlow at some point as well.
Tomorrow morning marks my first adventure to Higley of the new year.
Take care and rest up for the busy racing weekends to come.
Winter is Here!
Matt
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Shenanigans and fiascos in the Green Mountain State
Time for one last personal race story/ adventure before the team gets back together later this week. The ridiculousness will ease down, and the Blue Whale will go into hibernation.
Last night, my friend Andre informed me of another race: The Craftsbury Classic! I've done a 10k skate race and haven't been able to ski much since then, so it was an obvious choice to go. The Blue Whale got loaded up agian, and we headed out. This is when everything went to hell.
I used Google maps to plan a route to Craftsbury. The original plan was to take I-89 north to exit 18, use Vermont Route 104 to get to Route 15, take a right onto North Wilcott road, then follow the signs to Craftsbury Outdoor Center. Google told me it would take 1 hour 40 minutes if the speed limit was followed. We got a late start, but I was determined to prove Google wrong. Immediately, I missed the turn after getting off the interstate and almost ended back up when we started. All the time made up taking the interstate was lost. We get onto 104 and then 15 , North Wolcott road. Things started getting sketchy again. I didn't remember any of the other directions. We ended pulling a map out of the glove compartment and discovered that we had missed a turn. While trying to pull a u-ey, the Blue Whale got beached. It only took about 5 minutes to dig and push her out, but that's still 5 minutes. Lesson #1, Whales can't handle snow.
More missed turns led to us getting to the race about 15 minutes before the start. Lesson #2, you can't prove Google wrong. This was enough time to get registered and throw on some extra blue kick wax. Both Andre and I got to the start line and had to line up at the back of the pack. That meant that a pluthera of citizen racers, high schoolers, and other youngings were in front of us. This led to an interesting start.
The first 3k of this course were FAST. Its pretty much a double pole course for that time. 8 lanes holding ~120 skiers quickly funneled down into two lanes. People were tripping over eachother's skis, passing by tracking their own paths in the woods, wacking eachother with poles... I amlost got tangled up in someone's skis when they crashed! Then we come to an open field that turned into a fairly steep and fast section with several switchbacks. The snow was fast, and we were still all packed together. We were weaving in and out from eachother, going 4 wide on several of the corners. I got pushed to the outside on the last one, focing me to bail so I wouldn't go off into the woods. The chaos started to settle out after that, and the racing began.
Overall, it wasn't a good race. It was fun, but not a good race. My skis were fast and my double pole was strong. However, my kick was nil and my uphills were disasterous. Lesson #3, find your kick zone and wax it. I was struggling to keep climbing with a few of the D1 college women racers. After the race we discoverd that green would have been the ideal wax. Oh well, I knew this wouldn't be good from the start. I learned a few things over vacation, and am ready for the team time trials Jan 10/11th!
I guess that's it for now.
Wait it's not. Andre and I saw a sign on the drive up. It said, "Watch Children". It wasn't a "Watch out, Children Playing" or whatever sign. It just said "Watch Children". We also saw a road call "Four Wheel Dr." Yea Vermont!
-Lamothe
Last night, my friend Andre informed me of another race: The Craftsbury Classic! I've done a 10k skate race and haven't been able to ski much since then, so it was an obvious choice to go. The Blue Whale got loaded up agian, and we headed out. This is when everything went to hell.
I used Google maps to plan a route to Craftsbury. The original plan was to take I-89 north to exit 18, use Vermont Route 104 to get to Route 15, take a right onto North Wilcott road, then follow the signs to Craftsbury Outdoor Center. Google told me it would take 1 hour 40 minutes if the speed limit was followed. We got a late start, but I was determined to prove Google wrong. Immediately, I missed the turn after getting off the interstate and almost ended back up when we started. All the time made up taking the interstate was lost. We get onto 104 and then 15 , North Wolcott road. Things started getting sketchy again. I didn't remember any of the other directions. We ended pulling a map out of the glove compartment and discovered that we had missed a turn. While trying to pull a u-ey, the Blue Whale got beached. It only took about 5 minutes to dig and push her out, but that's still 5 minutes. Lesson #1, Whales can't handle snow.
More missed turns led to us getting to the race about 15 minutes before the start. Lesson #2, you can't prove Google wrong. This was enough time to get registered and throw on some extra blue kick wax. Both Andre and I got to the start line and had to line up at the back of the pack. That meant that a pluthera of citizen racers, high schoolers, and other youngings were in front of us. This led to an interesting start.
The first 3k of this course were FAST. Its pretty much a double pole course for that time. 8 lanes holding ~120 skiers quickly funneled down into two lanes. People were tripping over eachother's skis, passing by tracking their own paths in the woods, wacking eachother with poles... I amlost got tangled up in someone's skis when they crashed! Then we come to an open field that turned into a fairly steep and fast section with several switchbacks. The snow was fast, and we were still all packed together. We were weaving in and out from eachother, going 4 wide on several of the corners. I got pushed to the outside on the last one, focing me to bail so I wouldn't go off into the woods. The chaos started to settle out after that, and the racing began.
Overall, it wasn't a good race. It was fun, but not a good race. My skis were fast and my double pole was strong. However, my kick was nil and my uphills were disasterous. Lesson #3, find your kick zone and wax it. I was struggling to keep climbing with a few of the D1 college women racers. After the race we discoverd that green would have been the ideal wax. Oh well, I knew this wouldn't be good from the start. I learned a few things over vacation, and am ready for the team time trials Jan 10/11th!
I guess that's it for now.
Wait it's not. Andre and I saw a sign on the drive up. It said, "Watch Children". It wasn't a "Watch out, Children Playing" or whatever sign. It just said "Watch Children". We also saw a road call "Four Wheel Dr." Yea Vermont!
-Lamothe
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
