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Race Report – Valentine XC Ski Race

February 21, 2012 by Helen 2 Comments

Last week marked my first, and potentially only, nordic ski race of the season. On Sunday, February 12, 2012, Tahoe Donner Cross Country (TDXC) hosted Paco’s Valentine 15k race atop a thin but fast base. It was my third time racing the course, which last year was moved and renamed from President’s Day.

TDXC Manager JoJo filling in thin spots last month.

The course this year was modified to accommodate a number of trail closures due to lack of snow coverage. The result was a slightly shorter and faster, less technical course, which generally works in my favor.

I skied most of the course the day before the race, and was worried about the atrocious amount of dirt and rocks showing. The snow was in its worst condition since the season’s late start last month. This motivated me to reclaim an old pair of skate skis that I had loaned to a friend last season. It was a little weird to be waxing and race prepping a pair of “rock skis.” I was not the only one – it looked like retro ski day out there.

Turnout for the race was low, but better than I expected, with 4 dozen men and fewer than 20 women. I recruited two gals who were striding with Team in Training; they correctly assessed it to be a good deal. For about the price of a trail pass, they could race, get a bowl of chili, and a guaranteed raffle prize at the end. They introduced themselves, and I easily remembered one name, as it was also Helen.

The mood was light and cheery, with spirit awards going to racer Joe and employee Guy, who never leave their smiles and enthusiasm for life at home. Joe wore bib number 1 – no surprise that he was the first to show faith and register for the race. Guy and all the TDXC employees had been putting in some serious time harvesting snow from the forest to dump on the trails. The grooming was exceptional, and I think (hope!) all the racers were appreciative of the heroic efforts that went into preparing the course.

The men started 5 minutes before the women and juniors. I took a caffeinated gel, then we all visited and discussed our age groups while we waited for our start. I didn’t have the normal pre-race nerves, and I guess that I never fully got into race mode. My last race of any sort was the California International Marathon (CIM) in December.

Running a road marathon with 7000 (mostly) strangers is decidedly different than a local ski race with a few dozen friends and familiar faces. Other than the obvious differences, there are two distinctions that really matter to me: duration and pacing. Running a marathon is an endurance endeavor, so finishing strong is paramount. I forget that 14k is a short distance to ski, so I forget that I should be pushing hard the whole way. Somewhere in the middle I slowed down to save myself for “later” that never came.

The other difficulty that I have with nordic ski racing is that your pace is so dependent on snow conditions, that it is not a useful indicator of performance. While running pace can be affected by factors such as temperature and wind, a runner can generally predict a race pace for a given course and plan accordingly. Ski races require you to be in better tune with the effort level required for success.

Back to the race… I never got into race attack mode. I comfortably climbed from the start out to the Moon Dance hut. A small crowd of employees was gathered alongside the trail at the top of the road to Euer Valley. There was an exposed rock dead-center in the trail, surrounded by dirt on either side. They were warning us and shoveling snow over the dirt as each skier passed. Love those guys!

As we headed down into the valley, a women a couple of decades my senior (yes, DECADES) dusted me, and I never caught her again. I need to put in some serious work if I’m ever going to be good at going down the hills. Later, I would see the other “Team in Training” Helen and her friend going down this very section while I was already climbing out. It would be a long race for them!

Down in the valley, I enjoyed the fast course until we got to the only trail that I hadn’t skied earlier in the week – Broken Spoke. I was surprised at the bottom by a frozen lake, and promptly went down. Then there was a section where I had to hesitate to find the trail – the snow was all chopped up in two directions, and I finally picked the path that had the most skate tracks.

As we headed back out of the valley, a younger woman passed me. If I would had been in better race mindset, I could have stayed with her or at least caught her near the top. I was still saving energy for that “later” time. I just wasn’t realizing that the race would be over in less than 10 minutes. Before I knew it, we were skating to the finish, and she finished a few seconds ahead of me. I finished in about 45 minutes, with energy to spare… oops. It was still good enough for first in my age group (30 – 39) and a fine raffle prize. See official results here.

Race photo by Mark Nadell. Thanks for always being there behind the lens, Mark!

I love to hang out after the race to have a chance at scoring a fun raffle prize. The prizes are laid out on a table, and you get to pick one to your liking when your name is called. Normally, the age group finishers are called first, then the remaining racers have a chance to win. In small races like this, everybody goes home with a prize.

TDXC Manager JoJo called out the names. The first name in my age group was “Team in Training” Helen (who was still on the trails) – it turns out that a time of 0:00 is faster than all the other times. That’s OK, she called my name with the next group and I picked a bar of red LF glide wax. I hung on to the wax until the prize table was pretty well picked over, then noticed it had been replenished with a nice metal water bottle. I traded my wax for the water bottled and went home a happy camper.

