We had a great time at the Lost Nation Roll race in Craftsbury, where rollerski racing action was in full swing on the new paved loops. From a unique two-at-a-time start to spectators with cowbells, it was the closest race back to “normal” we’ve had yet! It wasn’t a huge field, mainly the Craftsbury juniors, the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, and MNC, but we brought the tent and really made it an “event” from the club side just because it was great practice for nailing the race-day vibe and preparation.
I sent some reflections to the skiers who raced, and figured I’d share them here as well in blog post form.
Part 1: Adam Learns a Lesson
My own admission and lesson learned: It was a unique lapping situation, and I didn’t realize Emma Crum had come around the lap lane partway through her race. When I saw her go by I thought she went straight on the course instead of lapping through. Of course I freaked-out and was on the radio wondering if she needed to redo some lap, whether or not I should say something mid-race to her (note: I did and it definitely just made it worse), and if her race time would get messed up.
But what really happened? Well, Emma was right and did the course exactly as she should have (and very fast, at that). Often people will say “this isn’t going to go well” or “I’m not ready for this” and I reply with “NOT WITH THAT ATTITUDE!”
Well, turns out I am just as susceptible to that…I was worried enough about people getting laps right and maybe messing it up, that of course I immediately assumed the worst when I thought something might’ve been off. So, lesson learned, nobody knows what you did on the course better than YOU. Emma trusted herself more than me, which was definitely the right move 🙂
Emma and Rebecca starting together
Part 2: Pro Skier Tips
Geo and Silas ready to begin
It was really cool to see the pros out there. As I said to a few on our team, you got faster and better at skiing just by doing this today and that is independent of how fast you went or how you felt in the race itself.
One big takeaway was not how so many of the top athletes used V2 a bunch (even on the hills), but how they were strong and peppy enough to stay upright, starting each motion from a tall and heightened position even on the steeper stuff rather than crunching down. Luke Brown does a good job of this (blue spandex, bib 27) and I also found a good clip of Caitlin Patterson really maintaining momentum.
Just the tempo of the top skiers was so consistent, which I think you’ll see in the overall clips. It’ll be a good thing for all of us to focus on in upcoming intervals, especially as we get to do more on rollerski loops…keeping the motions fast even when we get tired.
It was a solid day of racing with some strong results, some crashes (but nothing serious!), and lots of fun. Just seeing everyone push themselves in a race setting was great, and even though there were not “crowds” the atmosphere was very fired-up! Here are some results.
Emma with only a fraction of our rollerskis
Every ski trip in this direction ends at Piecasso!
