Lake Placid Loppet

Trails at Mount Van Hoevenberg, Friday evening before the final grooming.  This place is awesome!

I chose to do the Lake Placid Loppet this year, because it is a seeding qualifier for the American Birkebeiner race held in Northern Wisconsin.  Completing the "Birkie" is a bucket-list item, and I would like to do that race next year if everything works out.

I decided to do the 50 Kilometer Classic Race, which consists of 2 laps of a 25 K course at Mount Van Hoevenberg.  The course is a slightly modified version of the course used for the 50 K race in the 1980 Winter Olympics.  The trail system at "Van Ho" is very hilly, especially at the east end.  The terrain takes the 50 K Loppet skiers up 3680' of total climbing during the length of the race.  I have heard from a number of sources that this course is one of the hardest for anywhere based on it's profile.

The only other time I did this race was in 1992, when I skied the 50 K Skate race to finish my first event of that length.  That was so long ago, the difficulty of the course had faded in my memory.  I was much younger, in better shape, and a lot dumber than I am now.  This year chose to ski in the classic technique, since I have recently completed a number 50K  events in that style, and it is also the easiest style for me to train in.  I also plan to ski the classic event at the Birkie.

Race morning started out in the high teens, but it was about 20 at the 9:00 AM start time with a stiff  north westerly wind.  I was prepared for much colder conditions, so this was a relief.  My glide wax was Swix LF4 and for my kick wax I had a base of Swix Polar, with a couple layers of Swix Green topped off with Swix VR 30.  While warming up, I talked with a few other skiers who went with sligthly warmer kick waxes, more in the blue range.

The stadium, before final grooming.  No stands, just the timing booth on one side and a ski lodge on the other.  This was where the 1980 Olympic races started and finished, so that is why it is called a stadium.

For the classic technique races, the 25 K and 50K skiers started together.  The stadium has plenty of width, and the early trails are wide enough to accommodate that type of start.  It was a little chaotic as everyone found their pace and place in the first 2 K, but everyone got in line as we skied toward Porter Mountain, where we tackle the hardest climbs on the course.  As I was evaluating my skis at this early stage of the race, my kick was as good as, if not better than the skiers around me.  As usual, my glide, was not on par with the other skiers.

As we started hitting the series of hills just after 5K, I was hanging well with large group I was skiing with.  When you look at the map, the trails actually skirt the lower slopes of Porter Mountain and produce a long climb which steps between shallow striding stretches and much steeper sections which require the herringbone technique.  By the third or 4th steep grade, I recognized that staying with this group was causing me to go too anaerobic, especially on the steeper portions.  At first I told myself I was OK, and could recover on the downhills.  However, the climb kept going and just when I thought we were at the top, there would be another steeper section around the bend.  I started intentionally backing off the pace, and slowly fading back through the group as it stretched and thinned out.  I couple times as I rounded a bend and saw a another steeper and longer uphill staring back at me, I started struggling with doubt...it was getting bad.

On the way back to the stadium, the course climbs another mountain on another trail loop where you are close enough to hear the stadium announcer, but then ski away in the wrong direction and up a another long climb.  At one point you can see the remaining 400 meters of the climb and where the skiers ahead of you are topping out...I hoped.  I started really doubting my ability to finish this race, especially at this pace, so I backed off the accelerator again and measured my pace especially on the steepest parts.

The course descends sharply, and does another inner loop where you again ski away from the sounds of the stadium and go up a smaller hill, which was really playing with my mind.  Finally I made it around that loop and back to the stadium, passing to pass 15 K mark.  On the opening eastern loop we were protected from the wind, but now we had to ski into the teeth of the strong wind and drifting snow in the wide open stadium.  I took a feed and headed toward the 10 K western loop.

View from race course on western loop, with the bobsled run in the background on the flanks of Mount Van Hoevenberg.

The western loop is also wooded and protected form the wind, and trails are constantly rolling with some nice flat sections and many short and steep hills.  I started realizing the pace was taking a toll on me, especially when I hit a couple steep little climbs on the return to the stadium to end the first lap.  I was still skiing in a small group, and they all began picking up the pace, so I knew some of them would be finishing.  As we went through, everyone in the group went left and into the 25 K finish, as I skied right and out to my second lap.  I lapped through at 1:59, which I was really pleased with, but knew it was too fast and I would pay for my efforts on the second lap.