At home, I rallied the family to head back over for a ski. We returned to the ski center about 90 minutes later, in time to say hello and goodbye to “Team in Training” Helen and her friend. I hope that JoJo saved a fun raffle prize for them!

 

Winter Scramble. Again.

January 19, 2012 by Helen Leave a Comment

If you’ve spent more than a year or two in Tahoe, then I’m sure you know what I mean by “winter scramble.” Like chipmunks scurrying around before the first snow storms, we also must get our winter stores and houses in order.

Most of us in Tahoe already scrambled before the first teaser storms in October. So at least the patio furniture is put away, snow tires on the vehicles, firewood stacked in the garage, etc. Now we’ve had this long, warm, dry spell with no snow on the ground to even remind us that the winter solstice passed already a month ago. I find myself again in a state of “winter scramble.” This time, however, it is purely psychological.

Everything around the house is physically ready for the long-overdue arrival of winter snow. Though I will miss seeing dirt on my favorite running trails and roads that are free of shoulder-reducing snow banks, I am more than ready for the cross country ski season to finally start. That being said, I must admit that I have been enjoying the ease, the freedom, in which we have been able to move around town these last two months, with the clear roads and greatly reduced volume of visitors.

Winter 2011 vs. Winter 2012
2011 vs. 2012. We could walk right onto the lower roof & second-story deck!

Last year’s epic snowfall never caused me to pause and think, “Gee, I wish it was just a little easier to get the kids to school in the snow.” Ironically, it is exactly this year’s lack of snowfall thus far that has me bracing, and thinking just that. The winter holidays without snow fostered a sort of calm that I have not known since having kids. And, now, I feel the “winter scramble” upon me – again – even if it is all in my head.

For more pictures from last winter and this, see my earlier post, A Tale of Two Winters.

 

A Tale of Two Winters

January 8, 2012 by Helen 3 Comments

I have blogged in my head for years… entertaining those wandering thoughts in my mind during long runs. I imagined that I might start to actually write these thoughts this Spring, when my running season resumed. It turns out that ski season is making an unusually tardy appearance in the Lake Tahoe region, allowing the running season to continue well past the winter solstice. Now I’m ready to record and share those wandering long-run thoughts.

Most people here are thinking and talking about the stark contrast between this winter and last. Last week’s snow survey yielded the lowest measurement on record – a mere 1/7″ of water, according to the Sierra Sun. While last winter was completely dry the first six weeks of 2011, there was already a hefty base for snow sports, and the cross-country ski conditions were practically perfect for all of January. Then the winter to remember arrived in full-force with the 8th snowiest season on record.

There was no shortage of winter sports fun to be had last year. I even learned to enjoy snowshoe running, not an easy task for an avid cross-country skier! The difficulties came in June and July, while training for my first ultramarathon, the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT) 50k run. The snow depth at Donner Summit was the highest on record, with 94″ measured on June 7, 2011. The trails above 6500 feet remained covered in snow and/or mud through the month of June. I learned how to drive to lower elevation for those long training runs, not an easy task for someone who likes to run out the back door.

Tahoe Rim Trail - July 2011
Remaining snow pack on the Tahoe Rim Trail near Snow Valley Peak in July 2011.

Fast forward to January 2012. My husband has signed up the TRT 50k run, which will not only be his first ultramarathon, but his first foot race of any kind! It was certainly worth staying up until midnight on New Year’s Eve to register for the TRT race, which is already full. We are planning to run it together and enjoyed a spectacular afternoon on the trail this weekend, covering the end of the course from Snowy Valley Peak back down to Spooner Lake.

Tahoe Rim Trail - Jan 2012
Looking down at a very dry North Canyon Road from the Tahoe Rim Trail. January 2012.

We simply could not believe our good fortune to be able to run the TRT on January 7, as well as the ideal (if a little chilly) running conditions. To be fair, there were occasional patches of packed snow/ice on the trail, but they were kept frozen solid by the low temps. In fact, the conditions overall were much better than the last time we ran this section of trail together, on July 10, 2011, when the trail was still covered by considerable patches of soggy snow pack. One thing remains constant, the phenomenal beauty of Lake Tahoe, especially that unbelievable view of Marlette Lake perched 1000 feet above Tahoe.

Frozen Marlette Lake above Lake Tahoe
View from Snow Valley Peak on the Tahoe Rim Trail - frozen Marlette Lake perched high above Lake Tahoe. January 2012.

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