Birkie recap

Good morning! Sven here again. Time for another infrequent update. About that. It's my long weekend. That means I have off from 3:00 p.m yesterday (Friday) until 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Like a mini vacation for me. I plan to make a few more entries and then update this at least twice per week. Probably just ramblings about my training or what ever else enters my tiny and confused mind. I promise. Just hold me to it!
Okay, back to my Birkie musings. I have had a month to think about this and have come up with some thoughts. Nothing concrete here. Just guy feelings and intuition about what went wrong on a day with perfect conditions.
Why did I ski my slowest race in years? One of my slowest ever?
First and foremost, I over estimated my training. Wow! I thought I was in much better condition than I truly was. I got out on my skis 8 times last season prior to the Birkie. Some skiers do that in 2 weeks. That took me almost 3 months. Part of it was my fault. I broke a ski at last years event and along with it the boot and binding. I waited until early January to replace them. I missed the great early snow we had. I was running but that doesn't replace the ski specific training. I did get in a couple of long ski workouts but they just can't compare to skiing on the Birkie course.
Second, I under estimated the toughness of the course. I'm not sure how I can forget how tough that course is, but I seem to wipe it out of my mind from year to year. The hills! Man, I just totally forget how many, how steep and how long they last. The first couple miles and the run across the lake into Hayward are flat. That is it. Maybe 5 out of the 31 miles are flat. And that might be a generous estimate. The hills just killed me this year. I actually stopped to catch my breath at the top of a couple of them. I have never done that before.
Third, my skis. I'm not making excuses. I just think my skis weren't suited to me. I used my replacement skis. The sticker on them lists them as being flexed for a 161-181 lb. person. I am right at the top of that scale. Now add my clothes, a Camelbak full of water and I'm over that. They seemed slow all season, no matter the weather and/or wax. Was it a factor? I'm not quite good enough to say yes or no but my older skis never seemed to have given me this problem.
Going back to the training aspect, I can see I need to work on my endurance. At least ski specific endurance. I looked at my finishers certificate which has splits from a couple spots on the course. Between the 9K split and about halfway I dropped almost 1 minute per kilometer. It wasn't a case of going out too fast either. I felt good at the start and actually took it easy. I just had no endurance. Not enough time on the snow. If I had maintained my pace I would have finished in under 3:20:00. That was close to my goal time. A difference of 40:00 to my 3:57:51 finish!
So, here are my solutions. First, get out on the snow as early and as much as possible. I know Mother Nature has a lot to do with that. But no excuses. I have a couple of pairs of skis and I'm pretty careful when the conditions are marginal so I need to get out as soon as the trails are groomed.
I am also thinking about doing some roller skiing beginning in late summer/early autumn. I don't have any, yet! I do have some inline skates and these would work. Just now as ski specific. We have some good places to use either one. Low traffic back roads and some paved paths. If I got roller skis with the inflatable tires I could use them on the nearby rail trail. If I want to do well and try to better my time and possibly PR I need to seriously consider this option.
I need to work harder on my endurance all year long. Longer runs. Longer bike rides. Race more often and more consistently. I usually get in a ski race or two before the Birkie. This year I did a 5K trail run. Poor substitution. I am considering some epic bike races and maybe an ultra trail run this summer. If I can carry this through the year it would be a great help.
Last on my list is some new skis truly fit to me. The last time I bought skis and had them fit to me was 2000? Maybe. I think they would help. Plus, the psychological benefit is undeniable, at least to me. Look and feel fast? It helps to make you skis fast.
So, those are my thoughts. I have almost a year to carry through on these thoughts and plans. First I need to find the time off to do the race. No open vacation that week for 2011 where I work. We'll see how that works out. Working weekends makes it hard to get the time off.
One year. I better get to work.
More....soon......I promise.