Racer #225 and sporting a huge grin.
And, here’s my full report…
My race day probably started out like every other racer’s…up at 5:45am watching the movie Earth with a child – who’d struggled throughout the night with a bad cough – while also sharing a breakfast of granola/yogurt/blueberries with another child – who wouldn’t settle for anything less than having a full fist in a cereal bowl. Between 5:45 and 8:30am, it was your typical racer’s prep: being sure that skis were properly waxed, that diapers were changed, that there was a proper supply of energy/food supplies packed and being absolutely certain that toys hadn’t been shoved down vents. After all the morning tasks were crossed off the list, it was time to head to the mountains for the big race!
With a big smile, I hopped in the car and made my way towards Devil’s Thumb Ranch – a drive that takes 1.5 hours in good weather and low traffic. Like most of the times that I’ve been there, the skies were clear and the drive was just gorgeous. It had snowed the night before at Winter Park and Berthoud Pass – giving everything a beautiful dusting of snow. As always, I was struck with awe coming over Berthoud to see the entire Fraser Valley appear as a perfect quilt of green pines and snow. It’s a drive that has become familiar the past two months (we’ve done it 5 times!) but one that becomes no less magnificent. It’s a perfect back drop for any Nordic enthusiast hoping it will lead to ideal trails… because it does!
I arrived at DTR around 10:45am and had about an hour and a half before my race kicked off. Now, for any hopeful Nordic reading this, pay attention because that 90 minutes proved to provide me the biggest learning opportunity of the day as I astutely took in my surroundings. Being a person that hopes to blend in with that crowd someday and appear to be a real competitor, here are my key mental notes/lessons learned as I stepped into the “registration/prep area” for the Governor’s Race:
- It’s absolutely paramount to have a Swix Tech Packs if you want to fit in.I’m not kidding when I say that I saw at least 10 of these within the first 30 seconds of being in that room. In fact, taking this very picture was one of the first things I did upon my arrival. I have no idea how I’m going to justify a purchase of this bag to my husband but the Nords-person in me will find a way. It actually could be easier than I think. After all, I’m dealing with a man who bought a bike to match his cycling kit.
A must at any Nordic race.
- Nordic race bibs make you feel slightly quick.Don’t get me wrong, I’m not very fast on the actual Nordic course but when you pick up your race packet and are handed a polyester-blend race number that doesn’t require safety pins or a racebelt to wear, something just screams “pro”. And, not only do you feel quick, you feel a little more cool.
Racer #225. Only good things can happen in race bibs like these!
- Act your age. When you walk into a Nordic race “prep room” and spot the US Men’s Nordic Team, act your age. Let me interpret this from my actual actions at the Governor’s Cup: I walked into the registration room and noticed a group of men wearing “US Nordic Team” on their beautiful Swix black parkas and my heart rate sky rocketed. After picking my race packet up and calmly assessing how my hair looked, I found myself pondering if I should situate myself close to them “over by the fire.” It was after about 10 seconds of hashing this over in my mind that I quickly returned to reality: Oh yes! Not only was I married and the mother of two young children…but I was probably a full decade older than most of the handsome skiers. So, I walked across the room and sat down at a table on the other side. Like I said… and as difficult as it might be: Keep your cool, focus on the race and…act your age.
- Wear as much Swix gear as possible to appear that you know what you’re doing.It wasn’t just the US Men’s team decked out in their fancy Swix parkas, it was the huge banners, the Swix hats that were passed out at registration and just the sheer volume of Swix logo decked out on the skiers around me. It was clear from the second I walked in the room that: Craft is okay; Swix Rules. So, there I stood in my Craft pants and Craft wind shirt and did the only thing one might expect in a moment of fashion crisis…I reached for my credit card, ran down to the Nordic store and bought one Swix item to have for the race – a water bottle belt. Fewfta, that was a close call for a girl who wants to fit in.
Credit cards come in handy for fashion rules!
- Dress the part. The same rules apply to Nordic races that apply to other sports I’ve raced in. When going to my triathlons, I wore tri gear. When I ran in the foot races, I’d dress like a runner. Bike race? Yes, a proper kit. This rule applies to Nordic events, too, and might be even more important as illustrated in the following examples: An average Joe doesn’t wake up and say, “Geez, I feel like skate skiing today. I think I’ll drive into the mountains and do a race” where he could actually say, “Honey, there’s a 5K in the park that I think I’m going to do this morning” or “Hey, Fred, we’ve got some mountain bikes…let’s do that sprint triathlon next weekend”. These kinds of “trial examples” just doesn’t happen for Nordic races. Every person there was decked out in proper attire. Had I put on my bike jacket (which I quickly decided against after assessing the crowd), I would have been the single lone person there in non-Nordic apparel. Have no fear…fashion protocal is alive and well. Even in the Shoosherville: dress the part.
After taking in the above thoughts and any necessary action required to “feel the Nordic love”, it was time for the actual race. It was at 12:05pm when the gun went off for the 17km race (which had been changed to a 15km race due to low snow). Feeling a rise in my pulse as the shot was fired, with about 40 other racers surrounding me, I did the first 25 meters with an ear-to-ear grin as we “double poled” our way to the skate legal line. From there, it was complete bliss for the next hour and 6 minutes. I shooshed, glided, dug deep, breathed hard, climbed, listened to my pounding chest, smiled and took it all in as deeply as I could. The course was breathtaking and I had to do everything in my power to not stop and take a few pictures and videos. I know this sounds completely corny as I can’t remember ever thinking, “Geez, I should stop and take a picture” out on the triathlon course or during a marathon but the Nordic world is still just so new and wonderful to me so maybe it’s that new feeling that triggers something in the mind that gives you that “I need to take a photo to make it last longer” feeling. But, during the race I somehow contained myself and realized that, picture or no picture, “Nordic isn’t going anywhere! I’ve got the rest of my life for it”.
So, with that, I crossed the finish line at 1:06:23. As it turns out, the course was actually much shorter than a 15k (I’m guessing over a mile!) and I have to admit the finish was a little anticlimactic as I thought, “That’s it?!” No Norwegians ringing cowbells from tree branches or skiers hurling themselves over the finish line ensuring that every ounce of energy was left on the course (Sorry, if you were expecting me to be the only person to do that, 9th placer versus 10th just wasn’t worth it to me)??!!. After crossing the line, I nearly asked if I could just do the loop again and switch to the 30km division. But, then I looked around…I was in Colorado, living my dream and, like I said earlier…Nordic was with me to stay.
So, I packed up my things, threw on my new Swix hat, made my way back over Berthoud Pass, picked up a pizza for the family for dinner, went home, changed a diaper, made up some Ants-on-a-log, read a few bedtime stories and then unpacked my skis. Priorities are priorities and mine are right this time. I may have been 10th on the course…but I’m a Champion at home… and very happy to be an official CO Nordic Racer.
Stay tuned as I hope to complete a full 42km marathon on 3/3! Chris said it himself…if I’m going to make a drive to do the race…I might as well go for it:)!
