Last weekend I participated in my first Skimo race in the Elite division. I have never been so proud to come last in a race. I am not a good downhill skier and I went down my first chute/double black a few weeks back and it wasn’t pretty. The day before the race it snowed a fair bit and I did the race on very skinny skis which I didn’t practice on. Going down my first chute I realized quickly that I wouldn’t make a turn on those skis in those steep chutes and had to use my very own bum sliding technique.
I spent most of the race with a few girls but two of them cut it short going in the recreational course and I was left with another girl at the back. With one more big ascent to go I decided to stick with her. Her energy level was a little low but I preferred going slower and having good company than trying to “race” for second last. We took that last bit of the race slow, I took some pictures, and we past the finish line together in 4h30. We climbed 1350m on our skis with three sections of boot packing, one being straight up a chute. It was an amazing race and as I said I am super proud for overcoming my fears and making the cut off time. I had a blast and I will be back!! Well.. you win some, and lose some.
Today’s race was full of Rene / PACE-inspired learnings, including : asking myself “Why do I run?” several times (e.g. when I realized the race was almost 2km longer than they said!) I adjusted my pace when a niggly injury decided to become a sharp pain @ 7km, distracted myself by visualizing a run with all you fantastic folks on the trails, and remembered in the grand scheme of things running along the ocean is a pretty fantastic thing to experience! Aloha everyone, see you in a couple weeks! |
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