Now I was out on the trails, mostly by myself, headed toward the crushing hills on the Porter Mountain loop.  This is when self-doubt, the ultimate mental enemy, reached it's peak.  I had to stave it off by remembering all the hard training I did and how I have been this state before and always have been able to finish.  I concentrated on getting all the GU gels and warm Powerade energy drinks to make sure I had the calories to get through this second lap.  At the 30 K feed I took a gel and a drink, and said to the volunteer, and myself, "Here comes the hard part"...profound.

On the first lap I was doing the herringbone up the steepest sections at running speed and passing skiers.  Now I was reduced to walk and on the verge of cramping on the steepest section.  It was about managing my pace so I had enough muscle strength to steer the skis on the fast downhills and then being able finish the final 10 K western loop.  The second time  through, all the hills were physically harder than the first lap, but mentally a little easier, because I knew what to expect the second time up.  All the places where I was mentally defeated on the first lap, I was prepared to coach myself through them the second time.  Somewhere in the middle of the lap 2 skiers passed me, mostly due to their fast skis on the downhills.

When you are doing event of this length, there is a lot time to think.  Most of that time is spent reacting to what the race throws at  you.  The weather, course, snow conditions, other skiers, hydration and nutrition; all those things take a lot of concentration to make sure you are putting yourself in the position to both compete and finish.  Now on the second lap it was less about competing and more about finishing.  I was thinking about Anne, and how she has supported me in all my strange obsessions with odd types of endurance sports, I wanted to honor that with my best effort.  I was thinking about my children, who I've enjoyed cheering on as they took on similar challenges, and I wanted to be a good example by not giving in to fear and self-doubt.  I was thinking about everyone I trained with now and in the past, and how I have learned how to train, push myself and have some fun along the way.  I wanted to match their commitment to the craft of preparation and execution on race-day.  I was thinking about the high school runners I coach, and how they inspire me with their youthful enthusiasm for competition and self-improvement, I wanted to rekindle that love for life and sport.  I had a lot of reasons to finish this race.  All those thoughts got me through those hard climbs and back into the stadium to pass the 40K mark.

I made it through the hills, and now knew I could finish, but last 10K loop was about survival.  The 25 and 50K skaters started at 10:30, and they started passing me.  I knew it would happen, and it was happening, as I feared on some narrower trails.  I would need room to herringbone at crawling pace up these last hill, and they would need room to skate past me, which takes even more trail width.  Fortunately we did not get into any situations where I impeded any of them, at least that I was aware of.  At one point, as I was physically and mentally struggling through a climb, a skater drew even with me and stopped to recover on the steepest section, we exchanged words of encouragement.  He then continued on, never to be seen again.

I made it through the last loop, especially prepared for the last steep little climb before the finish.  Into the stadium, tried to muster a little double pole sprint, but the body was not having it.  I crossed the finish line in my usual stupor, and mumbled my thanks to the volunteers handing out the finish swag.  I made, but was really too tired to register anything close to pride, or even satisfaction.  I was just happy to be alive, upright and able to get off the course on my own strength.  Other more profound thoughts would arrive later, when self-reflection would temper the raw emotions you experience during the event.  I did what I could, and have to be happy with that.

My time of 04:20:15.8 placed me 12th out of 23 skiers and 6th in the 50-59 Age Group.

What did I learn?
The biggest mistake I made was not spending more time looking at the course map and preparing for the difficulties of the course.  I also needed to have a better handle on where the kilometer markers where on the course.  Also, looking at the registration lists and knowing there were a lot more 25 K skiers than 50K, would have been been good idea.  If I would have had more of that information, I would have made better decisions about pacing and been more patient on the first lap.

My ski-specific training was not very focused this winter, especially preparing the muscles used in the herringbone technique on the steepest hills.  I need to do more squats, leg presses, stair climbing, and skate roller skiing.  As always, I need to do more work on the double pole muscle groups, such as long double pole sessions on the roller skis, pull-ups, sit-ups and other strength training on core muscle groups.

As always, getting the wax right is something I will need to continue to work on.  If I ever invest in the high fluoro-carbonted waxes, it will probably help, but I would like to find a way to get better glide using the low-fluoro waxes. I need to get a better handle on where my wax pocket is on my race skis.  I think I am making my kick zone too big and getting drag from my kick wax at either end from my kick wax.  In the end, I need to accept reality: poor physical and mental preparations cost me a whole lot more time than poor waxing.

I love skiing, but I am not able to compete on the level I do in other sports where I can train and race more specifically and frequently.  I have always known this, but accept it more with each event I complete.  Many times, especially when disappointed with results, I question my choice, mostly due to where I live, and lack of time I have to train and race on snow.  However, in the end, what I enjoy about the sport overcomes those thoughts.

Frozen Mirror Lake in the foreground and setting sun illuminating the mountains in the background.