2020: SISU Ski Fest

Currently in week #05 of a 20-week training plan towards 2020 Spring Marathon, this was an event I had deemed I am not going to participate during 2019-20 winter. I was sticking with my claim until a handful of hours before the registration closed. Inquiries/Nudging by good friends and all the inspiration derived from watching world-class skiers during the recently concluded 2020 US Cross Country Ski National Championships should take the credit for changing my mind.

Once registered, I had to convince myself that racing 15 km (9+ miles) hard would be equivalent to running 12 LSD miles with 3 fast miles towards the end. This, in turn, meant that I didn’t have to worry about running long the next day or worse, the day before. A good hearty meal with friends (Rob, Shannon, Ellie, Ayden and Jan) and wrapping up waxing rituals marked the end of Friday night’s proceedings. The fact that Ironwood, MI, is only a 2-ish hour drive way and yet in Central Time Zone helped make it a day trip and get a relaxed start to the morning of race day.

A pretty full night of sleep led to a fairly relaxed morning even if it came around 5 am. With waxing and packing completed ahead of time, I hit the road at a leisurely pace around 7:15 am. A usual pit stop in Bruce Crossing included acquiring necessities to make a makeshift breakfast somewhere along M26. It was quick and with peanut butter, sugar-free strawberry jam and bananas, it had to be healthy too! I arrived in Ironwood around 9 am (Central Time) and finding a spot to park the car near the expo wasn’t difficulty either. Packet pickup was a breeze, and after a quick chat with Sam, I boarded the shuttle to the start area in ABR Trails with Kim and Sigrid. When we arrived, it was sunnier and warmer than expected!

This was the first time that I was part of wave #1 in a wave start event. I had learned the benefits of starting near the front, albeit accidentally, from the 2019 American Birkebeiner. Plus, the organizers had been cautioning us about the funneling nature of the course after it left the stadium. Taking all that into account and more importantly, not be a part of the tangled mess (or worse, be a cause for it), I moved to the front as much as possible. The event started on time and keeping pace with the moving mass of humanity didn’t seem difficult. Within about a kilometer or so, I got behind a really good skier (bib #1245). From the way she was stepping in and out of tracks, she seemed to know the course pretty well. I mimicked whatever she did to the best of my ability … until I she gracefully pulled ahead and disappeared around the 7 km mark.

Goal vs Reality Goal: 9.33 mi in 1:13:00 (7:49 min/mi) Reality: 9.65 mi in 1:24:56.0 (8:48 min/mi)
#	Lap Distance mi	Lap Pace min/mile	Lap Elevation feet	Total Distance mi	Total Time h:mm:ss	Total Elevation feet	Total Pace min/mile	Projected Finish Time h:mm:ss	Differential Goal Time h:mm:ss
01	0.62	8:13	33↑ 23↓	0.62	0:05:06	33↑ 23↓	8:13	1:16:39	0:03:39
02	0.62	8:52	62↑ 43↓	1.24	0:10:36	95↑ 66↓	8:32	1:19:37	0:06:37
03	0.62	7:23	36↑ 62↓	1.86	0:15:11	131↑ 128↓	8:09	1:16:02	0:03:02
04	0.62	6:38	3↑ 75↓	2.48	0:19:18	134↑ 203↓	7:46	1:12:27	0:00:33
05	0.62	8:32	10↑ 13↓	3.10	0:24:36	144↑ 216↓	7:56	1:14:01	0:01:01
06	0.62	8:45	10↑ 30↓	3.72	0:30:02	154↑ 246↓	8:04	1:15:15	0:02:15
07	0.62	8:55	10↑ 23↓	4.34	0:35:34	164↑ 269↓	8:11	1:16:21	0:03:21
08	0.62	9:30	52↑ 30↓	4.96	0:41:28	216↑ 299↓	8:21	1:17:54	0:04:54
09	0.62	9:40	30↑ 3↓	5.58	0:47:28	246↑ 302↓	8:30	1:19:18	0:06:18
10	0.62	10:35	62↑ 0↓	6.20	0:54:02	308↑ 302↓	8:42	1:21:10	0:08:10
11	0.62	8:21	30↑ 69↓	6.82	0:59:13	338↑ 371↓	8:40	1:20:51	0:07:51
12	0.62	8:08	16↑ 62↓	7.44	1:04:16	354↑ 433↓	8:38	1:20:33	0:07:33
13	0.62	9:52	46↑ 16↓	8.06	1:10:23	400↑ 449↓	8:43	1:21:19	0:08:19
14	0.62	9:33	69↑ 52↓	8.68	1:16:19	469↑ 501↓	8:47	1:21:57	0:08:57
15	0.62	9:14	52↑ 69↓	9.30	1:22:03	521↑ 570↓	8:49	1:22:15	0:09:15
16	0.35	8:20	10↑ 43↓	9.65	1:24:58	531↑ 613↓	8:48	1:22:06	0:09:06
The final cumulative time, 1:24:58, may not match the official time (1:24:56.0) owing to rounding errors. Starting my watch a few seconds before the start and stopping it a few seconds after crossing the finish line can be an additional reason for this discrepancy. The overall distance, 9.65 mi, may not match the designated (or certified) event distance (9.33 mi) owing to idiosyncrasies associated with GPS data collection OR my inability to take the tangents OR the aforementioned early start/late stop reasons, and in some rare cases, incorrectly measured (or advertised) courses or DNFs. As a result, the cumulative pace and the projected finish time might not match the official values as well.

Maybe it was starting out too fast or maybe it was not enough skiing so far or a combination of both, my form over the final few kilometers seemed to be off. I was pretty happy with putting to test, in a real race atmosphere, the technique lessons my friends have been graciously teaching me. The finish time, 1:24:55, was 10+ minutes slower than my goal time. But it was 6+ minute improvement over last year and good enough for 25/122 overall, 16/62 in gender and 2/2 in AG.

After crossing the finish line and changing into warmer clothes, we (Kim, Rod, Sigrid and myself) stopped at Contrast Coffee and enjoyed a warm serving of SISU (a yummy beverage; thanks to Kristen for the recommendation!). We then made our way to the expo area for some more post-race nourishment (I had been waiting for their small but very yummy veggie pasties all day!) and awards ceremony. After another short pit stop in Cold Iron Brewing, the uneventful return journey home started around 3:30 pm (Central Time).

Many familiar and friendly faces made for a familial and homecoming-like experience throughout the event. Though several (much better skiers) confirmed that classic tracks and skate lanes were slower, starting slow and then picking up pace is something I need to keep in mind and work on. A good wakeup call came the morning after – delayed onset of hip flexor stiffness/soreness. If I wish to do as well as I plan to do in some of the nordic skiing events this winter, I do need to make time in the schedule to get out on trails a bit more often and occasionally, for longer.

Thanks be to

the rejections and opportunities life has brought my way, event folks (organizers, sponsors, volunteers, timers, law enforcement officials, photographers, fellow participants and spectators) and my family of good friends, mentors and coaches in and outside of my community for all the unexpected, undeserved and unrewarded acts of kindness and constant encouragement as well as offerings of constructive criticism to improve myself as a human and an athlete. I am eternally grateful to all those who let me train with them, who shared their meals and experiences with me, who helped keep me in good health, who helped me stay the course, and who cheered me on from home or along the course.